Reginald and Norma Shires 50th Anniversary
50 Years of Ministry:
Norma and Reggie Shires were married in Bangalore on 7-7-1957 by Pastors I.K.Moses and E. L. Sorensen. They celebrated their 50th Anniversary with family and friends at Laurel, Md., near their home in Beltsville on 7-7-2007.
They began their ministry in the Adventist Church in the Madras English Church, Vepery, and then went on to work at the church in Vizagapatnam (four years earlier Reg worked as a Bible Worker here with Pastor and Mrs. E. L. Sorensen, the evangelists, and Pastor and Mrs. W.F. Zill, new missionaries, in starting the Vizag church which Iris Keene, the first Adventist in the city, had long prayed about for years and often requested an evangelist). Their son Mike was born in Vizag. Norma, as an R.N., worked at the side of her husband without pay caring for the sick in their homes. They next worked in Hubli in 1959 caring for the church which Owen and Patricia D'Costa had established. The small church met in their living room.
In Southern Asia, Reg started to make contact with the Indian press and the first positive stories on the work of Seventh-day Adventists began to appear in all the major papers of the country In 1959 they were called to teach at Raymond Memorial Training School at Falakata in West Bengal, down from Bhutan. Their sons Donn and Robert were born at Cooch Bihar and Ranchi. (The Leopard's Call, describes their life there. See Wikipedia article on "Falakata".)
In 1962 Reg accepted a call to be dean of men at Spicer College, Poona, and to teach English in High School and Speech and Journalism at the college. At Spicer he taught his students to continue the pioneering work he had begun in reaching out to the press.
In 1965, Elder D.W. Hunter, president of Pennsylvania Conference, invited the couple to Pennsylvania to pastor a district of three churches near Pennsylvania State University. Norma and Reg held many evangelistic meetings in halls and tents endearing themselves to the people of Pennsylvania. The church was started at State College, the debt on the Mifflintown Church paid off, and a new church built at Reading, the Hampden Heights Church. In Reading, he had a weekly TV program and in Allentown a weekly radio program. In 1980 the couple were called to Sligo Church in Takoma Park, Md., where Reg served as Associate Pastor and Norma worked as a private duty nurse. Reg served on the building committee, organized the elders, began the Saturday Seminars and he and Norma conducted camps at Boonsboro Camp and held Vegetarian Cooking Schools.
Early in 1980 a small group of members from India came to him with a desire to begin an Indian church in the U.S. The Conference, at that time, was not eager to begin an Indian church. Reg asked the small group which met at his office at Sligo: "If you want to have a baby do you ask the conference?" That encouraged the group to launch out in faith and rent a Sunday church and invite people to attend. It was the beginning of the first Adventist Indian church in the Washington area.
In their work and ministry, Norma and Reg often reflect on the Christ-like ministry of workers like Dr. and Mrs Buxton at Ranchi, Pastor Robert Colthurst at Nuzvid, Pastor Fred Crump at Spicer, Pastor Garland Hoag and the Senior Streeters
Read MoreNorma and Reggie Shires were married in Bangalore on 7-7-1957 by Pastors I.K.Moses and E. L. Sorensen. They celebrated their 50th Anniversary with family and friends at Laurel, Md., near their home in Beltsville on 7-7-2007.
They began their ministry in the Adventist Church in the Madras English Church, Vepery, and then went on to work at the church in Vizagapatnam (four years earlier Reg worked as a Bible Worker here with Pastor and Mrs. E. L. Sorensen, the evangelists, and Pastor and Mrs. W.F. Zill, new missionaries, in starting the Vizag church which Iris Keene, the first Adventist in the city, had long prayed about for years and often requested an evangelist). Their son Mike was born in Vizag. Norma, as an R.N., worked at the side of her husband without pay caring for the sick in their homes. They next worked in Hubli in 1959 caring for the church which Owen and Patricia D'Costa had established. The small church met in their living room.
In Southern Asia, Reg started to make contact with the Indian press and the first positive stories on the work of Seventh-day Adventists began to appear in all the major papers of the country In 1959 they were called to teach at Raymond Memorial Training School at Falakata in West Bengal, down from Bhutan. Their sons Donn and Robert were born at Cooch Bihar and Ranchi. (The Leopard's Call, describes their life there. See Wikipedia article on "Falakata".)
In 1962 Reg accepted a call to be dean of men at Spicer College, Poona, and to teach English in High School and Speech and Journalism at the college. At Spicer he taught his students to continue the pioneering work he had begun in reaching out to the press.
In 1965, Elder D.W. Hunter, president of Pennsylvania Conference, invited the couple to Pennsylvania to pastor a district of three churches near Pennsylvania State University. Norma and Reg held many evangelistic meetings in halls and tents endearing themselves to the people of Pennsylvania. The church was started at State College, the debt on the Mifflintown Church paid off, and a new church built at Reading, the Hampden Heights Church. In Reading, he had a weekly TV program and in Allentown a weekly radio program. In 1980 the couple were called to Sligo Church in Takoma Park, Md., where Reg served as Associate Pastor and Norma worked as a private duty nurse. Reg served on the building committee, organized the elders, began the Saturday Seminars and he and Norma conducted camps at Boonsboro Camp and held Vegetarian Cooking Schools.
Early in 1980 a small group of members from India came to him with a desire to begin an Indian church in the U.S. The Conference, at that time, was not eager to begin an Indian church. Reg asked the small group which met at his office at Sligo: "If you want to have a baby do you ask the conference?" That encouraged the group to launch out in faith and rent a Sunday church and invite people to attend. It was the beginning of the first Adventist Indian church in the Washington area.
In their work and ministry, Norma and Reg often reflect on the Christ-like ministry of workers like Dr. and Mrs Buxton at Ranchi, Pastor Robert Colthurst at Nuzvid, Pastor Fred Crump at Spicer, Pastor Garland Hoag and the Senior Streeters
