Acts of Faith
JULY 2020
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH We are a family of faith, sharing God’s love in a spirit of hope.
IN-PERSON WORSHIP UPDATE The Deacons and ministers met in June to discuss resuming in-person worship. Their desire was to balance the longing for and benefits of in-person worship with the need to offer a healthy and safe environment for those who participate. They also sought to maintain a quality virtual worship experience while providing a meaningful in-person option. Trying to hold a virtual/ in-person hybrid service at this time would most likely negatively affect the quality of both experiences. Therefore, the Deacons, with support of the Administrative Committee, have approved a plan for an outdoor, in-person worship service on Sunday evenings in addition to our Sunday morning virtual service. To protect our church family and local community, everyone who attends must observe the following safety measures: Wear a mask (ages 5+) Practice physical distancing of at least six feet Bring your own chair or blanket for seating Sanitize your hands before and after the service Stay home if you are ill in any way The outdoor service will be in our backyard by the playground at 7 p.m. starting July 5. There will be no children’s activities or nursery care. The FLC restrooms will be available for use. If it is raining, the service is canceled, as moving indoors is not an option. For more about the service and safety protocols, visit www.familyoffaith.net/covid-19-response. There you can watch a fun video made by Jared Wilcox, as well as a replay of William’s live information session on Facebook. We look forward to being together!
SUMMER FUN DAYS Drive-in Movie Who’s ready for a (drive-in) movie night? Our next Summer Fun Day is July 10 and we’re going to the Bourbon Drive-In Theatre in Paris! Meet in the church parking lot at 7 p.m. to caravan out there together. We won't know what movies are showing until the Monday before so be on the lookout for that information in the Faith File on July 6. If all the choices are terrible,
then we'll just reschedule! The cost is $8 per adult, $3 per child, and kids 5 and under are free. Please follow all physical distancing guidelines during this event. Contact the office if you have any questions. Fishing Get your rod and reel; we’re going fishing! Join us on Saturday, July 25, for more outdoor fun! The time and location are TBD so watch the bulletin and Faith File for more details as the date gets closer.
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Our Choose Your Own Adventure VBS is well underway and, oh, what magical places we are traveling to together! Each Monday morning for five weeks the children receive an Adventure Box that includes a Bible story where someone encounters the Light of God with a video of the story from the Bible character’s point of view. The box is full of games, crafts, discovery experiments, and missions activities, as well as an exciting wonder of light in the world. The stories they are exploring are: Peter Walking on Water with a trip to the Sea of Stars in the Maldives Tabitha the Disciple with a trip to the Glowing Brockville Tunnel in Canada Saul on the Road to Damascus with a trip to Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar Moses and the Burning Bush with a trip to Garden by the Bay in Singapore Noah and the Ark with a trip to Antelope Canyon in Arizona
Also, each week the children are challenged to shine their lights by sending treats to friends, sending notes of encouragement, and thanking their mail person, among other things. With each activity they can earn points and we are seeing who can earn more in the end — the girls or the boys! We are learning to Shine Our Lights and seeing how God is at work in the world!
THE MONTH OF AMANDA June was The Month of Amanda as we celebrated Pastor Amanda's 10 years of ministry at Faith Baptist Church! Children's Team chair Regan Lookadoo presented Pastor Amanda with a personalized photo book, gift card to Local Feed, and a love offering! Thank you, Pastor Amanda, for teaching our children, sharing your gifts of creativity and wisdom, and showing the love of God in all you do! A message from Amanda: I do not have adequate words to describe how grateful I am for my family of Faith! This past month of you celebrating me and my 10 years at Faith has been unbelievable. After finally accepting that my sabbatical and long awaited trip to Italy was not going to happen due to the pandemic, I pretty much anticipated that June was not going to be a month I would want to remember. How very wrong I was! This past month I have felt nothing but encouraged, celebrated, appreciated and, most importantly, loved. From sweet videos on Sunday morning to ice-cream sundaes to Starbucks gift cards to beautiful art and handmade cards to the generous love offering, I am overwhelmed and filled by your love! Thank you does not seem to cover all the feelings that I have had, especially in this crazy Covid time, but thank you, Faith family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for walking with me, encouraging me, empowering me in this ministry. I cannot imagine a more wonderful place to be or a more gracious and loving people to serve with. I am honored and proud to call you my people and to be a part of this community. Here’s to many more years together.
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YOUTH NEWS
REFLECTIONS FROM DALE
We’ve had a good but strange June! In many ways time seems to be flying by and also standing still. I can’t believe we are heading into July! We kicked off our summer of Passport and have had two weeks of Bible study, worship, Art Choice times and we’ve been challenged to serve our neighbors! Passport has done a remarkable job of changing course and providing virtual “camp” for all of us!
In the mid-1980s Faith Baptist Church was a small church nestled in a little Kentucky town. The majority of our congregation were Georgetown College professors and alumni. That changed one spring Sunday morning when a prospective pastor came to preach his trial sermon. His name? Steve Hadden! I remember during the afternoon Q&A someone asked, “What direction do you think we should take Faith in the future?” Steve replied, “If you want to grow and reach out to the community with the gospel, I’m up for the challenge.”
We had our first in-person, socially distant activity, and it was so wonderful to be together! We went to the Bourbon Drive-In and watched Zootopia. It was a beautiful night, complete with shooting stars! I loved seeing everyone in person instead of on a screen! July will bring more weeks of camp with the themes of BE Loved, BE One, and BE With. We will continue to serve together by doing various mission projects around our community, such as writing notes, creating sidewalk chalk art, delivering meals, working in someone’s yard, or just making some visits to people for a socially distant chat outside! Make sure to send Sharon your pictures, like this one of Mary Daniel and Colby Abner helping their grandparents move!
We’ll get together in person again on July 25 for a physically distanced, outdoor picnic where everyone brings their own blankets and food! Look for more details in weekly messages from Sharon.
Many in our JOY group were there during that exciting time in our church. We were in our thirties and forties and were inspired to reach out to those in our community. One of the first things we did was build a baptistry in the RA where we met for worship. It wasn’t long before we started seeing God’s word changing hearts and lives as we baptized men, women and children. I will never forget the Sunday a 70-year-old, E.W. Burton, gave his life to the Lord and was baptized. E.W. was a shining example of love and faithfulness. It was an energizing time for our church as we witnessed people turning to Jesus. Our growth exploded as many newcomers, looking for a church open to people from all different backgrounds, started coming to Faith. By the end of 1988 we were at capacity and started planning for the new buildings you see today. Our JOY group prayed, visited, and reached out to everyone to get involved as we planned for a larger sanctuary. We were proud when our beautiful new sanctuary was completed, but even prouder that it was the place where so many people were baptized. A highlight for me was the morning we baptized 15 of our youth when they returned from Passport. As a member of our JOY group I love thinking about those days, but I am also excited for the future. Great saints like E.W., Martha Simpson, Jerald Rose, Betty Snyder, Bob and Frank Snyder, Step Hemple, LaVerne Wentworth, and of course, Steve Hadden, led the way. People need the Lord and Faith can be that catalyst. —Dale
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This month marks my one-year anniversary at Faith, and what a year it has been! I know, my first reaction was also, “it’s only been a year?” We have welcomed several new members and said goodbye as old friends have moved away. We celebrated a baptism and mourned the loss of people we love. We are asking big questions, trying new things, and finding new ways to support our partners as we work to realize the dream of a better Georgetown. Through it all I have been blessed as I’ve witnessed us continue to be a family of faith, sharing God’s love in a spirit of hope. We hosted a powerful Angela Project community worship and several members helped start a new organization focused on racial equality in Georgetown called Common Unity in the Community. We also furthered our relationship with Scarlette Jasper by officially becoming an Encourager Church for her and her work in McCreary County. We continued to expand our involvement with Southern Elementary and education support through ongoing programs like reading camp and backpack program and by participating in new initiatives like mentoring, teacher appreciation, and a furniture closet. We are often Torie’s first call when she needs help because she knows our heart for students and teachers. Our community support has also been improved with the diligent work of the trustees as they completed several building projects that allow us to better host groups and organizations while also continuing our own strong programming. Our building has been busy with practices, gatherings and meetings. Of note is our partnership with Club David that used our gym and basement area for basketball and volleyball-based mentoring of middle school students. Also, we have become the site for the Chamber of Commerce Women In Business meetings that seek to empower women as they live out their dreams and callings in the business world. Of course, it has been several months since we have hosted these groups as we have also spent a good part of this year navigating the ongoing COVID crisis. Due to the hard work and creativity of our staff and volunteers we have been able to pivot to virtual worship and classes that still provide an opportunity to encounter God and grow in relationship. From virtual VBS and talent shows to worship and a Facebook Live Bible study we have shown an incredible ability to adapt and expand as we value safety and reason along with our desire to love and serve. Currently, we are showing the same adaptive compassion as we engage in the nationwide conversations and protests about racial equality. We are striving to learn from and support minorities as we seek true freedom and liberty for all while balancing the need for safety during the ongoing pandemic. In all of this life that we’ve lived together, you have taught me so much about how to be a minister and a Christian. Faith is full of incredible, talented, interesting, and absolutely wonderful people and I have loved getting to know you over this past year. Through calls, notes, visits, conversations, gifts, baked treats, and even a parade, you’ve shown me nothing but kindness, love, and patience. You’ve supported and cared for me even as I’ve made mistakes navigating my first year as a pastor. I have learned so much about God from you in our Bible Studies, worship planning, resource sharing, and theologically rich conversations. I am blessed that I get to be in relationship with you. I cannot wait to see what next year has in store for us. I am confident God is at work through Faith. We are a part of making the world a bit more like the kingdom of God. I hope next year involves less pandemics and social unrest, but even if it does, I know Faith will still be leading the way in love. With all of my being, thank you for letting me serve as your minister. I love you and daily thank God that I am here with you. Thank you for welcoming me into this family of faith.
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One year with William!
CHRISTMAS IN JULY It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (in July)! 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. This year we will be collecting those boxes in July instead of November. This will relieve some of our collecting chaos around the holidays and hopefully keep Scarlette from getting so overwhelmed with donations coming in all at once. So, how can you participate in this wonderful endeavor? Pack a shoe box (or two or five!) and bring them to the church! The list of supplies and instructions is on the Missions page of our website (www.familyoffaith.net/missions) under the Christmas Shoebox Ministry block. Please remember to label the boxes with the intended age and gender of the child and do not wrap the box (items have to be checked before boxes are distributed). Boxes can be dropped off at the church every Wednesday in July from 1 to 3 p.m. Contact the office if you need someone to pick up your box or items to contribute. All boxes and supplies must be at the church by Sunday, July 26. We will have a special Christmas in July service that day and will bless the boxes before they head off to our neighbors in McCreary County. Merry Christmas and Happy Helping Others!
Faith has been richly blessed by William’s ministry and service since he became our pastor one year ago. William and Cecelia, we love you!
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WED 1
THURS 2
FRI 3 Church Office closed
SUN 5 11 AM Virtual Worship
MON 6 12 PM Devotional
TUES 7
Roger Ward Kaitlyn Beckett
8 1- PM Christmas Shoe Box Drop Off
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12 11 AM Virtual Worship 7 PM Backyard Worship
19 11 AM Virtual Worship
Eric Lookadoo
Lisa Eddy
13 12 PM Devotional
14
15 1- PM Christmas Shoe Box Drop Off
Anne Rose Marolyn Hale Diana Roszkowski
20 12 PM Devotional
16
10 7 PM Drive-in Movie
22 1- PM Christmas Shoe Box Drop Off
David Bugg
Frankie Johnson
27 12 PM Devotional
28
29
Sophia Cook
Beth Thompson
23
Independence Day
11
Jim Calloway
Mallory Thompson Jo Rashleigh
17
18
Jacque Hukill
Peggy Blanton
21
4
Mike Collins
7 PM Backyard Worship Mattie Katz
SAT
24
25 TBD Fishing
Max Ward
Hollis Dudgeon
7 PM Backyard Worship Glenn Williams
26 11 AM Virtual Worship 7 PM Backyard Worship Mary Hutton
30
31
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EXTREME BUILD: AUGUST 2-8 Extreme Build 2020 is on! Even Covid can’t stop CBFKY from coming together to build a house in McCreary County for Chester and Emma Hicks and their children! However, things will look a little different this year. We will not be staying for the week as we usually do. There are hotels available if that’s something you would like to do, though. The CBFKY office is still working out details and we will keep you posted as they come out. Right now, we need to know who is interested in helping with the build for any amount of time. It’s such an amazing week as we join together with churches from across the Commonwealth to serve Christ! Please contact the church office if you would like to sign up.
FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH STAFF Senior Pastor William Reilly william@familyoffaith.net Minister of Students Sharon Felton sharon@familyoffaith.net Minister of Children & Education Amanda Langlands amanda@familyoffaith.net Minister to Seniors Dale Stowe dale@familyoffaith.net Choir Director Natalie Tilford-Kopp natalie@familyoffaith.net Office Manager Angela Earwood angela@familyoffaith.net
MEMBER NEWS Several months ago, longtime Faith member and ordained minister Stacey Cruse was credentialed through CBF as a pastoral counselor. In June she passed the certification exam and officially received her license for counseling. Stacey was recognized by CBF in a video presentation at General Assembly this year for earning her credentials this year. We are so proud of Stacey for this accomplishment and her willingness to fulfill her divine calling to help others.
Custodian Linda Johnston Organist Charlotte McFarland Pianist Judith Williams Nursery Workers Suada Derakovic Melisa Custard Church Office M-F, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (502) 863-1537
Faith Baptist Church 116 Pocahontas Trail Georgetown, KY 40324 502.863.1537 familyoffaith@familyoffaith.net www.familyoffaith.net
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