Steeple Views. Ash Wednesday A Service of Penitence & Renewal February 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary

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1 January 30, 2008 Issue 5 Steeple Views First Baptist Church Monroe North Carolina Mardi Gras Pancake Supper Tuesday, February 5 at 5:30 p.m. Join your church family for an evening of good food, fellowship and frivolity on the final night before the beginning of Lent No cost reservations are needed Sign up in Sunday School or call the church office Ash Wednesday A Service of Penitence & Renewal February 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary Service to include: Lenten hymns confessional prayers the seven Penitential Psalms homily by Dr. John Hewett Mission Opportunities Please call the church office if you are interested in one or more of the following mission opportunities New Orleans March for youth and adults Operation Inasmuch (local) April 19 A hand s on mission blitz in our community SOUPer Bowl Offering Will be received this coming Sunday, February 3. The youth will be stationed at the doors of the sanctuary following the morning service. This offering is being collected nationally to help feed the hungry and homeless. This year s offering will be divided between the Union County Homeless Shelter and Loaves and Fishes. Kosovo May 24-June 14 working with missionary Rick Shaw For more details contact Denise Hopper as soon as possible These opportunities are being planned by our Missions Board

2 Church Calendar Sunday February 3 Board of Deacons in Choir Room Prayer Room Open (Room 305) Church Library Open (Circulation: Ada Thomas) Sunday School Preschool Extended Session Service of Worship Youth Luncheon (hosts: Don/Jan Haver) PYAA Youth on Mission Youth Choir Monday February 4 Song Service at Brian Center TOPS Tuesday February 5 Craft Club Mardi Gras Pancake Supper 8:00 AM 9:15 AM 9:15 AM 9:45 AM 10:45 AM 11:00 AM 12:00 PM 12:45 PM 1:30 PM 10:30 AM 6:30 PM 9:30 AM 5:30 PM Wednesday February 6 Community Lenten Service at St. Luke s Lutheran 12:00 PM Family Fellowship Meal 5:30-6:30 PM Buffet: roast pork, cabbage, pinto beans, soupy potatoes, bread, dessert, beverage Kid s line: hotdogs, fries, dessert Church Library Open 6:15 PM Child Care 6:15 PM Preschool Music 6:15 PM Children s Choir 6:15 PM Prayer Time 6:20 PM Ash Wednesday Service in Sanctuary 6:30 PM Mission Friends 6:45 PM Girls in Action 6:45 PM Royal Ambassadors 6:45 PM Chancel Choir 7:30 PM Thursday February 7 Faith in Fiction Book Club in the Church Parlor 7:00 PM Kid s Korner The next Children s Church will be held on February 10. We hope you and your family will be attending the Pancake Supper this coming Tuesday night. Faith in Fiction Book Club meets Thursday, February 7, 7:00 p.m. in the Church Parlor Participants are asked to read Khaled Hosseini s book The Kite Runner Community Lenten Service Wednesday, February 6 12:00 noon Matthew Burton, preacher St. Luke s Lutheran Church Light luncheon served following the service in their Fellowship Hall By the Numbers Sunday, January 27, 2008: Bible Study Attendance Worship Attendance Required...$ 14,124 Received...$ 10,914 Budget Requirements to Date...$310,728 Budget Receipts to Date...$355,793 Pastoral Care Emergencies Minister on Call February 2-9 Paul Sims Monthly Deacons Meeting Sunday, February 3 8:00 a.m. in the Choir Room Dr. Hewett s Training Segment: Caring for People During Times of Change Formations Sunday School Lesson for February 3 Stand Firm in Adversity based on Ephesians 6:10-20

3 The Worship of God Sunday February 3, 2008 Anthems by the Chancel Choir Jubilate Deo by Glenn Rudolph O Nata Lux by Morten Lauridsen Sermon by John Hewett Jesus Only Scripture: Exodus 24:12-18; Matthew 17:1-9 Audio CDs of worship services are available through the church office for $3.00 Security Volunteers Are needed to stay in the Gathering Area during morning worship on Sundays (volunteers are no longer needed in the narthex). To volunteer, sign up in Sunday School or call the church office. If enough volunteer, you would only need to serve once over the next six months. Loaves & Fishes Is requesting contributions of five-pound bags of rice and grits, as well as two-pound boxes of oatmeal for February. Donations may be placed in the marked container in the Gathering Area. Thank you for continuing to help feed the hungry in our community each month. Memorials Received First Baptist gratefully acknowledges the following memorials: By Mr. and Mrs. Al Kessel, Jane Hawkins, and Mr. and Mrs. Gene Herrell in memory of George Wall and Mary Tweed. By Mr. and Mrs. Andy Crowell in memory of Bert Crowell. By Buddy Lyon in memory of George Wall, Bert Crowell and Mildred Bates. By Audrey Bales in memory of Myra Austin, George Wall, Betty Harris, and Bert Crowell. By Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Tyson, Sheila London, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Funderburk, and Emagene Griffin in memory of George Wall. By Delana Helms in memory of Bert Crowell and Myra Austin. By Doris Ramsey in memory of Mary Wilson, Jack Stack, I.W. Carpenter, Bert Crowell, Mildred Bates, Betty Harris, George Wall, Mary Tweed, and Mildred Wilkerson. By Mr. and Mrs. Ken Thomas in memory of Mary Tweed. By Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Nash in memory of Mildred Bates and George Wall. By Mr. and Mrs. Sam Sain in memory of Myra Austin, Mildred Bates, George Wall, Betty Harris and Charles Reeves, Jr. By Audrey Bales in honor of Vickie Tuggle and Dan Misenheimer. This Week s Committees Sunday School Greeters: Tapestries Class. Ushers: Ann Wild, Robin Pittman, Larry Tuggle, Allison Haver, Lorey White. Offertory: Ray Casner, John McMullen, Carol Tyson, Vickie Tuggle, Denise Hopper. Preschool Extended Session: Preschool I-Christina Kale, Frances Vaughan. Preschool II-Ann Handy. Preschool III-Patti Duncan, Taylor Neal. Money Counters: Frances Vaughan, Bob Cassels. Wednesday Night Helpers: Diane Whitley, Aileen Sowder, Harold Funderburk, Arnold Bivens. Prayer Concerns Please remember the following in prayer. If you would like to have prayer requests included in the newsletter, please call the church office by 5:00 p.m. on Mondays. Dan Misenheimer Russ Sharp Bobby Moore, father of Wendy Poovey Kenneth Hedgepath Ed and Arleigh Gaskins Phyllis Overton

4 From the Interim Senior Minister Next week the church gathers for two ancient Christian rites, each worthy of our attention and respect. We begin our observance of the 40 days of Lent on Ash Wednesday, February 6. Following the weekly fellowship meal, the congregation will assemble in the sanctuary at 6:30 p.m. for a service of penitence and renewal. Our worship will include Lenten hymns, confessional prayers, the seven Penitential Psalms, a homily on Psalm 51, and the imposition of ashes (prepared by burning palm branches from last year s Palm Sunday celebration) on our foreheads in the shape of a cross, as signs of our repentance before God. During Lent we remember Jesus 40 days in the wilderness through intentional prayer, penitence, acts of charity and self-denial, preparing our hearts and minds for the commemoration of his death, burial and resurrection. Baptists have come late to this season, but there is nothing about Lent confessing Christians cannot embrace. In my experience, Easter without Lent is like Christmas without Advent. Neither deserves to be celebrated as a sudden one-off without adequate spiritual preparation. As the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday comes the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the traditional end of Carnival (from the Late Latin carne vale, farewell to meat ). To shrive others, in old-fashioned English, is to hear their acknowledgement of their sins, to assure them of God s forgiveness, and to give them appropriate spiritual advice. The term survives today in ordinary usage in the expression short shrift. To give someone short shrift is to pay very little attention to his or her excuses or problems. On Shrove Tuesday, many Christians make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God s help in dealing with. Then they gather for worship on Ash Wednesday prepared to make a clean break with the past and set their faces toward the Cross. We will gather Tuesday evening, February 5 for a traditional Shrove Tuesday pancake supper for the whole church family. It will be a lighthearted, fun time to get us ready for the marked change in attitude coming the following day. I encourage you to join us both nights, and make a good beginning of one of the holiest seasons in the Christian calendar. Steeple Views First Baptist Church, PO Box 219, Monroe, NC ( ) 8534) Free and faithful Baptists ministering in the heart of Union County since 1852 Web-site... John H. Hewett, Interim Senior Minister... john.hewett@monroefirstbaptist.org Paul M. Sims, Associate Minister/Minister of Music... paul.sims@monroefirstbaptist.org Sara Spahr Stubbs, Associate Minister/Minister of Education & Youth...sssfbc@carolina.rr.com Noel Lance, Organist...noel.lance@gmail.com Kathy Cole, Secretary... (church ) firstbaptist1@carolina.rr.com Marsha Sexton, Financial Secretary...mbsexton@carolina.rr.com Cissy Brewer, Weekday Preschool Director...chbrewer@carolina.rrom RETURN SERVICE REQUSTED TO: 109 Morrow Avenue, Monroe, NC PRSRT STD Non-Profit Permit #34 Monroe, NC 28110

5 February Birthdays and Anniversaries The following of our church family are observing anniversaries and birthdays in February. For additions or corrections, please call the church office. Anniversaries 2 - William and Judy Edwards 26 - Franklin and Mary Akers 29 - John and Pat McMullen Birthdays 2 - Nick Coffey Jennifer Hissam 4 - Tommy Smith Stewart Totty 7 - Madison Walters 11 - Carson Rollins 12 - Kay Harrill Burt Humphries 14 - Betty Bivens Lindsay Harris 16 - Bob Cassels Tom Pegram 17 - Nancy Thomas Barbara Gaddy 18 - Hope Thompson 20 - Ernie Hinson 21 - Joe Harris Lola Lee Derrick Lowery 22 - John Looney 25 - Misty Tarlton 26 - Jean Duck Neal Wylie 25 - April Dawkins Frances Knight Carolyn White 28 - Kaden Haver Patrick Pegram Morgan Lilley Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina 2008 General Assembly Friday-Saturday, April Forest Hills Baptist Church in Raleigh Theme: Incoming Call: Hearing & Responding to God s Call Discount hotels: When making reservations at one of the following hotels, inform them you want to reserve a room from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship block. Rates are only good until March 1, so book early. Clarion State Capitol Hotel 320 Hillsborough Street Phone: Breakfast buffet $8.95 per person Free parking $79 per night plus tax (2 people) $89 per night plus tax (3-4 people) $79 per night plus tax (king room) Ramada Blue Ridge 1520 Blue Ridge Road Phone: Complimentary Continental Breakfast Free parking $89 per night plus tax

6 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January S M T W T F S March S M T W T F S

7 Pre-register Weekday Preschool Registration for First Baptist Weekday Preschool will begin on February 4 for church members and current Preschool families. Registration will open to the public on February 14. Classes offered are: 2-year olds...monday/wednesday 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon 18 months-2 years...tuesday/thursday 9:00 am-12:00 noon 3-year olds...monday/wednesday/friday 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon 3-year olds...tuesday/thursday 9:00 am-12:00 noon 4-year olds... Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday 9:00 am-12:00 noon 4-year olds... Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Transitional Kindergarten... Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Registration forms are available in the church office. chbrewer@carolina.rr.com or call the church office. For more information, contact Cissy Brewer at

8 The First Baptist Pulpit Sundays during Lent Dr. John Hewett, preaching February 10: February 17: February 24: March 2: March 9: March 16: The Tempter (Genesis 2:5-17, 3:17; Matthew 4:1-11) Gestation, Labor and Delivery From Above (John 3:1-17) Massah and Meribah (Exodus 17:1-7) Where the Lord Looks (I Samuel 16:1-13) The Boneyard (Ezekiel 37:1-14) Who Is This? (Matthew 21:1-11) Wednesday Evenings During Lent February 6, 6:30 p.m. Ash Wednesday Service in the Sanctuary (youth and adults) February 13, 20, 27, March 5, 12 Choose one of the following: Contemplative Worship Experiences Led by Paul Sims in the Sanctuary Limited to 20 people no cost Book Study on Philip Yancey s Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? Led by Sheila London in Room 300-A Limited to 12 people cost $15 Bible Study The Acted Parables of Jesus Led by John Hewett in the Multipurpose Room Group size unlimited March 19 No evening activities (Chancel Choir will have rehearsal)