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07149 March 14, 2007
Notes about people
by Jerry Van Marter
On Feb. 27, the Tucker, GA, home of renowned Presbyterian writer Cecil Murphey burned to the ground. Murphey, his wife, Shirley, and daughter Cecile escaped. Cecile's husband, Alan Hege, was trapped inside and died in the flames. The house and all its contents, except Murphey's computer hard-drive, was a total loss. While Murphey has a long, impressive history within the professional writing and speaking world, he is simply known as The Man behind the Words. The award-winning author has sold more than six million copies of his 106 books, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. An escrow fund has been established for Cecil Murphey and his family. Contributions can be sent to The Knight Agency, 570 East Avenue, Madison, GA, 30650.
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During a recent visit to Louisville, President George W. Bush presented the President's Volunteer Service Award to Lea Fischbach, a Presbyterian who has devoted the last 11 years of her life to the Cabbage Patch Settlement House. Cabbage Patch, a nonprofit Christian organization, provides spiritual, social and educational programs and services to disadvantaged families and children. Fischbach, 64, has put in more than 4,000 of volunteer service to the group in the last decade. "The highest office of the United States honors the power of volunteers," Fischbach told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "Now, that's a message that's more important than your politics or just one individual."
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In December, Ruth Colvin, an elder at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church in Dewitt, NY, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in a White House ceremony. Colvin, 90, was honored for her work as founder of Literacy Volunteers of America, a non-profit group that has taught hundreds of thousands of adults how to read. The organization, now called ProLiteracy Worldwide, is the world's largest literacy non-profit, with 1,200 U.S. affiliates and 120 partner programs worldwide. The president's mother and former first lady, Barbara Bush, wrote the introduction to Colvin's life story, A Way with Words.
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The Rev. Rob Craig has resigned as executive director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Ghost Ranch Conference Center in Abiquiu, NM. He concludes his work March 31. Craig has been at Ghost Ranch for seven years. During that time, he has facilitated creation of a more coordinated identity and program between the Ghost Ranch facilities in Abiquiu and Santa Fe, led a successful capital campaign for new and improved facilities on the two campuses and raised financial support for the New Mexico centers. He has expressed the desire to return to pastoral ministry but will remain involved at Ghost Ranch as a teacher and fund-raiser. The Ghost Ranch board has announced that it will soon appoint an acting executive director to guide Ghost Ranch through its organizational transition.
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The Rev. Donald G. Campbell, who served as director of the Congregational Ministries Division of the General Assembly Council from 1999-2006, has been named interim executive presbyter for Mission Presbytery, based in San Antonio, TX. Campbell began his new work March 1.
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