The Goings On of Clavier Chanean

At East Village Food Pantry, the Price Is a Sermon

2010-09-29T10:37:00.004-04:00

By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: September 28, 2010
nytimes.com

The shopping carts are lined up hours early in Tompkins Square Park, not far from the dog run, where the East Village’s more genteel residents are unleashing retrievers and beagles and chatting animatedly. The poor or elderly waiting on benches to get the free food that comes with a dose of the Gospel seem more lost in their own thoughts, even though many meet every Tuesday.

A guard, Mike Luke, a powerhouse known as Big Mike who himself was a consumer at church pantries until he found religion and decided to work for “the man upstairs,” manages the crowd with crisp authority until the 11 a.m. service starts across the street at the Tompkins Square Gospel Fellowship. There is nervous tension because only the first 50 will get in, and suddenly two women are squabbling over a black cart.

“How do you know that’s your cart?” Big Mike firmly asks one, a fair question since the carts look alike. But the mystery is cleared up with the discovery of an orphaned gray cart.

Inside the worship hall, the 50 men and women sit in neat rows in front of a pulpit and a painting of a generic waterfall while a pianist softly plays hymns. Their carts are reassembled in neat rows as well.

The room has the shopworn air of Sergeant Sarah Brown’s Save-a-Soul Mission in “Guys and Dolls.” One almost expects Stubby Kaye to get up and sing “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” But people don’t mind having to sit through a sermon as the price of admission, and few have jobs they need to run to. While they wait, volunteers fill each cart with a couple of bread loaves — redolent of a Gospel miracle, except these are ciabatta and 10-grain — a couple of bananas, a couple of less-than-freshly-picked ears of corn, a box of eggs, a box of blueberries, even an Asian pear.

The food is donated by Trader Joe’s, the gourmet and organic food purveyor, which has a store nearby. It usually feeds the kinds of professionals who use the dog run, but it provides the fellowship with a wealth of unsold baked goods, fruit and vegetables.

The fellowship was started 115 years ago as a mission to the immigrant Jews of the Lower East Side but now mostly serves the black, Latino and Asian poor. The East Village has several other pantries that dispense food without sermons; their food is government-financed and so must be religion-free. The fellowship started its giveaways in January and now feeds 250 people during three services on Tuesdays — one in Chinese — and a single evening service on Sundays and Wednesdays.

The mission is run by the Rev. Bill Jones, a lively ordained Baptist minister from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

“People are not only hungry for food, but hungry for the word of God,” Mr. Jones said. “There’s not just a physical need but a spiritual need.”

Nevertheless, he is aware of the actual hunger. “If you wait for three hours to get $25 worth of groceries,” he said, “you have a need.”

He affirms that thought to the waiting crowd in a stentorian drawl.

“You all get blueberries today,” he announces. “Some of you get eggs. If you don’t get eggs, don’t be upset. You neighbor is getting eggs, so be grateful.”

The people who come include Rafael Mercado, 52, who lost his job as a mailroom clerk four years ago.

“I don’t have the kind of money now to go shopping,” he said, “so I go to many pantries.” Another is Asia Feliciano, 37, a single mother with a lush head of cornrow braids. She and her sons, Trevor, 5, and Jordan, 3, live in a nearby shelter, and they stumbled upon the mission in August while panhandling.

“It puts food on our plates every night,” she said.

Mr. Jones begins the service with a prayer — “Heavenly father, we are so grateful for the provisions you have brought us for another day.” He then offers a lesson from the Gospel of John, in which Jesus tells the disciples to love one another. With ardor that is not quite brimstone, Mr. Jones urges listeners to love one another as well, not give in to temptations and pray to remain faithful to God.

Many among the 50 sit stone-faced. But some clearly listen. Though she comes mostly for the food, Ms. Feliciano indicates that the worship has subversively taken hold.

“When I have to sit through the service, it opens my eyes,” she said. “So I started reading the Bible and I asked them for a Bible, and they gave me one.”

Had To Share: Guest Blogger – Charmaine Swimpson talks Bone Marrow

2010-09-29T10:13:00.003-04:00

the gospel according to torrence
http://blogs.bet.com
September 28th, 2010

Sup folks, I’m really excited about today’s guest blog. I’m not just excited because Charmain Swimpson who was a Sunday Best Season 3 background singer, sings with Kirk Franklin and others is stopping by. I’m excited because this post isn’t about a Pastor scandal, a good or bad CD, or anything like that. Today Charmaine is going to share some serious info that could help save someone’s life. Let’s get to it.

***passes mic to Charmaine***
Hey Torrence G. Well, first let me say thank you for this opportunity to speak about this disease, and to inform our community about Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplants! My father, Marvin Swimpson, was diagnosed with Lymphoma (Cancer of the immune system) a year ago. He was pronounced CANCER FREE in February of this year. Unfortunately the disease returned in June, and on top of that he was told he needed a Stem Cell Transplant in order to have the best possible chance of being cured. He is now on the National Bone Marrow Transplant Registry with the hopes of finding the perfect match. He’s been searching for the past month and a half. Since the report, we have been learning more and more about the National Marrow Donor Program. This is the program people join in hopes of having the chance to be a match for someone in need of a cure. I have dedicated my time daily by reaching out to as many people as I can to inform them, and to try to be a part of saving my fathers life, and the life of someone else in need! Although it may sound weird, it is VERY difficult to find a match within a patients own family. It’s also difficult for African Americans to find matches within their own ethnic group, even though this is the best chance a patient has for finding a match! The percentage of African American Donors is very LOW. Everyday the National Bone Marrow Program seeks to increase those numbers. And I’m doing everything I can to assist them! Now, when people hear the words ” Bone Marrow Transplant” they immediately think of “PAIN”, but this is not the case at all. Over time scientists’ have discovered a method which allows the donors experience to be totally different from the actual patients! It’s basically called a “Glorified Blood Transfusion” or Giving Blood. Joining the registry is very easy. All one has to do is visit www.bethematch.org to complete the online form and order their self-test registration kit. The kit will include all materials needed to successfully swab the inside of their cheeks, and once that’s done they just send it back to the return address. Although the donor is not financially responsible to join, donations are always gladly accepted. Torrence, I am so excited about this venture to help save my dad’s life and the lives of others. And I pray the public will assist me in helping to make a difference. Making a difference EVERY DAY!

***takes mic from Charmaine***

Thanks Charmaine for schooling us on this issue! Ok, I feel really stupid right now and let me tell you why. I’ve always known that finding bone marrow matches has been a challenge in the Black community has been a challenge because so many of us aren’t listed as possible donors. But what I did not know was how easy it was to test to see if you’re a match, nor that they had found a way for you to be a donor that didn’t involve this big painful surgery. This changes everything! Any of you who can, please join the National Marrow Donor Program. Your decision to do that may mean life or death for someone you match with!

Torrence

County's NFL connection help feed the children

2010-08-30T13:50:00.004-04:00

By TIMOTHY R. WOLFRUM
twolfrum@bradenton.com
Timothy R. Wolfrum, Herald staff, can be reached at 745-7015.

PALMETTO — Manatee County's three NFL cornerbacks spent Wednesday morning at IMG Academies, putting themselves through the rigors of an offseason training regimen.

So it was probably a good thing that most of the heavy lifting had been done by the time Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Fabian Washington and Mike Jenkins arrived at a Feed the Children event their charitable foundations put together.

Organizers said people began arriving at the Manatee County Fairgrounds to receive boxes of nonperishable food and personal care items at about 8:30 a.m., 90 minutes before the event was scheduled to begin.

Despite the heat, volunteers in white T-shirts scurried about, helping recipients carry boxes to their cars as inspirational music blared. The majority of three tractor trailers’ worth of goods was gone when the players arrived at about 11:30 a.m. with more than two hours to go, a testament to the need they are trying to meet.

“Beautiful,” said Betty Blue, 72, of Sarasota, who came with her daughter, Gloria Madison and 15-month-old great-grandson Laxavone Parker. “I admire them for what they’re doing. Because you know why? They’re giving back to the community. That’s more important than anything else in the world. Don’t ever forget where you come from.”

About 1,200 area families received vouchers from churches and social service agencies that enabled them to pick up three boxes of goods. The boxes contained oatmeal, pasta, crackers and rice, along with toilet paper, facial tissue and cleaning supplies. The boxes are designed to meet a family’s needs for a week, according to Feed the Children, an Oklahoma-based Christian relief organization.

“It means a lot to me because it's providing for me and my kids,” said Alis Peterson, of Bradenton, who brought her daughter, 2-year-old Vanessa Wortham and eight-month-old Jeremih Louis. “Yeah, that’ll help a lot right now.”

The NFL players — they call themselves Cornerback Connection — organized the event, along with help from Rodgers-Cromartie's church, Shining Light Church of God in Christ in Rubonia. About 70 volunteers, including some from Best Buy and the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch, turned out to help.

All three players said they spend most of their offseason in Manatee County. They plan to host a free football clinic Friday morning at the new 13th Av Dream Center and the Celebrity Basketball Slam Jam featuring other NFL stars at 5 p.m. Saturday at Manatee Convention Center. Jenkins and Washington have teamed up to create the Franchise Kids Foundation, and Rodgers-Cromartie is the founder of the DRC Foundation.

“Coming up, we had guys like (former NFL player) Peter Warrick do the same thing. We’re just trying to carry it on,” said Jenkins, a 25-year-old Southeast High graduate who plays for the Dallas Cowboys.

“It’s just a blessing to be able to give back to the community and feed people at this time,” said Rodgers-Cromartie, a 24-year-old Lakewood Ranch High graduate, who made the Pro Bowl last season in his second year as an Arizona Cardinal. “For a lot of people, it’s their time of need. Just to be able to come out here and have a crowd like this, it feels good.”

The three players, all first-round draft picks, organized a similar Feed the Children event before Thanksgiving last year at DeSoto Square mall.

But Wednesday’s event was three times larger and came at a time far removed from the holidays, when needs often go unmet.

“This is exceptional because it’s in the middle of the year, when most people aren’t thinking about it. You’ve gotta eat all year,” said the Rev. Roosevelt Watkins of Shining Light Church of God in Christ.

“We just try to do as much as we can,” said Washington, a 27-year-old Bayshore High graduate who plays for the Baltimore Ravens. “Our parents get together and see what we can do in the community. My mom called me and said they set up a Feed the Children thing, and I said I’ll be there.”

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Deuteronomy 15:11 NIV

With big arms and Bibles, the Skate Church scoops up kids feeling lost

2010-08-24T09:46:00.003-04:00

At West Seattle's Skate Church, ex-rebels take up the cause of saving kids
By Michele Matassa Flores

JESUS WAS born in Bellingham.

If you hang around long enough with the kids of West Seattle's Skate Church, eavesdropping on this loosely formed group of pre-teens, teens and 20-somethings, you might hear a biblical slip or two. That one came from a 14-year-old boy who mixed up his three-syllable cities starting with "B," and though he couldn't come up with "Bethlehem," he demonstrated a better grasp of the more meaningful points he's been learning about Jesus:

"He died for our sins, so we can live in heaven. If you accept God, it really affects your life."

That's just what the founders of this unorthodox, youth-led church had in mind when they started Skate Church three years ago. They hoped to improve the lives of kids who might be struggling: drinking, doing drugs, committing punk crimes, missing something in their home life — or missing a home life entirely.

The youth pastors, some of whom had gotten into their own share of trouble as high schoolers, wanted to relate to kids on the kids' terms. So they opened a storefront in The Junction, West Seattle's business district, where they sold skateboarding gear and energy drinks, and gave away religion.

They now draw dozens of people at a time to worship services and youth-group meetings. Senior pastor Serena Wastman, a West Seattleite who started Skate Church with her husband, Rob, estimates that hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people are involved, if you count kids' families and neighborhood supporters.

"You're looking at this incredible, growing radius," says Wastman, a hip-dressing, high-energy former Microsoft business manager. At 50 she seems more den mother than reverend. "We're really taking hold. I think people understand compassion. Across faiths . . . people get that. It's about caring, and making a difference."

THE SKATE-CHURCH approach to getting — and giving — religion has actually been around for a long time, almost as long as a similar movement that started among Australian surfers in the 1970s.

The more contemporary, skate version began with a single group in Portland, in 1987, and organizers say it's caught on big — not only throughout the United States with an estimated 1,000 churches but in some 90 countries, including New Zealand, Switzerland, Scotland and Sweden.

In some cities, skate churches are all about building ramps and full-on skate parks and competing in the sport, with some preaching tossed in between kick flips. In others, groups use borrowed church space for meetings but run highly popular skating groups that gather wherever they can.

In West Seattle, many of the original young leaders working with the Wastmans were heavily into skating. Not so much any more. Except for the shop, and the occasional stray skater on the sidewalk outside, there aren't too many signs of skating.

The shop, called TORN, is tucked between Sweetie, a ladies boutique, and the West Seattle Senior Center on California Avenue Southwest, The Junction's main drag. A sliver of a store, it serves as the hub of the Skate Church youth ministry, but on any given day the group can be found elsewhere around West Seattle: playing games in the basement of West Seattle Baptist Church, running a food bank at the senior center, washing cars at Alki Beach to raise money for a mission to Nicaragua.

While they spend a lot of time playing, these young people are serious about their religion. They devote hours every week to Bible study. They set aside every Sunday evening for worship. And even while playing Ping-Pong or grilling burgers, they frequently quote scripture or slip in references to Jesus.

Youth groups meet Wednesday evenings at the Baptist church, and every week about 10 elders from the nearby Hope Lutheran Church take over the Baptists' kitchen to cook dinner for the kids. Their motivation: "Youth groups are languishing everywhere," says Gwen Fraser, who came one night straight from her job as a staffer for U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert.

The Wastmans and their troop of young pastors also lead a regular worship service called Journey of Faith, a branch of the evangelical Foursquare Church. "Regular" is relative, though; in this case, though Sunday-evening worship includes some preaching and praying, it mostly involves dancing to loud, live Christian rock music — two guitars, an electric bass and drums — in an empty room above the senior citizens' thrift shop. Instead of Sunday best, these followers wear shorts, jeans, tank tops, whatever. Some are barefoot.

"We're not about sitting your butt in a pew on Sunday morning," says Rob Wastman, a broad-shouldered, buzz-cut 57-year-old who could pass for a Marine. "We're just trying to help these kids. We meet so many kids who are just on the wrong path."

BRENNAN MCDANIEL says he was 11 years old when his stepfather first offered him some pot. By age 12, he was smoking it regularly. He lived in Bend, Ore., and spent years hanging out with guys like himself, creating mischief, getting tickets for drinking in public.

"Everyone around me was getting into trouble," the 19-year-old says now, recalling the moment not long ago when he realized, "I don't want to be around this anymore. I'm better than this."

So in January he moved to West Seattle to live with his aunt. During his second week, while walking The Junction applying for jobs, he discovered TORN and the Skate Church crowd. He started attending gatherings and was offered an internship to learn to be a youth pastor. He's been sober since February, volunteers 16 hours a week at TORN and works the graveyard shift at Home Depot.

Recently, he and one of Skate Church's youth pastors, 21-year-old Colin Frazer, moved into a newly rented "discipleship house" opened by the Skate Church with money from an anonymous contributor. The "Christian frat house," as McDaniel calls it, can house four or five guys ages 18 and older who are learning to live independently and responsibly. A similar house for young women is opening this fall.

McDaniel, who credits his aunt and the church for helping him, feels inspired to help others. "I want to reach out to these kids. I want to be the one they can talk to," he says. "I'm perfect because I'm just as rowdy." But different, too: "Satan no longer has a stronghold on me."

The 14-year-old who confused Bellingham with Bethlehem doesn't talk of being saved, but of being accepted:

"It kind of helps me because I don't really have that many friends," he says. "I immediately thought this felt like my home. It kind of fits for me. It's pretty cool because it's, like, all about coming into God's life."

It can be a little jarring to hear teens and 20-somethings so heavily into Jesus that they seem to talk about nothing else.

Frazer, the young pastor, has an easy smile and a smooth charm that oozes follow-me confidence. When he talks of walking with Jesus and wearing God's armor, the younger kids stop and listen. Frazer says he lived for Jesus until eighth grade, then "fell away," partying and carrying on until his parents sent him to boarding school. A Mercer Island boy — "I was privileged" — he met Natalie Wastman, Rob and Serena's daughter, a year and a half ago and became involved with Skate Church.

"Look at what God has provided me," he said during a housewarming at the discipleship house, where he grilled gourmet burgers for dozens of people. "This family. This house. These kids! I now have responsibility for them. We're not about converting people. We're about loving people."

Asked what he and his friends talk about besides God, his eyes wander up to the ceiling and he gets a puzzled look.

What about girls? Is it difficult for these young adults to live up to Christian ideals — including no sex outside of marriage?

He explains that he's been dating Natalie for a year and a half. "We don't even kiss," he says. "No! It just leads to temptation."

PORTLAND'S PAUL Anderson, a onetime sponsored-amateur skater who started what is believed to be the first-ever skate church in 1987, has a theory about the seemingly obsessive manner of some of these young people. It has to do with the makeup of skaters, of people into extreme sports, and often of people who become troublemakers, he says.

"They have personality characteristics," Anderson says. "They're individualistic, they express themselves in art. A lot them are really bold, and they believe in what they do. They're proud of what they do. So they become Christians, and they're like that as Christians."

That also helps explain how the "skate church ministry," as leaders describe it, has taken hold around the world and, like any bonafide movement, now comes with websites, DVDs, T-shirts and annual conferences. Anderson will be among the speakers at a four-day international conference scheduled for October in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Yet, despite that commercialization, Anderson chafes when skeptics say he and others are cynically using skateboarding to "trick" kids into becoming Christians.

He says that as a skater in San Luis Obispo, Calif., in the late 1970s and early '80s, he was "a punk rebel kid with a smart mouth" — drinking, taking drugs and stealing wood to build ramps. Then, over many months, he and a friend were won over by some preachers at the beach. Eventually, he and the friend moved to Portland to attend Bible college, and Anderson started preaching to kids who gathered around him whenever he skated. Within two months, he had 250 kids in his circle.

"I wasn't sitting around wondering how to get kids to be able to become Christians," says Anderson, now 46. "I already had the big mouth, the following, the lifestyle. These are kids who are on drugs, sleeping around, their parents are getting divorced, they question authority, they feel like they don't belong. It's like (God) saved me on purpose. He picked me and he told me, 'Go get those kids.' "

SERENA WASTMAN wasn't a skater, but she and Rob were into the partying life. She landed in jail at age 21. She won't say why, "but I will say Rob bailed me out with drug money. We know what kids get into because we used to do it."

She later "found Jesus" through some other people and called Rob, who went to rescue her from what he expected to be a cult. Instead, he became a convert, too, at age 30.

Now the couple pour their energy into the Skate Church, which often means smoothing rough spots with people in the community. Some have complained that the kids are too rowdy — climbing young trees outside the Baptist church, skateboarding down crowded walkways, screaming and carrying on.

One long thread of gripes on the West Seattle Blog earlier this year prompted the Wastmans to weigh in, apologizing, inviting further criticism and offering to address any problems. That approach has gained them credibility, and in follow-up comments on the blog, some people have said they were impressed how quickly problems had been addressed.

But on a more fundamental level, some question the church's message.

"I know that it has traditional beliefs about marriage and families," says Matt Munson, who until June was a youth-development specialist with Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest. "So, of course, my concern is if a student doesn't come from one of those families, or if they're struggling with their own sexuality or sexual identity, what is Skate Church saying?"

Serena Wastman says sexual identity is a "hot topic right now," but Skate Church does not take a stand. "What we say is, 'We're going to love your kids.' We try to keep it simple."

They're dealing with teenagers, she emphasizes. "We encourage them not to be involved sexually. They need to develop themselves as a person. . . . When you're a kid, be a kid. There's time enough later for that stuff."

Munson says Serena Wastman has offered to talk with him: "I do appreciate that Skate Church has opened the door for those questions to be asked."

Right next door to TORN, the folks at the senior center say they aren't shy about speaking up when little problems arise — maybe a skateboarder startles an elderly woman with a walker — and church leaders respond quickly.

"It's not without its little problems at times," says Carol Johnston, the center's activities coordinator. "But . . . you bring it up and work it out."

As she spoke, she looked over at a middle-schooler hugging a grandma type as they cleaned up after a food bank. That scene, she says, speaks volumes.

"The old folks can tell their same old stories to someone new. It's like, all of us — we need someone to talk to."

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19 NIV

Safe Haven program winning over skeptics

2010-08-24T09:22:00.002-04:00

Rex W. Huppke contributed to this report.
Becky Schlikerman, Lolly Bowean and William Lee
August 3rd, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Chicago Tribune Breaking News

When Keonta Calimee, 13, realized he’d be spending his summer inside a church, he was wary.

“I thought, ‘What is this?’” he said. “I thought the only thing we were going to do was read Bibles.”

Instead, Keonta has been playing outside, exercising, learning about nutrition and talking about violence prevention and conflict resolution. He’s one of more than 800 Chicago children taking part in a $250,000 citywide Chicago Public Schools program called Safe Haven, aimed at keeping kids out of harm’s way in the summer months, and teaching them lessons that can keep them safe far beyond that.

The monthlong program, which ends Friday, is an outgrowth of similar efforts the district tested over winter and spring breaks, in which it partnered with churches in higher-crime areas to provide students a place to go — and learn — when school wasn’t in session.

On a recent weekday, four Tribune reporters fanned out across Chicago to visit more than a quarter of the city’s 40 Safe Haven locations. What they found were well-organized programs that seemed to be meeting their charge of engaging kids in conversations about violence, while also giving them room to have fun and enjoy a summer away from the dangers of surrounding streets.

Kids at the various sites were taking dance and Spanish lessons, writing essays about their communities, pairing up for self-esteem-building exercises and even going on field trips.

Keonta was at Bronzeville’s Bright Star Church of God in Christ, joining about 150 children who show up each day alongside nearly 30 staff members and volunteers.

In one group session inside the church’s dark, cool sanctuary, a counselor posed a scenario: What would you do if someone started a nasty rumor about you?

“I would go to that person and ask them why?” one child said.

Another said he would tell his mom, a comment that drew giggles from the crowd — and a lesson.

“You don’t want to be the person who tells, but you also don’t want to be on the 6 o’clock news,” youth program director Keyontay Humphries told the kids, explaining that she understood their dilemma. She ultimately said that, if the situation were serious enough, they should tell an adult.

School district spokeswoman Monique Bond said all the Safe Haven programs are incorporating a theme of “Stop the Silence, Stop the Violence” into their daily activities with students. She said the district has been monitoring the summer sessions and is pleased with the results.

“Churches have always been safe havens for youth in many of these communities,” Bond said. “These programs have become a very popular and known type of refuge for students when school’s not in place.”

At a West Side site, Gospel Truth Life Changing Ministries Church, about 50 children piled onto folding chairs and stood along the wall, their eyes fixed on Felicia Oliver.

They were about to attend a career fair that included a doctor, personal trainer, banker and a performer. But first they had to listen to a stern lecture.

“You all have to start dreaming again,” Oliver said. “Come out of your box. You have to not be afraid of people who know more than you. These are people you want to get with.”

She later explained the importance of teaching children to trust adults in their lives: “If we could save just one or two, by teaching them to walk away, we have done our job.”

Lamon Phillips, 12, said he wanted to be a part of the summer program mainly because he heard they served a free lunch and there were other kids there. But he said he’s learning along the way.

“Violence is not the answer,” he said. “If you end up fighting on the streets or in school, you could go to (juvenile prison) or get shot.”

Not far from the Altgeld Gardens housing complex on the city’s Far South Side, more than 130 children registered for the Safe Haven program at the Promise Center.

The center isn’t far from where high school student Derrion Albert was beaten to death in an after-school melee last fall.

Pastor Margaret White said part of her job is to counter the violent experiences the children are exposed to with messages of mutual respect and heightened expectations.

“I can’t correct their home life,” White said. “But I can send them home with a new mindset.”

I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. Genesis 43:9 NIV

At Sturgis motorcycle rally, some bikers spread gospel

2010-08-23T16:01:00.003-04:00

Tim Pratt (contact)
August 21, 2010 5:51:00 PM
http://www.cdispatch.com/

STURGIS -- As Charles Dube walked past the thousands of motorcycles lining Main Street in Sturgis on Saturday, one bike in particular caught his eye.

Sitting there among the chrome and custom paint jobs was a motorcycle with a 4-by-4-inch wood frame, a 12-horsepower lawnmower motor, and other makeshift parts.

"Now that is a redneck bike right there," the Union resident said with a laugh, then posed on the motorcycle with a helmet provided by Mike Myers, director of Beautiful Feet Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas.

Beautiful Feet Ministries was one of dozens of church groups and Christian motorcycle clubs that packed Sturgis this weekend for the Sturgis South Motorcycle Rally. Representatives from Sturgis Baptist Church and other organizations handed out water and literature, while bikers from throughout the country walked up and down Main Street, wandered through tents full of T-shirts and motorcycle accessories, and bought barbecue and funnel cakes from local vendors.

"Everything is going pretty smooth," Sturgis South Motorcycle Rally Board President Donny Hanson said just before sound check for the night's musical acts -- Willy Waggs, Crossin Dixon and Diamond Rio. "People are moving around pretty good. It's hot, but everything is going good. It's looking to be a good turnout."

Hanson had no estimates on the number of people who attended the rally this year, but said about 700 had registered as of Aug. 1, and plenty more registered throughout Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Still, Hanson and fellow Rally Board member Rodney Lincoln estimated crowds are down slightly this year.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's because of the temperature (which hit the mid-90s Saturday) and the economy," said Lincoln, who organized the Dinner Ride Friday afternoon from Sturgis to Starkville to Louisville and back.

Despite the low estimates, the streets and sidewalks still were packed with bikers throughout the weekend.

I love it," Dube said. "I just like looking at the bikes. I mean, it's great seeing this many people in one spot having a good time."

The atmosphere at Sturgis -- it's touted as a family friendly motorcycle rally -- is what has brought Myers back for the past three years.

"I come back for a couple of reasons," Myers said. "My love for sharing the gospel and I'm originally from Kosciusko, so it's kind of like coming back home. And, also, we brought about 25 people from Texas and Alabama and places like that, so we kind of build on our club every year and come and do outreach."

One of the people who came with Myers from Texas was Tommy Walker, who said he was living in a crack house in Fort Worth at this time last year. With the help of Beautiful Feet Ministries, Walker has turned his life around and now helps feed the homeless with Beautiful Feet in Fort Worth.

This was the first Sturgis rally Walker has attended and he plans to make it an annual trip.

"I love it," he said. "I'm out here looking at bikes and spreading the gospel."

While the rally featured live music, bike shows and competitions, it also featured carnival rides, helicopter rides and other activities.

The rally is scheduled to end Sunday with the Blessing of the Bikes at 9 a.m.

And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Mark 13:10 NIV

Blessings delivered in bags as volunteers prepare 4,000 sacks of potatoes for the needy

2010-08-23T12:58:00.002-04:00

By MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star
http://www.kansascity.com

Anita Foertsch chose to spend part of her 39th anniversary Saturday helping off-load 21 tons of potatoes from a truck that had hauled them from Wisconsin.

But she didn’t see it as much of a sacrifice. Foertsch and dozens of other volunteers who worked at Prairie Baptist Church in Prairie Village were answering a biblical call to use the gleanings from harvested fields as offerings to the poor and needy.

“We have a lot of fortunate people and a lot of hungry people,” Foertsch said. “And you can’t turn down the gift of free potatoes.”

After volunteers pulled more than 4,000 bags of potatoes off the truck and put them into waiting pickups and trailers, they drove them to 20 community kitchens, pantries and service centers throughout the metropolitan area.

That contribution is desperately needed, said Donetta Shaner, who helped organize the event for St. Andrew Christian Church of Olathe, Hillcrest Christian Church in Overland Park and Prairie Baptist.

“You hear all the time that more and more people are going to pantries and food kitchens because they can’t make it from payday to payday,” Shaner said.

Ellen Feldhausen, director of communications for the Harvesters food bank, confirmed Shaner’s perception. Requests for food assistance from the 620 nonprofits that Harvesters serves have increased 40 percent since the summer of 2008.

Harvesters’ agencies, which cover 26 Missouri and Kansas counties, serve about 66,000 people a week, she said.

“As a result of the economic downturn, many families are walking into a food pantry for the first time, and our agencies are seeing an increase in the number of people in need,” Feldhausen said.

The Society of St. Andrew contributed the spuds to Saturday’s event and takes its biblical mandate seriously. The group “rescues” still-nutritious fruits and vegetables from harvested farm fields and from packing plants where excess produce would otherwise go to landfills, said Lisa Ousley, director of the society’s western headquarters in Kansas City.

The group had two other initiatives going Saturday. Volunteers were scouring fields for watermelon and cantaloupe in Rich Hill, Mo., and gleaning trees for pears in Conception Junction, Mo.

The society has only two paid workers in Kansas City, Ousley said, so it depends heavily on volunteers, like those who cleaned out the potato truck.

“This give folks at these three churches the opportunity to have a role in feeding hungry people,” Ousley said.

That wasn’t news to Foertsch.

“You get more out of it than you give,” she said, before hopping into a red pickup to distribute her potatoes.

Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need." Genesis 33:11a NIV
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MORE INFORMATION
The Society of St. Andrew has an office in Kansas City. Go to endhunger.org/sosawest or call 816-921-0856.

Hope Gospel spreads its blessings

2010-08-23T12:37:00.003-04:00

Church helps parents cut expenses

BY NADINE WILSON
Sunday Observer staff reporter
wilsonn@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, August 22, 2010

REVEREND Peter Garth has one very simple philosophy: "The blessedness in being blessed is to bless others".

It is this philosophy that guides the manner in which he pastors Hope Gospel Assembly off Old Hope Road in Kingston. For the past 28 years, Garth has worked on creating a number of social outreach projects that allow him to bless as many people as possible who come to him for help. The programmes include a weekly soup kitchen, a monthly clinic, an annual health and back-to-school fair, in addition to counselling -- all free of cost.

"Once you begin to collect money, people begin to say look at the crowd, it is a money-making business," Garth told the Sunday Observer. "We do things free of cost, no charge. When we have the health fair (for example), people come and they take out money believing that there is a registration fee, but it is totally free."

The health fair, which gives people the opportunity to be tested for various illnesses and to receive medication, is hosted each year on the grounds of Jamaica College. It is sponsored by Samaritans First, an international relief agency led by Franklyn Graham, who is the son of prominent television evangelist Billy Graham, and a few local sponsors.

"The really interesting feature of the fair is that on the spot we set up a pharmacy -- of course, with the permission of the Pharmaceutical Society in Jamaica -- and we fill prescriptions on the spot," Garth said. "Just the medication aspect of that alone would run to $1 million and some of it is like for generics."

The fair usually draws people from all over Jamaica and is done under the patronage of the Governor General.

"You find that people are out there from 5:30 in the mornings and we might start registration from as early as 7:00. We have helped persons from as far as Montego Bay because the health fair is advertised," the pastor said.

To ensure that people can access medical help year round, the church has also been operating a monthly clinic for residents living in surrounding areas for the past 20 years. The clinic is operated in a small room on the church ground, which is utilised for other activities when clinic is not in session.

"Because we are strapped for space, we improvise. We put in dividers for the doctors and people come for registration in one room and then they go over to see the doctor," Garth said, adding that the clinic sees between 30 and 50 people when it opens every third Saturday.

In addition to operating the clinic, the church helps people to fill their prescriptions. Those with prescriptions usually take it to the church where it is stamped and dated by the pastor. The prescriptions are then taken to the Liguanea Drug and Garden Centre where they are filled and the church is billed.

Then there is the feeding programme that sees the church distributing grocery baskets to shut-ins weekly. The food is bought by the church and then packaged for distribution.

"One of the things about our feeding programme is that we don't have people walking off the streets. We identify persons in the community and we try to look after children and the elderly," the pastor said.

And while the feeding programme only benefits a select number of people, this is not the case for the church's annual back-to-school fair. The most recent fair was held on August 14 and saw more than 1,000 people flocking the church ground to collect used books, stationery, bags, uniform, and vouchers. The church also gave 40 scholarships to students and plans to give out another 20 in the coming weeks. All this was done with the help of local corporate and international sponsors.

"They get books, bags, pencil, socks and things like that and him (Pastor Garth) give me money for the bigger ones them that I can help to get textbooks," noted a parent who identified herself only as Ms May.

"Him keep VBS (Vocational Bible School) for the children them and any little thing you need, he will give you a helping hand. Him will give you like little zinc or any little thing him have," she added.

The pastor also helps to pay the fees for students who cannot afford to pay for their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams.

"I remember one particular person who couldn't pay... We paid for all eight subjects for that young lady. She got all eight of them and she is now in the States; she became a lawyer. She sent me a photograph and on the back of it, it said, 'As a result of your kindness, you have changed my life forever'," Garth said, adding that those words have served to further inspire him to help others.

This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. Titus 3:8 KJV

Church's community service project draws more than 700 volunteers

2010-08-23T12:21:00.002-04:00

By Michael Buettner (Staff Writer)
Published: August 22, 2010
http://progress-index.com/

COLONIAL HEIGHTS (VA) - It may be true that many hands make light work, but the hundreds of volunteers who showed up for a local church's community-service project yesterday weren't looking for an easy job.

More than 700 people showed up Saturday to help with Colonial Heights Baptist Church's 2010 "Chrestos" service project, which sent teams of volunteers out to spruce up the landscaping at 19 schools across the Tri-Cities region.

The church on Jefferson Davis Highway at Harrowgate Road has been doing Chrestos events for about three years, said the Rev. Wes Rose, missions, college and singles pastor. The name of the program comes from an ancient Greek word that means, among other things, "kindness" and "usefulness."

Rose, who was leading a team of about 20 members of the church's singles Bible fellowship as they worked on cleaning up the landscaping at the Colonial Heights Technical Center, said community service is a big part of Colonial Heights Baptist's mission.

"People see the big church and think it's all inside there," he said. "But the church was built to go out from."

Down the road a couple of miles, another group gathered Saturday morning for a prayer around the flagpole at Colonial Heights Middle School before spreading out to prune bushes, pull weeds, rake mulch and whatever else they could find to make the school look nicer ahead of the start of classes.

Ron Kimberlin, leader of the roughly 30 people on the team at the middle school, said previous Chrestos projects have included "going up and down the Boulevard cleaning up trash from the old church (on Chesterfield Avenue) to the new one." The school-beautification project was chosen this year because church members wanted to help make up for any neglect caused by cuts to the state's education budget, he said.

While the Chrestos teams concentrated on schools in the church's current locality, Chesterfield County, and its former home, Colonial Heights, they also went to work on campuses as far away as Prince George County. The schools they targeted Saturday were:

- Chesterfield County: Lloyd C. Bird High School, Matoaca High School, Community High School, Carver Middle School, Matoaca Middle School, Matoaca East Middle School, Margarite Christian Elementary School, Matoaca Elementary School, Ettrick Elementary School, Harrowgate Elementary School and Curtis Elementary School.

- Colonial Heights: Colonial Heights High School Technical Center, Colonial Heights Middle School, Lakeview Elementary School and Tussing Elementary School.

- Dinwiddie County, Dinwiddie High School.

- Hopewell: Carter G. Woodson Middle School.

- Petersburg: Petersburg High School

- Prince George County: Prince George High School and North Elementary School.

Likewise, the volunteers for Saturday's project also came from across the region. Fay Donahue and her mother, Ruth Taylor, traveled from their homes in Dinwiddie to help at Colonial Heights Middle School.

"I think the whole concept is to get out in our neighborhoods and live what we believe in," Donahue said. "It's really critical to give back to the community."

But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. Matthew 9:31 NIV

First Baptist Church of Fort Worth members distribute food, toiletries to needy

2010-08-23T12:16:00.002-04:00

http://www.star-telegram.com/
Posted Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010
By Susan McFarland
Special to the Star-Telegram

HALTOM CITY -- Wearing blue church T-shirts and smiles, an assembly line of about 50 volunteers in Haltom City distributed food, water and toiletries to 400 families in need.

The volunteers braving the heat Sunday were members of First Baptist Church of Fort Worth, in partnership with Feed the Children.

Feed the Children, founded in 1979, is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization headquartered in Oklahoma City.

"We want to give back to the community and touch lives in a more practical way," Pastor Don Wills said. "The Lord has blessed us, both financially and with those giving of themselves, to make this happen."

Some families came two or three hours early to get in line at John Spicer Elementary School. Church members loaded the vehicles drive-through-style.

The church paid $8,300 for a Feed the Children driver and tractor-trailer stocked with enough food to feed the families for a week.

Families also received a case of water and a box filled with toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste and other household items.

Church members advertised on a local Christian radio station and passed out information at area schools and the Haltom City Senior Center.

Wills said no proof of income was required.

"If they have a sense they need it, they can come," Wills said.

Jo Ann Williams and her husband, John Williams, of Haltom City were one of the first families in line. The couple heard about the event at their senior citizen center.

"The money we get from Social Security just doesn't stretch," Jo Ann Williams said. "By the time we pay utilities, car payments, insurance and everything else, there is no money left."

Church member Melissa Carrell said that each time church members hold such an event, they learn ways to make delivery go more smoothly.

"We learned last year the assembly line works so much better," Carrell said.

Executive Pastor Dave Rutherford said that the church has access to forklifts but that it would rather more people get involved.

"The assembly line builds camaraderie," he said. "It's a fellowship for us as we serve our community."

Rutherford said that Sunday was the third time that the church has partnered with Feed the Children for such an event.

In the future, the church hopes to reach more people by distributing two or three truckloads of goods at a time, he said.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 NIV

Local church distributes school supplies, hosts Gospel concert

2010-08-18T12:55:00.001-04:00

By Lena Price, Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 3:56 PM CDT
www.lewisvilleleader.com

Piles of notebooks, pencils, markers and construction paper covered the floor of an office inside the Grace Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday.

By the end of the church’s fourth annual Back to School Gospel Explosion, volunteers had distributed almost all of the supplies to local students.

In addition to offering free school supplies, the Lewisville Police and Fire Departments, Christian Community Action and several other organizations set up booths at the event. They provided the students with information about everything from Internet safety to life after high school.

The Back to School Gospel Explosion ended with concert featuring the DFW Mass Youth Choir as well as praise dancers and Christian rappers.

Kim Teamer, the event’s organizer, said she came up with the idea about four years ago to help provide children and their parents with useful information about community services available to them.

“Before students can get their supplies, they need to stop at each of the stations and listen to the presentations,” Teamer said.

About 65 kindergarten through 12th grade students registered for the program and received school supplies. The information seminar included activates for children of all ages.

“This year, we weren’t really equipped to handle more than the number of students that we had,” Teamer said. “But next year, I really want to make it a city-wide event and invite upwards of 2,000 kids.”

The Lewisville Police Department has participated in the event for three out of the past four year. On Saturday, LISD resource officers Howard Clark and Vince Stewart gave a presentation about what to do when someone is being bullied and how much personal information is safe to post online.

“We’re here to teach you that your actions have long term consequences,” Clark said. “Even if you make a mistake when you’re still young, it could keep you from getting a job or into college in the future.”

Representatives from Christian Community Action hosted a life after high school seminar that encouraged students to write their goals out on paper and develop a plan to follow them.

Charlotte Thomas said the seminar, along with the rest of the event, benefited her 10th grade son.

“My son really needed to hear a voice other than my own tell him that there are things to think about beyond high school,” Thomas said. “And I think this event really provided that.”

Eighth-grader Alexus Garrett said the life after high school seminar made her realize how hard she would have to get into UCLA, her dream school.

“I think this made us think about more than just being kids,” Garrett said.

33rd Women’s Convention/Crusade working to provide necessities for those in need

2010-08-06T13:33:00.002-04:00

Arthur Foulkes
The Tribune-Star
August 5, 2010

TERRE HAUTE — Despite scorching heat, members of the Church of God in Christ gathered in Fairbanks Park on Wednesday to lend help to local families.

Working with Terre Haute-based social service organizations, dozens of members of the worldwide Pentecostal church provided school supplies, clothing, food and other items to people in need.

“We felt led to do a giveaway,” said Darlene Bartlett-Stone, supervisor of women for the 33rd Women’s Convention/Crusade of the Indiana First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ.

The convention is taking place all this week at Saints Home Church of God in Christ at 2210 N. 13th St. in Terre Haute. Up to 200 members of the church from around the state are in town for the event, Bartlett-Stone said.

At Wednesday’s outreach event, dozens of young women with their young children looked over the new and slightly used items in and around one of the picnic shelters on the edge of the Wabash River at Fairbanks Park. Many took away bags of clothing, food, shoes and school supplies, including backpacks.

At the same time, church volunteers provided free meals of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, desserts and drinks.

“It’s the continuing work of Christ,” said Virginia Kersey, director of public relations for the Women’s Convention/Crusade, which will wrap up tonight with an address from local bishop Mark H. Blade at the church.

The public is welcome to attend the church service, which begins at about 7:45 p.m., Bartlett-Stone said. “Whosoever will, let them come,” she said. “All are invited.”

Volunteers from the local Saints Home Church of God in Christ have worked for months preparing for the local outreach effort, said Cedric Blade, a local church member who was one of two volunteers grilling hamburgers and hot dogs Wednesday at Fairbanks Park. It has been a lot of work for the members, “but it’s worth it,” he said.

The Saints Home Church of God in Christ outreach effort Wednesday was done in cooperation with several local social service organizations, including the Conners Center, a shelter for women and children operated by the Light House Mission, Crossroad Connections, a safe house for teen girls and Club Soda, an addiction recovery club in Terre Haute.

Any leftover items after the giveaway will be donated to the Light House Mission, said Bartlett-Stone, who is from Indianapolis. “There are truckloads and we don’t want to take anything back,” said Steven Stone, her husband.

In 2007, the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Indiana Church of God in Christ conducted a similar giveaway at Terre Haute’s Thompson Park. At that time, more than 300 people received free food, clothing and other items.

“The people [of Terre Haute] have been so kind,” as preparations for the outreach activity got under way, Bartlett-Stone said. Walmart and Logan’s Ribeye made donations and the Terre Haute Fire Department provided small fire hats and bracelets for the children and even sprayed water for the kids to run through at the park, she added.

The First Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ includes about 70 churches in Indiana. The 102-year-old church, with headquarters in Memphis, Tenn., has an estimated 6 million members worldwide, Bishop Blade said.

Conducting a giveaway is important, but “our main focus is souls for Christ,” Bartlett-Stone said. The goal is to help people — no matter what their circumstances — find hope, she said.

“We want to reach people,” Bartlett-Stone said. “We are ambassadors for Christ.”

Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Isaiah 58:7 NIV

Say a prayer: Churches offer support as school year nears

2010-07-30T15:44:00.002-04:00

http://www.clarionledger.com/
LaReeca Rucker
lrucker@jackson.gannett.com
July 24, 2010

In less than a month, most Jackson area students will be back in school.

And the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board is encouraging churches to support them through prayer walks.

"Some schools will open their doors and actually let the folks walk in the classroom," said Kay Cassibry, executive director of the Woman's Missionary Union, a department of the Baptist board. "It's praying with your eyes open - praying for teachers' and students' safety - praying for learning that will take place and any needs they may have. It's to give encouragement to teachers. They have the toughest jobs."

Cassibry said many parents commit to pray throughout the school year.

"They are concerned about what happens in the school environment," she said. "They are just trying to surround the schools in a net of prayer. It's a great tool to tie the community in with the churches. Towns and churches all across the state are doing it."

Debbie Ivy, women's ministry team leader at Clinton's Morrison Heights Baptist Church, said the church has led a prayer walk for the past decade. It's an idea she brought back from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary campus.

The first year, Morrison Heights, First Baptist Church of Clinton and Clinton's Parkway Baptist Church united for a prayer walk.

Ivy said each church is assigned a school. Area private schools, Hinds Community College and Mississippi College are included. A date for this year's prayer walk is still being finalized.

"We just encourage people after church to go to the assigned school and do a prayer walk around the perimeter," she said. "It's an encouragement to the administration, teachers, support staff and families of the students to know the community cares."

Stacy Covey, director of preschool and children's ministries at First Baptist Church of Richland, will lead prayer walkers from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Aug. 7 through Richland Elementary, Richland Upper and Richland High School.

"We just felt it was an important thing to do," she said. "Anyone can come who wants to."

First Baptist Church of Brandon will gather to pray at 5 p.m. Aug. 8.

Parkway will hold a back-to-school retreat called "Launch" for grades 7-12. It will begin at 6 p.m. Aug. 20 and end at 10 a.m. Aug. 22.

"It's something to refresh everyone, refocus the students and give them direction for the upcoming semester," said youth pastor Louis Zinc.

Zinc said it's important to pray about school because of the pressures students face. "If you're not praying, it's kind of like going into battle without weapons."

And, he added, teachers need support, too.

Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. 1 Samuel 2:1 NIV

21 days benefit community

2010-07-30T15:18:00.001-04:00

www.timesunion.com
By Pastor James Davis
Published: 01:00 a.m., Saturday, July 24, 2010

This month's free 21-day festival under the big tent in back of Christian Memorial Church of God in Christ is, I believe, the first of its kind for Arbor Hill and West Hill. The outreach highlights the spirit of camaraderie in our community with the goal of providing inspiration and education for positive change. We have brought in community services and health organizations. We've had Bible teaching, a manhood forum and spirit-filled services. Saturdays feature food, games, giveaways and live wholesome music. In the evenings, the family activities have included movies for all ages, complete with popcorn.

Our children enjoyed two weeks of activities, positive instruction, free lunch and fun for three hours a day. How refreshing it was to see neighborhood children participate in sack races and fill the air with laughter.

Today is devoted to women, and the theme is "It's All About Me, There's Nothing Broken, Nothing Missing." There will be two panel discussions: "Living the Life" at 12:30 and "I Heard That" at 5 p.m. One lucky woman who registered for the prize will receive a makeover including a hairdo and new outfit.

Regardless of the things that may separate us, there has been an atmosphere of togetherness. We overcame all sorts of challenges from bureaucracy to the elements. Last Sunday morning, we received a call around 7:30 , saying the storm had lowered the tent and it was barely standing. We didn't throw our hands up or get discouraged. We called the brothers together. Within a couple of hours the tent was back up and we continued on without interruption. Oh how bright the sun shown that morning and how clear the air was.

These 21 days of summer are about doing good in a community that has seen a lot of bad. We believe there is good in our community and we are in pursuit of it. We believe in a better tomorrow. There are men, women, boys and girls who are worth saving. All they need to know is that someone cares and there is hope and help.

Yes, if everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be. Yes, we are here to let our community know that we care and we are here to do whatever we can to make our community a place we can all be proud of.

Our outreach is about taking ownership of our community. We base it upon the saying of our beloved late President John F. Kennedy, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." This is the beginning of good things that we can do for our community.

We believe in the principle that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Our hope and desire is that people will come to understand that we truly need each other to make our community a better place to live in.

Pastor James Davis was born South Carolina, grew up in Albany and has been the spiritual leader of Christian Memorial Church for 23 years.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " Acts 20:35 NIV

Retired NFL players to sing gospel at Cowboys Stadium event

2010-07-30T13:47:00.002-04:00

http://www.star-telegram.com/
By Kathy Vetter
vetter@star-telegram.com
Posted Thursday, Jul. 29, 2010

A select group of retired National Football League players will contribute their silky voices to September's XLV Countdown Live from Cowboys Stadium, the official start of North Texas' sprint to the 2011 Super Bowl.

The former players, who have yet to be named, will add gospel to a musical lineup that includes country star Tim McGraw, classical pianist Van Cliburn and the 92-piece University of North Texas symphony orchestra.

"It will bring a little more football into this concert mix," Kit Sawers, vice president of special events for the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee, said during Thursday's announcement.

The performance by the 3-year-old NFL Players Choir will preview a much larger event scheduled before the Feb. 6 Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl Gospel Celebration, featuring current and former players and big-name gospel entertainers, will be held Feb. 4 at Fair Park Music Hall in Dallas.

The concert is expected to feature current and former NFL players as well as big-name gospel entertainers from Dallas-Fort Worth. Tim Brown, a Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Bowl wide receiver, is among the former players who have participated.

"I was in a choir growing up in Dallas," he said. "That's something that I'm comfortable doing, especially if I'm in the back. No one expects football players sitting up there with robes on, signing gospel songs two nights before the biggest game of the year."

The Sept. 10 "Countdown" event, headlined by McGraw, will include Van Cliburn playing The Star-Spangled Banner and the UNT orchestra accompanying an NFL Films tribute to the five Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl victories and the team's 50th anniversary.

Emmitt Smith, fresh from his August induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will be honored.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster, starting at $25.

I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks. Nehemiah 12:31b NIV

Church's free lunches feed bellies and hearts

2010-07-30T13:11:00.003-04:00

The Tampa Tribune
By MICHELLE BEARDEN
Published: July 30, 2010

TAMPA - She wanted to be a doctor, specializing in pediatrics or obstetrics. Big dreams for a girl who grew up in the housing projects in Sarasota.

"But our desires aren't always what God has in store for us," Patricia Hauser says now. "I always tell kids: Have a plan A, a plan B and a plan C. Then do whatever God decides for you."

Hauser, 53, is the founder and senior pastor of Potter's House Deliverance Tabernacle in Tampa, a non-denominational and multi-cultural church. In nine years, it's grown from a handful of members to about 250. The congregation meets in a modular building on its property on Harney Road. This fall, members will break ground for their new 20,000-square-foot Life Center complex, which will include a sanctuary, commercial kitchen and recreation center for programs that serve the community.

That's Hauser's other passion. After all, she tells the members, what good is a church that just takes care of its own?

With that mission in mind, she also serves as director of Potter's House Community Development, a nonprofit that provides outreach, assistance, counseling and mentoring programs through government grants and church volunteers.

"She's someone who genuinely cares about people. And it's not something she delegates to others. She's right there with us, hands on and very reachable," says Denise Jackson of her pastor. "After being here, I couldn't imagine going to another church. This is a place where I feel comfortable and challenged."

Here's just one example. When Hauser learned families were living in poverty in "every pocket of Hillsborough County," she looked for programs that could help meet their needs. She doesn't mind crossing those invisible lines and partnering with government. If church and state can work together to improve conditions, why not?

She found just what she was looking for.

For the second summer in a row, Hauser is fulfilling her vision to feed hungry children who get subsidized meals the rest of the year through their schools. Working with a state-sponsored program that provides federal reimbursement for breakfast and lunch, Potter's House is preparing, delivering and serving 300 meals a day at four sites in the Bay area.

Church staff and volunteers, who had to undergo training and certification through the state to participate, begin early in the morning, working in a kitchen provided by Living Faith Assemblies of God on East Sligh Avenue. They prepare nutritious breakfasts and lunches that meet the food pyramid standards, then distribute them at Living Faith and at three YMCAs, which run summer camps for children. The morning and mid-day meals are given out free to anyone under 18 years old.

"A good breakfast and a good lunch definitely equal a good day," says Brian Ordonez, a camp counselor at YMCA's Central City branch. "Without that, some of these kids would go hungry. They're not going to be able to do arts and crafts or play sports. They're going to have headaches, they're going to have fatigue, and they're not going to have a good day."

Hauser has an even bigger vision for next summer. She wants her church to run a feeding program seven days a week from the new commercialized kitchen. She hopes to expand it beyond children to others in need, such as the elderly and homeless.

"We live in a privileged country, yet there are so many underprivileged people," says Hauser, who is divorced and has no children. "But to make a difference, we have to be united together."

Though her life took an unexpected turn – from healing bodies to healing spirits, from science to faith – she knows this course was the right one for her.

After graduating in 1980 from the University of South Florida with degrees in zoology and psychology, Hauser set her sights on medical school. When she didn't get accepted, she went back to school to study computer engineering. She eventually started her own company, managing a three-tiered pharmaceutical firm.

All the while, a small still voice told her: Your true calling is ministry.

"I think God was always calling me. There were a lot of conversations early on, only I didn't realize it," she says. "When I chose to really listen, things fell into place."

Hauser went back to school again, this time for a master of divinity at Payne Theological Seminary, followed by her doctorate at United Theological, both in Dayton. Though she could have bypassed the schooling to lead a nondenominational church, that's not how Hauser operates.

"I'm always a student, always learning," she says. And credentials certainly help in a profession dominated by men. She recognizes that in some circles, a woman serving as senior pastor is downright blasphemous. That's a discussion she won't engage.

"I tell them there's enough work for all of us to do," she says. "If they have a problem with me in charge, go talk to God."

See the summer feeding program in action on Michelle Bearden's "Keeping the Faith" Sunday at 9 a.m. on WFLA-TV. She can be reached at (813) 259-7613.

Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." John 21:16 NIV

Smokie Norful at The Kingdom last night

2010-07-29T14:01:00.002-04:00

Last night's service at Mt. Olive Kingdom Builder's Worship Center (http://www.thekingdomchurch.com/) was no ordinary P.H.A.T. (Praise, Healing & Anointed Teaching) Wednesday service!!! We kicked off our arts ministry weekend last night with the singing gifts of Pastor Jason Nelson of Greater Bethlehem Temple in Randallstown, MD (http://www.gbtonline.org/thevision.html) and the Word of God delivered by Pastor Smokie Norful of Victory Cathedral Worship Center (http://www.getthevictory.org/). The church was bustin' at the seams!!! The sanctuary was full, and about 150 chairs were set up on the church lawn in front of 2 huge speakers and a projector that streamed the happenings inside to those of us who showed up at 7 for a 7:30 service. It was cool as folk from the neighborhood stopped and watched a little bit of the program. Pastor Norful preached from Daniel 3: 14 - 25...the familiar story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego with the subject "Who in hell stole your praise?" Now I love me some Smokie Norful CDs, but he just might be a better preacher than he is a singer....if you can believe that!!!! Believe me, I will be getting my CD on Sunday - there were just too many people and it was too late to fight that fight last night!!! Good thing for me that my daughter will be going to Northwestern in September. We might just have to check out Victory Cathedral as her new church home!!!!

Good News: Preteen church campers sew little dresses for girl in Africa

2010-07-29T13:43:00.004-04:00

http://www.commercialappeal.com/
By Emily Greenberg
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Posted July 29, 2010 at 12:05 a.m.

When Ruby Jackson thinks of Africa, she hears singing.

As a Delta flight attendant for 33 years, Jackson spent weeks at a time in Africa during the 1980s and '90s. Now retired, she is working to help the African people she remembers so fondly.

Jackson and her friend, Louise Morris, are volunteering their time to teach preteen campers at Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church in Cordova to stitch dresses out of pillowcases for Little Dresses for Africa, a Michigan-based Christian nonprofit organization, which will then distribute the dresses to African villages and orphanages.

Jackson, who lives in Eads, remembers scenes from Nairobi, Kenya, and Tanzania and Uganda. A grandmother sitting on a tree stump stirring a black pot of soup while her shoeless grandchildren run in the dirt. A woman begging her to take her infant to America. Families sleeping on grass mats. And she remembers children singing in an orphanage with dirt floors, many orphaned as a result of the AIDS epidemic, she said.

She said she couldn't figure out what they were singing about.

About 14.1 million children in sub-Saharan Africa have lost one or both parents to AIDS, according to a 2009 UNICEF report that reflects numbers from 2007. Although children in sub-Saharan Africa are orphaned for a variety of reasons, AIDS accounts for roughly 25 percent of the cases, said Catherine Langevin, editor of the UNICEF report.

At first, Jackson felt overwhelmed by the situation in Africa. But, after a friend told her about Little Dresses for Africa, she knew she could do something.

"When you're there, it's just too big. (With Little Dresses for Africa), everybody can do something. If you can just donate a pillowcase, that's something," said Jackson, who estimates she will have more than 100 dresses when the camp ends Friday.

The dresses are sleeveless with elastic necklines and straps that tie around the shoulders. No two are alike.

At Mt. Pisgah, there's a red dress with white polka dots and a bow. A floral print with a white, lacy ruffle. Striped dresses. Plaid dresses. One with a Pocahontas character on the front. Another with moon- and-star patterns. A gray dress with buttons. A brown dress with polka dot pockets.

One camper, Cortney Anderson, 10, designed a brown dress with floral straps. She reasoned that the flowers needed dirt -- the brown pillowcase -- to grow.

It's the individual quality of each dress that instills a sense of worthiness in the girls who receive them, said Rachel O'Neill, founder of Little Dresses for Africa. Unlike money, tangible items like clothing will go straight to the children and won't get "locked in bureaucracy," said O'Neill. The dresses are something they can hold.

"They'll wear this dress until it's just strings," said Jackson, holding up a light green one with black and white lace trimmings.

"We're not just sending dresses. We're sending hope," added O'Neill.

So far, Little Dresses for Africa has distributed quite a lot of "hope" -- approximately 67,000 dresses in 14 African countries, according to O'Neill. Dresses have also gone to Guatemala, Belize, Haiti and Indian reservations.

Recently, the organization started Britches for Boys, which distributes shorts to boys. In September, Little Dresses for Africa will distribute dresses in Malawi.

As for Jackson and Morris, they plan to continue making the dresses for many more summers. This is their third.

Jackson has heard from former co-workers that the situation in Africa has only worsened.

But for Jackson's campers, like Temple White, 11, the situation is really quite simple, as simple as making dresses from pillowcases:

"If other people aren't doing it, then somebody has to step up and do it," the girl said.

It's the same attitude that characterizes African culture, said O'Neill. She described it as an "upbeat society" -- a culture where people sing.

To learn more about Little Dresses for Africa, go to littledressesforafrica.org or call (734) 637-9064.

Donations of pillowcases can be dropped off at Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church (1234 Pisgah Road, 754-3583) Fridays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and should be labeled for Ruby Jackson.

Waterford church adds to food pantry with garden goodness

2010-07-29T13:31:00.003-04:00

http://www.sacbee.com/

By Kevin Valine
kvaline@modbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jul. 29, 2010 - 7:51 am

WATERFORD — Twice a month dozens of people, from the working poor and single moms to seniors struggling on Social Security and men and women who've been laid off, gather at Community Baptist Church for homegrown food and down-home hospitality.

They show up on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month for the church's food pantry. They get the usual staples — canned goods and boxed food — but a lot more.

The church supplements the processed food with tomatoes, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, onions and other vegetables grown in church members' gardens and in a community garden tended by church members in its grow-a-row program.

"We were concerned that all we were offering people was processed food, processed food and processed food," church member Bill Richards said. "We knew we could do better."

The food pantry typically helps 60 to 70 families on a Tuesday, said church member Ron Kimberling, who runs it with his wife, Jean.

Jean Kimberling said those families represent more than 300 people who live in the small communities of Waterford and Hickman. She said many of the families the church helps have extended family members, such as grandparents and cousins, living with them.

More than 80 families were helped Tuesday.

"It's good," Waterford resident Leticia Escobar said Tuesday as she waited in line for vegetables picked that day. She's a widow and makes ends meet on $800 a month from Social Security. "It's not enough. I need help."

People start showing up 90 minutes before the food is given out. They sit at tables in the fellowship hall and visit with one another and munch on snacks provided by the church.

On Tuesday, the snacks included homemade zucchini bread, strawberry lemonade, slices of watermelon and canteloupe, and brownies for the kids.

As their parents talked, the kids were busy with coloring and puzzle books and arts and crafts. The church also put out prayer cards for people to write down their concerns.

They pray for continued sobriety, a fast recovery from an illness, finding a job, paying bills and family members who are losing their homes.

Church members started the grow-a-row and hospitality program last year to augment the food pantry program. (It's called grow a row to let participants know their help can be as limited as that — growing one row of vegetables.)

Richards said the church wanted to give the people it feeds more nutritious food and to get to know them as people.

Church members running the food pantry said it felt "like they were just moving food and didn't know the people," he said.

Richards said the program is a tangible way for church members to live out Jesus Christ's teachings of taking care of one another.

"We have been given the opportunity to be Christ to our community," he said. "It's about living out our love."

He said that has been humbling as he and others have learned of the hardships faced by those they help and the strength and courage they bring to their lives.

Mike Mallory, chief executive officer of Second Harvest Food Bank in Manteca, said he doesn't know of other churches that are growing fruits and vegetables along with their food programs.

"This is very new," he said. "I think it's in its infancy stage."

Second Harvest supplies food to 220 sites in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and five foothill counties, including Community Baptist Church's food pantry.

But Mallory said providing people with more fresh fruits and vegetables has taken root in the past decade among the big food banks in the state.

He said food banks in San Jose, Los Angeles and other big California cities distribute fresh fruits and vegetables to nearly all of the food pantries they serve, along with such staples as rice and cereal.

Second Harvest in Manteca distributes fresh produce to 30 percent to 40 percent of its clients, Mallory said, and is working on increasing that to at least 50 percent within two years.

Some area food pantries don't have refrigeration to keep fruits and vegetables fresh or worry that their clients may not know what to do with the food. Second Harvest is addressing the second concern by providing food pantries with recipes and nutritional information for their clients.

"When we get this going, you will see people changing," Mallory said. "We have an obesity problem in this society — weight problems and health problems. If we can get to 50 percent, it will make a difference."

Community Baptist Church feeds other hungers.

Waterford resident Phillip Onate, 52, showed up Tuesday with his former wife and a neighbor. He's been coming to the program for about two months.

Onate, who is out of work and has diabetes and high blood pressure, said he's "kind of a keep-to-myself person" but said he feels welcome at the church.

I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. Ecclesiastes 2:5 NIV

Harlem Helps Raise Coffee in Ethiopia

2010-07-29T13:22:00.002-04:00

http://www.blogger.com/www.nytimes.com
By TRYMAINE LEE
Published: July 26, 2010

From a 542-square-foot office above a bustling intersection in Harlem, the Rev. Nicholas S. Richards is building what he hopes will be a 7,000-mile bridge to the eastern highlands of Ethiopia.
It is a bridge more than 200 years in the making.

In that modest two-room office off East 125th Street, the Abyssinian Fund, the only nongovernmental organization in Ethiopia formed by an African-American church, the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, finally has a home.

Mr. Richards, 26, an assistant minister at Abyssinian under the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, is the president of the recently formed Aby Fund, as he calls it, an international aid and development arm of the church. It will soon be joining forces with a co-op of 700 coffee farmers in the ancient Ethiopian city of Harrar, with a mission to improve the quality of the farmers’ lives by helping them improve the quality of their coffee beans.

The Abyssinian Fund will pay for specialized training and equipment to help the co-op’s farmers produce a higher-quality product so they can be more competitive on the international coffee market. Once their income has increased, part of what they make will then be set aside in a fund to support local development projects, like much-needed roads, schools or clinics.

Mr. Richards, members of the fund’s board of directors and congregants of the church said the mission was as much about social aid and economic development as it was about the church’s desire to reach back and reconnect with its spiritual and ancestral homeland.

Read the complete article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/nyregion/27abyssinian.html

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. James 5:7 NIV

Darwin Hobbs: Gospel Singer Released From Hospital — Gastric Surgery Caused Blood Clots

2010-07-28T14:33:00.003-04:00

http://www.blackvoices.com/
By Brennan Williams on Jul 27th 2010 1:11AM

After being treated for blood clots in his lungs and legs over the course of the past month, gospel recording artist Darwin Hobbs was released from St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta last weekend.

According to his spokesperson, the chart-topping singer and worship leader was initially admitted into St. Joseph's Hospital on June 15 following concerns from his wife, Traci Hobbs (with whom he is pictured with on the left).

"While traveling to the airport for a performance in the Mid-west with his close friend Yolanda Adams, he became really short of breath," she revealed to Jamie Foster Brown's Sister 2 Sister magazine.

"Something just didn't seem right, and I decided that we had better get this checked before we go any further."
Hobbs was released July 23. His unforeseen health scare is believed to stem from a recent gastric bypass surgery in which doctors believe segmented from a larger blood clot.

Looking forward to the future, the 'Beautiful To Me' crooner is planning on restoring his music career by resuming promotion of his latest project 'Champion' by conducting a series of phone interviews.

"This was in no way something Traci and I expected to walk through, but indeed we are walking through it," he said. "We would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of prayers, calls, emails, tweets, flowers and visits. The fact is I developed blood clots; the truth is that the blood of Jesus never loses its power and it never clots."

"I am so excited about all God has planned for my future," he continued. "The lyrics of many of the songs I sing have new meaning today. 'God Restores' is not only a song I sing, but it is the story of my life. He has restored my life to me. This temporary pain was the hallway to the door of my next dimension of powerful ministry."

On the heels of the release of his 2008 album, 'Free,' the Cincinnati native revealed that he was finally able to come to terms with the sexual abuse he experienced as a child.

"For years, I've been bound by the haunting reality of the past," he said at the time. "It's almost as if I'd been under the restriction of a gag order placed on me - as if I was walking through an earthly version of hell... But God's been faithful, He never left me. And just as He promised, 'If I walked in truth, He'll set me free.'"

Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. Jeremiah 33:6 NIV

Dove Awards for gospel music take flight to Atlanta in 2011; first time not held in Nashville

2010-07-28T14:18:00.002-04:00

Associated Press
07/27/10 7:40 PM EDT

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Organizers of the Dove Awards are taking a leap of faith and moving the annual gospel and Christian music show to Atlanta.

This will be the first time the Doves have been held anywhere but Nashville. A statement from the Gospel Music Association announcing the move called it a bold step.

GMA board chairman Ed Leonard said the move was an opportunity to expand the reach of the awards, which have been held at the Grand Ole Opry House recently.

The 2011 awards will be held April 20 at the Fox Theatre in Midtown Atlanta. The statement makes no mention of where the awards will be held in subsequent years.

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you." Isaiah 42:9 NIV

2010-07-28T14:09:00.003-04:00

http://www.singersroom.com/
Date: 07/28/10
By SR Staff

Deitrick Haddon's long awaited film, 'Blessed & Cursed,' has been released.

According GC, Pain, Deceit and Triumph are just some of the plots twists that viewers will experience in this highly anticipated movie! A modern retelling of the dramatic Biblical account of Saul and David, “Blessed & Cursed” stars Deitrick as Dwight Hawkins an incredibly gifted young man who is in search of his purpose amid setbacks and unexpected surprises. Also starring are Sheryl Lee Ralph, Drew Sidora and a host of Gospel music stars including Karen Clark-Sheard, Damita Haddon, Kierra ‘Kiki’ Sheard, Dr. Bobby Jones and Rance Allen.

“I think that’s what people will really appreciate about this film, that it’s really transparent,” says Haddon. “It’s real to what happens in church. It shows church politics and the way people really are.”

Music from the film is also available at digital retailers, including contributions from Karen Clark Sheard and Bobby Jones.

"May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!" Numbers 24:9b NIV

Young People Abandoning The Black Church; They Say Message Isn’t For Them

2010-07-28T13:46:00.003-04:00

July 28, 2010 by gospelnewswire

Sunday morning rolls around again, and I get the early wakeup call from my father. “Get up, Brandee. Get ready for church.” My first thought is to go right back to sleep, because I don’t want to go. It’s not a case of Sunday-morning laziness; I’d just rather not be there, and according to a study conducted earlier this year by the Pew Research Center, two-thirds of young Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 agree with me.

Church isn’t appealing to me, and it never has been. I have vivid memories of sitting in the last pew as a child with crayons and a coloring book for some sort of entertainment. Since I’ve retired the Crayolas and coloring books and started paying closer attention to the sermons, I discovered that some of the messages in church are irrelevant to people of my generation.

Some of my closest friends are gay, but the pastor is telling me that “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” AIDS is the leading cause of death for African-American women between the ages of 25 and 34, but the pastor tells me that using condoms is a sin because it’s a form of birth control. I live in a world where women are the CEOs of successful businesses and hold high positions in the government, but within the walls of the church, female leadership is often absent. Only 10 percent of churches in the United States employ women as senior pastors. These sexist, homophobic and conservative attitudes of the church are what is causing young people to question their faith, causing Gen-Yers to abandon the church in increasing numbers.

Many church principles simply don’t reflect the views of young Americans. A recent study discovered that young people are more accepting of homosexuality: 63 percent of young adults believe that homosexuality should be accepted within society, versus 50 percent of adults in general. In most churches, discussing homosexuality is a taboo. “There’s denial about homosexuality in the church,” said Boyce Watkins, Ph.D., founder of the Your Black World Coalition. It’s “even to the extreme where you have people who believe that if you pray enough, you will not be gay anymore,” he adds.

We live in a society where open homosexuality is becoming common, but most in the church have yet to accept it. If God accepts us as we are, then why do some homosexuals feel unwelcome in church? Skepticism concerning church teachings about the Bible may be the reason 67 percent of young Christian adults say they don’t read it.

“It’s become more and more common on college campuses that people openly question who is God and how do we reconcile the question of evil?” said Jamila Bey, an African-American freelance journalist and atheist. After being a Roman Catholic for most of her life, Bey recently decided to divorce her religion and declare herself to be an atheist.

Sometimes, stepping into church feels to me like going into a time warp, with all of the old-fashioned and conservative views being enforced. In this day and age, gender roles have shifted, but sexism continues to linger in many churches. When I go to church, I can’t help noticing that there is a lack of female leadership. Women are confined to either being ushers or being in the choir.

"To some extent, sexism in the church is a reflection of sexism in our society, but I think it's even worse in church because the environment is certainly a little more conservative," Watkins said. It is this conservative environment that is causing young folks to stay home. Only one-third of young adults say they attend worship services at least once a week. "Young people who are finding their voices are more apt to say, 'I don't buy the church, it doesn't speak to me,' " said Bey, "and I think the logical progression is that they are going to find community with other free thinkers and non-believers."

Being a free thinker is just another thing to add to the list of taboos. "Leadership in the church doesn't encourage you typically to think freely. They believe their job is to tell you what to think and guide you to the truth," said Watkins. "Anybody who is open-minded about religion or questions things too much is certainly going to be turned off by the church or to some extent not invited into the church."

So is there any hope for bringing Gen-Yers back to church? According to the Rev. J. Lee Hill, a youth minister at Riverside Church in New York City, it won't be easy. In a recent interview with CNN, Hill stated, "Church is difficult because young people today want to engage actively; they just want to experience God." Young adults don't want to worry about judgment or limitations when it comes to faith.

The Rev. Dino Woodward of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem believes that convincing more young people that the church has something to offer starts with parenting. "Parents are allowing them [young adults] to discipline themselves. If parents are coming to church, they have to bring their children to church and show them that there is a better way of life through the Christian way of life."

But as we come into adulthood, we have to make decisions for ourselves. Maybe if the church focused more on helping youth build a stronger connection with God, and less on imposing social and political views, our generation would return to the pews.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 NIV

Israel Houghton returns August 31 with star-studded album

2010-07-27T16:07:00.003-04:00

http://www.soultracks.com/
Posted July 26th, 2010 by administrator

Nashville, TN - Multiple GRAMMY, Stellar and Dove Award winner, Soul Train Award winner and double RIAA certified Gold-selling artist Israel Houghton highlights the greatest Gospel commandment with Love God. Love People. releasing August 31 on Integrity Music/Columbia Records. Featuring the musically masterful energy that has become synonymous with Israel Houghton recordings, the album also reveals special guest appearances by Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond and Take 6's Claude V. McKnight, III, Mark Kibble and Joey Kibble, as well as song co-writes with Meleasa Houghton, Aaron Lindsey, Tommy Sims and Michael Gungor.

As a worship leader, singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Israel is also known for his work as a master collaborator, drawing out the best performances from all those around him. Having written or co-written 11 CCLI Top 500 favorites, creating a canon of songs that have become standards in houses of faith around the globe, Love God. Love People. follows Israel's acclaimed GRAMMY Award winning and Billboard Top 200 hit, The Power Of One, and promises to be an inspiration to all who listen.

"Love God. Love People. is a return to a simple, foundational Gospel command: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself," says Israel. "Virtually every song touches on this profound simplicity. It all comes down to ‘Love God, love people.' Period."

Israel co-produced the new album with longtime collaborator Aaron Lindsey, whose credits include Shirley Caesar, Martha Munizzi, CeCe Winans and many more, and with Tommy Sims, whose writing, recording and performing credits range from Bruce Springstein and Garth Brooks to Wynnona and Kelly Clarkson. The trio of producers also co-wrote five of the songs, including the first Gospel single, "You Hold My World." Three additional songs were penned by Israel and his wife Meleasa.

Love God. Love People. blends the musical genres of worship, rock, funk and power pop, and was recorded and engineered by Danny Duncan (India.Arie, Hillsong LIVE, Natalie Grant, CeCe Winans) at Abbey Road Studios in London.

"I was living out a dream come true recording at Abbey Road," says Israel. "The ‘stomps' on the famous staircase for ‘Name Of Love' were just absolutely special and unforgettable. And I wept several times while The London Session Orchestra played ‘Others' and ‘Hosanna.' I later spoke to some of the string players who were crying while they played... absolute presence of God was captured!"

Other album highlights include Israel singing "Hosanna (Be Lifted Higher)" with Take 6's Claude V. McKnight, III, Joey Kibble and Mark Kibble, who arranged the track. "Mercies" features the unmistakable voice of Kirk Franklin, while "Surprises" is augmented by the talent of Fred Hammond.

Special guest instrumentalists on the album include Akil Thompson (son of drum master Chester Thompson from Weather Report and Genesis) and Michael Gungor (who co-wrote "You Won't Let Go" with Israel) on guitars. On drums are Dan Needham (Amy Grant, Vanessa Williams, Michael McDonald) and Teddy Campbell (Seal, Celine Dion, Smokie Norful). Co-producers Tommy Sims and Aaron Lindsey handle the bass and keyboards respectively. Backing vocals on select tracks are handled by Daniel Johnson, Erica King and Charlin Moore, all members of New Breed, a music ministry organization founded and led by Israel.

The full Love God. Love People. track listing follows:

1) Love God Love People

2) Yahweh (The Lifter)

3) Love Rev

4) That's Why I Love You

5) Others

6) You Hold My World

7) You Won't Let Go

8) Our God

9) Mercies featuring Kirk Franklin

10) Surprises featuring Fred Hammond

11) Name Of Love

12) Hosanna (Be Lifted Higher)

Writing or co-writing all but one of the songs on Love God. Love People., Israel creates music that breaks down barriers and defies categorization. Israel uses his own multi-cultural upbringing as a reference point with a desire to draw people of all races, ages and cultures together. Israel laughingly describes himself as "black kid who grew up in a white family in a Hispanic neighborhood."

Active as worship leader in his local church, Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, Houston, Israel has served as worship leader at Hillsong conferences, Franklin Graham crusades, and is a featured CompassionArt songwriter and artist. Israel also ministers through concerts in the U.S. and around the world, has accompanied Alicia Keys at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards for a performance of George Michael's "Freedom '90," and has performed at the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards, taking part in a segment saluting Gospel music alongside the likes of Aretha Franklin and BeBe Winans.

In 1995, Israel and Meleasa Houghton founded New Breed Ministries, an organization they continue to run and that is comprised of noted musicians and singers who serve within their respective churches and together serve the Church at large. Since then, Israel has been featured on FOX, CBS, ABC, BET, CNN, TBN and CBN, and has amassed a legion of followers that crosses generational lines with popularity across African American, Latin and Caucasian listener lines. While blasting down barriers, he has been fittingly graced with 2 Gold-selling albums, 3 GRAMMY Awards, 6 Dove Awards, 2 Stellar Awards and a Soul Train Award.

Israel Houghton is signed to Integrity Music, distributed to Christian retail by Provident-Integrity Distribution and to the general market by Columbia Records/Sony-BMG Distribution. For more information, go to http://www.israelhoughton.net/.

Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. Psalm 18:49 NIV

N.C. church youth help Fort Pierce residents dress up homes

2010-07-27T11:57:00.002-04:00

www.tcpalm.com
By Alex Boerner
Posted July 27, 2010 at 12:29 a.m.

FORT PIERCE — Mary Brunson, 101, of Fort Pierce wanted her house painted pink.

That message was put into action Monday morning as a group of middle and high school students from the Flint-Groves Baptist Church in Gastonia, N.C., covered her house in a light shade of pink.

that matched the blooms on the hibiscus in her backyard.

The group of 41 students will be working throughout the week in Fort Pierce to paint four other houses as well. Their efforts are coordinated with help from Dawn and Joel Dramis of the Treasure Coast Community Changers, an organization started by the Treasure Coast Baptist Association.

“For us, it’s about this homeowner and this community and making a difference in it,” said Chris Howell, youth pastor at the Flint-Groves Baptist Church. Howell had done similar work on the Treasure Coast years ago with another organization and has recently led students to Alaska and Salt Lake City on trips organized through the church in Gastonia.

“We believe that Scripture calls us to go not only in our community, but nationally and internationally to go and spread the love of Christ by our works and by our efforts,” he added.

After completing their work, the students plan to visit the beach and attend a block party hosted by the Good News Missionary Baptist Church on Thursday from 5:30 to 8:30p.m. in Fort Pierce.

because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. Ephesesians 6:8

"Blessed and Cursed" Releases Tuesday!

2010-07-26T16:50:00.000-04:00

What a powerful movie! Deitrick Haddon does an amazing job of delivering this powerful and moving message . Along with Haddon, the cast of all-star gospel musicians gives this movie a depth through music that otherwise would not be there.
The theme of this story is simply an expansion of the title: people have the power to bless or curse others around them. The story-line follows the main character, Dwight (Haddon), who is given the position of music minister at the church of a powerful bishop. Dwight's music ministry initially takes off, but jealousy in the church results in betrayal and eventual dismissal for Dwight. God still calls him to a life in music ministry, but this ministry is quite different from anything he expected.
How often in our lives do we feel God's calling for a specific ministry, but it ends up in betrayal and confusion? This movie reminds us that God is always in control, even though His plans may not be in line with our plans or expectations. The message of this movie brings to mind the truth of Jeremiah 29:11: 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD.' Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

Texas Mega-Pastors Joel Osteen and Bishop T.D. Jakes Got Together

2010-07-26T16:19:00.004-04:00

http://www.blogger.com/www.examiner.com
July 25, 2:01 PM
Celebrity Headlines Examiner
Jodi Jill

July 25, 2010 -- Bestselling author and pastor of Lakewood Church in Texas has done something that has created positive shock waves across the universe. After developing a friendship with Bishop T.D. Jakes, he invited the Bishop to take the pulpit for the morning.

This unique passing of the message isn't something you might think about when it comes to meg-pastors in the church business. Only a handful ever consider bridging the gap, per se and allow others to come in as guest speakers. Usually the business of preaching on Sunday morning comes from such a strict focus that an opportunity like this is barely available to anyone who isn't from the same church in a more lineage way.

Being that Osteen met Jakes in a walk around for reviewing the church for a men's conference, the bond grew into a friendship of two people who have the task of leading thousands (actually millions if you count the people who watch on television.)

So what does this partnership hold in the future? Well, Joel Osteen is going to be preaching at Bishop T.D. Jakes house of worship and the two may find themselves in partnership with other projects in the future. As for the big picture, it is a stark reminder that friends can be found everywhere. Just as soon as we go over and introduce ourselves.

You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. Acts 20:20 NIV

The Book is taking shape

2010-07-23T13:18:00.002-04:00

I have compiled dozens of testimonies from all over the country and am putting the book, Prove Me Now Herewith: Testimonies of Overflow Blessings from Faithful Tithers. This is the exciting, yet scary part. I'm trying to figure out how to categorized the testimonies that I have which will determine the number of chapters in the book. I am certainly listening to God for direction in this. Pray for me as I complete this single step in my journey with Christ. It's still not too late. If you have a testimony that you would like to share, feel free to submit it to submissions@provemenowherewith.com or visit our website - www.provemenowherewith.com. Keep an eye out for the book in November!!!

Merge Summit 2010 August 26, 2010 - August 28, 2010

2010-07-23T12:24:00.002-04:00

Following the great success of last year’s inaugural conference, Relevé Entertainment announced today that THE MERGE SUMMIT 2010 will return to the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, CA, Thursday, August 26 through Saturday, August 28, 2010. THE MERGE SUMMIT’s founder, Dr. Holly Carter, serves as chairperson and Robi Reed as co-chairperson of the event. The three-day conference integrates faith and entertainment and provides a platform and educational forum for men and women of faith to interface and partner with executives and talent in the entertainment industry from New York to Hollywood (see full schedule below).

The multifaceted program will cover the spectrum of music, television, film, content, development, production, and management. General and focused breakout sessions are designed to educate and empower attendees in their respective fields. The Summit will also feature keynote addresses, presentations, and interactive panel discussions. Throughout the event, actors, directors, producers, writers, and industry executives will share insights and give feedback, as well as lend inspiration for the individual journey. Confirmed celebrity presenters include Suzanne de Passe, Pauletta Washington, Niecy Nash, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tia Mowry, Harry Lennix, Kirk Franklin, Hezekiah Walker, Chrisette Michele, J. Moss and Brian Courtney Wilson. Entertainment executives include: Pearlena Igbokwe (Senior Vice President, Production, Showtime Networks); Devon Franklin (Vice President, Production, Columbia Pictures); Felicia D. Henderson (“Soul Food the Series”, “Fringe”); Leotis Clyburn (Senior Creative Director, East Coast Urban at EMI Music Publishing); Todd Black (“The Back Up Plan,” “Seven Pounds,” “The Great Debaters”); James Dubose (President, Dubose Entertainment); Ralph Winter (“X-Men,” “Fantastic Four,” “Star Trek”); John Dellaverson (“Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and “In The Mix”); Zola Mashariki (Senior Vice President, Production, Fox Searchlight Pictures); Ava Duvernay (Writer/Director, President, The Duvernay Agency), as well as executives from top industry companies including Columbia Records, EMI Publishing, Creative Artists Agency, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, BET, ABC Networks, Lionsgate Entertainment, and more.

For additional information and registration for the event, please visit http://www.themergesummit.com/the_merge.php

N'burgh churches join forces to feed kids this summer

2010-07-23T12:00:00.002-04:00

By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@th-record.com
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 07/23/10

CITY OF NEWBURGH — A lot of Newburgh kids live without steady meals, and a program that would serve them lunch this summer needs a lot of help.

The Rev. Rosey Andrews, pastor of the Northeast Gateway to Freedom Church in Newburgh, promised to provide 300 lunches five days a week when she learned just days ago the program was going to be canceled. But how she's going to do that isn't really clear yet, Andrews said.

"I'm trying to mobilize the community and a small army," Andrews said.

That's kept her on the phone the past two days, working connections and wrangling together a network of people to make it work.

Andrews founded the Northeast Gateway to Freedom and recently moved the nonprofit's operations to an old storefront at 104 Broadway. Four refrigerators sit in the back, stuffed with bread, frozen chickens and other food that volunteers distribute to more than 350 people in the Hudson Valley.

It's that organization that led city leaders to call on Andrews when people began to worry about what would happen without the summer lunch program.

The city and state used to fund the program that served lunch to 300 elementary and middle school kids each summer.

It cost the city $16,743 in 2009. Faced with massive tax increases and layoffs, city leaders cut it from the 2010 budget. Whether that was right or wrong doesn't matter, Andrews said; acting now does.

"We've got to make sure these kids get food," she said.

She's looking for donations of money, food, storage space, volunteers and places to serve the kids. On Thursday, she and the Rev. Edward Benson of the New Vision Church of Deliverance and Deacon Gene Reilly brainstormed ideas. Maybe each pizzeria in the city could donate pies one day, they said. Maybe there's an out-of-work chef with some extra time.

Maybe each church in the city could take a day to make and serve the meals.

Mayor Nicholas Valentine called Andrews "amazing," but said everyone needed to sit down at the end of the summer to coordinate a plan to keep the program running in the future.

Andrews hopes to serve the first meals of the summer on Monday.

How to HELP
To donate, contact the Northeast Gateway to Freedom by e-mail at NorthEastGatewaytoFreedom@verizon.net, by phone at 567-6959 or by mailing to Northeast Gateway to Freedom, P.O. Box 2187, Newburgh, NY 12550.

Red Bird's Antioch Fellowship church hosts free back-to-school immunization clinic

2010-07-20T15:46:00.003-04:00

By ANANDA BOARDMAN / The Dallas Morning News
aboardman@dallasnews.com
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, July 18, 2010

Hundreds of families spent Saturday morning at Antioch Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Red Bird getting back-to-school immunization shots for their children.

Antioch's senior pastor, Karry Wesley, offered to let Dallas County Health and Human Services use the church's facilities for the free clinic after noticing long lines outside vaccination clinics last year.

"It's a little unconventional," the Rev. Abe Cooper, another pastor at Antioch, said of the church's decision to host the clinic. "Most places do food and clothes, but health is important, too. We look at it as another way to serve the community."

Families arrived for the clinic as early as 7:30 a.m., said Blanca Cantú, a spokeswoman for Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services.

"We want parents to know that the time to get immunizations is now," Cantú said.

Cedar Hill resident Erica Reliford arrived at 8:30 a.m. with her 12-year-old daughter, Arlandrea, who will be entering seventh grade. Reliford, who heard about the clinic from her mother and a friend who attends Antioch, said she was pleasantly surprised that the crowd at the church Saturday wasn't overwhelming.

"I thought it would be more [people] than this," Reliford said.

The department offered the clinic as part of its efforts to prevent a repeat of problems last year, when students across the state were sent home the first day of classes because they lacked the required immunizations. New state requirements and a shortage of vaccine caught many parents off guard.

Parents last year were given a month's grace period to get the needed shots. But no such extension is planned this year because there are plenty of vaccines, and parents have many chances to get their children vaccinated.

"Don't wait until the last minute," said Dr. Zachary Thompson, director of the health department.

As many as 25,000 students in Dallas County don't have current shots, Thompson said.

"It's all ages, but the delinquency is higher with the middle schools," he said.

Though the lines Saturday stretched out the double doors and down the steps at times, most people had no problem with the wait.

"I appreciate the patience," Thompson said.

After parents filled out forms and their children's shot records were verified, families were led to another area to wait for the shots. Twenty nurses were working at 10 stations.

"That's going to make a big difference, having those nurses," Thompson said.

Each child who was vaccinated got a bag of goodies, including a water bottle and some basic school supplies.

Police and volunteers were on hand to help with parking, lines and crowd control.

"We got seen pretty quickly through the process at the front," said Gail Turner. She drove her 14-year-old daughter, Jasmine, from Mesquite to get the last shot needed to enter the ninth grade at Mesquite High School. Turner, who is unemployed, opted for the clinic as an alternative to a doctor's visit.

"I'd recommend it to someone in my position," she said.

Dallas resident April Cisneros brought her 4-year-old daughter, Mizarey, to get shots before she enters pre-kindergarten. Cisneros heard about the clinic on the news. While Mizarey wasn't thrilled about the prospect of being shot with a needle, she was excited to start school.

County officials had hoped for a turnout of at least 300 at Saturday's clinic. By 1 p.m., Cantú said, 317 people had come through the clinic and received a total of 787 vaccinations.

"That's what we were expecting, and that's who we wanted to get taken care of today," Cantú said. "We're pretty happy and satisfied with who we served today."

Somerville St. Paul Baptist Church providing free lunches for children

2010-07-20T14:35:00.001-04:00

By MARTIN C. BRICKETTO
STAFF WRITER
Martin C. Bricketto: 908-243-6609; mbricketto@MyCentralJersey.com
July 18, 2010

SOMERVILLE, NJ — Multiple bicycles parked on the lawn and against the wall at St. Paul Baptist Church on a recent afternoon were just one indication that it may be the hottest new hangout for neighborhood youngsters on summer break from school.

Officials at the church on Hamilton Street for the first time are running a free daily lunch program for children regardless of their religion.

Once the eating is done, the children are welcome to stay for board games, movies and other activities.

“We try to reach out to the kids in the community,” said Ena Fox, a trustee of the church, as children played around her in a downstairs area of the church. “We try to fill the need wherever there is one.”

Fox said the church, which was founded here in 1927, is trying to be proactive and not reactive. The church's pastor, the Rev. Pastor Reggie L. Hall Sr., describes the program as “progressive faith ministries,” she said.

Expected to run through the last full week in August, the program operates using the church's own funding as well as food donations from the community, Fox said. It serves about 30 children every day and typically runs from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., though some of the kids show up earlier, according to Fox.

“We don't want the kids to be misdirected in terms of being idle and having nothing to do,” said Betty Moore, a Sunday school teacher with the church. “We figure we can let them have games or otherwise occupy their time during the summer months, because kids can get into things they really shouldn't be involved with.”

Celeste Bell, Dee Davidson and Alberta Milligan also help run the program.

An aspiring drummer, William Wilkins, 9, said he enjoys the food at the church as well as playing games and watching television. Meanwhile, Quadier Collier, 10, said even though he isn't a member of the church, he feels welcome.

“We get to play games, we get to play with our friends,” Collier said. “It's a nice place to be.”

Fox said the lunches have included sandwiches and fruit and, while the goal is to provide a balanced meal, sometimes the children are treated to snacks such as ice cream. Chicken nuggets were on the menu Thursday.

Church member and borough resident Thomas Van Ness, 83, helps watch the children. He said it helps keep him young.

“It keeps the kids off the street,” Van Ness said about the program.

Churches Step In to Help Unemployed Find Jobs

2010-07-20T09:31:00.002-04:00

www.thegospelnewswire.com
SOURCE: Charisma News
Adrienne S. Gaines

With unemployment at record highs, churches and Christian organizations are stepping in to help job seekers both practically and spiritually.

Ministries such as Florida-based Christian HELP and Career Solutions in Dallas began helping the unemployed find work long before the recession hit in 2008. But since the unemployment rate shot up from 6.6 percent in October 2008 to 10.1 percent the following year to 9.5 percent today, the groups say the ministry needs-and opportunities-are growing.

Career Solutions founder David Rawles, author of Finding a Job God’s Way, says jobs ministries can reach people at their lowest point. He knows of people who have committed suicide after becoming unemployed and others who came to faith after taking career classes at churches.

“Most people don’t realize just how deeply affected people are, and the church is not doing near what it could do,” says Rawles, a former human resources executive at GTE and Disney who developed career coaching curriculum for churches.

So far this year, Christian HELP has seen a 47 percent increase in Orlando-area job seekers over 2009. In addition to employment seminars, the ministry provides Bibles and food, as many families are left at the brink of homelessness after job losses.

“The counselors are trained to ask, What brought you here today?” says Christian HELP Executive Director Sandi Vidal. “It’s really opened a door to ask what people’s needs are and then to talk with them about what God wants for them and how that impacts their search.”

Madison and her husband were living in a hotel and had only a bag of rice left to eat when she walked into Christian HELP. After losing a $350,000-a-year job and having a heart attack that depleted her savings, the Washington, D.C., resident had moved to central Florida to take a position that ultimately fell through.

She found a job within two days of meeting Vidal, thanks to one connection that led to another, but she laments that many churches were insensitive to her plight. One ministry told her it was her fault she was unemployed because she hadn’t been attending church services regularly. “We need as Christians to take people in and look at the whole problem,” Madison told Charisma.

An outreach of Holy Cathedral Church of God in Christ led by Bishop C.H. McClelland, Word of Hope Ministries in Milwaukee has offered job placement services since 1996. Unemployment has long been high in its inner-city community, but the recession brought a wave of new needs.

“We understand that as the number grows we may have to develop other strategies because there are more people coming,” says Vice President Prentiss McClelland.

Charismatic entrepreneur Tim Krauss estimates that less than 40 percent of churches offer some form of employment ministry, but he hopes to change that through his Job Connection. The online service enables churches to list available jobs in their areas while weeding out scams.

It costs $195 to set up, with a monthly service fee ranging from $95 for churches of 6,000 or less to $245 for larger congregations. So far, more than a dozen ministries are on board, including Willow Creek Community Church and Salem Baptist Church in Chicago, and Second Baptist Church in Houston.

The Job Connection ministry at Resurrection Life Church in Grandville, Mich., got roughly 2 million hits the first two weeks after the website launched, says Geoff Brown, facilitator of the outreach. He estimates that roughly one-in-five of Resurrection Life members are unemployed, as Michigan has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

“At the very least [the ministry has] provided a better hope,” says Brown, who became the first to find a job through the ministry. “And I think that’s the biggest thing I needed after nine months of unemployment—hope.”

SOURCE: Charisma News
Adrienne S. Gaines

N.Korean killed for spreading Gospel: report

2010-07-06T13:29:00.001-04:00

Tue, Jul 06, 2010
The Korea Herald/Asia
News Network

A NEWS report said Monday that a North Korean was killed for spreading Gospel.

The Associated Press said Son Jong-nam was reportedly tortured to death for spreading the Gospel with 20 bibles and 10 cassette tapes in the reclusive state in 2009, 11 years after living in the neighboring area of China in 1998.

The wire said it obtained the information from his younger brother Son Jung-hun, who lives in South Korea.

Little is known about the practice of evangelism in North korea and missionaries won't say how many defectors they have sent back, citing their safety and that of the defectors, the news report said.

"My brother said he realized the Kim Jong Il regime is hypocritical, and living in accordance with what the Bible says is what we have to do,'' the younger Son was quoted as saying."

"Christianity can come upon innocent people like my brother so fast.''

In January in 2001, the older Son was arrested by Chinese police for reportedly trying to convert North Korean defectors in China, the wire said.

In April, Son was deported home where he was detained and tortured, according to his brother.

The younger Son learned that his brother had died in 2009.

-The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 NIV

Decatur church fuels fun with food at park

2010-06-23T13:46:00.004-04:00

By Lauren Hollon
The Baptist Standard
Texas Baptist Communications
Published: June 22, 2010

DECATUR—When Ken May and Candy Burden learned that one child in 10 in their area goes to bed hungry every night, they decided to do something about it.

Every Wednesday this summer, volunteers from First Baptist Church in Decatur will prepare food and deliver it to Harmon Park, where they’ll set up during the lunch hour under an awning edged with colorful plastic flags to offer children a free meal.

“The idea came from a children’s health care summit sponsored by Cook Children’s hospital,” said Candy Burden, children’s minister at First Baptist Church.

The hospital conducted a study of six counties to find out major needs in the area. Hunger and health topped the list, Pastor Ken May said.

In the first week of their summer feeding program, the church distributed lunches to 100 children. Volunteers said they hope that number will increase as more people find out about it.

“We just felt like this was something we should do and something God was calling us to do,” Burden said.

First Baptist Church sent fliers home with students through local schools and places an ad in the newspaper each week to advertise the meal, Burden said.

“We also put signs out (at the park entrances), and that really draws kids in,” Burden said. “A lot of kids from nearby neighborhoods hang out in this area.”

Members of the congregation were eager to support the free lunch program. Volunteers arrive at the church at 9 a.m. to prepare the meal and load their vehicles. They start setting up in the park around 10 a.m.

“We’ve had 20 to 25 volunteers helping, from some of the older people all the way down to teenagers in the youth group,” May said.

The idea has also been well received by the community. The first week, a passerby stopped to ask how she could help, Burden said.

“One of the neat things that has happened is we’ve had some banks and businesses donate things. Legend Bank donated the water we’re handing out,” May said.

Burden hopes the church can increase the program’s frequency to two days per week, as well as get other businesses and churches involved.

The free lunch is funded by an offering that was taken up on a fifth Sunday, as well as a Vacation Bible School offering.

“Every year, the VBS offering goes toward a mission project of some sort,” Burden said. “The kids bring in their coins and we make it into a contest between the boys and girls to see who can bring the most. Last year at VBS, the children gave around $1,300, which ended up weighing around 300 pounds.”

More than 3 million Texans don’t know where their next meal is coming from, but the Texas Hunger Initiative—a partnership between the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and the Baylor University School of Social Work—is seeking to make Texas food-secure by 2015. One of the first steps is starting summer feeding programs. For more information about how churches can get involved in feeding hungry children, call (888) 244-9400.

He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, Psalm 146:7 NIV

Gospel Renewal Among the Homeless

2010-06-23T13:26:00.003-04:00

http://jonathandodson.org/
By Jonathan Dodson
June 22nd, 2010

It is impossible to avoid homelessness in Austin, where it is estimated that on any given night up to 6,000 people sleep without a home. In January, at Austin City Life, we talked about renewing our beloved city by moving people from a place of mercy to a place of justice, from temporary hand-outs to permanent transformation. As one City Group discussed the call of the gospel to advocate for justice, they began to ask questions about what it would look like to do this with Austin’s homeless. In a matter of months, a vibrant, viral gospel ministry has begun among Austin’s homeless, moving them from mercy to justice. Here are some stories of transformation among our homeless friends (by Nate Schlueter, a mission leader in one of our City Groups).

read the incredible stories at http://jonathandodson.org/category/missional-church/

To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 1 Corinthians 4:11-12 NIV

Local inmates hear Gospel

2010-06-21T13:13:00.002-04:00

by Stephanye Gilyard Public Safety Reporter
Published: May 1, 2010

For more than 20 years, J.A.I.L ministries have been changing the world, one life at a time. While most of society has written off people who land in jail, an army of three counselors and one intern in Belton (Texas) don't. Instead, the team carries them a message to save them.

"At one point, I didn't think I could do it," said Executive Director Steve Cannon, who has led the organization since 2003. "Not all people can go into these cells and stare into eyes that have no life - only hurt and anger.

"I know it was God that called me to do this," he said.

J.A.I.L is an acronym for Jesus Acts in Inmates' Lives, a non-profit organization. The faith-based ministry provides Bell County prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families with spiritual, emotional and practical support. It was founded in 1987.

From the website http://www.jailmin.com/:
What is J.A.I.L. Ministry?
Services at Bell County Law Enforcement Center: Individual Bible Studies, Church Services and One-on-One Encouragement held inside the Bell County Law Enforcement Center or Juvenile Service Center and attended by the offenders on a voluntary basis.
Professions of Faith: Those who have indicated by prayer or a “Decision Card” that they have trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. (John 14:6)
Rededications: Those who have indicated verbally or by “Decision Card” they have in the past trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior and are rededicating their lives to Him.
Baptisms: This total represents those who have prayed to trust Jesus Christ as Savior and have been baptized (immersed) in the J.A.I.L. Ministry Baptis-mal (a horse trough) in the Recreation Area of the Bell County Law Enforce-ment Center, and on the roof of the Bell County Annex.
Bible Study / Church Attendance: Offenders who have attended a J.A.I.L. Ministry Staff and/or Volunteer led Bible Study or Church Service at one or more times in the Bell County Law Enforcement Center or Juvenile Service Center.
Individual Contacts: Represents the contacts made by J.A.I.L. Ministry Staff and Volunteers inside the Bell County Law Enforcement Center. Contacts represent Offenders who have been contacted one or more times.
Correspondence Courses: J.A.I.L. Ministry administers the “Write-Way” Bible correspondence course as requested by Offenders in the Bell County Law Enforcement Center. “Write-Way” is an on going Bible study course. At the completion of each course the Offender will receive a “Completion Certificate” and then begin work on the next course. Over 60 courses are available. The “Write-Way” course may be continued in State Jail, Texas Department of Cor-rections or wherever the Offender may go.
Bibles Distributed: J.A.I.L. Ministry provides the New King James version of the Bible. “Free On The Inside” is a Bible with helps especially written for the incarcerated. There is no charge for an Offender to receive a Bible.
Volunteer Visits: Represents the total number of volunteer visits inside the Juvenile Service Center.
Prayer Requests: Those who have requested prayer as indicated on a “Decision Card” or via the internet at www.jailmin.com and the Bell County Law Enforcement Center website link to J.A.I.L. Ministry.
Project Angel Tree: This Christmas gift program begun by Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship provides 3 gifts each to Bell County Children of an Offender(s). The program is administered locally and funded by gifts from churches, area businesses and individuals. At least one of the gifts provided has a Chris-tian message. J.A.I.L. Ministry, Inc. also administers a program whereby the Bell County Law Enforcement Center Jailers and Juvenile Service Center Pod-Officers’ children receive gifts at Christmas.
Anger Management: A 6 hour or longer Court Approved course provided by J.A.I.L. Ministry. A certificate is awarded upon completion that is honored by the courts. Men’s Ministry Coordinator, Johner Martin, and Juvenile Service Coordinator, Cheryl Baird, are the Bell County Approved Anger Management Instructors for J.A.I.L. Ministry.

For additional information about this ministry, please contact us at:
J.A.I.L. MINISTRY, INC.
211 E. Central Ave. † P.O. Box 634 † Belton, TX 76513
Phone: (254) 933-8506 † Fax: (254) 933-7569
E-mail: jailmin@vvm.com † Website: www.jailmin.com
You can help us make a difference!

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3 NIV

Milwaukee Man Meets Favorite Gospel Singer

2010-06-17T14:05:00.003-04:00

By Charles Benson
http://www.620wtmj.com/
Story Created: Jun 16, 2010
Story Updated: Jun 17, 2010

He's used to sold out crowds. But his audience was intentionally much smaller.

That's because Malcolm Ramsey is about to meet his favorite Gospel singer Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson.

"Malcolm, what's up buddy, asked Keith Johnson." "Good to meet you man."

The Wisconsin Make A Wish Foundation flew Johnson in from New York to have dinner with Ramsey.

"I have him on Facebook as my friend, said Ramsey, "and I wanted to talk to him and meet him in person."

Ramsey is battling sickle cell anemia, a blood disease that has no cure. The 18 year old loves to sing in church.

Ramsey received a special CD that will allow him to sing Johnson's hits.

"So whatever you want to sing, you've got all your favorite songs right there, said Johnson. All you have to do is just sing the lead.".

But Johnson had something even more special for his new friend.

"I just want to be right. when you see me walking up. I just want to be right, sang Johnson.

The two sang together.

"I say be right, be right. If you want to be right, come on clap your hands," sang Ramsey.

What a wish!

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: James 5:14 NIV

I pray for anyone who is afflicted with this disease, but if you have been reading this blog since it's inception, you know that there IS a cure for sickle cell anemia. My baby girl is living proof of that!!!!

Praying for peace on city streets

2010-06-17T13:48:00.003-04:00

The Boston Globe

By Lisa Wangsness
Globe Staff / June 17, 2010

In a gesture borne of frustration and faith, a group of clergy from across Boston gathered in the City Council chamber yesterday to ask God for peace on the city’s streets.

“The violence in the neighborhood in which we serve is intolerable,’’ said the Rev. Cathy H. George of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Upham’s Corner. “And it wouldn’t be put up with anywhere else that I’ve ever been in the state.’’

The City Council opens each of its weekly meetings with a prayer, but yesterday, in a show of concern about a wave of violence in which five people under 16 have been shot this spring, Council President Michael P. Ross and Councilor at Large Ayanna Pressley asked a number of clergy to come and pray.

“This moment is about underscoring that there is power in prayer,’’ Pressley said. “And in times of chaos, when we cannot make sense of anything, we need to lean not to our own understanding.’’

The clergy took turns reading a prayer written by Pressley’s aide, George Williams IV, who is a minister in the United Church of God in Christ.

“Magnificent God,’’ the Rev. Jeffrey Brown, executive director of the Boston TenPoint Coalition, began, “we pause to remember the 28 people who have died this year from senseless violence.’’

Several others followed. Sister Barbara Gorham of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Roxbury asked God to “bless the children of this city, too many of whom walk the streets of their neighborhoods in fear.’’

The Rev. Walter Waldron of the same parish asked God to “strengthen their will to resist the lethal seduction of a romanticized lifestyle of violence.’’

In the past, clergy have played a significant role in reducing violence in Boston. In the early 1990s, black ministers teamed up with the police and social service workers to visit the homes of gang members, and their work is credited with leading to a dramatic drop in crime known as the Boston Miracle.

Similar efforts continue today, but not on the scale they once did, and it is not clear whether they remain as effective. This summer, clergy are gearing up for another series of activities designed to stave off violence, but they have been asking the city to provide more help, particularly in the form of money for summer jobs for teenagers.

Ross acknowledged yesterday that “prayer alone isn’t going to solve the problems in our city’’ and said he would work with clergy on some of the specific requests they made to him.

“In addition to prayer, we need action, and we need action that makes a permanent difference,’’ Ross said.

But Ross said he thought it was important to bring the clergy to City Hall at the beginning of the summer to give them a chance to talk and to signify the city’s focus and seriousness of purpose about addressing youth violence.

Those who came yesterday were women and men, black and white, Baptist, Presbyterian, Jewish, Catholic, Episcopalian, and nondenominational Christian.

They included the Rev. Stephen T. Ayres of Old North Church in the North End; the Rev. William E. Dickerson II of Greater Love Tabernacle; the Rev. Gayle Elizabeth Harris, suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts; the Rev. Hurmon Hamilton of Roxbury Presbyterian Church; and Rabbi Elaine Zecher of Temple Israel.

Many of the clergy who came to pray yesterday said they were encouraged by the diversity of the group, because often black male ministers from the hardest-hit neighborhoods are the public face of the clergy response to violence in Boston.

“I think symbolism is important, and what is unique about today is you have people across denominations and across faiths united in one purpose, and that is to see the end of violence in our communities,’’ Brown said. “Sometimes, it takes a crisis to bring people out, but I feel a sense of resolve that the tide is beginning to change in terms of people’s commitment.’’

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding Proverbs 3:5 NIV

This is my city.....all I can say is this is a start....Pray for us!!!

School trades evangelism access for shoes, school supplies

2010-06-17T13:13:00.004-04:00

http://www.usatoday.com/

Talk about school spirit! A news story brings a new twist to the latest moves by cash-strapped schools selling advertising and promotional access to everything in sight to raise school supply and activity moola. Now a Florida school is selling access to kids' souls.

Combee Elementary School in Lakeland, Fla., where separation of church and state is clearly not on the social studies curriculum, has been "adopted" by First Baptist Church at the Mall.

According to the story in the Wall Street Journal, the church, in turn, has stocked a resource room with $5,000 worth of supplies. It now caters spaghetti dinners at evening school events, buys sneakers for poor students, and sends in math and English tutors.

The principal is delighted. So are church pastors. "We have inroads into public schools that we had not had before," says Pastor Dave McClamma. "By befriending the students, we have the opportunity to visit homes to talk to parents about Jesus Christ."

So far the evangelists visited 30 homes at Christmastime and 13 "came to the Lord," the pastor said. One woman, grateful for the attention to her child, told the WSJ they were still very nice even when she declined to visit the church.

The pastor was up front on the church's end of the souls for soles deal:

"The purpose is to show them the church cares, and that there is hope, and hope is found in Jesus Christ."

Steve Comparato, the principal who faced a 33% drop in funding for school supplies, told told the newspaper,

If they want to come in and help, who am I to say no?

He says he would welcome congregations of any faith as sponsors, but adds of his students, "My personal conviction is that I hope through this they'll know Jesus and they'll get saved."

The standard is a bit different in the Polk County office where superintendent of schools Gail McKinzie said,

He personally can hope anything he wants, as long as he offers programs at the school for parents who don't believe in the Baptist faith or anything at all.

But Comparato does more than hope. He stands in the school halls surrounded by the pastoral team from the church praying in front of his office.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 NIV

There are more churches than there are schools, so what if every congregation adopted its neighborhood school???? How many lives would be changed? How many people would give their lives to Christ? Imagine the decline in crime. Imagine the improvement in attitudes. If only.......

2010-06-16T13:43:00.003-04:00

It seems as if I haven't blogged in days, when in fact, it was just last Thursday. It has been a very busy 5 days for me!!! My oldest daughter, Clarke (the Cla in Clavier Chanean) graduated from Boston Latin School - the oldest public school in the country!!! Both sets of my parents and my baby sister flew into Boston from Milwaukee to share the occasion with us. We had a great time, but I am more tired now than before they got here!! Clarke will be attending Northwestern University in the fall. 1 down.....3 to go!!!

I recently found out that Child Evangelism Fellowship http://www.cefonline.com/ will be bringing their Good News Across America Program to Boston next month!!!! I am incredibly excited about it, as my mother has been working with this program in Milwaukee for years. From their website - God is using Good News Across America to enable churches to connect with their communities and impact them with the Gospel. Each year thousands of children and families are being reached; lives are being changed, and churches are growing. This is exactly what we need in Boston....and the world for that matter!!! We have had upwards of 20 homicides this year and the year isn't half way over. This city, country, and world need Jesus more than ever, so please pray for the staff of CEF that the Boston launch of Good News across America is successful and that their nets become as full as Simon's.
4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
Luke 5:4-7 NIV

God's Pantry Opens Pantry Number Ten at Old Pilgrim Baptist Church

2010-06-10T13:49:00.002-04:00

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/
Submitted by Carol Minehardt • June 3, 2010

God's Pantry, an ecumenical outreach to food insecure neighbors, has opened a pantry at Old Pilgrim Baptist Church, located at 3540 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville, SC. The hours are Wednesday 5 – 6:45 p.m. and Thursday 9 -12 noon.

God's Pantry, a 501c3 non-profit organization, depends upon the generosity of volunteers and donors. We are a recipient of Greenville United Way and a member of several local chambers. All food is packed for distribution at our warehouse at 1312-A Old Stage Road, Simpsonville.

Our outreach includes three counties: Greenville, Laurens, and Spartanburg.

for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:9 NIV
For more information about this pantry or another God's Pantry location, or to volunteer or donate, call (864) 963-4441.

Ogden Baptist Church forgives man charged with vandalizing it

2010-06-10T13:36:00.001-04:00

www.starnewsonline.com
By Matt TomsicMatt.Tomsic@StarNewsOnline.com
Published: Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 7:29 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 7:29 p.m.

Ogden Baptist Church wants Christopher Ryan Brown and his family to know they're welcome anytime.

Brown, an ex-con with a criminal record dating back to 1993, faces multiple charges in the May 28 break-in and vandalism at the church, which caused more than $250,000 in damage.

A vandal ripped the keys off a recently dedicated church organ, which had the most damage.

The sanctuary, doors, glass, walls and sound system also were damaged.

But all that is forgiven, a church official said Tuesday.

"We want to reassure (them) that we don't hold any grudge or animosity toward the family or toward that person," said Jim Arlart, the chairman of the church's deacons. "The door's always open."

The church recently bought the organ, Arlart said.

Members dedicated the organ late last year, when Carlo Curley, an international concert organist, played at the church. Curley was the first classical organist to play a solo organ recital at the White House.

Arlart said they hope to fix the organ by late July.

The church hired a cleaning company, which finished its work Friday, allowing the church to have services in the sanctuary Sunday, Arlart said.

Interim Pastor Duncan Futrelle said the church didn't cancel any Sunday services, but members met May 30 in the fellowship building.

Brown also stole $20 worth of permanent and dry erase markers during the break-in, according to an arrest warrant.

The church vandalism is Brown's most recent run-in with law enforcement.

He finished a two-year prison sentence for driving while impaired in 2006, according to the N.C. Department of Correction website.

Other prior convictions include two DWIs less than a month apart, resisting an officer, drug possession, multiple break-ins and multiple larcenies.

Brown also had an "unauthorized leave" infraction during his two-year prison term for the DWI.

Matt Tomsic: 343-2070

On Twitter.com: @StarNewsOnline

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:14 NIV

First Baptist Church hosts ceremonial note burning

2010-06-10T13:24:00.002-04:00

www.neshobademocrat.com
6/9/2010
4:30:00 PM

When a fire flared up in the sanctuary following a Sunday morning service at First Baptist Church, a feeling of thankfulness stirred among members of the church's congregation.

This blaze consumed a "paid in full" bank note representing $1,600,073 in borrowed funds which helped finance the building construction, renovation and land acquisition program begun by First Baptist Church in 1999.

Supervising the burning ceremony were Dr. Daniel Howard, pastor, deacons chairman Bob Henson, finance team chairman Ryan McKay, and Future by Faith Campaign co-chairman Frank Moore.

Major projects included in the program were the addition to the FBC complex of the multi-story Christian Life Center and a top-to-bottom renovation of the church's sanctuary building.

In addition to accommodating Sunday services throughout the renovation of the sanctuary, the life center's full size gymnasium floor has made it possible for First Baptist to sponsor an annual Upward Basketball program open to youngsters in the community who are age eligible.

The center also provides and expands space available for special events sponsored by First Baptist. Additional classrooms, activity rooms and an exercise room are housed in the Christian Life Center.

During its construction an elevator was installed in response to recommendations from congregation members concerned with needs of mobility challenged persons.

It serves each floor of the center and the buildings housing administrative offices and Sunday school and child care classrooms and provides easier access to the sanctuary building.

Members providing volunteer service through building committee tasks included Rebecca Barnett, Scott Bounds, David Byars, Willie Jackson, Ellen Kilgore, Frank Moore, Patricia Perry, Stan Yates and the late Glen Perry.

Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: "Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple." 2 Kings 22:9

WKZK 103.7 FM launches a new gospel radio format this Friday featuring mix-tape mogule, DJ Sean Blu

2010-06-10T13:10:00.003-04:00

June 10, 8:29 AMAugusta Gospel Music ExaminerBianca Woodard

WKZK, the only locally owned and operated gospel radio station in Augusta, is introducing a new weekend radio format, scheduled to launch this Friday Night at 9:00pm on 103.7 FM.

The new format, "StreetHymns Radio" will be a balance between urban contemporary gospel, gospel rap, and the current programming to provide a fresh feel for the station in addition to capturing a new listening audience.

This venture will be hosted by nationally acclaimed gospel DJ extraordinaire, DJ Sean Blu. His personal show within this format is entitled "The DJ Sean Blu Invasion".

Sean Blu is known for his prowess within the gospel hip hop/rap genre, but he plans to show the listeners that he is a multidimensional DJ with this new venture with WKZK. He also has plans to expand StreetHymns Radio beyond the current weekend time slot to provide an even wider variety of gospel music to the Augusta listeners.

Tune in to 103.7 FM at 9:00pm this Friday night and Saturday night at 9:00pm at to experience this ground breaking format. Listeners can also listen live on www.WKZK.net.

Sean Blu started his career in the summer of 1991 and released his first mix tape in 1996. He is no stranger to radio with experience working for WFAM 1230 as a part time radio board operator. He also has an educational background in audio engineering.

Sean Blu has officially released about 50 mix tapes in his career that have featured urban gospel artists such as Rob Hodge, Japhi Life, Claude Deuce, Shae Atkins, Sean Slaughter, T-Haddy, Young Chosen, Chosen, and Milliyon just to name a few. In addition, he has also performed in shows with Kirk Franklin, Trinity 5:7, and Mary Mary.

Fans can connect with Sean Blu on Twitter (www.twitter.com/DJSeanBlu), MySpace (www.myspace.com/djseanblu), Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-Sean-Blu-Street-Hymns-Mixtapes/88285726506) and fans can listen to past music mixes on www.soundclick.com/djseanblu.

Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands Psalm66:1 KJV

Local School Sends Suspended Kids to Church

2010-06-07T15:27:00.002-04:00

http://www.digtriad.com/
Tracey McCain

Greensboro, NC - When you're suspended from Smith High School, you don't go home. You go to church.

Smith's principal and the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church took the unique approach to keep kids learning and out of trouble while they're suspended.

"We saw that since they were out of school anyway they were just going to be at home. So we wanted to fill a component where they can just come to church," said Pastor Howard Woods.

Less than two miles from Smith High School, students who are suspended from three to fifteen days participate in the Stay Up While You're Out program.

Woods says the reasons for suspensions vary. "They're just overall minor infractions for being late to class, or just not making good decisions," said Woods.

Being at the church is not a day off from school. Retired teachers, who are also members of the church, work with suspended students going over the same lessons they would have learned in class.

"Once they open up and know we care, they're really smart kids," said Woods.

The Stay Up While You're Out program's goal is just that -- to keep kids from lazing around the house during suspensions.

"They'd be watching TV or sleeping or getting in trouble" said Woods. "Giving parents another option to have their child here has been working out real good."

In the last month Woods says the program has reduced suspensions and increased attendance at Smith. "We'd like to see zero kids participating," he said. "We're already getting calls from grandma's that want to know what can they do to help my child."

The church received a $106,000 grant from the North Carolina committee on dropout prevention.

The money will keep the program running through next year.

Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good. Job 34:4 NIV

More black churches take on AIDS battle

2010-06-07T13:39:00.002-04:00

As infections rise among blacks, compassion replaces condemnation

http://www.chicagotribune.com/
By Dahleen Glanton, Tribune reporter
dglanton@tribune.com

On a recent Sunday morning, the Rev. Stephen Thurston stood on the pulpit before a packed New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago while a health care worker swabbed his upper and lower gums. After his sermon, she announced the results: Thurston had tested negative for HIV.

It was an unusual scene in an African-American church, where for decades many black ministers and parishioners have stood silent as HIV and AIDS festered in the community. Consumed by fear, a lack of information and conflicting messages about religion, sex and homosexuality, some pastors condemned the disease in sermons as HIV/AIDS grew to epidemic proportions just outside their church doors.

But in recent years, with more access to information about the disease, increasing numbers of black churches are slowly becoming outspoken advocates for testing, increased government funding and education. For some, it has meant changing their views about religion and opening their doors to gays and lesbians, whom they once shunned.

"Our response has not been as compassionate and loving as it should be," said Thurston, who also is president of the National Baptist Convention of America, which claims 1.5 million members nationwide. "We are single-minded in saving the souls of individuals, but not as opened-minded in terms of saving that person's life."

While a handful of churches, such as Trinity United Church of Christ, have long had HIV/AIDS outreach ministries, others are just beginning to introduce the subject to parishioners. Some ministers pepper their sermons with calls for tolerance. Some invite HIV-positive speakers to address misconceptions and put a human face on the disease.

Some have taken it further. At Oakdale Covenant Church in Chicago, HIV testing was integrated into a recent women's day program. At Faith United Methodist Church in Dolton, a display of brochures about homophobia, HIV testing and the risks of Christians contracting HIV is placed near the entrance of the welcome center.

And pastors are taking HIV tests in an effort erase the stigma and encourage churchgoers to be tested. After Thurston's test, 41 people lined up after church to be tested, according to the health worker, who also is a member of New Covenant's health awareness committee.

There is an effort under way, pastors said, to change the culture of black churches — one of the most powerful voices in the African-American community — to view HIV/AIDS like other health issues that disproportionately affect blacks, such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. But it has not been an easy transition.

"African-Americans are very conservative people, particularly in talking about sex," said the Rev. Charles Straight, the pastor of Faith Church, which is hosting an HIV/AIDS forum for ministers on June 25. "Many of our churches believe it is a sin to be gay, and we can't get to anything else until we fix what's wrong with you. Preachers have to look at today's environment and today's culture and say, 'How do we apply the biblical principle and have an open mind?'"

Several Chicago ministers, including Thurston, are part of a national coalition of about 50 preachers from around the country promoting legislation in Congress that would provide grants to public health agencies and faith-based organizations for testing and prevention, and develop programs specifically targeting black women, youth and gay men. The bill, known as the National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act of 2009, also calls on President Barack Obama to declare HIV/AIDS an epidemic in the black community, which would bring additional federal dollars to help curb the growing numbers.

read the conclusion of this powerful story at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-blackaids-church-20100606,0,3719438.story?page=1

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. Ephesians 4:25 NIV

Pew Study Shows that More African-Americans Are Saying They Don't Believe In God

2010-06-03T13:15:00.002-04:00

http://blackchristiannews.com/
Religion News Service
Chika Oduah and Lauren E. Bohn

Standing before a room full of fellow African-Americans, Jamila Bey took a deep breath and announced she's come out of the closet.

Her soul-bearing declaration is nearly taboo, she says.

"It's the A-word," said Bey, 33, feigning a whisper. "You commit social suicide as a black person when you say you're an atheist."

Bey and other black atheists, agnostics and secularists are struggling to openly affirm their secular viewpoints in a community that's historically heralded as one of America's most religious.
At the first African Americans for Humanism conference recently hosted by the non-profit Center for Inquiry, about 50 people gathered to discuss the ins and outs of navigating their dual identities as blacks and followers of the non-religious philosophy known as humanism.

"We need black non-theists to gather in one place and say, `Look at her or look at him: he looks like me and they're atheists. And that's OK,"' said Norm Allen, a former Baptist and now the executive director of African Americans for Humanism.

A 2009 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that African-Americans were more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, with 87 percent of African-Americans describing themselves as belonging to one religious group or another.

Nearly eight in 10 African-Americans said religion is very important in their lives, compared with 56 percent of the general U.S. adult population.

"You renounce your blackness," said Bey. "You almost denigrate your heritage and history of the people if you claim atheism."

The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found that those who claimed "no religion" -- popularly known as the "nones" -- were the only demographic group that grew in every state within the last 18 years, according to researchers at Trinity College.

Between 1990 and 2008, the number of nonreligious Americans nearly doubled, from 8 percent to 15 percent, according to the ARIS study.

Among African-Americans, the increase was also nearly double, from 6 percent to 11 percent.

Howard University graduate student Mark Hatcher says African-Americans are largely invisible in a secular movement that has long been represented by white male thinkers.

Concerned that black religious skeptics were alienated on campus, he started a humanist student group this year. "It is extremely important to get these people in one room and say, `Hey, you're not crazy,"' said Hatcher.

The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? Numbers 14:11 NIV

Immersed in recovery

2010-06-01T14:50:00.003-04:00

By Morgan Simmons
http://www.knoxnews.com/

Church ministry provides baptisms to inmates at Claiborne County jail

NEW TAZEWELL, Tenn. - Claiborne County's new jail is as clean and modern as they come, but it's still a jail.

Visitors are accompanied by a correctional officer at all times, and the doors are locked from a master control room. Windows are practically non-existent, and surveillance cameras are a constant presence throughout the building.

Every Tuesday afternoon, members of the Pump Springs Baptist Church in nearby Harrogate, Tenn., come here to minister to the inmates. Using a program called "Celebrate Recovery" - a 12-step approach based on Christian principles - the team delivers a message of hope and reconciliation.

Last week the ministry team brought into the prison a 60-gallon plastic laundry tub mounted on wheels. Twelve inmates had asked to be baptized that day. In keeping with Baptist belief, the ritual would be administered by full-body immersion.

Inmates in the jail live in separate, self-contained housing units known as pods. Each pod contains two tiers of cells arranged around a central gathering area. The male inmates live on the lower floor of the jail, and the women are housed upstairs.

Edwin Robertson, lay ministry coordinator for Pump Springs Baptist Church, said his church baptized 55 inmates last year.

"Some folks criticize it and call it jailhouse religion," Robertson said. "But nobody knows what's in a person's heart. People here have the opportunity to make a change in life. They're incarcerated day and night, with nothing to do but to be quiet enough to hear the Lord."

The program is strictly voluntary. When the Celebrate Recovery team visits the jail each week, between 30 percent and 50 percent of the male inmates usually turn out to listen, while attendance among the women is about 90 percent.

The baptism team rolled the mobile laundry vat from pod to pod. The water was lukewarm, and church members stood ready with towels. Scott Cannon, pastor of Pump Springs Baptist Church, performed the baptisms, while Daniel Carmack, a Celebrate Recovery leader from London, Ky., sang for the inmates.

Of the 160 to 180 inmates typically housed in the Claiborne County Jail, 45 to 50 are women. Sheriff David Ray said close to 85 percent of the inmates are incarcerated for crimes related to drugs and alcohol.

"I don't know of another jail where an outside ministry has taken on so much," Ray said. "I see what it does for the inmates. It shows in their character, the way they present themselves."

Pump Springs Baptist Church operates a halfway house for men in New Tazewell near the jail. The church also will soon open a rescue mission for women in Harrogate.

The Celebrate Recovery leaders who go into the county jail have used the 12-step program to recover from their own addictions. One of those leaders is Gil LaBroad, who spent 24 years as an alcoholic, drinking as much as a case of beer each day. LaBroad's hands and arms are covered with tattoos - all of them Biblically related except for the ones on the back of his hands, which depict his two dogs. During last week's visit to the jail, LaBroad wore a black T-shirt with the "Christian Motorcycle Association" emblem stenciled on the back.

"The inmates relate to motorcyclists, too," LaBroad said.

Morgan Simmons may be reached at 865-342-6321.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, Luke 4:18 NIV

Free health screening and followed offered at church

2010-05-28T12:47:00.002-04:00

The Journal-Standard
Posted May 28, 2010 @ 09:15 AM

Freeport, Ill. — A free health screening and follow up for childhood and adult obesity will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon May 29 at Mount Calvary Church of God in Christ, 420 Challenge St.

The following screenings will be available:

Diabetes – five-hour fast required – no food or drink, except water
Cholesterol
High blood pressure screening for ages 3 and older
Childhood obesity screening
Educational information will available for prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and the importance of screening.
During the screening and clinic, healthy food choices and prizes for children will be available.

For more information, call (815) 232-4021.

The event is sponsored by Mount Calvary’s Hearts That Care in partnership with FHN, Monroe Clinic and Stephenson County Health Department.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2 (KJV)

Gospel music in air this weekend

2010-05-28T11:24:00.001-04:00

Cincinnati.Com
By Karen Vance • Enquirer contributor • May 27, 2010

The sounds and celebrations of Gospel music and the local artists who perform it will sing through downtown this weekend at the "I Hear Music in the Air'' event.

For the first time, the event will include an awards program meant to honor Cincinnati's best Gospel artists.

"I hope people will leave (Friday night's) awards ceremony encouraged and feeling appreciated for their hard works," said Tracey Artis, CEO of the conference.

"I really felt like there wasn't much Gospel music coming to the city, Artis said. "This weekend festival was birthed out of what I felt was a necessity in the city."

The event, at 7 p.m. Friday, at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, will give awards to Cincinnati gospel artists in 14 categories. Tamela and David Mann, stars of the TBS show "Meet the Browns," will host the event.

"It's really great that local artists are being recognized for their talent and work," said Bishop Bobby Hilton, a nominee for Male Vocalist of the Year.

Hilton's album, "God Did That Thing," is nominated in Praise and Worship CD of the Year and Vocal CD of the Year. His church choir, Word of Deliverance Mass Choir, is in the Traditional Choir of the Year category. He'll perform at the show.

"Our objective is to save and to bring good, wholesome music to our community," he said. "We also hope to inspire and promote the desire for Gospel music in young people."

The weekend conference includes Saturday workshops and seminars at the Aronoff, followed by a concert with nationally known Gospel artist Marvin Sapp at 5 p.m.

Saturday also includes a teen summit and "I Hear Music Idol'' at the Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park noon-4 p.m. Saturday. It is free to the public.

The weekend concludes Sunday with the Legends Ball, in which the organization will honor the Urban League of Cincinnati, Sesh Communications, publisher of the Cincinnati Herald; Lincoln Ware, a DJ at WDBZ Radio One; the Rev. H.L. Harvey of New Friendship Baptist Church; and The Clark Sisters.

For information and tickets, visit www.ihearmusicintheair.com.

MANPOWER CONFERENCE

2010-05-27T16:05:00.002-04:00

August 26-28, 2010

Men, get ready, get ready ManPower is back for 2010! Your are invited to come and join Chicago men as they travel to Fort Worth, Texas to ManPower 2010.

Bishop T.D. Jakes will share a private and intimate gathering
for all men, young and old!

First session begins 8/26 @ 7pm; Last session ends 8/28 @ 1pm)

Speakers - Bishop T.D. Jakes, Dr. Myles Munroe, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Bishop Lester Love, Bishop I.V. Hilliard, Pastor Bill Winston

Artists - Salvador, Dr. Marvin L. Sapp, Bishop Gary Oliver

Travel Package Includes
ManPower Conference Registration Fee
Roundtrip Airfare - American Airlines (O'Hare/Dallas)

3 or 2 Nights at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel - Fort Worth, TX
(Convention Center)

Roundtrip Airport Transfers

Travel Package Prices Per Person

3 Nights Package (August 25-28)

Single - $845
Double - $605

2 Nights Package (August 26-28)

Single - $685
Double - $525

Deposit/Balance Deadline
June 10 - $100.00
July 10 - $150.00
July 30 - Balance

For Single Payments: Contact us to receive an invoice.

Payment Methods: Pay online above or mail to W&A Entertainment, 9543 Luebcke Lane, Crown Point, IN 46307. Make checks payable to W&A Entertainment - Angel LaCruise

Preliminary Itinerary: A full and complete itinerary will be posted August 1.

Policies

All payments are non-refundable.

American Airlines is the official carrier.

You must adhere to deposit deadlines as prices may change if not paid on time.

2 is the Maximum Number in a Room.

Nyleey Special Events announces launch of summer event series

2010-05-27T15:59:00.001-04:00

Special Events Company seeks to save today's inner city youth, one event at time.

Los Angeles, CA, May 26, 2010 – June 5th, 2010 marks the beginning of the Assorted Praises, Gospel Rock the Runway, summer event series taking place throughout the Los Angeles area. Lewis Metropolitan C.M.E., 4900 South Western Avenue, will host the kick-off fashion and gospel explosion. Nyleey Special Events is rolling out the red carpet with an evening complete with runway show showcasing cutting edge designs from designer, Leondra Renee, LA based Soles Desires and I Rock Jesus Apparel brand to name a few. Live entertainment will be led by LA gospel sensation Felicia Nicole.

"There is a desire to see the arts especially drama, dance, and music restored back to their rightful place, in glorifying God", Tiffany Beasley says when asked about the origin of the event. Geared toward inner city youth and young adults, Tiffany fuses fashion, art and entertainment and flips the typical Christian youth event into a more creative, far reaching expression.

Advance tickets for the kickoff event can be obtained by contacting Tiffany Beasley at Nyleey Special Events 310.591.9156 or emailing info@nyleey.com. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. For more information on the June 5th event visit www.nyleey.com. Future dates and locations for the Assorted Praises, Rock the Runway Gospel Explosion series will be announced in the coming weeks.

Nyleey Special Events is a fashion and special events production company specializing in Christian youth outreach events. A creative network of Christians working together to produce non-typical Godly events to reach today's lost children. Tiffany is a faithful member of Ruach Christian Community Fellowship in Los Angeles where she is over the youth ministry. She has a passion for the youth and is concerned for their lives on earth and in eternity.

Contact Information:
Tiffany Beasley
Tel: 310.591.9156
Email: info@nyleey.com
Web: www.nyleey.com

Free Clothes Washing Available At Church

2010-05-21T16:35:00.001-04:00

http://www.wsmv.com/community/23606973/detail.html

Harpeth Heights Baptist Offers Help To Flood Victims

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Harpeth Heights Baptist Church in Bellevue is offering flood victims a variety of free services to help in recovery efforts.

The church will wash and dry clothes, as well as provide cleaning supplies for homes. There are also hot showers available on site, including towels, soap and shampoo.

Harpeth Heights is located at 8063 Highway 100. The service is available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

The public can call 646-5050 if they have questions.

And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes Exodus 19:10 (NIV)

First Baptist Church of Pelham helping locals find employment

2010-05-21T16:19:00.002-04:00

By Austin Phillips (Contact) Shelby County Reporter
Published Thursday, May 20, 2010

PELHAM (AL) — With the state and national unemployment numbers on the rise, First Baptist Church of Pelham has taken notice and is helping local residents find employment through its Christian Jobs Concern Ministry.

Joe Lacey and Don Robertson helped develop the program, which began in October 2009, and it is aimed at matching potential employees with local employers, while also ministering to meet each person’s spiritual needs.

In the seven months since the program was created, 85 people have applied for employment help, with approximately 24 of those finding work.

Ada Pritchett, along with volunteers Jansen Richardson, Wallace Lee and Martin Benson, meet with prospective employees each Monday at the church from 9 a.m.-noon, and they help match up the applicants with local employers.

“We make contact with local employers, and we try and establish relationships with those employers so that when they have positions to fill, they come to us,” Pritchett said.

Volunteers have also set up an e-mail list where they can e-mail out any job postings or job fairs in the area.

In addition to matching prospective employees with employers, the program also acts as a ministry to people suffering during these tough economic times.

“When we started this, our No. 1 goal was to be a ministry support for people out there looking for jobs,” Pritchett said. “We talk with each person about their job needs and their spiritual needs because that’s a big part of it too.”

And while many people become depressed or discouraged after losing their job or failing to find a job they are looking for, Pritchett said despite unemployment numbers and media reports, there are jobs out there.

“I have been very surprised because there are jobs out there,” Pritchett said. “They may not be the jobs a person has had in the past, but people have to step out of their comfort zone of what they’ve always done, and that’s hard.”

Some of the jobs the ministry has been able to set up for applicants include positions at Regions Bank, the Social Security Office in Birmingham and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Anyone interested in seeking employment through the ministry, or any business seeking employees can contact First Baptist Church in Pelham by e-mail at jobsearch@fbcpelham.org or by calling 664-0237.

Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. Exodus 36:2 (NIV)

50 properties fixed up in 4 days by church volunteers

2010-05-18T13:01:00.002-04:00

Middletown Journal
By Rick McCrabb, Columnist

A 50-plus house renovation blitz is called a first step

MIDDLETOWN (OH) — The idea, to most, would seem impossible.

After years of renovating one home in Middletown, volunteers from Berachah Baptist Church — this time assisted by two other churches — tackled a larger project: 50 homes in four days.

Clark Helvey, outreach and mission director at Berachah and project manager, called it “a lofty goal.”

Regardless, at 5 p.m. Sunday — during a celebration at Robert “Sonny” Hill Community Center — Helvey and the Rev. Lamar Ferrell, pastor of Berachah, and city officials proclaimed the four-day blitz an “overwhelming success.”

Consider that hundreds of volunteers renovated 50-plus homes in the city, and the $50,000 in materials were paid for through the Middletown Community Foundation and a Community Development Block Grant fund, and the project was completed on time.

And there was paint left over.

Doug Adkins, community revitalization director for the city, applauded the efforts of the volunteers.

“This has been wonderful,” he said.

And what’s next for Berachah and its army of volunteers whose closets must be stuffed with paint-covered T-shirts? Ferrell said the church hopes to complete another “Extreme Makeover” this fall.

“We’re ready,” he said.

Helvey compared Middletown’s climb out of its depressive condition to a marathon.

“It all begins with a step,” he said. “You can’t run 26 miles without taking that first step. You know it’s going to be difficult, but you have to sacrifice, you have to endure. It’s a process.”

That’s a lot to ask for a city labeled as “dying” by a national publication.

“I don’t see that,” Clark said. “I see life in this city. We are not done. We have been knocked down, but we’re making every effort to get back up. We are not finished.”

'It’s amazing the difference a coat of white paint can make'

Read the rest of this incredible story at http://bit.ly/cPqW4H

they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, "Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here." Ezra 4:2 NIV

Immanuel Baptist Church opens food pantry in Carlisle

2010-05-17T14:05:00.002-04:00

www.todaysthv.com

A Carlisle church member's dream to help families in need becomes a reality.

After nearly 20 years of Maxine Thrift trying to establish a food pantry, her church, the Immanuel Baptist Church, recently gathered enough resources to make it happen.

The pantry opened March 29, and already it's helping dozens of families in Carlisle.

Pamela Harris was barely getting by. Between food and clothes, she says it was always a blessing if she managed to stretch her disability check for 30 days.

"I'm on my own here," she said. "It's kind of tough being on a fixed income."

That was until her the Carlisle church opened the Mission of Hope Food Pantry.

"It's helped carry me through until I get my check. So it's been really a good thing," said Harris.

Thrift says she always knew there was a need in the area, but she's overwhelmed by the number of families who have actually come through.

"Makes me feel really good that people can get the help they need," said Thrift. "The first night we had three families, the next Monday night we had 20 families and it's just grown from there."
At about a hundred families a month, the pantry now serves more people than the church's members.

Pastor Billy Ricks says it's their mission to reach families beyond Carlisle.

"What we hope it does is give us an opportunity to minister to the families, to pray with them, to get to know them," said Ricks.

For Maxine, it's about finally realizing a calling she's been trying to make a reality for nearly two decades, and people like Harris couldn't be more thankful.

"It's been a blessing," said Harris.

Thrift says she "just wanted food to help families, children especially, who were going to bed hungry at night. And believe it or not, we have families here in Carlisle with children who do go to bed hungry at night and we just hope that we can stop that, for a while anyway."

The pantry recently partnered with the Arkansas Rice Depot to help out with food. They also have a clothes closet.

They say their doors are open to anyone who is in need and can get to the church.

Families can pick up food and/or clothes at the church on Mondays.

Donations are also welcomed.

Call: (501) 743-2307 or (501) 416-2048 or (501) 412-4980

He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. Ezekiel 18:16 NIV

2010-05-17T13:50:00.002-04:00

I had a great weekend!!! I worked all day Saturday....but I was working for ME!!! I spent a little time at my rental property with my maintenance guy. He's awesome!!! Then I did ( mostly watched) some yard work. Quentin cut the grass, his uncle trimmed some hedges, and I cleared an cleaned the side of the house of random leaves, sticks, and twigs.

On Sunday, Clarke and I attended the Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.'s Echoes of Excellence Awards Luncheon. Clarke was the recipient of a scholarship from the lovely ladies this year. I am so proud of her. I could fill this blog everyday with her accomplishments, but Jeremiah tells us but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD. (9:24 NIV) so enough of that. But she is on her way to Northwestern University with 82% of her tuition paid for via Northwestern grants. So my heart was proud and my eyes were wet as I watched my baby accept her award. More importantly, I began to realize that she will soon be gone - she will be under her own roof (hopefully not doing the things that I told her that she could do once she got her own roof!!!) But God is a good God. He's brought her such a mighty long way. So this post is dedicated to my oldest child - Clarke Ella Humphrey. Pray for her as she spreads her wings, and pray for me as I struggle to let her go!!!!

In Harlem, a Minister Serves Those Who No Longer Can

2010-05-14T13:50:00.003-04:00

New York Times
By TRYMAINE LEE
Published: May 12, 2010

It was about 20 minutes after lunch at the Northern Manhattan Nursing Home on 125th Street in Harlem, and the sounds of feet shuffling and wheelchairs squeaking in a ninth-floor hallway seemed to fade as the Rev. Olevia Stewart-Smith began to read aloud the Lord’s Prayer.

“Our Father,” she read, her voice rising, filling a large room at the end of the hall.

In little more than a whisper, Florence Berry, a 96-year-old deacon at Harlem’s Canaan Baptist Church of Christ, with side-swept gray hair and a sweater the color of cotton candy, mouthed along, “who art in Heaven.”

It is a staple of pastoral work: visiting the sick or the shut-in. And there are scores of ministers and church elders throughout Harlem who have been doing it for decades. But across the years, when the ministers and elders themselves have taken ill, they have often been neglected.

Ms. Stewart-Smith, day by day, visit by visit, works to prevent such isolation, becoming, in a sense, the caregiver to Harlem’s caregivers.

As the chairwoman of the sick and shut-in committee of the Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity, she visits ill members of the 111-year-old fellowship, made up mostly of black clergy members and church elders from Harlem.

She offers prayer and Holy Communion, flowers, cards and candy, anything to show them, she said, that they are not forgotten.

“God didn’t call me to be in the pulpit,” said Ms. Stewart-Smith, 66, a member of Canaan Baptist who attended the seminary after a career as a social worker with the city’s Department of Aging. “He called me to be in nursing homes and the hospitals and bedsides.”

Since joining the committee in 2001, Ms. Stewart-Smith has fought through her own health issues while making the two or three visits a week. She has battled cancer, asthma and a bad hip. She has had knee replacement surgery and a hysterectomy.

“But after all I’m going through,” she said, “I still got joy.”

One of the conference’s ministers had been bouncing for more than a year between a hospital, a nursing home and a rehabilitation facility. For a while, Ms. Stewart-Smith would visit and had good news to report back, that the man was full of spirit and gaining his health and strength. But he ultimately died, perhaps more peacefully for her companionship.

“I was with him through it all,” said Ms. Stewart-Smith, sitting on a bench in a dim corridor at the nursing home, her head down and voice hushed, as it seems to get when she is not praying or preaching. “It’s hard sometimes. It makes me think about my own mortality.”

But there are uplifting moments as well.

“I can see the reward of my labor when someone calls and says, ‘I’m better,’ or, ‘Thank you for the calls, thank you for the visits,’ ” she said.

Long before joining the ministry, Ms. Stewart-Smith, a divorced mother of three and grandmother of two, was the inheritor of humble roots dug deep in the rural South. She is the niece and sister of preachers and the daughter of sharecroppers from Wisner, La.

She tended to them in the winter of their lives and held close the religiosity they shared. The basics mostly, the kind that had been preached one Sunday a month at Holly Grove Baptist Church in their small town by preachers who traveled town to town because there were not enough ministers to go around.

She was baptized in that little church at 12, and recalls it being the kind of place where families worshiped their whole lives, and when they died, they were buried in the cemetery out back.

She was struck by seeing the ministers from her childhood often die in loneliness, with few comforts other than the Bible.

“I feel that sometimes they are the ones that are forgotten,” Ms. Stewart-Smith said.

As she said her goodbyes to Ms. Berry that day, she dug into her black roller bag filled with the tools of her trade: among other things, a Bible, scriptural material and the sacraments for Communion. She searched for a gift that had been sent along to Ms. Berry by another church member.

After a few moments her hand emerged with a little lace sack with a few Hershey’s Kisses wrapped in gold foil. As she peeled them slowly for the older woman, she said with pride that Ms. Berry was the first woman to be made a deacon at their church.

Ms. Stewart-Smith then laid a hand on the woman’s shoulder as she passed through the threshold of the room and promised to return soon. And as she ambled down the hall toward an elevator — a cane in one hand and toting her roller bag in the other — she greeted several patients by name, her voice rising and falling, and melting into the sounds of feet shuffling and wheelchairs squeaking.

Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. Psalm 71:9 NIV

Family Survives Tornado In Church

2010-05-14T13:37:00.003-04:00

KOCO.com

Church Building Sustains Extensive Damage In Storm

OKLAHOMA CITY --A father and his three children survived a tornado by seeking shelter in a church.

The church was destroyed in the storm, but the family was able to walk away.

“The children were pretty scared,” said Reid Horton. “I was pretty scared, too.”

Grace Place Baptist was a lifesaving location for Horton and his children on Monday. He said the family was heading home just moments before the tornado hit, and they rushed into the church for safety.

“The metal started to fly off the roof,” Horton said. “I just told my children to get under one of the chairs in the Sunday School classroom. I just know that it was God’s protection of us that the firewall fell into the gym. If it had fallen the other way, it would have fallen onto us.”

Once the storm passed, the family went out the door of the classroom and through the back side of the church, where the walls had been blown down.

“I do not know how they are still alive, except for the grace of God,” said the Rev. Robby Roberson.

He said the building sustained extensive damage. The nearby Friendship Pentecostal Holiness Church was also hit, but no one was inside.

The storm has given the church and its congregation the new mission of rebuilding. Roberson said it’s just a tiny bump in the road.

“It is hard to see it,” Horton said. “It’s a lot of memories.”

The people at Grace Place Baptist Church are looking to rent a location to hold Sunday services. Friendship Pentecostal Holiness Church will be able to use its gymnasium.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. Psalm 57:1 NIV

First Baptist Church of Highland Heights hosts Real Men’s Conference

2010-05-14T13:22:00.002-04:00

nky.com
Contributed By Michelle Howard First Baptist Church - Highland Heights

First Baptist Church of Highland Heights will host the first-ever Real Men’s Conference to encourage men of all ages in their spiritual growth through teaching, fellowship and worship. The goal of the conference is for men to experience unity in Christian service.

The free event will take place Friday, June 4 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 5 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided following the conclusion of the event on Saturday.

Featured speakers and topics include “It’s Time To Step Up” by Mark Webb of FBC Highland Heights; “Winning With The Word” by Pete Coleman of I Won Today Ministries; “No More Dis-Connected” by Ronny Raines of FBC Cold Spring; and “A Call To Purity” by Bill Clark of Hickory Grove Baptist Church. Worship leader is Chris Daniels and his band from Hickory Grove Baptist.

The conference will be held at First Baptist Church of Highland Heights, 2315 Alexandria Pike, Highland Heights, Ky. 41076

There is no cost to attend, but registration is requested. To register for this event, call 859-441-7274 or send an email to fbchh@fuse.net.

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalms 133:1 NIV

Treasure Box offers affordable food

2010-05-07T16:24:00.002-04:00

Posted at 05:09 PM on Tuesday, May. 04, 2010
By Joan Obra / The Fresno Bee
jobra@fresnobee. com or (559) 441-6365

Call it a sign of our cash-strapped times: The Treasure Box, a way to buy inexpensive food, has arrived in the central San Joaquin Valley.

The service bills itself as the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls of the food world. It provides product overruns from manufacturers such as Cargill and Nestlé.

By buying surplus food, The Treasure Box saves money -- and passes along those savings to shoppers. In addition, it distributes the food once a month at pickup points, thereby avoiding the costs of running a store.

The result: $30 boxes of food that could cost $65-$100 at retail.

"I wanted to bring this service to Fresno and Clovis," says Kevin Carlucci, a member of Praise Church of God in Christ in Clovis and local organizer for The Treasure Box. "There's a need here."

There are three types of boxes available. One is the Treasure Box, a mix of meats and seafood, vegetables, fruit, a side dish and dessert. Another is the Hearty Meat Protein Box, with items such as chicken thighs and spiral ham slices. And the third is The Quick & Healthy Meal Box, with individual, prepared, heat-and-serve meals.

Folks can buy as many boxes as they like, when they like, Carlucci says. Currently, there are two pickup areas: Praise Church of God in Christ in Clovis and Family World Harvest Church of God in Fresno.

For more information, call Praise Church of God at (559) 704-4122 and Family World Harvest at (559) 269-8663. Online orders can be made at thetreasurebox.org.

A peek at the boxes during last Saturday's pickup at Praise Church of God in Christ revealed items such as Sara Lee lemon meringue pie, Harris Ranch ground beef, King's Command Turkey Meatloaf with cranberry glaze, and Smart Fare sliced peaches.

I understand the rationale. The raw foods are designed for cooks, while prepared meals target the elderly and individuals who don't like spending time at the stove.

While the boxes are priced to appeal, I wouldn't recommend relying mostly on this food. The boxes don't contain fresh fruits and vegetables -- essentials in everyone's diet. Also, since you can't select what goes in the boxes, you may end up with items you won't eat (and waste money by discarding them).

For folks who prefer fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables -- and have the time to save money by cooking -- community-supported agriculture (CSA) offers a service similar to The Treasure Box. Customers order food directly from a farmer. Boxes of food are picked up at specified locations or delivered to customers.

Many CSAs don't allow customers to choose the items in their boxes, so there is a risk of wasting something you don't like. But some CSAs let you choose your own produce.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, Matthew 25:35 NIV

Walnut Church Becomes Ground Zero for Disaster Relief

2010-05-07T16:03:00.003-04:00

dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Walnut, MS 5/4/2010)

Dozens of volunteers descend on North Mississippi after tornado

Tornado relief is well underway after last weekend's storms.

At least two disaster centers are set up in Mississippi already.

Harmony Baptist Church in Walnut has become ground zero for tornado relief in North Mississippi.

It's the same church that opened its doors for townspeople with water and food after this winter's water main break left residents dry.

Volunteers from all over have come to Walnut to help folks who've lost anything from a little to a lot.

They've turned the parking lot and fellowship building of Harmony Baptist Church into a giant one stop shop for tornado relief.

"We've been able to go out in the community right now and work with getting trees cut out of yards. We have three teams from the Mississippi Baptist Convention and their disaster relief," said Harmony pastor Rev. Brian Tatum.

Victims here range from those who lost everything to those who just lost power.

At Harmony Church they can get a hot meal, a friendly smile, and even recruit a little muscle to help clean up storm damage.

In its first day of operation the relief center fed hundreds of people though the Salvation Army.

Now that Baptist disaster teams and the Red Cross have arrived, the Salvation Army has moved on to other damaged areas.

Dozens of volunteers are working almost around the clock to make sure people here feel cared for, and cared about.

"We want to be able to help in any way and share Christ with anybody that we come in contact with," said Rev. Tatum.

There's one other disaster center in Ashland at Intersection of Hwy 370 and Old Hwy 370 in Ashland, Benton County.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40 NIV

Northeast Texas church shows love for its community

2010-05-07T14:57:00.001-04:00

By John Hall, Texas Baptist Communications
Published: May 06, 2010

BOGATA—First Baptist Church loves Bogata and every person in it—all 1,300 of them.

The congregation is in a campaign called “First loves Bogata,” an effort to share the gospel with every person in the city.

On the day before Easter, First Baptist Church held a festival complete with free food, games for children, activities for adults, live music and an Easter egg hunt. Between 300 and 500 people came to the event, which included opportunities to share prayer requests and receive a free Bible. The response astounded Tim Martin, the church’s youth minister.

“My first thought was, ‘Where are all these people coming from?’” he said.

Eugene Cox, a member of First Baptist Church who helped with the festival, said the entire community was excited by the festival and got involved in it.

“It just snowballed,” he said. “Everyone came together and got excited.”

The event was part of the congregation’s involvement in Texas Hope 2010, an initiative to share the gospel with every Texan. It helped build on the momentum that began with church members visiting every home in the city, taking prayer requests and offering people Bibles.

A LifeCall Mission Grant made available by the Baptist General Convention of Texas helped the church with its outreach efforts. LifeCall grants are made possible by gifts through the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

Through the festival and the outreach, church members have started new relationships and built on existing ones, creating avenues through which the gospel can be shared. Church members showed their friends, neighbors and co-workers that they cared about them.

“It gave people the opportunity to see we are trying to practice what we preach—to get out and meet the needs of people in the community,” he said. “We are here for them. We expect nothing in return.”

As a result, several new faces appeared on Easter Sunday that can be directly traced to the church’s outreach efforts.

“On Easter Sunday, we had a packed house,” Martin said. “We had I’d say five or six families who came as a direct result of what we did on Saturday.”

The guests’ appearance encouraged the congregation and helped members see the kingdom impact their efforts were having, Martin said.

“When we saw these faces … we were so excited they were giving us a chance,” he said. “They wanted to see if our church was everything we said it was in the weeks before. We saw that we weren’t just spinning our wheels. We were actually having an impact.”

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Matthew 28:19

Gospel deejay spins message of redemption

2010-05-03T13:28:00.003-04:00

By Ozzie Roberts, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
ozzie.roberts@uniontrib.com

On the day he shot and killed his father more than 30 years ago, Larry “Preacherman” Thompson knew he’d never find peace without divine help.

And a month later, he answered a call to be a minister.

Now a part of his ministry is fulfilling a childhood dream as a disc jockey on KURS 1040 AM, which marked its first anniversary last month as San Diego’s only 24-hour gospel radio station.

“The dream is to be a well-established African-American-owned gospel radio station,” he says, “that is real, relevant and conducive to African-Americans in San Diego through gospel music and a gospel message. We want to birth something with hope in this city” and county.

The twice-married father of six, who was born and raised in Jackson, Miss., is the creator of San Diego Gospel Radio Inc., which began KURS in leased office space at Third Avenue and H Street in Chula Vista last year. It has flourished with a growing list of sponsors who come from all age groups and ethnicities, Larry says.

At 54, he is also assistant minister of Christian education at New Life Baptist Church in Spring Valley, where he and his second wife of 25 years, Joann, have attended for 11 years.

He speaks easily about the “cold Sunday” in spring 1977 in Jackson that changed his life.

He was “Slick Larry,” a disc jockey who spun records on a soul radio station, work he had dreamed of doing since elementary school.

His father, L.M. Thompson, was a truck driver and Korean War Army veteran, who was stern and unyielding, with extreme and unpredictable mood swings. He became angry that Sunday over troubles Larry’s brother, Harry, was having with the Army, and he forced everyone out of the house at gunpoint.

His father stood holding the gun on Larry and his mother near Larry’s opened car trunk, where he had a small-caliber handgun.

“I pulled the gun from the trunk, pointed it at him and said, ‘Hold it,’ ” Larry says softly. “When he saw the gun, he gave me a look I’d never seen before — it was a look that seemed to say, ‘Somebody is going to die today.’ ”

Larry remembers closing his eyes and firing four times. Two of the shots struck his father in the head and hip. He then heard his father’s last breath as he fell onto the driveway.

“I dropped the gun, walked into the house, looked into a mirror and said: “This is not me,” he says.

“Why any of it happened, I really don’t know. I always feared my dad. My dad raised us to fear him. And I’d never, ever raised a hand to my father, never raised my voice. But it happened, and it is stuff that could have driven me out of my mind. But I knew for my own salvation, I had to surrender to God — I knew it as I looked into that mirror.”

The police decided the shooting was justified and released Larry from custody soon after the incident. And his relatives never stopped supporting him.

But Larry says he was not at peace until he went to a Friday night gathering at a Baptist church up the street about a month after the shooting.

“The preacher’s sermon that night about (a wayward son who returned to the family fold) seemed like it had been written just for me,” Larry recalls. “And it felt like God was calling me through (the preacher) when he touched me on the forehead” and said it was time for Larry to start doing work for the Lord.

By the time Larry came to San Diego in 1982 and met Joann three years later, he’d given up secular deejaying, escaped a bad marriage and hustled at odd jobs to keep himself afloat.

By the time he decided to get into gospel deejaying in 2003, he’d studied the Bible at several seminaries between San Diego and San Francisco. He started a couple of businesses, worked odd jobs and founded and pastored a church for 15 years.

When he hit on the idea to form San Diego Gospel Radio Inc., he knew it was all part of the calling.

Preacherman says he’s been working on a book — an autobiography he calls “On–The–For–Real–Side” — for three years, and he’s determined to finish it someday.

“We can all learn from each other’s stories.” he says. “And I’m a for-real guy. Hopefully someone else might be helped or steered to God by hearing my story.”

Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Job 22:21 NIV

2010-05-03T13:02:00.003-04:00

www.newsgazelle.com

One is a Pentecostal, mostly African American congregation of 22,000,
led by a world-renowned bishop with global ministries that extend to
Africa and Haiti.

The other is one of the largest Latino evangelical churches in the
city, whose Spanish-language ministries serve more than 4,000 members,
most of them Salvadoran and Mexican immigrants and their children.

Located just four blocks apart along Crenshaw Boulevard in South Los
Angeles, the two mega-churches — West Angeles Church of God in Christ
and Iglesias de Restauracion — had never broken bread together, as
cultural and linguistic differences kept them apart.

But that all changed Thursday night, when more than 1,500 believers
from both churches worshiped together in what organizers billed as a
historic attempt to overcome black-brown differences through shared
faith and a sacred covenant to jointly address the violence, poverty
and health problems that afflict both communities.

Read the full story here.

–Teresa Watanabe

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 KJV

Richardson's The Heights Baptist, other Dallas-area churches devoting today to community service, not services

2010-05-03T12:57:00.001-04:00

By RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
rabshire@dallasnews.com

No services today at Richardson's The Heights Baptist Church — at least not in the usual sense of the word. Today, it’s service instead.

Almost 2,000 church members are worshipping and witnessing out in the community instead of in their pews.

Members of The Heights, and about three dozen other churches in Dallas and Collin counties, are painting, repairing and landscaping homes and other properties where needs have gone unmet too long.

Richard Covington, The Heights’ community minister, said this is the second time the church has done this, and it is part of a national movement.

"Our senior pastor, Dr. Gary Singleton, has been haunted by a question: If our church went away, would our community miss us?" Covington said. "Not the members, the community itself."

The answer they came up with was “No, not unless we serve the community.”

Helping is a form of witness, not recruiting, Covington said.

"People in church said, ‘We need to be leading in this because this is what God called us to do,' " Covington said.

True Bethel Baptist Church Raises Thousands For Fire Victims

2010-04-30T12:43:00.001-04:00

BUFFALO, NY - Thursday night the community came together at True Bethel Baptist Church to help raise money for a family that lost their one year old child to a house fire.

Church goers were happy to help this family that doesn't even attend the church because they believe community is most important. Pastor Craig Pridgeon says, "What we have learned at this church is anyone in need in the community, we are all family, the bible teaches us our neighbor is anyone that lives with you, and we make sure to take care of members of the community when their are tragedies."

Pastor Pridgeon also told 2 On Your Side the church will provide one full week of food and clothing to the family.

With hundreds of people at Thursday night's service, they were able to raise a total of just over seven thousand dollars for the family.

Buffalo Firefighters pulled the baby girl out of the burning home, but despite their heroic efforts, the child died a short time later at the Erie County Medical Center.

The call came out around 10 a.m. for 102 Shepard Street, just off of Broadway. Crews were notified immediately that there was a child still trapped inside.

The cause of the fire is still not known at this time.

This is what we were put her for!!! God bless this ministry!!!

Duke doctors, church have Cuban boy rolling free

2010-04-30T12:10:00.002-04:00

www.newsobserver.com
yonat.shimron@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4891

DURHAM -- When Yudel Hernandez lost his ability to walk two years ago, his world closed in around him.

The Cuban government gave him a standard-issue manual wheelchair, but because his arms were too weak to move the wheels, he was at the mercy of his mother to push him around.

On Thursday, Yudel tried a motorized, electric wheelchair for the first time. As he tooled around the corridors of Duke Children's Hospital pushing the joy stick, he pronounced it good.

" Si me gusta," said the plump 12-year-old. "I like it."

Yudel and his mother, Mahelia Hernandez-Linares, arrived in Durham on Wednesday as part of a rare act of international good will between two countries, which haven't been on speaking terms for 50 years. Thanks to the efforts of a Baptist church in Smithfield and a Baptist community in Ciego de Avila, in north central Cuba, Yudel and his mother have been allowed a two-week trip to North Carolina.

The Smithfield church, Sharon Baptist, plans to extend the pair the best of Southern hospitality. In addition to persuading Duke Hospital to assess Yudel's condition for free - he suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy - the church has managed to secure free air travel, a free motorized wheelchair and a free cough assist device for the youngster. While he's here, they'll take him to Washington, D.C., to a Durham Bulls ballgame, and to Devil's Ridge Motocross track (Yudel loves car racing).

"This is one of those opportunities that helps break down the prejudicial barriers that exist between our governments," said the Rev. Christopher Ingram, pastor of Sharon Baptist. "It will open doors to continued conversation with a larger group of people."

Read the rest of this amazing story at http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/30/460343/us-doctors-church-havecuban-boy.html?tab=gallery&gallery=/2010/04/29/459959/cuban-boy-receives-medical-care.html&gid_index=1#gallerytop

Gospel singer John P. Kee working in vineyard

2010-04-29T16:17:00.005-04:00

www.chicagodefender.com
by Effie Rolfe

Verity Gospel recording artist John P. Kee is on a mission.

“I think I have taken more guns off the streets than the police department,” said the Pastor of New Life Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The church, named after his popular recording choir, is extremely active in street ministry in his hometown. Those familiar with his stellar career know his testimony about being a former drug dealer and how God delivered him. Recently, Kee has been on a mission to take his street ministry to other cities that are hurting with crime as well as the economy.

“I have been doing a major gun drive and I give away gift cards and gas cards. I received so many guns it didn’t make sense,” said Kee. “I went to Detroit and Rock Hill, South Carolina due to the boom in crime.”
He said some major preachers were unwilling to work with him but he was not deterred. “I called pastors and told them I wanted to come and give money away, and many didn’t call me back,” Kee said.

The Stellar Award-winning and Grammy-nominated recording artist has given free concerts to standing room only crowds at churches and auditoriums.

“Detroit was good for me. If I didn’t sell records anywhere…I sold them in Detroit and I’ve got to be a blessing. I went to Detroit and paid mortgages. It was amazing. We went to Second Ebenezer Church,” said Kee.

Letters of appreciation from attendees have been steady flowing since Kee blessed the cities.
Recently, Kee also stopped by Salem Baptist Church and blessed the audience and church as well.
“I wanted to come to Chicago to do the same thing. Chicago has been good to me as well,” said Kee, who is featured on Fred Hammond’s hot single, “They that Wait.” Kee said he is in the studio working on his next project which is to be released soon.

Lucinda Moore's new gospel music CD debuts at #13 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums Chart

2010-04-29T15:53:00.002-04:00

Lucinda Moore’s CD, Blessed, Broken and Given, debuted at #13 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums Chart. The gospel song “Blessed, Broken
& Given” is the first single from the album and among the Top 100 most played songs on gospel radio.

“Oh my God,” Moore said through tears when she heard news of the CD’s chart premiere. “I’m so happy. I’ve worked hard all of my life and been through so much but this makes it all feel worth the ups and downs. I’m grateful to my producer Jojo Hill and my Pastor Kevin A. Williams for their part in helping making this project happen.”

CECE WINANS’ CLOSET EBAY SALE

2010-04-28T12:38:00.002-04:00

http://gospelconnoisseur.com/wordpress/

Gospel superstar CeCe Winans, is cleaning out her closet this weekend. Starting Saturday, May 1, CeCe will be selling items from her closet on Ebay. Clothes, Shoes, and Jewelry from CeCe Winans’ closet! All proceeds will benefit Sharing the Vision, a non-profit organization. Sharing the Vision is the umbrella for the youth conference, Always Sisters Forever Brothers.

Always Sisters Forever Brothers is an annual National Conference destined to empower youth and young adults with life changing and motivational teaching, heart-pounding worship, concerts and much more! Registration for the 2011 Conference will begin closer to the event date of July 21st – 23rd. Please check the website HERE for more information.

Funding sliced, but need remains for food vouchers

2010-04-28T12:33:00.002-04:00

By Ed Balint
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Apr 27, 2010 @ 09:35 PM
Last update Apr 27, 2010 @ 11:32 PM

CANTON, OH — The demand remains high for the city’s food voucher program. But the city and church heading the effort are not handing out as many vouchers this year due to funding constraints.

Last year, the city provided $50,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding. A tighter budget has decreased that amount to $25,000 for the current Canton Cares Food Voucher Program, which started Tuesday and continues Thursday at Trinity Gospel Temple.

The church is contributing $5,000 to the program. Last year, with help from other churches, Trinity Gospel provided a higher amount. The Rev. Dave Lombardi of Trinity Gospel said the amount was lowered because Trinity and many other churches are financially strained.

Cathedral of Life and Dueber United Methodist Church both are assisting with the program, Lombardi said.

The city and churches expect to hand out 1,500 vouchers worth $20 each to city residents to be used at two Fishers Foods locations.

“Just imagine, all we’re doing is giving them a $20 voucher, and they’re so grateful with tears in their eyes,” Lombardi said.

Read the complete story at http://www.cantonrep.com/topstories/x43875643/Funding-sliced-but-need-remains-high-for-food-vouchers

Church Raises Funds For Wells In Tanzania

2010-04-28T12:05:00.001-04:00

Source: The Greeneville Sun

Jill Bible Working with A Missionary team On Project in a Remote Area

BY BILL JONES
STAFF WRITER

A car show, auction and yard sale held recently at Mosheim Elementary and Middle School raised about $5,300 to assist with Bible's Chapel Baptist Church's effort to provide clean drinking water to residents of the African nation of Tanzania.

Rick Bible, a church member, helped coordinate the "Wishing for a Well" event.

Jill Bible, his niece, has been living in Tanzania since January 2009.

She is working there as part of the Southern Baptist "Journeyman" program with a missionary team in a remote area.

Jill Bible is the daughter of the Rev. Donnie Bible, pastor of Bible's Chapel Baptist Church, and his wife, Judy.

Rick Bible said that Jill Bible is helping to coordinate the drilling of two wells to provide fresh drinking water for residents of a Tanzanian community who currently have no safe source of drinking water.

He said that the congregation of Bible's Chapel Church undertook fundraising efforts in January to pay for drilling of the two wells.

The church committed $7,800 in funds it had on deposit to the well-drilling project, Rick Bible said.

The church also sponsored chili and spaghetti suppers before holding the car show, yard sale and benefit auction.

FUNDS RAISED

Receipts of $5,301 from car show registrations, the auction, yard-sale receipts, donations and concession sales brought the overall fundraising total (combined with the $7,800 in church savings) for the well-drilling project to about $28,000, according to Rick Bible.

He said more than $21,000 of that amount has already to been spent on drilling the two wells in Tanzania.

That same weekend, Rick Bible said the Bible family had received a text message from Jill Bible telling them that drillers had struck water on the first of the two wells.

Rick Bible also noted that another group has promised to drill a third well and that his group also is working on another, smaller water project.

He said 14 people, including church members and other volunteers plan to travel to Tanzania in May to visit Jill Bible and see the results of the well-drilling efforts.

Bible said he doesn't feel the well-drilling project is about Bible's Chapel Baptist Church.

"It's all about the Lord and being able to tell people about Jesus," he said.

Rick Bible thanked the Volunteer State Auto Club, of Greeneville, for coordinating the auto show portion of the fundraising event.

The car show drew numerous classic and custom vehicles as well as fire trucks from the Town of Mosheim Fire Department.

A large American flag was suspended above the assembled cars from the raised aerial ladder of one of the fire trucks.

Internet evangelism gives new ways to share gospel in ‘closed’ countries

2010-04-27T10:23:00.001-04:00

April 26, 2010 by The Underground Staff
Filed under Arts & Culture, Causes, Featured

Now anyone can be a missionary, including people who can’t afford to travel, and those who are disabled. Through the Internet, people can lend advice, share the gospel and conduct Bible studies almost everywhere.

Internet evangelism, made popular by organizations such as Global Media Outreach has reached an all time high.

This was discussed at Internet Evangelism Day recently.

Walt Wilson, CEO and founder of GMO said by 2015 Wi-Fi will be everywhere on Earth, and by 2020 everyone on Earth may be reached through the gospel.

“We are the first generation in all of human history to hold within our hands the technology to reach every man, woman and child on the earth by 2020,” Wilson said at an iSummit at Biola University.

“Our generation has within its grasp everything that is required to fulfill the Great Commission,” Wilson, a former Apple executive, said to The Christian Post.

GMO is the media arm of Campus Crusade for Christ. They have more than 100 websites through which anyone in the world can connect with online missionaries who will answer their questions. GMO has more than 4,000 online missionary volunteers who answer e-mails from people.

Still, some like Rev. Tom Schaeffer, pastor of Threshold Church in Toledo, expressed reservations, noting that Internet evangelism does not lead to real-world interaction and community.

Dietrich echoed Schaeffer’s concerns, saying “You cannot visit someone in the hospital. You cannot bring them a covered dish if they are sick. You can’t lay hands on them physically. So there are things certainly that the on-the-ground church does that you can no way do online,” toledoBlade.com reported.

“We really try to offer multiple options for someone once they made a decision to help them grow, whether that is chat Bible studies, self-service online Bible studies, or working through materials with the person they are talking to,” toledoBlade quoted Diedrich as saying.

Diedrich sees online evangelism as a complement, not a replacement of traditional church programs and services. Still, “More people use the Internet than go to church. New thinking is required for outreach in the post-Christian age.”

Some 1.8 billion people are on the Internet daily, of which 2 million search for spiritual needs, statistics show.

Gospel Showcase Highlights Top Artists

2010-04-27T09:35:00.003-04:00

Knott’s and KJLH Celebrate 10 Years of Fellowship and Music

Buena Park, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) April 27, 2010 -- Today’s most popular gospel performers will take the stage at the 10th Annual Gospel Showcase. Knott’s Berry Farm and KJLH Radio have teamed up again to present a day of non-stop entertainment, Saturday, May 15.

Gospel Showcase will pack two stages with powerhouse gospel performers from the playlist of “Spread the Word” (broadcast every Sunday noon – 6 p.m.) on KJLH. Scheduled performers include Bebe Winans, Marvin Sapp, Hezekiah Walker, Greg O’ Quinn, Beverly Crawford along with special guest host, Kelly Price.

In addition to established gospel artists, this year’s line-up will also include some of L.A.’s finest church choirs invited by KJLH to share their gifts at the showcase including West Angeles Mass Choir, City of Refuge Psalms Choir, Greater Zion Family Voices, Praizum, Greater LA Cathedral Choir, LA Inner City Mass Choir and many, many, more.

Gospel Showcase at Knott’s offers a full day of family fun. In addition to the stellar performances, guests can also take in some of Knott’s awe-inspiring thrill rides including Silver Bullet, Xcelerator, Supreme Scream, and Pony Express. The younger set always enjoys a visit to Camp Snoopy where they can visit their favorite beagle and take one of the many rides designed specifically for them.

Tickets are just $31.99 for regular admission with a discount coupon at gospel music and bookstores and $19.99 for juniors (ages 3-11) and seniors (62+), or purchase Knott’s tickets on-line for just $31.99 (a $22 savings) at www.knotts.com. Tickets for Gospel Showcase are now on sale at Knott’s Guest Relations or on-line at www.knotts.com. For a list of participating bookstores log on to www.knotts.com. For information on group tickets (15 or more), call Knott’s Group Sales at (714) 220-5211.

CONTACT:
Michele Wischmeyer
Jennifer Blazey
(714) 220-5130

Oraclez 2010 now to be held on 31st May

2010-04-26T15:57:00.000-04:00

THE ORACLEZ World Gospel Festival & Awards, to be held at Wembley Arena, has announced the event is now taking place on Bank Holiday Monday 31st May. Featuring such acts as BeBe & CeCe Winans, Fred Hammond, Faith Hill, Mary Mary and Trin-I-Tee 5:7 the event was set to be held on Monday 3rd May but "due to the ensuing travel chaos as a result of the Icelandic volcano eruption" Oraclez has been rescheduled.

You’ve Got The Power To End Stroke. Join the American Heart Association & American Stroke Association to Celebrate Power Ambassadors During the 2010 P

2010-04-26T09:07:00.004-04:00

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tickets are available at Ticketmaster for the Power Awards Show scheduled for Friday, May 7 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. Prices are $50, $75 or $100. The Power Awards is a black-tie, red carpet event whereby national and local Power To End Stroke Ambassadors are honored for their outstanding work in helping to spread Power To End Stroke messages across the country. The show will be hosted by Comedian George Wilborn of the Michael Baisden radio show and will feature artists, such as Smokie Norful, Cassandra Wilson and Myron Butler. For more information about the Power Awards visit PowerToEndStroke.org. Here you will find the awardees and entertainers.

You can also view a video on this topic at http://yourupdate.tv/healthandwellness/power_to_end_stroke/

You can get tickets at: Ticket Master: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/00004477E1868D9F?artistid=1426781&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=52

Damascus outreach: Elder provides spiritual help, food at Downtown ministry

2010-04-23T12:08:00.003-04:00

By María Cortés González / El Paso Times
Posted: 04/23/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT

Click photo to enlargeElder Otis Durr, who devotes his time to ministering to the... (Victor Calzada / El Paso Times)«1234»"Blessed is he that considers the poor, the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble."

-- Psalms 41:1

EL PASO -- Elder Otis Durr does not mince his words as he preaches about how people treat others.

"We were created in the image of God and you are all God's people. And you deserve to be treated with the same respect given everyone else," he said, standing at a pulpit in a small, run-down but clean business that was once a restaurant.

It is another typical Sunday service for Durr at Damascus Ministries on Myrtle Street. But it is not a typical group of Christians that takes in his message and says "amen" to his compelling words.

This is a group of men and some women who have no place to call home. They are homeless because of mental illness, because of drug addiction, because they come from dysfunctional families or because they have, they admit, made bad decisions.

Some say they stay in shelters, while others prefer to live on the streets, where they make their own rules.

But on any Saturday or Sunday morning, about 45 to 50 people fill the small building, knowing they can be fed both spiritually and physically by Durr and a handful of volunteers.

Read the rest of this amazing article at http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_14938868?source=most_emailed

Genesis Health Project Network offers ‘Churches Against Diabetes’ programs April 28 and 30

2010-04-23T12:02:00.001-04:00

Friday, April 23, 2010

By Michele Barrett • (315) 443-6172

As part of its ongoing Diabetes Seminar Series, the Genesis Health Project Network welcomes the Syracuse community to its “Churches Against Diabetes” programs Wednesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. at the Brotherly Love Church of God in Christ, 1234 S. Salina St. and Friday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. at New Jerusalem COGIC, 1641 S. Salina St. The seminars are free and open to the public.

Both seminars, funded by a CDC Bronx Health REACH grant initiative, will be facilitated by K. Bruce Simmons, internist at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He will discuss diabetes prevention, risk factors, signs and symptoms, screening and early diagnosis, management and legacy concerns. Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and share personal experiences.

“The incidence of diabetes has reached epidemic proportions among African Americans. We believe faith-based health interventions are pivotal to raise awareness, enhance knowledge and work towards reducing the high rate of diabetes within African American communities,” says Luvenia Cowart, professor of practice in the Syracuse University College of Human Ecology’s Department of Health and Wellness and director of the Genesis Health Project Network.

Launched in 2004, the Genesis Project is part of a larger minority health initiative in partnership with the College of Human Ecology, corporate donors, government agencies and other regional partners. The Genesis Project has accomplished numerous milestones in addressing health disparities in African Americans in collaboration with the Syracuse community, including health seminars, fitness programs, educational programs at barber shops, and healthy lifestyle activities with churches and universities. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health honored Cowart and the Genesis Health Project Network for its best practices in eliminating health disparities.

Funding providers for the Genesis Project include Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Central New York Region; the Rosamond Gifford Foundation; the SU College of Human Ecology; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; the New York State Office of Minority Health; the Prevent Cancer Foundation; Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; Wegmans Food Markets; and Amgen Pharmaceuticals. Other collaborating partners include Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County; Family Ties Network Inc.; Onondaga Community College; the New York State Small Business Development Center; and SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Gospel Music Trio to Perform at Faith Chapel Christian Center on Mother’s Day

2010-04-23T11:37:00.001-04:00

The Rance Allen Group will perform during Faith Chapel Christian Center’s Mother’s Day service on Sunday, May 9, 2010.

The service begins at 10:00 a.m. and will be held at The Word Dome in the Wylam community of Birmingham. The public, including gospel music lovers everywhere, are invited to join them for this event.

The Rance Allen Group first recorded in 1969 and is comprised of brothers, Rance Allen, Tom Allen, and Steve Allen. Some of their most popular gospel songs are “Something About the Name Jesus”, “I Belong to You”, and “Miracle Worker”.

For more information on the concert visit Faith Chapel Christian Center.

BMI Christian Music Awards honor genre's most-played songs

2010-04-23T11:30:00.001-04:00

Wednesday April 21, 2010
Categories: Christian music awards
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) recognized the writers and publishers of the past year's most-performed songs on Christian radio and television during the annual Christian Music Awards, held Wednesday April 20, 2010.

Among the winners were:

Publisher of the Year

UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP
"Back II Eden"
"Empty Me"
"Get Up"
"I Cast My Bread Upon the Water"
"Lose My Soul"
"One World"
"Two Hands"
"Welcome to the Family"

2010 BMI Christian Awards Award-Winning Songs

BACK II EDEN
Donald Lawrence
Q W Publishing
Universal Music-Z Songs
Donald Lawrence and Co.

GET UP
Eric Dawkins
E. D. Duz It Music
Irving Music
Underdog East Songs
Mary Mary

SOULED OUT
Nate McNair
Naymac Publishing
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir

TAKE IT BACK
Derrick Starks
DStarks Music
Dorinda Clark-Cole

For more about the BMI Christian Music Awards, visit the BMI website.

McDonald's(R) Features Gospel Greats Regina Belle and J Moss in the 2010 Inspiration Celebration(R) Gospel Tour

2010-04-23T10:30:00.000-04:00

The 2010 Tour Kicks Off in May, Returns for Fourth Year with Free Concerts

OAK BROOK, Ill., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- McDonald's, Regina Belle and J Moss inspire through spirit and song across the country with the McDonald's Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour, kicking off in various cities during May. The gospel concert events are free in most cities and will be held at churches across the country and at festivals in select cities. This year's concert series is headlined by four-time Grammy Award-winning artist Regina Belle and PAJAM/Zomba recording artist, J Moss. Belle is new to the Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour, while J Moss joins the tour for a second, consecutive year. Tour dates and locations, include:

May 13 – Philadelphia, PA (Deliverance Evangelistic Church)
May 14 – Detroit, MI (Greater Grace Temple)
May 15 – Chicago, IL (Broadview Missionary Baptist Church)
June 19 – Newark, NJ (McDonald's Gospel Festival Prudential Center)
June 24 – Oakland, CA (Paramount Theatre)
June 25 – Los Angeles, CA (West Angeles COGIC Cathedral)
August 6 – Memphis, TN (World Overcomers Church)
August 7 – Atlanta, GA (Praise In The Park)
Sep. 12 – Washington, DC (National Black Family Reunion Celebration Festival - Washington Mall)

"More than ever, people are in need of inspiration and this tour will truly inspire spirits through powerful song," said Regina Belle. "It is an honor to join McDonald's, along with J Moss, and to be a part of providing inspiration to the community."

The McDonald's Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour has been drawing audiences from across the country for four years. The tour has previously featured such top gospel artists as CeCe Winans, Smokie Norful, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Kierra Sheard and Myron Butler and Levi.

New cities added on the tour this year include Los Angeles and Oakland, CA. In most cities, concerts will include performances by local gospel groups to showcase community talent. Independent franchisees have supported gospel music in a number of ways throughout the years, by bringing gospel and all types of musical festivals to their communities. Among them is the McDonald's Gospelfest®, held in Newark, NJ, which this year will also include the Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour artists on June 19.

"For four years, the McDonald's Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour has been inspiring people in communities across the country with one of the many rich musical contributions of African Americans – gospel music," said Rob Jackson, Marketing Director, McDonald's USA. "We're glad to bring in some of the nation's top celebrated gospel music artists to help us praise the positive and enrich the communities our restaurants serve 365 days a year."

McDonald's Inspiration Celebration Gospel tour is produced by Revolver Marketing Group (RMG), which brings in the talent for the tour. McDonald's also works with UMI (Urban Ministries Inc.), the nation's leading African American producer of Christian education resources for African-American consumers and churches for 40 years, to connect churches to the various concert events. The tour is in its fourth year and previously featured CeCe Winans, Smokie Norful, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Kierra Sheard and Myron Butler and Levi.

Tickets are free, while supplies last, except for McDonald's GospelFest®, and are available at the host church, churches surrounding the host church and select local gospel retailers. Tickets for the McDonald's Gospelfest are available through Ticketmaster.com. Information and the full tour schedule can be found at http://www.365Black.com, McDonald's portal for its 365Black programs, celebrating the African American community throughout the year. For high-resolution artist photos, go to: http://mcdepk.com/inspirationcelebration2010.

MILESTONE POST!!!!

2010-04-23T10:28:00.002-04:00

This is my 100th post!!! It didn't take long to get here. Stay with me as I and this space continue to evolve. Thank you for your interest and support!!!! May God forever shine His Grace and Mercies over you!!!!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

2010-04-22T14:59:00.003-04:00

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO WATCH THE DOVE AWARDS ON SUNDAY, DO NOT READ THIS POST!!!!! I AM ANNOUNCING SOME OF THE WINNERS!!!!!!

41st ANNUAL GMA DOVE AWARDS RECIPIENTS

RAP/HIP HOP RECORDED SONG"Movin"; Ordinary Dreamers; Group 1 Crew; Group 1 Crew, Jeremy James, Byron Chambers, Christopher Stevens; Fervent Records

URBAN RECORDED SONG (tie)"Close To You"; Still; BeBe & CeCe Winans; BeBe Winans; B & C Records, Malacoand"Just Wanna Say"; The Power of One; Israel Houghton; Aaron Lindsey, Israel Houghton, Tommy Sims; Integrity

TRADITIONAL GOSPEL RECORDED SONG"Justified"; Smokie Norful Live; Smokie Norful; Smokie Norful; EMI Gospel, TreMyles Music

CONTEMPORARY GOSPEL RECORDED SONG"The Power of One"; The Power of One; Israel Houghton; Israel Houghton, Ricardo Sanchez; Intergrity Music

RAP/HIP HOP ALBUM (album; artist; producer; label) Five Two Television; KJ-52; KJ-52; BEC Recordings

CONTEMPORARY GOSPEL ALBUMLove Unstoppable; Fred Hammond; Fred Hammond; Verity

Congratulations to all of last night's winners. However, if we are singing for God's glory, we are all winners!!!!

Church unites to help man get kidney transplant

2010-04-19T13:04:00.002-04:00

Chattanooga Free Press
By: Perla Trevizo

For 37 years, Victor Delgado fought diabetes fiercely but now his life depends on a double organ transplant and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Challenging," sighs the Puerto Rico native as he describes living with Type 1 diabetes.

"As a teenager, I was able to do what other teenagers were able to do but, as I get older, I've started to show complications," said Mr. Delgado, who made Chattanooga his home in 1980.

The dark circles beneath his eyes, the pale color of his skin and his dried lips are the outward signs of his battle against diabetes.

His high spirits and positive attitude masquerade what can't be seen: His kidneys are only functioning at about 16 percent and his pancreas doesn't produce insulin. He has developed cataracts, glaucoma and gout, among other conditions related to his disease.

Mr. Delgado's doctors recommended the 51-year-old get a kidney-pancreas transplant.

This type of double transplant is fairly uncommon, said Dr. Christopher Poole of Nephrology Associates of Chattanooga. During the seven years he has practiced in Chattanooga, the kidney specialist has referred fewer than 10 patients for this combination of transplants.

In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas shuts down and stops producing insulin, in addition to the common problem of kidney failure among diabetes patients, Dr. Poole said.

"Those people can be helped or their diabetes can be cured if they get a new pancreas that produces the insulin," he said.

The downside, he noted, is that patients in need of a kidney-pancreas transplant may have to wait longer to get both organs at the same time. Some patients have to go on dialysis, but Mr. Delgado and his doctor hope he can avoid that.

"In Victor's case, he is a pretty motivated guy who has done everything he can do to take care of himself," Dr. Poole said.

"He's a very good patient, he just has a couple of bad diseases that have put him in this situation," the doctor said. "It just stinks that he has two bad problems that aren't easily fixable."

And fixing them is very expensive. According to a 2008 report by Milliman, a consulting company for the health care industry, a kidney-pancreas transplant will average about $439,000 when all costs such as hospital fees, surgery, doctors and drugs are added up.

Mr. Delgado has worked for the same employer for 25 years. His health insurance covers about 80 percent of the costs involved with the transplant and post-transplant treatment, but he still needs to raise about $100,000.

He needs to pay Emory Hospital in Atlanta about $40,000 of the cost of the surgery before the procedure, which his church, Red Bank Hispanic Church, his family and his co-workers hope to help raise.

"For us he is a very important member of the church, of the community," said Jaime Betancourt, pastor of the Hispanic church. "He is one of the founders and we are trying to help him in any way possible."

Mr. Delgado, for whom music has been a passion since childhood, is music director at the church.

The church will raffle a computer in May as one of the first fundraising activities.

Mr. Delgado's younger sister, Sonia Cripps, said she will donate one of her kidneys but Mr. Delgado still has to wait for a deceased pancreas donor.

"I'm nervous about (the donation), of course," said Mrs. Cripps, an Arkansas resident and mother of four children. "Any surgery includes pros and cons and all that ... but I will get a lot more if I do it. I will get a healthy brother back."

Mr. Delgado said he is nervous about what the coming months hold for him, but he also is at peace.

"I have peace in my heart," he said. "I know God is the one taking care of me and I'm trusting my life to him and He will see me through."

ABOUT ORGAN DONATION
* More than 106,000 patients are waiting for an organ transplant today.
* On average, 18 people die every day in the United States while awaiting an organ transplant.
* Another name is added to the waiting list every 10 minutes -- 50,331 in 2009.
* In the Tennessee Donor Services area -- Tennessee and Virginia -- about 5,000 people are on the waiting list. Only about 450 people donate one or more organs upon death each year.
* In 2009, 6,485 Americans -- one person every 82 minutes-- died while waiting for a transplant.
Source: Tennessee Donor Services

FAST FACTS
* People with diabetes can develop kidney problems and eye problems. About one-fourth of diabetic develop kidney problems.
* The greater risk for death for diabetics is cardiovascular disease.
* For people with Type 1 diabetes, getting a new pancreas can essentially cure them of diabetes.
Source: Dr. Christopher Poole, local nephrologist

HOW TO HELP
* To make a donation or to get involved contact the Red Bank Hispanic Baptist Church, Pastor Jaime Betancourt at 423-877-4514.
* Donate through the National Foundation for Transplants.
* Read Victor Delgado's blog at www.victor4life.blogspot.com.

Thank God for the Start of a New Work Week

2010-04-19T13:02:00.001-04:00

That means I have a job to come to!!!!

Psalm 118:24This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I had a very good conversation with one Capt. Lance Summy of the United States Air Force today

2010-04-16T16:10:00.003-04:00

So....in trying to secure all the scholarship dollars that we can, I have encouraged Clarke to join the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp (AFROTC). In its simplest form, the Air Force pays for you to go to college, and then you owe them anywhere from 4 years to 10 years of service upon graduation. Again, not a bad deal. Capt. Summy was telling me the hows and whens and what to dos of ROTC as well as the Air Force. I have to admit that I am a bit jealous. Can you imagine being college educated, and officer in the Air Force traveling all over the globe all at the age of 22???? She wants to be a Public Affairs Officer - essentially PR for the Air Force. I told her that this is good, because the connections that she makes while in the service are hers to keep and she can use them when she is looking for a Director of Communications position in a fortune 500 company when she is 26. Yeah....this is quite the stepping stone!!!! Now again, this is me speaking and seeing this future. I'm sure that her 17 year old perception is far from this. But that is the role of a parent....to gently guide and direct and make sure that she doesn't miss any opportunities in what promises to be a very exciting life!!! Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)

Pray for her that she becomes all that God has destined her to be!!!!

Smokie Norful Presents The Victory Cathedral Choir | Debuts at #4 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums Chart

2010-04-16T15:31:00.002-04:00

The Urban Music Scene
www.urbanmusicscene.com

NEW DEVOTIONAL SERIES Worship & A WordAND NEW CHOIR ALBUMSmokie Norful presents The Victory Cathedral ChoirVictory Cathedral Choir debuts at #4 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums Chart

Smokie Norful Merges Artistry & Church Ministry

Nashville, TN (April 15, 2010) EMI Gospel artist and GRAMMY winner Smokie Norful boldly merges the two halves of his career---artistry and church ministry---with the release of two new projects, the innovative devotional series Worship & A Word and the debut recording of his church choir Smokie Norful presents The Victory Cathedral Choir. Both projects are available in stores and online now.

While the tradition of the singing preacher has a long history in the African American church, Worship & A Word marks the first time a major Gospel artist has married his role as an active pastor to his artistry on the same album. Each installment in the series contains a full-length sermon along with a bonus studio recording, which is reflective of the sermon's theme. All sermons in the series were recorded live at Victory Cathedral Worship Center, the thriving Chicago-area church founded by Norful in 2005.

"When I started pastoring five years ago, I literally took off from the music industry for almost 2 years because my main focus was building the church," Norful reveals. "My natural love, gift and anointing for preaching grew to the point where that's really what I wanted to do. I thought music was the only thing I was made for, but this was what I was really made for. In order to combine both ministries I put together this model."

3 Powerful Installments

In keeping with the truly unique nature of the project, three installments of the series---"The Myth Of Unmet Needs," "Matters Of The Heart" and "According To Your Faith"---were released simultaneously through TreMyles/EMI Gospel, the joint label venture owned by Norful and the company that has been his recording home for more than a decade. Each devotional carries a retail price of $5.98.

To further celebrate the success of Norful's church ministry, TreMyles/EMI Gospel has also released Smokie Norful presents The Victory Cathedral Choir. The high-energy, 10-song collection, which debuted at #4 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart, was recorded live in Chicago. The project captures the essence of the Sunday worship experience at the ministry's two locations---the West Suburban and South Campuses of Victory Cathedral Worship Center.

Norful's vision for his church choir is steeped in the rich tradition of Chicago's legendary choral ensembles, with one major exception: "Most of the Chicago choirs have been community-based," says Norful. "The Victory Cathedral Choir is distinct in that these are regular, lay-choir members who are not professional singers. The majority of our singers are regular churchgoers who do not have a professional musical background. They're just excited to be able to serve in the ministry."

In fact, the commitment to service is a core ideal for the choir. Members of Victory Cathedral Choir are required to serve in other auxiliaries in the church in order to be eligible for the choir. Their participation extends to meal and clothing programs with shelters for the homeless and battered women, as well as ongoing outreach efforts to college and high school students and their faculty in the communities surrounding the church's two campuses.

"The reality is they are not just a choir who sings. This is a choir who serves," Norful says. "That dynamic is very exciting for me as a pastor. What a wonderful thing to be able to marry both of my passions---music and ministry---without comprising the integrity of either one in any way."

Juanita Bynum’s new gospel music CD, More Passion, will be released on May 4, 2010.

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This CD is the follow-up to the popular gospel music CD A Piece of My Passion, which won a Stellar Award and received the RIAA Gold Record status.

The Anointed Pace Sisters will be on BET’s Bobby Jones Gospel on Sunday, April 18th.

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They are currently promoting their CD, Access Granted, which includes the hit gospel song “If I Be Lifted Up”.

Gospel show to help with transplant

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McDuffieMirror.com
By Lynn Davidson
Staff Writer

Local church choirs can sing their hearts out to raise money for a kidney.

A Gospel Music Program is being held to raise money for Geraldine Morris, a kidney transplant candidate at Medical College of Georgia.

A Thomson resident, Ms. Morris is in renal failure as a result of diabetes and hypertension, and has been going through dialysis for one year. The longer she goes without a healthy kidney, the more likely other parts of her body will be affected, Ms. Morris said.

"I definitely need a kidney transplant," she said in a fundraiser request letter last October. "It is overwhelming to understand the restrictive cost to cure/minimize the progression of this illness."

Fundraising efforts began in October to help raise the $11,600 needed for Ms. Morris to be made active on the transplant list. Local fundraising events have included various dinners and a Halloween costume dance.

Ms. Morris said she needs $3,000 more to be put on the active list. According to a letter from MCG, the money is used to help pay for the necessary immunosuppressant medications and other expenses for the first six months after the transplant.

The Smooth Ashlar Grand Court Heroines of Jericho are hosting the choir event, which will be at Vanderhorst C.M.E. Church on Main Street in Thomson at 4 p.m., Saturday, April 17.

All choirs, families, individuals or gospel groups can sign up at the door to perform in the charitable event. Refreshments also will be for sale.

Irving police will host seminar on church security

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By COLIN HOGAN / The Dallas Morning News

Irving police will host a seminar on Saturday to address the issue of security at churches.

The event is open to the public. It will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Calvary Church, 4401 N. State Highway 161.

The topics to be discussed include guns in churches, security policies, dealing with suspicious or unruly visitors, and responding to a shooting.

Church violence has been prominent in the news recently, after a series of shootings across the country. In February in Richmond, Calif., two teenage brothers were wounded by gunmen who disrupted a midday service at New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ.

Earlier this week, police in Denton said they were looking for a burglar who had stolen cash and equipment from churches in Denton, Farmers Branch, Midlothian, Mansfield, and Southlake.

People interested in attending the Irving seminar can RSVP via e-mail to crimeprevention@cityofirving.org.

First Baptist Church of Sterling's Food 4 Families Outreach Program is excited about helping the community during these difficult economic times.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE(Free-Press-Release.com) March 22, 2010 -- Event News – April 18, 2010

FBC of Sterling wants to ease the stress of having to choose between paying your bills or providing meals for your families! Food 4 Families is a Ministry that is Excited About Doing the Works of God! Every Month we will feed 25 families. Distribution will take place once a month, right after our 11am Service, our Food 4 Families Staff will direct you to where you can pick up your package of food.

The vision, mission and goal of the First Baptist Church is to preach, practice and produce the gospel to the spiritually and economically poor; the brokenhearted; to those who are in spiritual, emotional, physical and financial captivity; to give sight to the spiritually blind; and those who have been emotionally wounded and bruised by life's battles.

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.' Deuteronomy 15:11

Contact First Baptist Church of Sterling at (703) 430-3322 or visit FBCSterlingVA.org for more information.

Gospel music artist Y'Anna Crawley set to release new CD in July

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Sunday Best 2 winner Y’Anna Crawley’s debut solo CD is scheduled for a July 13, 2010 release. Be on the lookout for “Grandma’s Hands” which has been chosen as the first single for radio.

Winners of Gospel Music Choir Contest to Be Featured on Gospel Music Channel

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1800Gospel.com

The winners of Most Powerful Voices, a choir contest held by Gospel Music Channel and the American Heart Association, have been selected. The winner of the large choir division is Chicago’s Dexter Walker and Zion Movement and the small choir honors go to James Andrews and New Seasons from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Dexter Walker and Zion Movement will receive keyboards and recording gear from Roland and a feature on Gospel Music Channel. James Andrews and New Seasons will get a coaching session from gospel music artist Myron Butler in addition to keyboards and recording gear from Roland and a feature on Gospel Music Channel.

Both of the winning choirs will perform at the Power Awards Show on May 7th in Harlem. Congrats to the winners!

5/9: Mother’s Day Brunch featuring Tamela Mann of “Meet the Browns”

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Make sure you make your way to the Hyatt Penns Landing on Mother’s day for the Mother’s Day Brunch! Featuring Tamela Mann of “Meet the Browns” and Jean Carne!!

Tickets available at Comcasttix.com or at the Liacouras Center Box Office

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Starting at 12pm, Doors Open at 11am

Tickets are $65

201 South Columbus Boulevard

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

Tamela Mann’s $5,000 Giveaway

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There are some things money can’t buy - like the Joy Of The Lord! For everything else, there’s Mastercard!

Have you heard Tamela’s new single, The Joy Of The Lord? Do you have that joy? Are you sharing it with your brothers and sisters? Is your local radio station sharing the Joy with their listeners? If not, give them a call and ask them to share the Joy today!

Speaking of sharing....we wanted to share a great chance to win $ with our fans! Check it out ya’ll!

Enter Tamela Mann’s THE MASTER PLAN MASTERCARD $5,000 GIVEAWAY for your chance to win one of one hundred $50 Master Plan Mastercards! The entry form is at http://www.tillymannmusic.com/giveaway.html.

There are some things money does buy - and that’s why we’re giving away $5,000 in Mastercards! But...The Joy of the Lord? Now that’s PRICELESS.

Israel Houghton & New Breed Present “Twenty 10 Conference: Deeper”

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This year Israel Houghton & Deeper Conference 2010 are thrilled to once again host the One Church Worship Academy! Providing 2 days of intensive instruction and interaction, the academy will begin Monday night, August 23rd and end around noon on Wednesday, August 25th, leading up to the conference.

The Deeper Conference 2010 Worship Academy will focus primarily on equipping leaders to transfer what they’ve learned from the conference in order to serve their respective pastor, worship team, and church. Each class is designed to specifically introduce and develop leadership principles and techniques useful to the worship ministry.

COST: $250
The first 75 people only.

HURRY!!!!!