REV. JOHN PARRISH The PASTOR essenger May-June 2014 Mother-Daughter Banquet planned - Kentucky Derby themed

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1 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 157 W. JACKSON ST. VIRDEN, IL REV. JOHN PARRISH PASTOR CHURCH PHONE: CELL PHONE: DEBBIE KERSHAW, EDITOR Mother-Daughter Banquet planned - Kentucky Derby themed Ladies, come enjoy an evening of fellowship, southern style food, and fancy hats! Running the Race of Motherhood is the theme for this year s Mother-Daughter Banquet on Sunday, May 4 at 5:30 PM in Pitman Hall. re will be prizes for different types of hats, so be creative and come decked out in your derby finest! Our speaker will be Courtney Westlake. She will be speaking on the challenges she has faced while "Running the Race of Motherhood. Courtney is the mother of 4 year old Conner, and 2 ½ year old Brenna. Brenna suffers from a rare genetic skin disorder, and the struggles her family has endured since Brenna s birth has lead Courtney to create a blog Blessed By Brenna which helps raise awareness for the disorder. She has also written an inspirational children s book, called That s How You Know which reassures children of God's never-ending love with a powerful message about how special each child is to God. Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, and drinks will be provided, so please bring another dish, salad, or dessert to share. Invite your daughters, moms, nieces, and lady friends! This is sure to be a great event! Men, please don t forget we ll need your help in the kitchen with set-up and clean-up. A child needs your love most when he deserves it least. Erma Bombeck Baptismal and Baby Dedication service planned Josh and Felicia Horne will share in ordinance of Holy Baptism on Sunday, May 18 during the morning worship service. That same morning, they will bring their son Gabriel to be dedicated to the Lord. Josh and Felicia have been attending First Baptist Church for many months now and come upon profession of faith to be baptized. That Sunday is a busy one as it is also Baseball Sunday (see page 2), but we rejoice with the Horne family on their decision to follow the Lord s leading with their public profession of faith. Heavenly thoughts What is heaven going to be like? Just as there is a mystery to hell, so there is a mystery to heaven. Yet I believe the Bible teaches that heaven is a literal place. Is it one of the stars? I don t know. I can t even speculate. Bible doesn t inform us. I believe that out there in space where there are one thousand million galaxies, each a hundred thousand light years or more in diameter, God can find some place to put us in heaven. I m not worried about where it is. I know it is going to be where Jesus is.

2 2 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 National Day of Prayer - NMMA service on the square in Girard 2 Kathy Price 3 4 Mother-Daughter Banquet 5:30 PM 5 Cottage Prayer at Kershaws 7 PM College Bible Study 8: College Bible Study 8:30 18 Baseball Sunday & Horne baptism and baby dedication EAS Donations 3:00 Baccalaureate 25 Graduate Recognition morning worship Contemporary Service 5:30 John Parrish 19 College Bible Study 8: Committee Meeting - 7 PM 7 Club 6-7 PM No Bible Study Choir to follow Business Mtg 7:15 PM 14 PRIZE TABLE Night downstairs! Janis Hawkins 21 NO Wednesday activities this week 28 Ryan Brown Ben Clark NO Wednesday activities this week 8 ABWM at noon 15 Don & Helen Burris Catherine Sloman Baseball Sunday this month! North Mac High Graduation at UIS - 1:00 PM John & Kelsey Parrish Join us for the 2 nd annual Baseball Sunday on May 18th. Bring your friends and family to church on this special day of worship. You are encouraged to wear your Cubs, Cards, or the gear of ANY favorite baseball team, no matter what it is! service will be focused on teamwork and working together through differences so that we can accomplish the mutual goal of growing the kingdom of God. After the service we will have a "ball park" lunch, dining on hot dogs, nachos, and popcorn. lunch will be on a donation basis and all proceeds will go to help support the church's softball ministry. Anyone interested in having a First Baptist T-shirt can see Pastor John to place an order. You don t have to play on the team to get one! We really want to make this a "high attendance" Sunday where we all work on bringing our friends, neighbors, and loved ones who may not come normally. This will be a laid back, very informal day of worship!

3 3 June Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 Cottage Prayer Meeting 7 PM at John & Kelsey s Rick Gerson Food Pantry Donations 22 Contemporary Service 5:30 Ben & Amanda Clark Ray Klocke Cole & Sue Langley 17 Quarterly Planning Mtg Club 6-7:45 Norma Hotarek 18 Steve & Debbie Kershaw ABWM at Noon 13 Lynda Hotarek Jim Wright Mark Wright Attention bargain shoppers... Just a reminder keep your eyes peeled for toy bargains! Right after any holiday (like Easter) the stores put all kinds of small toys and games on clearance that s when we ask you to remember the younger Wednesday Night Kids! We have a system where the children earn beans for all kinds of things like correctly answering questions about the lesson, or reading a scripture, or bringing a friend consequently, they can lose beans for bad behavior. But luckily that doesn t happen often! Every now and then we drag out the prize table, and the children are allowed to spend their beans and purchase a toy. We need all kinds of toys, big ones, little ones, girl toys, and boy toys. Our next PRIZE TABLE night is Wednesday, May 14 th so please get any prizes to Debbie Kershaw, Jill Wright, or Linda Snodgrass before then! Thank you for helping our Wednesday night ministry!

4 4 Brothers and Sisters, Wow! What an awesome Lenten season we just experienced here at First Baptist Church. It was one of amazement for me. I know we were centered on the Jesus journey to the cross, and from the cross to the grave, and the grave into Heaven; but oh man, we saw so much more! Typically after Easter my mind, my body, and even my spirit can crash due to what seems like an overload over the holidays. However, there was one thing that has kept me rejuvenated, and high on the potential and possibilities that this church has coming up in the future. Throughout the last few weeks I have noticed a church family who lives out the story and testimony of Jesus Christ, by being Jesus Christ to others. I was encouraged by seeing many of you invite guests to church on Easter and other special services like the 160 th Anniversary. I was blessed by the obedience of one of our young people by following through with believer s baptism. I was amazed by the way that many of you have stepped up and out of your comfort zones to help serve others in this church and within the community when called upon to do so. And last but not least I was in awe of the way many of our leaders continued to lead and worship and persevere even in the midst of their own personal struggles. You see church; we are a body of believers that shows up! When called on, you all show up and put on the love of Christ. Starting in May we are going to be looking at becoming closer disciples of Jesus Christ, by learning to love more like He did. We will take a look at what it means to live for Christ, by loving Him first, loving ourselves second, and loving others as He loved us. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. - John 13: I don t know how you feel church, but I am excited to see growth in our congregation on a physical level, the numbers are nice to see. But to be completely honest, I am more focused on our spiritual health, and the spiritual health of others. Are we becoming true disciples of Jesus Christ by following and coming doers His word, or are we simply just hearers of His word? Let s go out and make disciples. But before we can, let s make sure we ourselves are nurtured in the spirit of God, and knowledgeable in His word! Let s learn how to truly love like Christ. Are you up for the task? You all have stepped up continuously with any challenge that you have faced, let s not back down now! Grace and Peace, Pastor John [A mother] never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn t take them along. Margaret Culkin Banning A Golden Ticket You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world. Tom Brokaw

5 5 June is First Baptist month at Pleasant Hill nursing & rehab center Our church has volunteered to take the month of June to assist with the ministry of the residents at Pleasant Hill nursing home in Girard. Included in our duties for the month will be the monthly birthday celebration of all the residents born in the month of June. We will provide the cake and will need volunteers to help serve. Alicia Hawkins is heading up the planning of other special events which will include, but are not limited to, music from the Wednesday night kids and others, wheelchair calisthenics, bingo, and of course a worship service. plan is to have a special activity at least each week of the month of June. Some, like the birthday party will be held during the afternoon when the residents are most alert and active. Other special events will be held in the late afternoon or early evening. We will need plenty of help with each activity, and would especially encourage those who no longer have daytime job obligations to lend a hand. This is a ministry that is often overlooked, but much needed. If you have ever had a loved one who required the care of a nursing home, then you know how welcomed such visits are. Please plan now to participate in any way you can. Watch for more details in the Sunday bulletin as plans are finalized, and please pray for the efforts of everyone involved. Church Camp time! So far we have 11 children and youth registered for summer church camp, and more are expected to join them! We are so excited to have EIGHT first time campers this year! If you ever experienced church camp as a child, you know the experience can be life changing. Pastor John is again directing one of the Senior High camps. This year Debbie Kershaw and Jill Wright are helping Pastor John co-direct the June 14 Day Camp for the K-2 grade level. y are looking for others willing to assist them for the day if you would be willing to be a helper, please see Pastor John. camps at Lake Springfield Baptist range in price from $30 for a day camp up to $260 for a week-long Senior High camp. Many of our campers parents are financially unable to send their children without assistance from the church and its members. If you would be willing to sponsor a child at church camp, please make a donation by way of the Sunday morning offering just mark CAMP FUND on the envelope or in the memo section of your check. Let s make sure this important ministry is available for all the youth at First Baptist Church of Virden. Helping the world see Jesus church s role isn t only to take Christ to the world, thus fulfilling Jesus Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, but to recognize Christ already at work in the world and help others see him, too. God is visible through his handiwork, but easily seen? Not always. So the church is called to direct the world s gaze past mere human decency or good fortune to God as the ultimate Source of goodness. When someone professes atheism but also awe at nature, we might gently share our conviction that God designed such beauty. When medical care yields a cure, we can thank Jesus openly for healing. When community volunteers deliver toys to foster children; when counselors help families communicate; when neighbors welcome newcomers there is Jesus. Christ doesn t hole up in church buildings until church members take him to the world; he works in the world, through churched and unchurched alike. But the church is key to helping people recognize him.

6 6 Very special speaker on Graduate Sunday.. One of our own graduating seniors, Joe Langley will bring the message during worship service on Sunday, May 25. We will also be recognizing all of our graduates that day. Many of these youth are members of First Baptist while others are faithful attendees of our Wednesday Night program. This year we have 5 graduating High School including: Joseph Langley, Christian Entrikin, Brianna Davis, Mariah Jones, and William Podshadley. Graduating Middle School is Jason Turner. Please plan to attend this special Graduate Sunday service as we recognize the achievements of these young men and women of First Baptist. NMMA Baccalaureate Services will be held at the Virden Church of the Nazarene on Sunday, May 18 at 3:00 PM. North Mac High School graduation exercises will be held at Sangamon Auditorium on Saturday, May 24. re will be no Wednesday Night activities on May 21 st or May 28 th. We will resume weekly activities throughout the month of June. Please mark your calendars! Canoe trip date set This year s canoe trip will be take place on June Anyone any age are welcome to attend, though younger children require an adult to accompany them. Please see Mike or Janis Hawkins for details and for cost. This is a great annual event filled with fun, fellowship, and worship. First Baptist Church 157 W. Jackson St. Virden, IL RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED