Thursday, April 12, 2007
Community praises slain minister's integrity
More than 120 people gathered at a church in Snow Creek to pay tribute to Nancy Copin, who was killed last week.
SNOW CREEK -- It seemed fitting that a service celebrating the life of a minister remembered for the special attention she gave to children should begin with 11 boys and girls ringing bells.
More than 120 people at Snow Creek Christian Church listened Wednesday evening as community members praised Nancy Copin for her quick wit, her warm optimism and her perseverance through tough times in a life that ended darkly.
"For us, all we need to know is Nancy was doing what she believed God wanted her to do," said Bob Button, interim minister of Broad Street Christian Church in Martinsville. "Snow Creek Christian Church will never be the same again."
Copin, 60, was found dead in her home at the church's parsonage in southern Franklin County last week after she was badly beaten, authorities said. Charles Vincent Cobler, 40, has been charged with first-degree murder in her death.
Speakers at Wednesday's service said it was painful to think of what she must have endured in her final moments.
"It's very hard for us to forgive when someone perpetrates such violence," said the Rev. Lee Parker, regional minister of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Virginia. "We all know Nancy would be the very first person to offer forgiveness."
"It's easier to hate," Parker added. "It's much easier to stir up hate and violence than to stir up love."
Copin had been an associate pastor at a suburban church in Birmingham, Ala., when she came to Snow Creek about 20 months ago. She had been on several missions to Mexico, Cambodia and Africa over the past five years.
Her friends described her as optimistic and open about the challenges she had faced in her life, including a devastating divorce.
Button spoke of her "folksy little children's sermons" and recalled that she once visited his home and asked him for a piece of wood to make a Bible podium to put in a meeting room because someone had requested a quiet place to pray.
"Death will not have victory," said Mike Eisenman, pastor of Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church. "It does not have victory over Nancy."
