Staff report

On the morning of July 17 at the West End Baptist Church, local Baptists can learn more about the global trends of Baptist life and how they fit into the global picture.

Dr. John V. Upton Jr., the executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV), will be preaching at the 9:30 a.m. worship service. At 10:30 a.m., he will be leading a discussion time titled, &uot;The Family Tree of Baptist Life.&uot;

Upton has pastured churches in Virginia and worked as a missionary in Taiwan, and has served as the BGAV executive director since 2001.

&uot;We try to get in our state folks periodically, so people can have them preach,&uot; said West End reverend

T.F. Irby, whose church is a member of the BGAV. &uot;I hope local people will get a sense of how we as a Baptist church can be connected beyond Suffolk.&uot;

West End Baptist is located at the corner of W. Washington St and St. James Ave.

There is ample off-street parking, and a church nursery will be available.

For more information please call 539-8771.