Lawrence Robert Thompson, Sr., 1928-2004

 Lawrence Robert Thompson, Sr., was born Sept. 2, 1928, in Canebrake, Va., to Betha Asbury and Dewey Garfield Thompson. He was the firstborn of a proud, itinerant coal-mining family in Southwest Virginia. He married Phyllis Christian on March 8, 1952. Since he was not "Christian" in any sense of the word, she set about winning him to the Lord. At about half past eight in the evening as another warm August day in 1953 came to a close, Lawrence found himself strangely in need of moving from pew to altar in the little Assembly of God church in Berwind, W.Va. Handing his newborn son to his mother-in-law, he made his way forward to an altar where he would kneel and experience one of his numerous encounters with the living Christ. This was the beginning of a journey of faith and a call to ordained ministry that would change not only his life, but the life of his family and, in some way, touch all those who would encounter him as an itinerant soul in Christ’s service.

  Lawrence’s call to ordained ministry was immediate. He sold all his possessions and moved to Florida to attend college. He and Phyllis worked many different jobs to make ends meet. It was a challenging time, but he did not give up. Following graduation from Southeastern Bible College in Lakeland, Fla., in 1956, Lawrence served as an Assembly of God pastor in Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia. Much of that time he taught school in addition to pastoring so that he might provide for his family. During this time, his faith and call continued to grow in a dynamic way. While looking for ways to be open to this continuously growing faith experience, he came under the influence of a Methodist pastor. When that pastor was appointed as coordinator of the Bath Larger Parish, he contacted Lawrence and asked him to consider joining him as an associate in Bath County, Va. Lawrence did and thus begins the rest of the story.

  In 1969, Lawrence became a true itinerant United Methodist pastor. He had the distinct pleasure of serving the Bath Larger Parish, the Craigsville Charge, the Patrick Charge, Highland Park in Roanoke, Churchville-West Augusta, and Lawrenceville UMCs. How fitting and affirming for his itinerancy to end in 1991 at an appointment bearing his name.

   Lawrence and Phyllis had two children, Larry and Melissa. Larry is the senior pastor at St. Paul UMC in Woodbridge, Va. He is married to the former Vicki Peery, whom he met as a direct result of Lawrence’s move to the Bath Larger Parish and into United Methodism. They have four children, Chris, Jeremy, Philip, and Laura. Lisa is a public school teacher in South Georgia and is married to the Rev. Stephen Webb, senior pastor of Bainbridge UMC in Bainbridge, Ga. They have two children, Josh and Lee. Phyllis and grandson, Lee, preceded Lawrence in death.

  In 1983, Lawrence married Kathleen Harrison. Lawrence’s life was blessed with a new family. Kathleen’s children, Joni, Karen, Roger, and Greg enriched his life and he theirs. He was also blessed by his daughter-in-law, Dianna and grandson, Brandon. Kathleen not only supported him in his ministry, but loved and cared for Lawrence the rest of his life. Lawrence was preceded in death by daughter Joni.

   Outside of his regular pastoral duties, Lawrence loved preaching revivals and homecomings. He never forgot where he came from and he weaved that into his sermons and lessons. After retiring in 1991, he began teaching a Sunday school class at Jamestown UMC in Jamestown, N.C. As the class grew from 30 to 125 members, Lawrence experienced a spark of new life. He died on July 25, sometime during the night, but only after completing preparation to teach his class on Sunday. One of the great joys of his life was the fact that under his ministry, some 22 persons entered into ordained ministry. He was faithful to the end and now, as his favorite poet intimates, Lawrence has "crossed the bar." Praise be to God for the life of Lawrence Thompson who in the love of Christ shall never die.