Hope Lutheran holds Teddy Bear Sunday
Members of Hope Lutheran Church, 2001 N. Park Road, held the annual Teddy Bear on Sunday, Feb. 18. The special service aims to “share the warmth and love of God with children in our community and beyond.”
This year, the church received more than 160 teddy bears, which will be given to Eckerd Connects, the largest child welfare agency in Hillsborough County. Eckerd Connects then takes the bears and distributes them to children in the foster care system.
“This annual event has become such a tradition for us,” said Hope’s Sr. Pastor, Rev. Dean Pfeffer. “Each bear is tagged with a note from Hope’s Human Care Ministry Team and with the words of John 3:16 to remind the recipient of God’s never ending love for us. It is fun to watch the adults come to church carrying teddy bears and to see the joy on their faces as they give that bear to a child in need.”
Plant City honors Billy Graham
Reverend Billy Graham, 99, the North Carolina pastor who took the world by storm, died Wednesday morning. He had served as a minister or a counselor to a dozen U.S. presidents and used his ministry to preach to more than 200 million people.
Haught Funeral Home held a memorial service all day Wednesday at its facilities. There was a register book for families to sign that will be sent to his family and a memorial video played all day for visitors to watch.
Plant City baseball legend dies at age 89
Terry Thomas toured the country during the 1940s, playing for the Atlanta Black Crackers of the National Negro Baseball League. He was recruited while playing for the Plant City Aces and the Tampa Pepsi-Cola Giants. He is on the rosters at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
Following his baseball career, he worked for the Lykes Packaging Company and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Services will be held Saturday, Feb. 24 at Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, 902 E. Alabama St. The wake is at 10 a.m. and the service is at 11 a.m. City and state proclamations will be presented.