ANNOUNCEMENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
• Sunday, Jan. 17, the Youth and Children will have a Skating Party from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Jammerz Skateland in Clarksville.
• On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the Joy Riders will meet at the church at 11 a.m. to leave for lunch at Cheddar’s Restaurant in Clarksville, Ind. Sign up on the sheet in the corridor.
DEACONS CORNER
Dear Church Family,
I am writing this Deacon’s Corner article for The Messenger just a few days after Thanksgiving, and I am still pondering a few of the many things that I am thankful for in my life.
One of the blessings I appreciate and am thankful for every time I go to church is the many encouraging people we have in our church family. I would like to mention every one by name, but I fear I would forget to mention someone, so I will not. Some people have the gift of encouragement – always having the right words to say or a pat on the back at just the right moment. I will usually encounter at least six of these folks on my walk from the entrance doors to the sanctuary on Sunday morning. If I wasn’t already feeling upbeat just coming to church, I always am by the time worship begins. I have to admit that encouragement is not something that comes naturally to me. I wish it was! I usually have to work at it.
As 2009 draws to a close, many in our church family have had a very tough year. The economy has been very unstable, to say the least, and some of our brothers and sisters have lost their jobs, worried about losing their jobs or have seen their incomes reduced by their employers. Some members have lost loved ones this year or have experienced very serious illness of their own or of a close family member.
As bad as these matters are, I am thankful we do not have to face these difficulties on our own. How much worse would it be if we did not have our faith and our church family?
And so it is that I am thankful for all the “Encouragers” we are blessed with at First Baptist. A kind word, a hug, a card, a listening ear or a phone call can sometimes seem like a small act to those who are providing. To those of us on the receiving end, it usually comes at just the right moment to make a difference.
If you are one of our “Encouragers” we are blessed to have at our church, thank you so much. Keep it up. We appreciate and need the ministry you provide. If you are like me and fall a little short in this area, as the New Year begins, there is no better time to begin again. Simply send a couple of encouraging cards a month to someone who may need a lift – that would be all of us from time to time. Just think – if each member of our church sent just two cards each month – that would be more than 600 encouraging cards a month!
May the Lord God Almighty bless our church and each one of you and your families in the coming New Year!
In Christ,
— Bruce Hampton
JANUARY BIRTHDAYS
Jan. 1
Ray Pfannmoeller
Jan. 2
Ron Allman
Jill Fritz
Jan. 3
Bob Phillips
Jan. 5
Wayne Carter
Buddy McCulloch
Jan. 6
Joshua Broadway
John Darling
Jan. 8
Lonnie Cooper
Jan. 9
Diana Bailey
Marianne Conrad
Jared Scifres
Jan. 10
AJ Elmore
Charlie Pierce
Jan. 12
Kearstin Schmitz
Jan. 13
Jacqueline Darling
Allie Reed
Jan. 14
Charles Spencer
Jan. 15
Grace Farnsley
Susan Smart
Jan. 17
Donald Peacher
Jan. 18
Evan Petty
Jan. 19
Maurice Carter
Jason May
Jan. 20
Michael Cain
Jan. 22
Laura Smith
Jan. 23
Michael Cain, Jr.
Jan. 25
Erma Carter
Ashley Humphries
Jan. 26
Wilma Clark
Cody Denig
Jan. 28
Brittney McKee
Rowdy McKee
Ashly Sauls
Jan. 29
Alice L. Sample
Jan. 30
Martha Read
Marie Jackson
Jan. 31
Rebecca McKee
JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES
Jan. 16
John & Jill Ferguson
Jan. 18
Brett & Stephanie Petty
Jan. 20
Scott & Pat Conrad
Jan. 25
John & Ginger Lindle
REMINDER
Please make sure the church office has your correct address and phone number.