All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

D&E president, choir participating in Bridgeport Presbyterian Services

ELKINS – Davis & Elkins College President Chris A. Wood, the College Concert Choir and Assistant Director of Institutional Advancement: Foundation and Church Relations Tina Vial will share their faith with the Bridgeport Presbyterian Church this Sunday. The choir will perform several selections, Vial will serve as liturgist and Wood will deliver the sermon at the 10 a.m. Feb. 17 service.

Wood, a native of Huntington, West Virginia, is an ordained United Methodist minister. His sermon for the services is titled “Pursued by Mercy,” based on Psalm 23.

Prior to being named D&E’s 15th president in 2016, Wood served as vice president for advancement at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. Before serving at Wesley College, Wood was vice president for advancement at the University of Mount Olive in Mount Olive, North Carolina. During a 13-year period, he served several United Methodist pastorates in Illinois and Maryland, and later as the executive and program director of Mission West Virginia Inc.

“It is an honor and a pleasure to travel with the Davis & Elkins College Concert Choir to lead worship in congregations across our state,” Wood said. “These young men and women are wonderful representatives of the talented and passionate students at D&E. As an institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we celebrate our Judeo-Christian heritage and its influence upon the values of the college.” 

The choir will perform “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” by Randy Phillips, Matthew West and Bernie Herms; “Grace Wins” by Matthew West and Ed Hogan; “Great Are You Lord with How Great Thou Art” by Heather Sorenson; “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)” by Jonas Myrin and Matt Redman; and “What a Beautiful Name” by Ben Fielding and Brooke Ligertwood.

Under the direction of Liz Marshall-MacVean and accompanied by Donna Baroudi Huffman, the choir’s repertoire also includes a secular set of music for non-sacred choral events.

Members are: Megan Augustine of Dallas, Georgia; Destiny Brown of Elkins; Vanessa Collette of Beverly, West Virginia; Jennifer Digman of Elkins; Robert Fields of Pecks Mill, West Virginia; Nathaniel Fornash of Huntington, West Virginia; Alexander Foster of Boyes, Maryland; Trevor Gauckler of Charles Town, West Virginia; Megan Huffnagel of Elkins; Casey King of Williamson, West Virginia; Lauren Lunemann of New Milton, West Virginia; Emma McDougal of Elkins; Jamey Perrine of Rock Cave, West Virginia; Sierra Petry of Charleston, West Virginia; Hope Roy of Parsons, West Virginia; Tobias Sears of Crab Orchard, West Virginia; MacKinzie Smith of Renick, West Virginia; Alessandro Trujillo of Woodbridge, Virginia; Emma Watson of Beverly, West Virginia; and Matthew Weintraub of Lewisburg, West Virginia.

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