THE BEACON
March, April, May 2015
301 FOURTH STREET, MARIETTA, OHIO 45750-2002 Telephone: (740) 373-1273–FAX: (740) 373-1271
Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:00 a. m. - 12:15 p. m. and 1:00 p. m. - 4:30 p. m.
Friday - 8:00 a. m. - 12:00 noon
Rev. Chad Mugrage, Senior Minister
Shana Griffin, Director of Youth and Children’s Ministries
Dear Church Family,
I have been preaching on a series of sermons called “Teach Us To Pray” over the past few weeks. Prayer is a vital part of our Christian Walk. Jesus modeled prayer to His followers and also taught a lot about the importance of prayer in our daily lives. If prayer were so important in the life of Jesus, how much more do we need prayer in our lives? Prayer is difficult for many of us. We struggle with what to say, what to ask for, how often to pray, etc. When I was a child, I was taught the “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” and the “God is Great God is Good” prayers. All of these prayers are meant to help us better put our thoughts into words. Jesus gave us the “Lord’s Prayer” as a model. I have been thinking of other prayers that we can use. I often like to recite the “Serenity Prayer.”
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference.
In my prayer journal, I use the acrostic P. R. A. Y to help me –
Praise- I spend time thanking God for who He is and what He has given me.
Repent- I spend time asking God to forgive me where I have fallen short.
Ask-I ask Him for needs and concerns for myself, friends, family and church members.
Yield- In my Bible Study, I look for Biblical truth that I can apply to my Christian walk.
No matter what we use to help us to pray, the important thing is that we do pray. Prayer is more than just asking for a list of wants and needs. When we pray, God hears more than we say, answers more than we imagine in His own time and His own way.
Serving Together,
Pastor Chad
THE KIDS’ KORNER
By: Shana Griffin
Director of Youth and Children’s Ministries
Families of First Baptist,
With all this cold weather, we are all ready to get out and have some fun! So, with spring just around the corner and Easter not far away, we have some exciting events coming up for children and youth.
March 14th we will be attending the Spring Rally at Parchment Valley. This is for K- 5th grade. We will leave the church parking lot at 8 a. m. and return around 4 p. m. We will also be collecting travel size hygiene items until March 8th to participate in the Socks of Love mission project held at the rally. If you would like to donate items, please put them in the box in Fellowship Hall.
In March, we will be hosting All-Around Easter. This is an exciting event held on March 21st from 10 a. m. – 12:00 noon for children ages 2 – 5th grade. There will five discovery stations to teach the children and their families all about Easter. Pre-register to have your name entered into a drawing to win a $150.00 gift card to Fort Rapids. You must be present to win. Don’t forget to invite a friend and sign up now!
Secret Service Saturday will be starting back up in March for the youth. One Saturday a month youth will be invited to participate in a surprise mission project. This event will be held from 2:00 - 4:00 p. m. on March 28, April 18 and May 16. Please watch the bulletin for details for each month.
The Board of Christian Education has approved for the youth to take a mission trip this summer to Hurricane, WV from July 10th – July 13th. This is a great opportunity for our youth. If you would like a packet of information on this trip or more information, please let me know. If your child is interested in attending this trip, please let me know as soon as possible. Spots are filling up fast and we want to make sure we have room for everyone that would like to attend. This trip is for 6th – 12th grade.
Vacation Bible School will be held this year in Muskingum Park on Saturday, May 30th. Time will be announced. In case of rain, the event will be held at the church.
If you have any questions on these events or your child would like to register for any of these events, please contact me. You can reach me at the church or by email at .
The Mother / Daughter Banquet will be held May 6. Please watch the bulletin for details on this event. It is a great event you won’t want to miss.
Your Servant In Christ,
Shana
Quarterly Review
Board of Christian Education
In December, we held our 2nd Tour of Churches with attendance of over 60 people. Additional churches plan to participate as we expand this event. Thirty-four Care Packages were assembled in February for our college students and military personnel. We thank all who donated goodies and volunteered to help for this much appreciated outreach. As we move into the Easter season, an Easter Event will be held March 21st for children Pre-school – 5th grade. This “Life Changing Easter Walk” will tell the Easter story with Bible stories, crafts, and games.The board has recently finalized an approved listing of authors and publishers to assist with choosing materials for classes and events. This will be communicated with all Sunday School classes and posted in the church library. We are currently putting the final touches to a Teacher/Volunteer Agreement to use as support for our current volunteers and as we expand our volunteer base.
Thanks,
Misty Goddard
Board of Trustees
In January, the trustees welcomed Allan Beebe, Dora Jean Bumgarner, and Gib Miller to the committee. An election of officers was held and Eric Moore was elected as chairperson. Job descriptions are currently in the process of being up-dated and a mileage policy is being established. Bids were received from Home Team to replace the siding on the gable that faces the back parking lot, and from Gregg Hutt to act as a general contractor on the Baptistery Project. A screen was purchased for the coffee bar area, which will display the same information as the screens in the sanctuary. The stewardship committee will meet and audit the church books from the past six months. An emergency repair was made to the boiler pump.For February, Matt Evans and Kayla Righter attended the trustees’ monthly meeting and presented a portfolio up-date of the church’s investments. Motions were passed to accept the bids from Home Team and Gregg Hutt. The router in Shana’s office was up-dated for better WIFI connection. The J.O.Y. Club requested $1,000 for an Easter activity for the children of inmates at the Washington County Jail. The committee voted to allow $50 per child that register for this event. The trustees also discussed the request from the Board of Christian Education to investigate the funding of a Youth Minister.
Sally Latture,
Secretary, Board of Trustees
A M E R I C A N B A P T I S T
W O M E N S ’ M I N I S T R I E S
NOTES FROM ANNA!
By: Anna Suerken, President
In the last few months, prayer has been on the hearts of many in our church. I have been listening to a series of sermons on prayer and the men of the Bible who prayed and how they prayed. The series finished with one of the most powerful prayers in the Bible. Read Matthew 26: 36 – 46. It is the account of Christ praying in a place called Gethsemane. Three times Jesus prays for this cup to be taken from Him. Each of these three times He ends the prayer by saying, “Not My will but Yours be done.” Is this how we pray?
Are we willing to give up all to follow what God would have us do? Christ turned His face toward Jerusalem to the path of death to follow God’s will. He did this so that we might be saved. As we pray, are we willing to give up what we want to follow what God wants in our lives and in our church? As we begin Lent and look to the Passion, are we willing to pray with the heartfelt desire to be one with Christ as He voluntarily surrendered His will to the will of the Father so that there was no conflict between His desires and the divine will?
Let us continue to pray for our church with this sincere desire: “Not my will but yours be done.” This is a test of faith that drives believers to a deeper communion and a greater trust in Christ. May you have a blessed Easter!
This is a busy time of the year for the ABWM. In the next three months, we will have Easter, the Spring Retreat, Women’s Sunday, and an ABWM Executive Board meeting.
The ABWM Marietta Association Spring Retreat will be April 17 – 18, 2015. This retreat is open to all ladies of the church and the cost is paid by the funds from the church budget. Registration and visiting will be from 1:00 – 3:00 p. m and the welcome will be at 3:00 p. m. Working ladies may arrive after 5:00 p. m. as needed. Dinner is around 5:50 p. m. and the working ladies may arrive in time for that or after depending on your work schedule. After you register and have your room assignment, you may go to your room and get comfortable before the beginning of the meeting. We also will be visiting and have a table of snacks to enjoy during this time, as well.
We end with lunch on Saturday.
You will need to sign up for the retreat with Jo Stauffer by March 25th. This is a little early but those reservations with the money will need to go to the Marietta Association treasurer before being sent on to the Parchment Valley director for an accurate room and meal count. We will car- pool if you would like a ride or I will give you directions. If you don’t have a roommate, sign up and we will do rooms of 2, or even 3 or more in a family style room.
I encourage you to go to the retreat. Go with your circle or a group together in one of the family rooms. Tell Jo, and she will make the arrangements. All are welcome! Come, have a lot of fun and be spiritually energized!
The Rev. Dr. Sharron Tucker will be the guest Bible study leader and will be in charge of communion. We will have a mission interest speaker. The silent auction will be set up early and there will be games and gag gifts. There will be time for skits, poems, individual music, along with the praise group led by Sandy Wiseman. The theme baskets will be set out for bidding. These baskets and the silent auction are a good money-maker and a lot of fun.
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Items to bring for Spring Retreat:
1. A silent auction sale item. Something that is nice, gently used or new that another lady would enjoy having. Home-crafted items are nice.
2. A gag gift. This is something silly for a game we play. Wrap or bag to make it look inviting to other players.
3. Snack to share. Homemade is always good, but we eat anything.
4. A Bible and note pad.
5. Anyone who has a skit, poem, song, reading as entertainment for all to enjoy.
6. Each circle will bring a theme basket that has some goodies in it for the sale. Small Easter basket size.
Women’s Sunday will be on April 26, 2015. Our ABWM will conduct the service that day. The Rev. Dr. Sharron Tucker from Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Columbus will be the guest minister. She and her husband, Phillip, have been our guests in the past and they always enjoy their trip to Marietta. We look forward to her message.
I will be putting together the program for Women’s Sunday and I will need many of you to take part in the service! Be ready to say yes when I come asking! We will need many of you ladies to sing in the choir for that service. It will be a familiar short selection for the opening and a hymn for the special music. So ladies, tune up and come join in praising God with a joyful noise!
There will be an ABWM Executive Board Meeting in May. I will get some input from the members of the board and announce the date by the circle meetings in May. If you would like something considered at that meeting be sure to tell your circle chairwoman or let me know.
Bible Books for Spring 2015:
March – Ezekiel Ministered to Babylon 593 – 570 B.C.
April– Zephaniah Ministered to Judah 635 – 625 B.C.
May – Malachi Ministered to Judah 437 – 417 B. C.
Ezekiel is considered one of the four major prophets while the other two are of the twelve minor prophets. Be sure to read the introductions for each book.
Quarterly Up-date From the
Board of Deacons
The Deacon Board has started off the new year working hard. The officers for the new year are Becky Mallett, Chair; Dan Parsons, Vice-Chair; and Sharon Hambrick as Secretary.
Our main focus right now is looking into our Caring Touch Program. After discussion on the congregational concerns at the last Congregational Meeting, it was decided to develop a Task Force to look into our next course of action with the program. We will be suspending the Caring Touch Program, as we know it, on February 28. Letters will be sent out to notify the community agencies of our suspending the program so they will not refer anyone to us at this time. Our Task Force will consist of Sharon Hambrick as Chair with Bonnie Hamilton and Pastor Chad to assist in this process. They will be looking at procedures, developing a manual on record keeping, decision making and schedules of times for taking applications. They will then report back to the Deacons to make a final decision on how to proceed with this missionary effort.
J. O. Y. CLUB
(Just Older Youth)
Ginger Maples, Director
Believe it or not spring is just around the corner! Why not come and hang out with the "in crowd" of the Church, the J.O.Y. (Just Older Youth) Club. Everyone 55 and older is invited whether you are a member of First Baptist or not! So invite your friends! You never know who might show up or where we might be going! We meet the first Tuesday of every month for a Potluck Luncheon. The Church supplies the meat, plates, eating utensils, drinks and everyone else brings a side dish or dessert. If you haven't joined us for lunch you have been missing some of the area's best cooks. SSShhhh! Don't spread it around too much. Then there will be more for you and me. Just kidding, the more the merrier!
J.O.Y. For Kids
The J.O.Y. For Kids Easter Eggstravaganza is planned for March 22 from 1 to 4. Our Senior Adults are reaching out to the children of the inmates of the Washington County Jail and their guardians. We will be hosting a luncheon, Easter egg hunt, games with prizes, a time for crafts, a visit from Peter Cottontail himself, and, most importantly, a time when each child will hear the Easter story. For children who have not attended a J.O.Y. For Kids event before, they will receive a Bible and storybook.
This ministry gives our church the opportunity to touch the lives of so many people outside our walls. You never know what will kindle the fire in someone's heart that turns them to Jesus. It is our privilege to let these children know that we love them and care about them.
If you would like to be a part of this ministry, please contact Ginger Maples at 14233400398.