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Community-Wide Event to Honor Four Long-Standing Preachers Aug. 6 at the Armory

By Jessica Isaacs | jessica@highcountrypress.com

Stay tuned for feature stories on all four of these honored pastors.

Check out the July 2016 edition of High Country Magazine for the full story.

A community-wide celebration of four long-standing local pastors has been scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 6 in the National Guard Armory in Boone. This program is open to the public, and event coordinators hope that folks from all across the High Country will be there to show support for the guests of honor.

The Rev. Charlie Martin is pictured in front of the newly renovated National Guard Armory in Boone, where the Aug. 6 Pastor Appreciation event will take place. Photo by Peter W. Morris.
The Rev. Charlie Martin is pictured in front of the newly renovated National Guard Armory in Boone, where the Aug. 6 Pastor Appreciation event will take place. Photo by Peter W. Morris.

Steadfast in faith and obedience, these four outstanding gentlemen — the Rev. Delmar James, the Rev. Herbert McCoy, the Rev. Gordon Noble and the Rev. Billy Warren — have made invaluable contributions in communities across the High Country.

While you’ll never catch them taking credit for it, these humble servants and ambassadors for Christ have allowed the Lord to do extraordinary things with their ordinary lives. Now, after lifetimes of devoted service, the greater faith community will come together to recognize, honor and celebrate the careers of these four fishers of men.

The Rev. Charlie Martin of Bethel Baptist Church, a friend and colleague of all four pastors, has orchestrated a special ceremony in their honor, which will take place on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 6 at the National Guard Armory in Boone.

The entire High Country community, including all churches of all denominations, are invited to enjoy fellowship, bring cards or gifts for the guests of honor, show their support and enjoy great live music from local bluegrass group Amantha Mill.

“We should never underestimate the importance of saying ‘thank you’ to those who help us along the road of life. Since I have been over here the past several years, the stories of the older pastors in this county have been so special to me,” Martin said. “There are several other pastors that have done a great service to this area, also; God just impressed on me that this would just be a starting point. Perhaps something could be done again next year with other spiritual leaders who, too, have touched the hearts of Watauga County.”

The celebration of these four incredible leaders will take place at 6 p.m. that evening. Whether you know any or all of these men well or you’d like to meet them and thank them for their service, there’s no better opportunity than at this community-wide celebration.

“This is an important event for all of the Christian community in Watauga and surrounding counties. What a great time to come together with other believers!” Martin said. “I am hoping that all of our evangelical Christian family responds with real joy. There are some things we should say to people while they are still with us, and I hope this a great encouragement to those who have served us well.”

For more information about the upcoming ceremony, contact Martin at Bethel Baptist Church at 828-297-2694.