New Ministers at Union
- Tue 18th May 2010, 12:54 pm
Union Christian Church announced that Dale Hutchins and Allan Thames have accepted the unanimous call of the Board of Elders and Deacons and the congregation to become the Co-Senior Ministers at the church. Hutchins and Thames joined forces at Union in January to begin a contemporary worship service called The Well. When the Senior Minister left recently for a full-time position in Newnan, the church turned to them to fill the void.
Dale Hutchins graduated from Atlanta Christian College in 1986 and will receive his Masters of Theology from Andersonville Theological Seminary this month. He is also pursuing a Certificate of Urban Youth Ministry through Fuller Theological Seminar in Pasadena, California. Hutchins and his wife of 24 years, Victoria, are originally from Winder, Georgia. They have three grown children-daughters Natasha and Kendra and son Khyri. When asked what he likes about Union, Dale replied, “Often times churches know they are supposed to embrace all people into their church but sometimes it is just so inconvenient. So to hear a church, from the stage, invite ALL people to not just attend but to become part of what God is doing, is awesome. To have the dear sisters walk up to me and fix my collar and to give me a hug these are just a few of the things I love about Union Christian Church.”
Allan Thames was the Senior Minister at Union from 1992-2002. He is now 54 years old, is a published author (“The Boys of Enon Road”)and has been married for almost 33 years to Celia Hight. She is a third grade teacher for the Douglas County school system. Last week they saw their youngest son, Sam, graduate from Georgia State School of Law. Ben, their oldest son, is the music minister at Fayetteville Christian Church, while their daughter Carrie, and son-in-law Tim, are youth ministers at Hebron Christian Church near Athens. Daughter-in-law Amanda leads the worship team for the contemporary service at Union. When asked why he was returning to minister at Union Allan answered, “Because I was needed. Dale and I already had The Well ministry going and are excited about this added opportunity to help reach the community for Jesus.” This summer Allan and Celia will be the Program Directors for a week at Woodland Christian Camp near Temple, Georgia. Dale Hutchins will be there, also, as a teacher.
Hutchins, who is African-American, and Thames who is white, joke about their differences. “He’s tall,” laughs Allan Thames about his partner, Dale. “And I’m shorter.” They share responsibilities equally. One will preach at the earlier traditional worship and the other one will preach at The Well. The next week they rotate. Often they share the stage and preach what they call “Tag-team” sermons.
The church is located in the Cliftondale community at 3595 Union Road, College Park, GA, 30349. The traditional service begins each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. with the contemporary service, The Well, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
LAY IT DOWN
- Thu 22nd April 2010, 8:32 am
LAY IT DOWN
Lay it down
Give it up
Sacrifice it all
My hopes, my plans, my life long dreams
My wants, my needs, my sin sick schemes
I give them all to you.
No more of mine, no more of me
No more my wants, no more my needs
I leave it all with you.
Lay it down
Give it up
Sacrifice it all.
My days, my hours, my too full life
My good, my bad, my useless strife
I give it all to you.
Take all I have, take all I’ve got
Take all I’ve lost, take all I’m not.
I give it back to you.
I’ve lived my life, done things my way
Few thoughts of you, no time to pray
Taken credit for things I’ve done
Kept the honors for victry’s won
Plaques and trophies, men’s highest praise
Were all for me, filled all my days.
Yet God you loved the world and gave
Your only son for me to save
You laid it down,
You gave it up
You sacrificed it all
Lay it down
Give it up
Sacrifice it all
April 22, 2010
