October 2022 Acts of Faith Newsletter

Acts of Faith

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH

We are a family of faith, sharing God’s love in a spirit of hope.

Pumpkins and cider and hayrides, oh my! After a few years of COVID and weather interruptions, we are headed back this year to the Tudor Farm (880 Duvall Station Road) for our Fall Festival! From 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, October 23, we will gather around the bonfire for a time of enjoying each other’s company and God’ s beautiful creation. We’ll provide a light dinner, water, hot chocolate, music, and a roaring fire! What you’ll need to bring: lawn chairs, blankets, and a pumpkin for our annual pumpkin carving contest.

We’ll spend the evening watching the sun go down as we roast marshmallows, laugh, and enjoy the fire and wagon rides! Trust us, it will be an evening full of peace and wonder. Won’t you join us?

Not sure how to get there? Meet at the church at 4:30 p.m. and we’ll caravan to the farm. We will also be taking the bus for those who don’t want to drive.

For 8 weeks starting October 9, Pastors Amanda and William will lead a Sunday School class based on a new study produced by CBF called "Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus." The youth will be using the same curriculum in their class at that time. Here's how CBF describes it:

Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus calls us back to the central focus of our Christian faith, the Risen and Living Jesus! This curriculum invites congregations into deeper faithfulness with each other, equips congregations to offer a bold and positive witness to the risen Jesus, and transforms us individually and corporately while we co labor with God to transform the world.

So, if this curriculum sounds interesting to you, you want to learn along with your youth, or you're looking for a group to learn with, all are welcome to join us in the RA at 10 a.m. on Sundays.

Our year is underway and there are so many wonderful things planned for the Children’s Program. We are continuing our exploration of Paul’s letters on Wednesday evenings. Copying Paul, we have spent time writing our own letters of love and encouragement to ourselves as well as others. If you haven’t already, we hope you will join us as we mark our Wednesdays together.

For the missions project this fall, the children have decided to do a lemonade stand after church on Sunday, October 16, to raise money for the Amen House. During our Kids On Mission time in September we talked about how we as a church can do GREAT THINGS when we work with others. The children were asked what our church does and can do, and out of that discussion the children came up with “Amen Lemonade for Love!” Right after worship, stop by the children’s lemonade stand where you will be able to get a cup of lemonade and/or a baked good for the suggested donation of one dollar. Don’t forget your cash to help support an amazing partner in mission so that together we can do GREAT THINGS!

Kids On Mission will take place after the lemonade stand on October 16. All children are invited to bring a sack lunch and stay for missions. Children can be picked up at 2 p.m.

All children of Faith (youth included) are invited to participate in our Reader’s Theater style production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

No auditions are necessary; there is a part for everyone who would like to participate. We will practice after church beginning October 30 through December 4 (skipping Sunday, November 13, for Kids on Mission.) Practice will run from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to bring a snack or small lunch to eat before we begin. If you are interested in participating, please let Amanda know. You can send an email to amandalanglands@yahoo.com.

The performance will be in the RA on Wednesday, December 7, at 6 p.m. This will be a fun evening for everyone! So put it on your calendar and get ready to laugh as we spend an evening with the Herdmans and enjoy a reading of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

When a little girl asks her father to tell her a story on a car ride, together they tell a beautiful tale of God’s creation. The exuberant joy of God's creative energy sparkles in this story that honors both interconnection and diversity. This wonderful book helps us see God

Every year we collect shoe boxes full of supplies for our CBF missionary partner Scarlette Jasper to distribute in McCreary County. These shoe boxes provide much needed items to families during the holidays and may be the only Christmas gift many of these children receive. So, how can you participate in this wonderful endeavor? Pack a shoe box (or two or five!) and bring them to the church! The Missions Committee is supplying the boxes again this year. You can pick them up in the foyer on Sunday mornings or in the church office throughout the week. Let the church office know if you can’t make it in and we’ll drop one off at your

Fall is here! So much activity for our youth and families during the fall keeps everyone busy. Hopefully, not too busy to stop, take deep breaths, see the changes around us, feel the cooler air, and connect with God and our community. I’ve encouraged our youth to make sure every day they take at least 30 minutes to rest, do nothing, or do something that renews their minds and bodies. I hope you will encourage them as well as find time to rest for yourself!

Wednesday nights are filled with questions and games! We’ve discussed everything from prayer to the meaning of life and whether or not the ocean is a soup! It’s always interesting down in the youth room!

We’ve had some great retreats for middle school youth in September and had a great first fundraiser with Jeff Stone taking the lead as the youth helped prep and serve Navajo tacos and all the fixings!

Thank you, Jeff, for always going above and beyond to help our youth!!

We also had a joint college and youth mission night at the AMEN House working in their new thrift store and in the food pantry! After we worked, the college group went to dinner together as we work to grow our community.

Coming up this month we’ll continue our Wednesday night series “Can I Ask That?” exploring injustice in the world, violence in the Old Testament, and why God created us.

We are headed to the Cincinnati Zoo on October 15 as we dress up for Hallzooween! There will be animals, animals, and more animals, trick or treating, and, for an extra cost, you can ride the Hogwarts Express or challenge yourself with the Kangaroo Climb (a high ropes adventure experience). We’ll leave at 9 a.m. and grab dinner before we head back. Let Sharon know if you plan to attend and how many. Families are welcome to join us! If it should rain, we will head to Lexington and do the Countdown Games.

High schoolers need to sign up now for the Fall Retreat on November 11 13 at Lake Cumberland! Contact Sharon for more information.

Believe it or not it’s time to register for Passport! This year we will be heading to Spartanburg, South Carolina, the week of July 9 14! The cost will be $300, possibly less depending on fundraising. (The actual cost of camp is $468.) Please pay the $75 deposit to secure your spot by November 1!

Happy October! We switched up our plans last month and didn’t make it to Joe Bologna’ s so we ’re doing it this month! We’ll leave church at 10:15 a.m. to go eat lunch at this longtime Lexington pizza parlor housed in a former synagogue with beautiful stained glass windows. We’ll be back by 1 p.m.

Our JOY Luncheon will be on Monday, October 17, with Jawanna Herd leading the program that day about her upcoming book. For lunch we will have ham, roasted potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. Please bring a dish to share if you are able.

On October 29, we are going to dinner at Wilshire's and then to Ward Hall to experience the horrors and hauntings of an 1850’s Haunted Plantation! The haunted house tour is $8.

We had a great time at our JOY Lunch last month! The live music from Collins & Cox was excellent and of course the fellowship among friends was delightful as always! We are so thankful for this special time each month we get to spend together while eating delicious food and learning new things or being entertained.

Words from William

Recently someone visited our church because of our welcome statement. When they got here they told me they really appreciated how welcoming everyone was "without smothering me." The other day, someone else in the community told one of our members that they follow our church on Facebook and love us. "If I ever leave my church I'm going to yours!"

Earlier in the month, yet another person was astounded when I showed up at AMEN House for something. "People from Faith are everywhere! Any time I volunteer somewhere, someone from Faith is there." Statements like these are a testament to how you are living out our mission statement of sharing God's love in a spirit of hope. Well done!

Now, onto less exciting matters: a preview of our next sermon series. On October 9 our Georgetown College intern Kayla Duffy will be preaching. Starting on the 16, we'll begin a series looking at what we mean when we say we're Baptist. We'll consider basic Baptist tenants like the priesthood of all believers and religious freedom to better understand how the “Baptist” part of our church's name guides our thoughts and actions. I'm very excited that there will be two guest preachers during this series. Derek Hatch, the chair of Baptist Studies at Georgetown College, will preach on October 30 and Sharon Felton, Past Moderator of CBF Kentucky (and of course our own Associate Pastor of Students), will preach on November 6. As early Baptist leader Jesse Mercer said, "Surely there are some Baptists that may be trusted." Hopefully, over these next few Sundays, we'll learn why we can appreciate our Baptist heritage.

Prayers & Squares will meet on Tuesday, October 11, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the quilting room in the basement. Anyone is welcome to join this group on the second Tuesday of each month. No quilting or sewing experience is necessary; there are jobs for everyone! Contact Kathy Fraley at 502 316 4335 with questions.

team and are so appreciative of the great work she has already been doing. If you see her around the building, be sure and say hi!

As most of you know, our Office Manager Angela Earwood is expecting a baby in October. Once the baby is born, Angela will be out on maternity leave for a couple months. While she is out, volunteers will be staffing the church office during office hours (Monday Friday, 10 a.m. 2 p.m.). Volunteers will also be assisting the ministers with Angela’s tasks. We are thankful for these volunteers who are able and willing to give their time to serve our family of faith.

UrbanPromise Honduras provides safe learning support and programs for developing leaders. They hire and promote people from the community into leadership and their goal is to make the community a good place to live. They are changing the community one child at a time. Several families from Faith have been supporting UrbanPromise Honduras and helped them buy land so they can do even more programs.

Last month we welcomed a new custodian to our staff. Charlesetta Hilliard started on September 1 and will work 20 hours a week keeping our building clean! We are so excited to have her as part of the

In January, Roger Ward will be taking a trip to Honduras to visit the UrbanPromise facilities and see if there are more ways we can partner with this great organization. This trip will also include some site seeing and cultural experiences. He is inviting anyone from the church to join him on this trip whether they've previously been involved in UrbanPromise or not. This is a great chance to experience a new country and see a great organization at work. The cost of the trip is estimated to be $1000 for airfare, transportation, and lodging. The dates of the trip are January 9 14, 2023. Contact Roger Ward for more information.

Mattie Katz, Jackie Powell, and Kathy Wood accepted the call to join the deacon body at Faith. Additionally, Kathy Duncan and Laura Stone accepted the call and had previously been ordained.

Faith would like to thank the following deacons who finished their service. Carrie Abner, Teresa Haggard, Matt Rose, Eric Shaffer, Carol Williams and Linda Humphrey were and continue to be a blessing to our congregation.

Volunteering to stay on for another year are Kate Dean, Jason Baird, and Shannon Gullett. We appreciate their willingness to continue with year four of their service. These deacons, along with our new deacons, will be

joining Rick Kopp, Diana Niedwick, Elizabeth Robinson, and Ross McConnaughhay, rounding out our deacons for the 2022 2023 year. Ross McConnaughhay will be vice chair. I want to extend a huge thanks to Shannon Gullett as she ends her term as Deacon Chair. She has done a fantastic job of guiding the deacons as they cared for our family of Faith. She has been the true example of a servant leader. As I, Lee Ann Napier, assume the role of chair, I hope I can be an example of servant leadership that Shannon has set.

The deacons will be going to lunch after church on Sunday, October 9, to fellowship together as we meet. We will also have our Deacon Retreat at Faith on Saturday, October 29, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to discuss upcoming activities within the church and grow spiritually together.

Dear Church Family,

In light of the increase in utility costs for the church and opportunities for grants for reducing energy use, as well as developing solar or renewable energy sources, I am appointing the following members to a special committee: Lee Insko, Jason Baird, Carrie Abner, Mike Niedwick, Brian McFarland. The charge for the committee is as follows:

The Energy Stewardship Committee will select its own chair and determine its own meeting schedule to pursue the following goals:

1) to evaluate Faith Baptist Church’s energy and utility use and management and to offer recommendations to appropriate committees or to the church for adjustment of those practices;

2) to solicit and recommend to appropriate committees or to the church investments in products or installations that improve the church’ s energy management and cost control;

3) to pursue grants or rebates from companies or government programs related to energy use, production, or control, subject to approval of the church;

4) to educate church and community members about energy and utility alternatives and benefits consistent with the goals above.

The committee will dissolve upon 1) a request by the committee chair, 2) a vote by the church in business meeting, 3) two years after its first meeting, unless adjusted by the church in business meeting.

I am grateful for the members who agreed to serve on this committee and I look forward to the report and action they recommend to the church.

Roger Ward, Moderator

John & Pat Blackburn

Melissa Ward, Lynn Mayo

Chris Cutter, Dale Stowe

Molly Sigmon, Jane Cutter Jim Land, Joyce Baird

FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH STAFF

William Reilly william@familyoffaith.net

Sharon Felton

Amanda Langlands amanda@familyoffaith.net

Rick Hawthorne rick@familyoffaith.net

Natalie Tilford Kopp natalie@familyoffaith.net

Angela Earwood angela@familyoffaith.net

Charlesetta Hilliard

Charlotte McFarland

Judith Williams

Suada Derakovic Melisa Custard

Church Office: (502) 863 1537 M F, 10 a.m. 2 p.m.