EASTER SUNDAY A CELEBRATION OF HOPE

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1 EASTER Baptist Connection Newsletter of Berryville Baptist Church 114 Academy Street Berryville VA EASTER SUNDAY A CELEBRATION OF HOPE Early Service Sunday School Morning Worship Children s Easter Egg Hunt 9:00 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 12:00 Noon Easter is the most significant day of the year for the believer. On this day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is an occasion of celebration, hope and joy. Invite a friend to be your guest here on Easter Sunday.

2 Palm Sunday Sunday, March 25 th, 2018 We will begin our celebration of Holy Week with our Palm Sunday worship on Sunday, March 25 th. We will have our regular schedule, with Early Service at 9 a.m., followed by Sunday School and then our 11 a.m. Worship Service, which will begin with a processional. Good Friday Worship March 30 th, 2018 The Clarke County Ministerial Association will sponsor a service at noon, at the Berryville Presbyterian Church. Maundy Thursday Worship March 29 th, 2018 This year, Berryville Baptist Church will be hosting a candle light service as a time of remembering the last meal Christ shared with his disciples. The service will be on Thursday, March 29 th and will begin at 7:00 p.m. As a part of this service, we will share in the observance of Holy Communion. EASTER WORSHIP 9 AM and 11 AM Sunday, April 1 st, 2018 With all the earth and with believers from around the world, we will welcome Easter Sunday with a celebration of worship. This will be a joyful experience and we will want to invite family and friends to join us for this most significant day in the life of our faith. Be aware of special visitors on that Sunday and make a point to welcome them individually and warmly. Christ the Lord is risen, He is risen, indeed!

3 EASTER EGG DECORATING We need your help decorating Easter Eggs! Join us Saturday, March 31 st, at 5:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall for a light dinner and lots of fun! Please bring a dozen HARD boiled eggs for each child. Each child will be able to select two eggs to take home and will share the rest with our Easter Egg Hunt (to be held after the Easter morning service). The Recreation Committee will provide the egg decorating kits and tools, the light dinner and beverages. And if you don't want to decorate eggs, please join us for the food, fellowship and fun. All are invited. EASTER EGG HUNT The Easter Egg Hunt will be directly following the Worship Service on Easter Sunday, April 1 st. Please meet in the PreSchool room on the first floor. WE ARE WORKING EVERY OTHER SUNDAY AND HOPING TO HAVE SOME SPRING TIME DATES SOON. WELCOME TO ALI PARKER AS A NEW MEMBER OF THE TEAM. THANK YOU TO BOB AND BONNIE JACOBS FOR HELPING WITH THE PAINTING AND CONSTRUCTING OF SEVERAL MUCH NEEDED PROPS. WE WELCOME KIERSTAN TINSMAN, A FORMER PUPPETEER, AS A GIGANTIC HELP WITH CHOREOGRAPHY AND PUPPET SONGS. SHE IS CURRENTLY AT SHENANDOAH COLLEGE AND STUDENT TEACHING AT CLARKE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL. THE GROUP WILL BE OFF FOR EASTER AND REGROUP AT 4 PM ON SUNDAY APRIL 8. SUNDAY SCHOOL CHEERS TO BRANDON AND BRIANA ESKEW FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL PROGRAMS. WE WOULD WELCOME FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL AGE TO JOIN US ANY SUNDAY. DEPARTURE DATE IS PLANNED FOR FRIDAY, JULY 27 WITH RETURN ON AUGUST 4 AND YOUTH SUNDAY AT 11 AM ON AUGUST 5. WE PLAN MUCH OF THE SAME PROGRAM AS IN THE PAST BUT WILL HOPE TO BE INVOLVED ON A SMALL SCALE WITH HELP WITH HOUSING AND A LOCAL REFUGEE PROGRAM. SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU WITH LOTS OF HUGS GOES OUT TO ALL OF YOU WHO SUPPORTED OUR SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY. I UNDERSTAND IT WAS A NASTY WEATHER DAY, AND WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR PROGRAMS.

4 As I write this I am thinking about a good friend of ours who recently suffered a terrifying experience. He survived it for which we are most thankful. So you are in a parking lot somewhere, and after you get into your car and leave you notice that someone is following you in their car. Don't think for a minute that this can't happen to you. If you come off I-81 or even Route 37 you could have somebody coming after you in a road rage, and you might not even know what happened. What do you do? First, DON'T go home. The last thing you need is for some deranged person to know your address. Try making four right turns in your vehicle, so that you have driven in a square ( NOT a circle). If they're not intentionally following you, they'll be long gone. Meanwhile, try to get to your cell phone. If you still think they're back there, stay calm (this is when you pray without ceasing). Continue to drive at or slightly below the speed limit. Call and try your best to notice street signs or numbers. Try to describe the car to the police, if you can reach them. Even better, the license number. If you know the area, get to a police station or government center. If you don't know the town, try to get to a gas station or someplace that is well-populated and brightly lit (NOT a cemetery). Once you get there, keep your car doors locked. Keep your phone next to your ear, so the stalker will see that you're communicating with someone. Keep your windows up. Don't toot your car horn - LEAN on it. Make so much noise that someone will eventually come out of the establishment to see what knucklehead is disturbing the peace. At this point all you can do is wait for the police, if that nasty car is still back there. If they're gone, give thanks to God. Get out of your vehicle, issue a general apology and offer to buy everybody a coffee (NOT a drink). Happy Easter, my beloved in Christ. Judy Melton, R.N. F.C.N.

5 NEVER AGAIN The Maury River runs west to east into the James and into the Bay. It flows close to the town of Lexington. Two days of non-stop rain but now sunny. Just right, it seemed, for an afternoon of fun. A place for teenage boys, mostly boys, a few girls, possibly. He knew his son and friends would on occasion frequent the spot carved out. The muddy bank, the water deep and wide enough. Close to the overpass bridge but far away as not to be seen. Boys fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. Not men that would be weird. Some college students. But mostly guys, townies, locals. He never, or almost never knew exactly where his son went after school. Why should he. Philip was 18, two months from graduation. He knew his son would answer if called and be home by a certain hour. On this day the water currents were rapid. No lifeguards. Not a public beach. No warnings. They climbed down the bank slipping down into the water. There was the momentary shock of the not so warm water. He was fifteen. A runner. A swimmer. A bicyclist. Issues. But not a bad kid. Only fifteen. Maybe 110 pounds fully dressed. His friends bouncing in the water suddenly realized he was not to be seen. At first no alarm, but concern set in. They climbed out of the water, onto the bank. The body found two hours later. Found half a mile down water. Up against the rocks. Face up in only two feet of water. Debris washed up over his lifeless body. Full of life, not now, earlier. Just a few hours ago, he left for school, left his home, left his parents for the last time walking out into his last day only he nor anyone else knew it. News spreads fast. Quickly he learned what for him were two or three invaluable pieces of information. It was not his son. In the first moments names are not released, but word spread and people knew who. And he knew then it was not his son. He knew, with only a quick phone call, his son and group of high school buddies were not there. They were at Taco Bell. Relief. Now he sits alone at home. Laura at work. Lynn still at school. What if? What if it was Philip? And there were the words, the last words he said to Philip that very morning as he was leaving for school. Get out of the shower, you are going to be late again, look at this mess, every morning I find this mess, your mess, why, empty bags of chips, cups, shoes, socks, you are eighteen, come on, you can do better. Words spoken. But not happy words. They were, thankfully, only the last words for that morning. Alone now, with only his thoughts. Never again, never again. And never again did his son leave for school hearing those words, you can do better, come on as being the last words said as he walked out. With the family that evening what happened was discussed but only around the edges. No deep discussion, confession, processing or restrictions. Laura and Philip knew the deceased teenager, but only from a distance. The next morning a plate empty of cookies, a glass half full of milk, shoes, socks on the floor. Everything looked the same, yet different. His mess and the shower were sights and sounds of his presence. And when they walked out only four words were spoken, have a good day. Never again would the last words spoken be the last words of yesterday. A fifth grade teacher writing up on the board to begin the day a teaser, a thought, a quote, a question. Today s question, which is more important to be right or to be kind. He turns and looks at his students and asks, what is more important to be right or to be kind?

6 Save the Date: SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018 Be A Reflection of Jesus... how can YOU help?... inasmuch as you did this for the least of these, you did it for me. Matthew 25:40 *Yard Work Team *Refreshments Teams: Greenfield & Music Bingo *Hymn Singing/Greenfield *Cook-Out-Washington Square Apts. *Kids: Sunshine Goody Bags for Johnson Wms. Apts. *Water Bottle Gang *Laundromat Helpers *Hymn Sing/Rose Hill * Snack Sacks /Meals on Wheels *Communion for Shut-ins *Sing-Along/Godfrey House *Teacher Appreciation Team *Music Bingo/MaryHardesty * We Care Visits/Rose Hill *Soles4Soul Shoe Recycling *Eye Glasses Recycling *Hands of Comfort (chemo) * Bottles of Blessings for kids *Socks of Love for Homeless