College Street Baptist Church, Walhalla, recently honored the husband-wife music ministry team of Ray and Vanessa Conway for 25 years of service to the church.
Ray and Vanessa Conway were honored Aug. 15 for 25 years of service to College Street Baptist Church, Walhalla. From left: Mike Thrift, Ray and Vanessa Conway, Susan Thrift and Ray Keys.Ray, minister of music and youth, and Vanessa, church pianist and children’s choir leader, were recognized with personal gifts and a commissioned choral anthem during a special service on Sunday, Aug. 15. Nearly 400 people attended the service to “worship the Lord and celebrate how God has been honored through the life and ministry of two of God’s servants,” said Ken Reid, pastor.
Reid presented the Conways with a plaque, along with letters of appreciation from the director of missions and the music office of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. With funds donated for the occasion, church members also presented the couple with professional landscaping and new windows for their home.
Richard Burrell, a longtime member of the church and close friend of the Conways, presented the last gift. Composer Stan Pethel, a minister and professor at Berry College in Mt. Berry, Ga., was commissioned by the sanctuary choir to write a choral piece in honor of the Conways. Pethel, a friend of the Conways, gave the church a signed original copy of the anthem, entitled “We Lift One Voice of Praise,” along with a signed original orchestration.
Ray Conway was first called to the church after graduating from Southern Seminary in December 1980. He began his first round of ministry on Jan. 11, 1981, and stayed until 1987. He served a church in North Carolina for more than four years before returning to College Street in 1992.
In July 1 the Conways completed a total of 25 years of ministry together at College Street. Vanessa Conway has been the church’s pianist for most of those 25 years, as well as teaching Sunday school, leading children’s choirs, and serving as VBS director for many years along the way. The Conways are both graduates of Bluefield College.
Volunteers will complete the yard work the same time the windows are installed in a few weeks.