Note: This is a series of posts aimed at helping you get to know your church staff in a more personal way. We hope you enjoy!
Bert Browning was born and raised in southern Chesterfield County, near the village of Ettrick. His father worked for Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) and his mother was a homemaker and occasional public school substitute teacher. His sister is retired from Fort Lee, where she served as a civilian employee.
Bert graduated from Matoaca High School and completed his undergraduate degree at the College of William and Mary. This was followed by a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, and later a Doctor of Ministry degree from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond.
He and his wife, Rose, have been married for 44 years. She was raised in Colonial Heights, and they first met — in church — when he was a rising sophomore in college and she was a rising senior in high school. She also graduated from William and Mary and is now a retired public school teacher. They have three grown and married daughters: Emily (husband Peter) in Philadelphia; Ashley (husband Jason) in Midlothian; and Amanda (husband Sam) in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They have four grandchildren.
An interesting fact: Bert, Rose, and their middle daughter, Ashley, share the same birth day and month — May 22; and Ashley’s husband also shares that birth day and month.
Bert served as pastor of Baptist churches in Virginia for 37 years — in Emporia, Bedford, Culpeper, and finally Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Bon Air. He is currently a trustee for LifeSpire of Virginia and for HopeTree Family Services.
He enjoys volunteering as a certified Virginia Master Naturalist. He is a past president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV).
Bert will soon transition out of his current position as Interim Minister of Pastoral Care at RRCB, returning to the ranks of the retired — and also restoring the true meaning of the word “interim.” He and Rose will continue as members of RRCB and as members of the choir.