Acts of Faith
NOV
2021
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH We are a family of faith, sharing God’s love in a spirit of hope.
"I was having a really bad day, but when I came to Wednesday night it really turned it around and made me feel a lot better."
We still have a few Wednesday Nights left this fall to share life together. With temperatures and COVID numbers dropping, we've moved inside and are having dinner in the gym. The meal starts at 5:30 with a program at 6:30. Enjoy a bright spot in your week as you eat and spend time with your church family. In addition to delicious meals, here's what programs you can expect for the rest of the semester: • November 3 - Taylor Thompson sharing something he is passionate about • November 10 - Jonathan Sands Wise sharing something he is passionate about • November 17 - Assembling Thanksgiving Boxes • December 1 - Advent Art Gallery • December 8 - Christmas Caroling
This special and meaningful service is on Sunday, November 21, at 5:30 p.m. in the gym. The deacons will provide a chili supper as part of our gathering. This is a time for our church family to give thanks for all God has given to us and for our children to learn about and participate in communion. We hope you will join us!
Discernment Committee Members: Mike Collins, Greg Earwood, Jawanna Herd, Shelby Napier, Cynthia Insko-chair After engaging in a process of listening and studying, our committee prepared a report with two recommendations, a statement of welcome and a wedding policy, for the congregation that was distributed on October 14. You can view our recommendations online at www.familyoffaith.net/discernment. Please prayerfully consider the Statement of Welcome and the Policy for Hosting Weddings. We invite you to stay engaged in the process through the following ways: 1. Reach out to our committee members with questions and concerns. 2. Utilize the daily prayer guide to continue praying for our congregation and this process. 3. Attend our Town Hall listening session on Sunday, November 7, at 6 p.m. in the RA to offer comments and ask questions about the recommendations. 4. Attend the business meeting on Sunday, November 14, immediately following morning worship to vote on the recommendations. Voting will be by ballot and members must attend in person to cast a vote. I thank the members of this committee for their prayerful, whole hearted, clear minded, and time-consuming work on this task. It was an honor to work alongside them. We thank the congregation for prayerfully entrusting us with this work and for engaging the process to help us listen carefully and discern the desire of the congregation and the Spirit’s guidance on these matters. —Cynthia Insko, chairperson
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This fall our children have been exploring the stories in the Old Testament. In the younger elementary class they have been learning about Moses and how he was called by God to help the people of God leave Egypt. The older elementary class has been diving deep into the lives of Abraham, Sarah, Esau, and Jacob. It has been fun to watch them wonder and make connections to other stories and also to their lives now. On Wednesdays we have been gathering and sharing life through meals, playground time, and highlighting and talking about important verses in the Bible. As we wrap up the end of fall and begin our journey towards Advent, the children will be talking about All Saints’ Day and the people in our church who have come before and done important things. We will explore how, as a community, we are laying the foundation of the people who come after us and the importance of remembering those “clouds of witnesses” who came before us. Together we will give thanks for their lives and the role they played at our church. We hope you will join us on Sunday, November 21, for our Deacon Family Communion. This is a special time for our children where they are able to learn about and partake in communion. We hope you will make plans to be at this wonderful service. Kids on Mission has been moved from Sunday, November 28, to Sunday, December 12, so the children can practice for their Christmas program.
Fall has been a busy time with our youth at school and at church. We have spent time sharing life together through Sunday lunches, Breakout Games, messy games, and retreats. Our Middle School youth have been learning about some of the odd and interesting Old Testament stories and putting a modern twist on them as they make short movies to help them explore and learn from Old Testament prophets! The first weekend in November will be our High School Fall Retreat to the Gorge! We are excited to have Justin Sizemore of Calvary Baptist Church leading our retreat. The theme this year is Called: Life with a Purpose. We’ll spend time in personal worship and reflection on how God is calling us to live with God’s purpose in mind. On November 10 we will have Avery Hatfield, a Georgetown College student, lead our youth on Wednesday night. Avery is exploring her call to ministry and Faith is walking alongside her as she uses her gifts and calling to serve. Mark your calendar for Youth Sunday on November 21! Our youth will be leading us in Sunday School and
worship on this day. You will want to be here to support our youth! They are working hard on sermon preparation, worship-leading, and lesson plans. I’m so proud of these students and their willingness to step out and lead! Faith Baptist Youth have committed to making client bags of necessary items for Community Action, and we appreciate your help so far! On Sundays we will continue to have a marked container in the front foyer along with lists of needed items. Please help us by purchasing items and bringing them back to church. The youth sort and package items each week. Thank you for your help in loving our neighbors. Items needed for Community Action client bags: • full-size shampoo/ conditioner • soap or body wash (women’s & men’s) • deodorant (women’s & men’s) • lotion (women’s & men’s) • tampons/pads
• toothpaste & toothbrush • SheaMoisture hair & body products • Carol’s Daughter hair products • body lotion with shea butter
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November is best known for Thanksgiving and Veterans Day, but it is packed with other special days to celebrate. Two Christian holidays, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, fall in early November, and Advent (countdown to Christmas) begins at the end of the month. Daylight savings time ends this month! November 1 is All Saints’ Day. November 2 is Election Day. November 3 is Sadie Hawkins Day. November 7 at 2 a.m. is the end of Daylight Saving Time. Set your clocks back on Saturday night! November 11 is Veterans Day. November 25 is Thanksgiving Day. November 28 at sundown marks the start of Hanukkah. November 28 is also the First Sunday of Advent. Join us on Monday, November 15, at 11 a.m. in the RA for our potluck lunch and an inspirational discussion on the “True Nativity” as we get closer to Christmas. Joanna Hawthorne will discuss the perception versus reality of the Nativity as it was in Bethlehem. If you have a nativity that you would like to display, please bring it to share!
Approximately one year ago the church authorized a new committee to evaluate the branding of the church in regards to our logo, signage, print materials, and the various identifying designs of the church and how we are recognized in the community. The Branding Committee presented their initial work to the church and it was accepted with a new logo, new color schemes, and a recommendation for new signs around the church exterior. Working with the Trustees Committee, a proposal for new work was presented to the Admin Committee in October. Admin approved moving forward with the plan and recommended it for a vote at the business meeting on Sunday, November 14. Specifics for this project are: • A new sign at the intersection of South Broadway and Pocahontas pointing toward Faith Baptist. • A new sign at each driveway with information identifying what is located at each building entrance. • Repurposing the large sign in our front yard with new colors and a new sign in the middle of the brick columns. • Specific wording on each exterior door identifying what is located at each entrance. • New letters (Faith Baptist Church) on the side of the RA replacing the lettering located there now. • New lights at each exterior door with dusk to dawn bulbs.
The JOY Mystery Trip was to Georgetown College to visit an art exhibit in the library and eat lunch at the newly renovated Montgomery Cafeteria. GC professor and exhibit artist Daniel Graham gave us a personal tour!
There may be other items added in the future, but the committee feels this is a good starting point. We are working with a professional advertising/printing company and design architect in Lexington who have given us hard bids for this work. We currently need approximately $10,000 to complete it. We plan to fund much of this project with Building Our Future, Capital Improvements, and Maintenance. We are also asking for donations from the congregation so the project could be completed by the first of next year. Jason Baird, Mike Niedwick, and Brian McFarland are heading this work and would be glad to answer any questions. Families of children and youth had lots of fun and got super messy at Messy Games!
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Words from William The only things we Baptists love more than potlucks are committees. As a congregation-led church, a lot of decisions and work happen through committees led by lay people. Maybe it’s just me, but despite how important they are, I generally hate them. They’re tedious, involve lots of evening meetings, and are often frustratingly bureaucratic. However, lately, something most unexpected has been happening. Instead of seeing our committees as necessary evils, I’ve been energized by these administrative groups. Dare I say I’ve even seen the presence of God at work in the midst of these detailed-oriented discussions? If you’re on a committee at our church, you’ve been busy this past year! The Discernment Committee is getting all of the attention right now, and rightfully so for the incredible work they are doing, but so many of our other committees are having important and necessary conversations. The Bylaws Committee is reaching the end of a two-year revision process to update our very outdated constitution and bylaws. The Personnel Committee is reimagining the evaluation and record-keeping process. The Finance Committee has worked tirelessly on a new budget as well as housekeeping on our designated accounts. The Missions Committee is identifying new partnerships and possibilities for us to love our neighbors. The Trustees are constantly working on the building while also dreaming about how we can have better signage. The Flower Committee is preparing to accept poinsettia orders for Advent. These are just a few examples of the many incredible things our committees are working on right now. As I hear about these and so many more projects and initiatives, I am blown away by the number of incredible people using their skills, expertise, time, and energy to help our church. These are congregants coming together to do the hard administrative and operational work that is necessary for our church to thrive. If you are a part of a committee, thank you for serving our church! Without bylaws and budgets and policies and handbooks, we wouldn’t be able to do the fun relational ministry work that I love. You make the baptisms, meaningful worship services, transformative Bible study moments, and care in times of crisis possible. You’re doing the sometimes boring work that allows us to be a family of faith, sharing God’s love in a spirit of hope.
“Photography as a spiritual practice combines the active art of image-receiving with the contemplative nature and open-heartedness of prayer. It cultivates what I call sacred seeing or seeing with the ‘eyes of the heart’. This kind of seeing is our ability to receive the world around us at a deeper level than surface realities….we discover the ways God is moving through our lives and how we are being invited to respond.” —Christine Paintner, from Eyes of the Heart Looking for the holiness of the everyday most often requires us to look just below the surface of our goings and comings, and it is there that we encounter the divine. You are invited to join us this season in diving below the surface. Together, let us use the art and spiritual practice of photography as a prayer of hope, seeking the light together and helping to remind each other of the beauty that is God in the world.
Everyone is invited to participate in Faith’s Advent Art Gallery by submitting your photographs that reflect on the weekly themes printed in the bulletin. Please submit all photos with a short description and the corresponding week to Amanda by email at amandalanglands@yahoo.com. Contact Amanda or the church office to get a list of the themes if you missed them in the bulletin. Then mark your calendar for Wednesday, December 1, to come and reflect on lighting the dark. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., we’ll have food and activity stations in the RA. We’ll send people in small groups to make their way through the gallery. All ages are welcome! Just in case you can’t make it on Wednesday, we’ll also have the gallery open on Thursday, December 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. -Ephesians 1:18
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We need volunteers! Faith has a long and wonderful history of volunteering where and when the need is greatest. Your Missions Committee is comprised of seven church members tasked with choosing the best ways to use our resources to make this world a better place and more like the world God intended. We have identified two opportunities to do this, but need your help. 1. Kentucky Refugee Ministries (Lexington) has asked us to assist in sponsoring a refugee family’s resettlement in the Central Kentucky area. Volunteers would be expected furnish the living quarters provided by KRM, greet the family on arrival, help the family settle (social, medical, transportation, etc.), and generally work as mentors for a period of time as they adapt to life in our country. We will be sharing more information about this as we learn more, but our response, and the level of our response, will depend on the number of people who indicate they are ready to get involved. Please contact me or the church office by November 15 to volunteer. Are you willing to help? 2. Transform Scott County created a program called Helping Hands that works with Commonwealth Credit Union to get people out from under crushing payday loans that can charge over 400% interest per year. Many members of Faith contributed financially in order to get this program started last year. TSC is currently unable to maximize participation in the program due to a lack of volunteer help, and have asked us to take the lead. The program, funds, and process are in place; we just need volunteers. Will you volunteer to help guide a person through this process, ensuring they understand it and are willing to follow through? Let me know! Some good news: Under the leadership of Betty Parrish, our Christmas Shoebox program has exceeded our goal of 50 boxes! Thank you, Betty! Thank you, Scarlette Jasper (our missionary)! Thank you, Faith, for your gifts and your open heart!
A final note: Offering for Global Missions will kick off the first Sunday of Advent. Be on the lookout for more information and this year’s giving goal! —Mike Collins We formalized our partnership with Together For Hope Appalachia on October 17. Program director Keith Stillwell joined us in worship that day.
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Mary Ann Gaeddert
Ysa Duenas
DST Ends 8
Jim Blanton
Carol Williams
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Election Day 3
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Dakota Felton
Kate Dean
Cora Baird David Fraley
11 Veterans Day 12
Jennifer Beckett
Angela Earwood Keith Felton Jackson Hadaway
Greg Earwood Melinda Patrick
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Dylan Marinelli Amanda Jill Wells TerBeest Langlands
David Rashleigh
Karen Taylor
Leslie Williams
Ben Sargent
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Kaden McConnaughhay Joni Stowe
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Lucy McConnaughhay Liam McEuen
Annaliese Hadaway
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H.M. Lewis
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Sarah Hatch Ami Wilcox
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FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH STAFF William Reilly william@familyoffaith.net
Sharon Felton sharon@familyoffaith.net It’s party time! Get out your orange and black, dust off your lawn chairs, and find your giant foam finger because we’re tailgating at the Georgetown College football game on Saturday, November 13. We’ll be in the grass behind the scoreboard starting about noon. The church will be providing hotdogs, hamburgers, and chips, but feel free to bring your own grill or food if you’d like (it is a tailgate, after all). You can come just for the food, but if you’re interested in the game as well, kickoff is at 1:30. General admission is $10 if you’d like to go inside the stadium. Yay burgers! Go Tigers!
Amanda Langlands amanda@familyoffaith.net Rick Hawthorne rick@familyoffaith.net Natalie Tilford-Kopp natalie@familyoffaith.net Angela Earwood angela@familyoffaith.net
Please make plans to attend this important meeting on Sunday, November 14, immediately following the worship service. We will be voting on the proposed 2022 annual budget, the Discernment Committee’s recommendations, and the Branding Committee’s proposal. We will also hear reports from other committees and staff members. The proposed budget is available on our website at www.familyoffaith.net/give.
—Mary Hutton, Pat Blackburn —Lee Ann & Randy Napier —Darla Botkin, Fred Meek —Linda Arehart, Becky Collins
Linda Johnston Charlotte McFarland Judith Williams Suada Derakovic Melisa Custard Church Office: (502) 863-1537 M-F, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
116 Pocahontas Trail Georgetown, KY 40324 502.863.1537 www.familyoffaith.net
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