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Lizzie Lewis Circle is Still at Work!

Even though our Lizzie Lewis Circle is not currently meeting, we are continuing to work on our mission projects and thank you for your help.

We are collecting used postage stamps for one mission project. There is a container in the church office on the counter where you can leave them. We are also involved in a great program at Weirton Christian Center where we collect quarters for a program called “Quarters for Grades” at the Weirton Christian Center. These quarters are sent to them on a regular basis where they are used as incentives for the children who come there to get good grades. What a way to help a child’s education.

Memory: The Tie that Binds

by Rev Robert A Wendel

“The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace. “ Psalm 29:11

It’s logical to think of memories during the month of November. Memory is what ties our generations together, like photographs in an old album. Of course, cemeteries are such a place, but even smaller communities have such sacred places. Pardon me, but it seems that our National Mall is nearly overcrowded with such commemorations.

Here in Waynesburg, the veterans organizations are in the process of completing a new memorial. I was surprised to learn that there is a national memorial in Washington for law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The common thread for many of these stone markers is that those who gave their lives helped us maintain our peace, and that is certainly something to be thankful for. The promise we make is never to forget such sacrifice.

“Lord, thank you for the blessings you sneak into my life. May I always recognize and be thankful for them.” Ashley Kappel

Backpack Ministry: Still Adding Children

Our Backpack Ministry is going smoothly and we are still adding children to our list. Weekly we send them two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, a fresh loaf of bread and a bag of snacks.

Last month we were blessed to receive some free food from Mountaineer Food Bank. We received some individual breakfast cereal packs, Hormel Complete Meals as well as juice boxes. I am sure the children will enjoy our bounty.

For the month of November we are asking for tomato and chicken noodle soup. I know these items have gone up in price to $1.00 or more per can. We have found soup at ALDIS store for about $.50 per can. The quality is good and the price is right!

Thanks to everyone who has donated money, food or prayed for our Backpack Ministry. May God bless each one of you!

Blessing Box: Thanks to your Generosity

Our blessing box has been up and running for a while now thanks to your generosity. We never know who takes items from this and hope that it gets to the people who really need it. We are continuing to collect non-cooking food items and water and place these items in our box daily and appreciate any items that you wish to donate. These items can be placed in the blue box outside the pastor’s office.

Helping Others Get Ready for Winter

Helping Hands is once again gearing up for another cold winter. We have changed our clothing room over to winter clothing for adults and children. We are in desperate need of winter coats and blankets. This is always a huge need once the weather turns cold. We will be packing the pulpit at the church with new and “gently used” winter coats and blankets during the month of November.

We continue to need soap and toilet tissue which can be left in the black container outside the church office. Volunteers are a necessary part of our mission and your help would be greatly appreciated. It’s just three hours a day and you will be blessed by seeing how we minister to the community.

As always, keep us in your prayers as we continue to reach out to the city of Beckley and the surrounding community.

November is a Crazy Month

In the shoebox community, November is a crazy month. Crazy may be an understatement but nonetheless it’s very, very busy. You ask why? November 15th through November 22nd is national collection week. This is when all of the shoeboxes from the Beckley/Raleigh County area come back into the church to be counted, put in a larger carton and start their long journey to reach a child halfway around the world. What I need from you first of all is your prayers that this collection week goes smoothly. It always has some rough times but with your prayers I’m sure we will get through it.

November is the month where I usually ask for monetary contributions to cover the shipping costs for the 100 boxes that we will be packing but fortunately through donations throughout the year our shipping costs have already been covered. But that’s not to say that we can’t start working on next years costs which I will only be glad to accept. If you want to write a check, just be sure to put shoeboxes in the memo line and that will assure that it gets to the correct place.

We will probably have a smaller collection this year but that’s good news because Samaritans Purse has opened a new collection center in Fayette County and one in Wyoming County. This will not only encourage more people in those areas to donate but will lessen the tremendous load that we get here every year. So it’s a good thing if we have less but that doesn’t mean you still can’t help. You can either make a box and bring it to the church or you can create a box on line which doesn’t involve any in person shopping. It’s all done on line. If you want more info on that, just give me a call and I’ll walk you through it.

I want to thank you all for your prayers, donations throughout the year both items donated and the contributions you’ve made. This year makes our 20th year officially being a collection center and it’s been great to see how this ministry has changed throughout the years. Please continue to pray as we enter this busy time that God moves these shoeboxes to where they need to be. God bless you !!!

Waking Up to the Good Stuff

by Pastor Doc Adkins

“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” Psalm 143:8

“The morning is just the most important part of the day”, my Grandmother use to say. Life in my grandparent’s house started early. When you think of the morning, they are clean slates on the day and you get to choose what you do with it. By evening it is just a little too late to start planning your day so why not start it out right at the beginning to get things accomplished and spend time with God before we get bogged down with life?

I can remember how my grandma used to fix breakfast in the mornings, most every morning. She didn’t just pour a bowl of cereal or throw a pop tart in the toaster. She probably didn’t even know what a pop tart was. My grandmother fixed real breakfast food—the good stuff!

I have such memories of my grandma’s country farm kitchen and her frying bacon, sausage and eggs too. Never scrambled ones. They were always over-easy, sunny side up ones. Next came the biscuits. Homemade of course. Not those kind many of us pop out of cans. Then came the gravy. White, country style. Of course when I was a kid I loved white country style gravy. I still do! I guess because it was all my family ever fixed with anything. Then, after all this, when good ones were available, my grandma would get a few tomatoes and slice some on a plate to put on the table. In our family it seemed like no meal was complete until there was a plate of freshly sliced tomatoes on the table. The table would always be full. My grandma believed in fixin’ the good stuff. All this topped off with really cold milk, hot…hot coffee and water. You had to drink at least a glass of water. Just ‘cause momma said so, that’s why.

God also fixes the ‘good stuff’’. He has so much planned for our days but do we miss it because we don’t get up early and spend time with Him? Do we anticipate His goodness and kindness to us each day? Do we seek Him early like David did?

“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” Psalm 143:8

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Psalm 5:3

I do have days that I don’t start it off right. We all do, but if we don’t try to spend time with God by reading His Word and communing with Him in prayer at the start of our day then how will we ever be conscious of Him when the afternoon hits or when evening rolls around?

My! How much ‘good stuff’ He offers us. We are given blessings, promises, love, guidance, strength, and protection. We need all of God’s ‘good stuff’ to make it through the whole day.

“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22

Hope you’ll keep your alarm set and wake up to The Good Stuff!

Hitting the Right Notes

by Rev Robert A Wendel

Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. Ephesians 5:19-20

I love the old hymns, and I look forward to singing them in a church on Sunday morning—usually the first, third, and last verses. At one point, I got a new song leader. When we sang a hymn, for him, we belted out all the verses. Over the years, as a church pastor I found a wealth of sound theology in lyrical language.

My church congregations all enjoyed holding evening “ hymn sings.” Most of those services were scheduled to last about an hour, but they almost always exceeded the time set for the occasion.

In other circumstances, you wouldn’t skip necessary ingredients. I can still hear my grandmother’s reminder to use all of the ingredients in the recipe for her apple pie. She would say, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well,” often with flour on her hands.

So many people today try to take shortcuts. Many older folks stick to the notion that what is worth doing, is worth doing completely.

Examine any Protestant hymnal and you will discover that all of the hymns were written before World War I.

Father, help us sing with enthusiasm all the verses of this life that you’ve chosen for us.
Mary Lou Carney

ABW: Receiving and Offering Gifts

American Baptist Women’s Ministries is Christian women receiving and offering gifts in response to our commitment to God. The world and the church need women strong in the Lord, responding to one another and to the needs we see around us. Today, that is the ministry to which God calls us.

Our ladies here at FBC are continuing to support their mission projects even though they are not meeting through the Quarters for Grades program at Weirton Christian Center as well as collecting used postage stamps where they turn into support for various mission projects. As an ABW woman, which all ladies are, we strive to help in any way we can to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to our home mission projects as well as our international projects. We may be small right now, but we are mighty when we band together.

The FBC Blessing Box

Our blessing box has been up and running for awhile now thanks to your generosity. We never know who takes items from this and hope that it gets to the people who really need it. We are continuing to collect non-cooking food items and bottled water and place these items in our box daily and appreciate any items that you wish to donate. These items can be placed in the blue box outside the pastor’s office.