Connie, born to Willie and Margaret Collie of Chesterfield on September 29, 1938, was an only child and treasures the close relationship she has always had with her parents. When she was about twelve, they moved to South Richmond where she attended Bainbridge Junior High and became captivated by one of the varsity basketball players, a center named Wayne Lancaster. But it wasn’t until she was in high school at John Marshall that she got to meet Wayne. She was invited by a girlfriend, Betty, to go swimming at Moore’s Lake. Who should drive them to the lake but Betty’s brother and his friend, Wayne Lancaster! Her friend told her that Wayne wanted her phone number, and Connie said, "Give it to him!"

Wayne, born to Joseph Andrew and Edna Lancaster of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on April 5, 1935, has a younger brother Donald and a younger sister, Joann. In 1942 when Wayne was seven, his father was crushed between two railroad box cars. Wayne remembers visiting him in the hospital and instinctively knowing that he wasn’t going to make it. Several days later he died from internal bleeding. At the time, Edna was six months pregnant with Joann, so the family went to live with her parents until Edna was remarried five years later to Albert Sexton. Wayne remembers his father’s helping him with homework and says, "He was a stern helper!"

Albert worked at Dupont and moved the family to South Richmond where Wayne attend Belmeade and then Bainbridge Junior High. Wayne wasn’t interested in school, and when he was in the eighth grade, a neighbor friend, Mr. Willis, offered him an apprenticeship laying brick. Albert agreed Wayne might just as well quit and learn to do something useful. Wayne has been laying brick ever since! Albert became like a father to Wayne, and they developed a close father-son bond. Albert was a godly Christian man, who immediately started taking the family to church They attended a lot of Oliver Green’s tent revivals on the Boulevard in Richmond. It was through these meetings that they started attending the Christian Alliance and Missionary Church.

In September 1955, after dating for several years, Wayne and Connie were married at his parent’s home. Connie was sixteen and Wayne was twenty. In those days the newspaper reported the ages of the bride and groom, and it mistakenly reported Connie’s age as thirty-six! Two weeks after Wayne and Connie set up housekeeping, Connie’s folks moved in with the newlyweds and have lived there ever since. Connie is grateful for the way Wayne has been willing to share their home.

Connie said, "I had a knowledge of God but didn’t know I needed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Wayne’s stepdad was always talking about the Lord, and I saw God in every detail of their life. If they went on a trip, they prayed before they left. I became very aware of what I didn’t have. About a year after we were married, Wayne had gone to the mountains hunting, and I was listening to Evangelist Joe Ulrich on TV. He said, ‘If the Lord comes back and you aren’t ready to go, your child will go to heaven, but you will be left behind.’ I thought about my toddler, Debbie, and I did not want that. They said he was going to be preaching at the Mosque that evening in Richmond. I called Wayne’s stepdad, Albert, and asked him to take me. I knew I had to go. I don’t remember that sermon, but when the altar call was given, I was waiting to go forward to the altar."

Wayne and Connie lived in South Richmond five years and in Pocoshock in Chesterfield County thirteen years before moving to a home they bought in Kimberly Farms in Powhatan in April 1972. They also rented a barn and twenty-five acres, and Wayne tried training horses full time. In August 1975, they moved to their present farm. In the early years they attended Holly Hills Baptist Church, but the words "Everyone Welcome" kept catching Connie’s eye as she drove past PMC. She thought, "They wouldn’t have that on the sign if they didn’t mean it. I think I’ll give it a try." Connie was searching for a church closer home, and finally one Sunday she got up her courage to attend. She says, "I loved what I found at PMC. I discovered strong family units where the men were active in church. Through the years Wayne had drifted away from church, and the thing that drew me to PMC became very difficult to bear. I felt alone and lonely, but I kept at it, and God in time answered my prayers." Connie says, "I am learning to appreciate that God is good all the time. There are times when you pray and think that what you are asking for is right and good but God may not answer as you want Him to. As you go along life’s journey, you learn to trust that God is good ALL the time. Life is a learning experience; there are no simple answers."

Wayne is grateful for his godly heritage on both sides of his family. He chuckles as he adamantly recalls the one thing he did not like—Summer Bible School. He felt it messed up a good summer vacation! Tears well in Wayne’s eyes as he recalls his recommitment to Christ. He says, "Even though I had quit going to church, I was interested in what happened and would ask Connie how church was today. She would always say, ‘Come with me and see.’" Several years ago, Glen Sell was holding renewal meetings, and Wayne decided to attend. Conviction struck deep in his heart as Glen preached on love from I John. When the invitation was given, Wayne went forward and rededicated his life to Christ. He says, "God has been so good to us in His time and in His way. The men’s Sunday School class has been so helpful and encouraging to me. It is the most unique in the world, and I love each one. Our family has never had any major problems, and I am so grateful. However, it has been so hard to see my mother (Edna) suffer so long. I am looking forward to the future and watching my grandchildren grow."

In June Connie retired from driving the school bus thirty-three years for Chesterfield County. She says, "I loved driving the school bus. I always wanted to be a teacher but that didn’t work out. I really enjoyed being a mother and housewife. We have four children: Debbie, Annette, Joe, and Diana, eight grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way. Besides driving the bus I only worked one week as a billing clerk. Debbie was a baby, and my girlfriend kept her for me. I kept calling her and crying. Wayne said I could quit, and I did."

Wayne says, "In August I had been laying brick for fifty years except for the few years when I worked at Dupont and trained horses full time. I can’t retire; I own horses!" Wayne has done some interesting projects through the years, one of of which is the new "Welcome to Powhatan" sign on Route 60 in eastern Powhatan County. His biggest job was a huge 112’x40’ patio on the seven-million-dollar Flower Dew Hundred Plantation. Wayne’s second job and love is horses. He has recently acquired a Belgium Draft horse and foal and is teaching them to drive. Wayne’s hobby is raising dozens of colorful, chirping finches to sell.

In 1995, their children had a very pleasant surprise waiting for them when they got back from celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary with a brunch at the Jefferson Hotel. Their backyard had turned into a big barbeque party with family and friends from as far away as Florida and New York. It was a wonderful surprise, and they cherish the many fond memories.

The Lancasters are grateful for the love and acceptance they feel at PMC. Connie says, "It took a while for me to feel like I really belonged in the same way I saw other families. I am so grateful that now my husband, children and grandchildren worship together. We belong, and it is a good feeling!"

By Pat Hertzler