CENTENARY TO DEDICATE MEMORIALS SUNDAY

Centenary United Methodist Church will dedicate two memorials Sunday in honor of a former pastor and his wife who served at the church for more than a decade. The memorials are also part of a renovation project the church has recently completed.

The late Rev. Dr. Neil Stein and his wife, Carolyn, served at Centenary for 12 years, from 1985 to 1997. Stein was a United Methodist pastor for 35 years.

"Primarily it is a heritage day in which we honor their memory," said the Rev. Dr. Clayton Smith, senior pastor at the church.

Memorials will be dedicated Sunday during the 10:45 a.m. worship service. The Rev. John Stein, the Steins' eldest son, will be the guest speaker. There will be an open house from 1-3 p.m. Sunday at the church, with a reception for the Stein family.

Centenary Church has a history of long-term pastorates and Dr. Stein's tenure is an example of that leadership, Smith said. Under his direction, the church envisioned and began building a Family Life Center that now serves 3,000 people each month.

The memorial to Dr. Stein, who died in 2000, includes a sanctuary cross of Celtic design that is being incorporated into an existing altar window. The stained glass window was also a memorial gift in 1973, given in memory by Mary Lou Rose Kelly and Barbara Rose Rust in memory of their parents, Dr. and Mrs. Forrest H. Rose.

The Rev. Bill Matzat, chaplain at Southeast Missouri Hospital, constructed the cross, which was installed this week.

A bronze sculpture titled "Shepherding the flock" is being dedicated in honor of Carolyn Stein, who died in 1998. The sculpture's permanent location has yet to be selected, but it will be on display Sunday in the sanctuary.

Dr. Stein served as member of the General Board of Church and Society and on the World Methodist Council. He earned his undergraduate degree at Nebraska Wesleyan University and completed seminary training at St. Paul School of Theology. He also received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Central Methodist College in Fayette, Mo., in 1987.

Mrs. Stein studied art history in college and had an extensive collection of paintings and loved visual arts and music. She was an active member of the PEO Chapter BI while in Cape Girardeau.