Patch Columnist Ray Newman Passes Away, Funeral Set for Nov. 27

Patch columnist Ray Newman passed away Monday, Nov. 25.

According to a Facebook post by his son Rusty Newman, "Glory to The Lord! This morning early Ray Newman took a last gentile breath here on earth and in the next moment was HOME with our Lord Jesus.  My mother Gwen Newman and I wish to thank you all for your prayers, friendship, expressions of love, and sweetness to our family. We celebrate today and know the peace of The Lord. Hebrews 6:10."

Patch commentator Jimmy Orr wrote the following in a tribute to Newman:

"Ray was a highly respected Baptist minister throughout the Georgia Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. While at the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) he served as interim pastor at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Oakwood, GA and later became their full time bi-vocational pastor. Ray's responsibilities at the GBC involved ethics and religious liberty issues. He represented the GBC on moral issues at the state capitol when the Georgia General Assembly was in session as a registered lobbyist. He was highly respected by members of our state legislature. 

"Ray also kept me apprised of legislation making its way through our state legislature that he knew I had an interest in. With Ray, there was none of this so-called "gray area." It was either black or white, right or wrong. Translated, Ray was a man of principles and lived a life that could stand the test of being measured by God's plumb line. Ray was very active in the Republican Party. He served as the Parliamentarian of the Barrow County GOP and was active in the Georgia GOP. He believed in lower taxes, less government, and equal opportunity for all. He was a great source of advice, counsel, and wisdom to me over the years."

Orr added, "Although I am saddened by Ray's passing I know with every ounce of fiber that is in my body that at a time like this that to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. This morning I find comfort from the words of the Apostle Paul that are found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (KJV)."

Newman, 69, was a trustee of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and executive director of the Georgia Citizen Action Project. 

In a released statement, Russell D. Moore, president of the ERLC, said: 

"Ray Newman is a heroic Baptist leader who devoted his life to preaching the gospel to the world and to combating injustice in the public arena. He fought the social ills of alcoholism, gambling, pornography and the mistreatment of the poor, the aged and the unborn. All the while, he held forth the Word of Life and modeled for the church what it looks like to be a man of God with integrity and courage. 

“Bro. Ray served on the presidential search committee here at the ERLC. No one was more of an encouragement to me and to my family. Even more than that, it was humbling to talk to this great man after he received the devastating news of this brain tumor. He stood unafraid of death, grateful for the blessings of God. 

“In heaven, unlike on earth, there's no need for public advocacy. Ray Newman has received a new assignment and has heard the words from his Lord, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ ”

Visitation will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 26, from 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at Smith Funeral Home, located at 755 Atlanta Highway in Winder. The funeral will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 10 a.m. at Union Baptist Church, 527 Union Church Road in Winder. Interment will be at Lakeview Memory Gardens in Phenix City, Ala. on Nov. 27.