Praying for Haiti . . .

Posted on January 14th, 2010

On Tuesday, January 12th, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Haiti. The center of the quake hit about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. According to the Red Cross, it is estimated that nearly one-third of Haiti’s population were affected by the quake.

In addition to your prayers for Haiti, below are some links to provide ways you can help.

Virginia Baptist Relief Response

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Disaster Response

Baptist World Alliance BWAid

World Vision

America Red Cross

We will be collecting a special love offering for the people in Haiti at our worships service this Sunday, January 17.

Filed under Announcements | No Comments »

1/24 – Prayer Kick-Off Luncheon

Posted on January 12th, 2010

We are continuing our prayer groups as part of our Spiritual Transformation Journey!

On Sunday, January 24, there will be a kick-off luncheon for all of our prayer participants AND for anyone who is interested in learning more about our prayer groups.

During the luncheon, there will be a brief orientation and Q&A session.  Afterwards, there will be an opportunity for people to sign up.

Each prayer participant is required to purchase a prayer and devotional book called Cultivating Fruitfulness for $7.  The book is available in the church office.

Here are the confirmed meeting times of our prayer groups:

Sunday mornings, starting Feb. 7, 9:30 to 11 am, every other Sunday.

Location: FBC, Associate Pastor’s office
Facilitator: John Slade
Members: Deborah Slade, Tim Trent, Cecil Yeatts, Dave Landrum

Sunday mornings, starting Jan. 31, 9:30 to 10:30 am, every other Sunday.

Location: FBC, Associate Pastor’s office
Facilitator: Elizabeth Whiley
Members: Jim Davis, Sandy Yeatts, Don Kyper

Sunday afternoons, starting Jan. 31, 4 to 5 pm, every other Sunday.

Location: 1100 4th Ave. Ext.
Facilitator: Doris Weaver
Members: Sandy East, Mc Amoss, Cindy Landrum

Monday evenings, starting Jan. 25, 6 to 7 pm, every other Monday.

Location: FBC, Fellowship Hall.
Facilitator: Ken Copeland
Members: Chuck Daniel, Ruth Patteson, Cindy Cave, Toby Towler

Thursday evenings, starting Jan. 28, 6 to 7 pm, weekly.

Location: FBC Parlor.
Facilitator: Crystal Cupp
Members: Gene Watson, Suzanne Towler, Peggy Cave

Friday at noon, starting Feb. 5, 12 to 1 pm, weekly.

Location: FBC Parlor.
Facilitator: Michael Cheuk
Members: George Carter, Anita Lynn, Patti Trent, Gail Cave

The PURPOSE of these Prayer Groups

The purpose of these prayer groups is ultimately

• NOT about getting to know your prayer partners better, or fellowship
• NOT about coming away with a good “experience”
• NOT about “growing” the attendance, budget or programs of the church
• NOT about completing the prayer guide book in a certain time frame

The purpose of these prayer groups is

• About spiritual formation – centering our lives on Jesus Christ and being His disciples
• About continually asking for God’s guidance in leading the church into her future
• About continually seeking opportunities to be the presence of Christ to those outside the church and outside your prayer group
• About continually knocking so that God will open the doors for new ministries

As we pray, we will pay attention to how God is speaking to the congregation as a whole regarding these questions:

1. WHO is God calling us to serve and to witness the good news of God’s Kingdom?
2. WHAT unifying direction of ministry is God calling us to head toward?
   
3. WHAT new ministries can emerge for us to serve those whom God has identified?
4. WHAT are some outcomes that God might want us to look out as we live into our future story?

As a member of these prayer groups, you will be a part of our sustaining leadership community to help the church discern God’s future story for Farmville Baptist Church!

Contact Michael if you’d like to join a prayer group and be a part of this exciting journey!

Filed under Announcements, Spiritual Transformation Journey | No Comments »

2/14 – Souper Bowl of Caring

Posted on January 2nd, 2010

On Sunday, February 14, our youth will participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring.  It is an opportunity for our youth to help fight hunger and poverty in our community. At the end of the worship service, our youth will station themselves at the exits of the sanctuary holding pots to collect canned and boxed food for our church’s emergency food pantry, and money for FACES, our community food pantry.

Please plan to bring cans or monetary donations to support this effort!!

Filed under Service, Youth | No Comments »

Looking Toward a New Year with Thanksgiving and Hope

Posted on December 31st, 2009

Pastor’s Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for January, 2010)

As 2009 draws to a close, I look back with thanksgiving for the ways God has been active and working in Farmville Baptist Church.  I am thankful for

• our church going on a spiritual journey to renew its vision and mission
• the Initiating Leadership Community for our spiritual journey
• the thirty people who participated in our prayer triplets
• a burgeoning collegiate ministry that has over 35 students adopted by our church members, and an active contingent of students attending worship
• Julie Gaines and Sara Thompson, our two college ministry interns
• an increasing number of members volunteering at FACES each month
• young adults and young families attending and joining the church
• a wonderful group of deacons excited about mobilizing the church for greater ministry and service
• our Sunday School teachers and students, choir members, children’s volunteers, and Wednesday night prayer group for their ongoing ministry
• our Social Committee members who minister through their gift of hospitality and cooking
• our building that is being used by “Reclaiming Our Lives Ministry” to serve the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of single mothers and their children
• a great staff in Kathy, Anita, Mc and Al

As I look toward 2010, I am hopeful that God will continue to show and lead us to be the presence of Christ in our community and beyond.  God is good!  I’m eager to see what God has in store for Farmville Baptist in 2010!

— Journeying on, Michael

Filed under News Column, Spiritual Transformation Journey | No Comments »

1/3 – John Slade to Preach

Posted on December 26th, 2009

We welcome our own John Slade as our guest preacher on Sunday, January 3.

John has had an accomplished career in television, movies, and radio.  He served as general manager, writer, and producer in television on both coasts.  Programs he developed or produced include the first minority-oriented prime-time program North Star in Baltimore, the critically acclaimed Say Brother in Boston, and the children’s program, The Big Blue Marble.  He was a radio announcer and producer in  San Francisco and a talk show host  in Washington, D.C.  He produced the film Breaking the Chains of Bondage, which centered on the first national demonstration in Washington, D.C. supporting the liberation struggles in southern Africa.

He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army. As a military officer, he taught military science at Bowie State University in Maryland and at Georgetown and Howard Universities in Washington, D.C.  Colonel Slade was Acting Chief of the National Guard Bureau in Houston and served on the National Guard Drug Reduction Board at the Pentagon.

Other accomplishments include marching with Dr. Martin Luther King on the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 and founding the fraternity Iota Phi Theta, Inc., about which he has written two books.

He continues to serve on a number of boards, including the Executive Council of the AARP in Washington, D.C.;  the Board of Directors of the National Iota Foundation; and the Longwood University Board of Visitors.  In addition, he currently is a lobbyist for the Association of Reserve Minority Service –Members (ARMS) and serves as the organization’s director.

He is married to Deborah Douglas-Slade and has one son, Kenyatta.

Jan. 4, 2010 UPDATE:
You can listen to Colonel Slade’s sermon, “Journey of Our Lives,” by clicking on this link.

Filed under Announcements, Worship | No Comments »

Dedication Service: Mason Swanberg

Posted on December 14th, 2009

This Sunday, we had a Dedication Service for Bobby and Ann Swanberg and their son, Mason William Swanberg born August 7, 2009.

We were honored that many family members were at the service, including siblings Abigail and Carter; grandparents Jack and Edith Ann Austin, and Jerry and Carolyn Swanberg; aunts Katherine Austin and Heather Swanberg; and uncle Chris Swanberg.

We give thanks to God for bringing Mason safely into the world, and we pray God’s blessings on Bobby and Ann as they raise Mason, Carter and Abigail!

Filed under Children, Worship | No Comments »

Hanging of the Green

Posted on December 7th, 2009

On Sunday morning, December 6, we held our Hanging of the Green service. It was a wonderful service where we heard the biblical story prophecying and leading up to the birth of Jesus. The service was filled with readings and singing, while punctuated by the decoration of the sanctuary by various groups within the congregation. Many thanks to all who planned, prepared for, and participated in the service!

For more pictures . . . Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under Worship | No Comments »

“Advent Conspiracy”

Posted on December 3rd, 2009

Pastor’s Column, published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for December, 2009)

Starting last Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, I began a new sermon series called “Advent Conspiracy.”  Too often, preachers and Christians have complained that Christmas has become too commercialized, too much of the world and of the checkout line.  Well, this year, I hope we can actually do something about that as we conspire against the prevailing powers of this world to live out and witness the true meaning of Christmas.

During these Sundays of Advent, we will learn how to worship more fully our true God and not the god of consumerism, because Christmas begins and ends with Jesus.  We will also learn how to reorder our desires so that we’ll spend less on ourselves this Christmas in order to free our resources for things that truly matter.  We will practice giving more to others of our presence, our hands, our words, our time, and our hearts.  Finally we will be challenged to love all – the poor, the forgotten, the marginalized, the sick, in ways that make a difference – because after all, for God so loved the world, that He send His only begotten Son.  And during our Christmas Eve service, we will collect an offering to give solely to our community, so that even as we receive God’s greatest gift to us, we may, in our thankfulness and joy, share that gift with those around us. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under Announcements, News Column | No Comments »

12/24 – Christmas Eve Service

Posted on December 1st, 2009

We will have our traditional candlelight Christmas Eve service on Wednesday, December 24 at 5:00 p.m.

We will celebrate communion by intinction during the service, and we will collect a love offering to our community as a way to share the love of Christ with others.

Filed under Announcements, Worship | No Comments »

12/13 – Christmas Dinner & Caroling

Posted on November 30th, 2009

All are invited to our church-wide Christmas Pot-Luck Dinner on Sunday, December 13 at 5:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

The church will provide the meat, green string beans and baked beans.

Please bring your favorite side dish and/or dessert to share for this pot-luck meal.

During the meal, we will write messages and sign Christmas cards that will be delivered to our shut-ins as we go caroling at around 6:15 p.m.

We will take our church van and carpool carolers to visit our homebound members and to the residents at The Woodlands.

Please join us as we celebrate the Advent season and spread the joy and love of Christ to members of our community through our songs and our presence!

Filed under Announcements, Fellowship | No Comments »