Volume 28 28
March 2015
No. 3
NEWS & VIEWS OF WILLIAMS Church Phone: (256) 435Church Fax: (256) 435Daycare Phone: (256) 435435-5020 435-5255 435-8313 Church Email: fbcwilliams@cableone.net Church Website: fbcwilliams.org
"The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." Then he said to them all, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?” -Jesus, in Luke 9:22-25 Traditionally, Lent is a season in which we give something up. Some of us give up things like chocolate, coffee, or meat. The Sundays between Ash Wednesday and Easter are considered feast days, “little Easters,” so some people consider Sunday a “cheap day” and have that Hershey’s bar, that cup of coffee, that hour on Facebook. The act of giving something up for Lent is a great practice, one that is supposed to focus our attention on Christ—his life and death—and prepare us for the joy of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter morning. Perhaps this Lenten fast (the act of giving something up during Lent) is something you’ve done in years past; maybe you’ve never really tried it. Either way, I want to propose something to you, a different sort of fasting, giving up, for this season of Lent. Fast from “you” this Lent. Give up something that defines you as you during this season of Lent. Do something that will help you understand someone else. It may be something small, like finally introducing yourself to your next-doorneighbor. You might try giving up a bit more of yourself by clearing your schedule, making time to visit with a co-worker or a member of our community. Maybe it means speaking to that friend, that family member you haven’t spoken to in a while because of something they’ve done (or something you’ve done). Maybe it means turning off the television, logging off the computer, putting down the phone, spending time playing in the floor with your kids, listening to your spouse, talking to your parents, or just simply sitting on the porch listening to the birds sing to each other while the winds breathe through the trees. Maybe, for you, giving up some of yourself for Lent means getting outside of your comfort zone, interacting with people you would never so much as speak to otherwise. By giving up some of ourselves for Lent, my hope is that we will see the world more the way God sees it. That we will be able to more fully understand what it means to deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily and follow Jesus. Won’t you join me in this season of fasting, reflection, and anticipation as we give up more of ourselves, so that we may take on more of who Christ calls us to be?
Grace and Peace, Chris
FOR THE RECORD OFFERING Budget Receipts Goal Actual Receipts to Date
2015
2014
$ 58,737.68 $ 47,363.09
$ 58,564.00 $ 48,616.60
BUILDING PLEDGES Pledge Goal to Date Received to Date
$ 8,876.32 $ 9,677.00
$ 8,876.32 $ 11,936.00
SPRING FORWARD MARCH 8, 2015
TOTALS ARE THROUGH 02/22/2015
“A special thank you to each and every one of you for your monetary support and hard work that enables First Baptist Church of Williams to touch lives by sharing the love of Jesus”. ~Finance Committee
COUNTING COMMITTEE FOR MARCH Patsy Boozer, Mike Davis & Jeremy Quinn GREETERS & USHERS FOR MARCH John & Deb English Jacob & Jamie Freeman
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN OUTREACH CENTER Our church is schedule to provide the following items to the J.C.O.C. for the month of MARCH: Canned Meats, Coffee, Grits and Oatmeal. Please take your donated items DIRECTLY TO the JCOC located just behind McDonalds. SCHEDULE OF SERVICES Sunday Sunday School 9:00 am Morning Worship 10:00 am Choir Practice 5:00 pm Evening Worship 6:00 pm Tuesday Bible Study 10:00 am Wednesday Supper 5:30 pm Evening Devotion 6:30 pm Children & Youth Activities
NURSERY HELPERS Mar 1 Mar 8 Mar 15 Mar 22 Mar 29
Carol McGinnis Patti McLeod Beverly Almaroad Peggy Green Sallie Thomas
FREE TAX PREPARATION: Impact Alabama, a
Student Service Initative (SaveFirst) will provide free tax preparation services to families in cities across Alabama. SaveFirst is completely free of charge. They are a part of the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, and all of the volunteers receive IRS-approved training and certification. Households earning less than $52,000 per year (with one or more children) or households earning less than $20,000 per year (without children) are eligible for our services. Cards with location and phone number for making appointments are located in all church foyers. Appointments will begin mid-January. Call 1-888-998-2925 to schedule a free tax preparation appointment today.
ADULT GAME NIGHT Notimers, Sometimers and Senior Adults will meet for a game night on Thursday, March 19th at 6:00pm in the Senior Adult Room. Bring your favorite finger food snacks and join us for an evening of food, fun, fellowship and games. If you have any questions, please contact Mike or Sharhonda Duncan. CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING
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Nursery␣helpers␣will␣assist␣one␣of␣our␣regular␣nursery␣workers␣each␣Sunday␣ morning␣for␣Sunday␣School␣and␣Worship.␣␣Our␣regular␣nursery␣workers␣are:␣ Terri␣Harris␣and␣Sharon␣Williams.␣␣␣Nursery␣Helpers␣if␣you␣need␣to␣reschedule␣ your␣day␣to␣work,␣please␣contact␣Marleah␣Blades␣at␣256-689-0242.␣ ======================
3 & 4-YEAR OLD HELPERS Mar 1 Madilyn Turner Mar 8 Marleah Blades Mar 15 Ally Ponder Mar 22 Jake Green Mar 29 Derek Alexander ======================
CHILDREN’S CHURCH HELPERS
Mar 1 Randy Blades Mar 8 Courtney Johnston Mar 15 Katrina Lipscomb Mar 22 Rhonda Duncan Mar 29 IN CHURCH Helpers if you need to reschedule your day to work, please contact Marleah Blades at 256-689-0242.
Our First Quarter Church Council Meeting will be held on Sunday, March 15th at 4pm in the sanctuary. All committees should have met by this time and selected a chairperson. Chairpersons of each committee should attend this meeting. CEMETERY COMMITTEE MEETING Members of the Cemetery Committee will meet on Sunday, March 1st at 4:30pm in the Library. Please note that members of the Cemetery Committee remain on the master roster of members unless you request your name to be removed. When a committee meeting is called any member of the Cemetery Committee may attend. Trustees are selected from this master list. If the meeting is a Trustee meeting then only trustees attend.
MARCH 2015 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF WILLIAMS ACTIVITY CALENDAR Sunday
Monday
1
2
Tuesday
3 2:00 PM CMC Reserved Gina Honts
8:00 AM Staff Mtg 8:15 AM Deacon/Staff Mtg 1:30 PM -3:00 PM Summer Quin n Baby Sho wer
Happy B'day Randy Haynes
Happy B'day Clint Burns
8
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10 Happy B'day Brandy Murray
Happy B'day Lynn Parrott
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17 Happy B'day Wallace Almaroad & Jack Green
4:00 PM CHURCH COUNCIL MTG
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24
Happy B'day Taylor Cochran
29 PALM SUNDAY
Saturday
6
7
Happy B'day Staci Porter
6:30 PM Devotion, Children & Youth Activities
7:00 AM Brotherhood Breakfast
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12
13
14
Happy B'day Jimmy Smith
5:30 PM Supper 6:30 PM Devotion, Children & Youth Activities
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19
30 Happy B'day Robbie Quinn
20
6:00 PM Adult Get-together
5:30 PM Supper 6:30 PM Devotion, Children & Youth Activities
Happy B'day Josh Preston
25
21 Happy B'day Ruby Dempsey
HELLO SPRING
26
27
28
NO SUPPER NO SERVICE
S P R I N G
Happy B'day Pascal Hamby
5
5:30 PM Supper
Happy B'day Bobby Boozer, Alicia Freeman & Wendy Ponder
Happy B'day E.L. Green
22
4
Friday
Happy B'day Alan Boozer
1:30 PM -3:00 PM Ashley Trued Bridal Shower
NO EVENING WORSHIP
Thursday
Happy B'day Brenna English
Daylight Savings Time Begins
15
Wednesday
B R EA K
W E E K
31 Happy B'day Mel Ostrander
Feb 2015
Apr 2015
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