ISSUE 4

MAY/JUNE 2015 STARCHER NEWSLETTER

Starcher Baptist Church

2624 6th AvenueCharleston, WV 25387

David Workman, Pastor

The Pastor’s Perusing’sThe Value of Seeking the Lord

Psalms 119:1-8

We all have ambitions and desires. While these are not necessarily wrong, we should analyze our priorities: Where do I invest my time and energy? What or who occupies my thoughts? As important as our earthly pursuits, responsibilities, and relationships may be, they cannot compare to the value of a life spent seeking the Lord.

First of all, consider what it means to seek something. The word speaks of a strong desire and an energetic quest to achieve it. If you discovered a vein of gold on your property, you wouldn’t just go out and look at it occasionally. No, you would get some equipment and diligently go out each day to chip away at the rocks and collect the precious metal.

In the same way, seeking the Lord is not a quick and occasional encounter, it takes a wholehearted effort to know Him more intimately and follow Him more closely. Those who pursue this kind of fellowship with God are determined to spend time with Him; they want to forsake anything that could hinder growth in their relationship with the Lord. God’s committed followers boldly claim His promises and trust Him to fulfill His Word. This gives them great satisfaction, and yet it causes them to hunger for more of Him.

The Christian life is meant to be a pursuit of God. To walk through the door of salvation and stand still, never getting any closer to Him, is to miss the treasures that are available in Jesus. Those who seek Him soon discover that knowing Him is the greatest reward of all.

This month’s newsletter will have both May and June due to vacation. We will resume normal schedule in July.

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MAY/JUNE BIRTHDAYS ANNIVERSARIES

Teresa Reed 5/6 Johnny and Alice Redhawk May 2 2 years

Lacy Campbell 5/16 Herb and Amie Rowe May 22 39 years

Frances Pritt 5/23

Amie Rowe 5/23

Durg Jaynes 6/02

Jerry Cavender 6/11

Mary Bolin 6/19

Jordan Spriggs 6/24

Cledith Beard 6/25

Linda Harless 6/28UPCOMING EVENTS IN MAY/JUNEMay 9 8:30 am Men’s fellowship with BreakfastMay 10 11:00 am Mothers Day/Graduation recognitionMay 16 10:00 am American Baptist Women (ABW)May 16 3:30 pm Graduation reception for Amanda WhitlockMay 31 6:00 pm Last Sunday Song ServiceJune 5-7 ABW Conference at Parchment ValleyJune 13 8:30 am Men’s fellowship with BreakfastJune 14 11:00 am Glory Way QuartetJune 15-19 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm Vacation Bible School – Camp Discovery anyone who

wants to let the church borrow things pertaining to Camping please see Holly MedleyJune 20 10:00 am American Baptist Women (ABW)June 21 11:00 am Fathers DayJune 27 4:00 pm Annual Family DinnerJune 28 11:00 am One Great Hour of Sharing Mission June 28 6:00 pm Last Sunday Song Service

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD COLLECTIONSThe Church family has been very supportive for Operation Christmas Child in the month of April. We collected over 1000 items. The month of May is: SMALL TOYS/SMALL STUFFED ANIMALS. JUNE is: TOOTHBRUSHES AND TOOTHPASTE.

Please remember: We can send no liquids, war related items, guns shaped items, or camouflage items.We will be collecting the following items every month, unless we receive too many:6 QT plastic shoe boxes, Pillowcases (for dresses for the girls), bandanas (mainly for the boys).

We will use the dresses and the bandanas to line the shoe boxes for shipment. It will be colorful through theClear shoe boxes.

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We celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus Christ at our annual Easter Sunrise Service. We had 28 people come to the service and we had a wonderful breakfast immediately following. Special thanks to all that helped in the program and the breakfast.

Bring a friend day was held on April 12 and we had 83 people in attendance. Most people stayed and enjoyed the dinner that followed. We had sandwiches and chicken tenders and all the fixings. It was indeed a great time of food and fellowship.

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We want to thank everyone who helped or donated items for our Rummage and Hot dog sale that was held on April 24 and 25. We had a great turnout and sold a lot of rummage and over 200 hot dogs. We also sold nachos, chips, drinks and baked goods. The churches share of the rummage sale and all of the hot dogs sales will benefit the Vacation Bible School and our postage for the Operation Christmas Child program. Those 2 activities will share $985.00!! We call that a great success!!

The American Baptist Women held their meeting on April 18 and elected the officers for 2015. Terrie Workman is President, Tara Smith is the secretary and April Snodgrass is the Treasurer. They are collecting money for the 2015 Mission Outreach Program (MOP). All women of the congregation are American Baptist Women, but anyone in the church can contribute to this event. The project is the Chicken and Veggie Project with the Keith and Debbie Myers Ministry in Mexico. The money raised will help women in Pueblo, Mexico provide meat, eggs and vegetables for their families. The goal for each family is $125.00 which will provide 2 dozen chickens, 1 bag of chicken feed, 20 meters of fencing for the chickens and 1 pack of cardboard sheets. We have a member of the church who will match up to the goal of $125.00. Please help them meet their goal of $125.00, so the church can sponsor 2 families. You many contribute by giving directly to Terrie Workman or by putting in the offering plate and mark it Chicken project.

WE HAVE A NEW WEB PAGE: STARCHERBAPTIST.COM Please take a moment to look it over. It is available via computer or a phone/tablet with internet access. We are very excited about it, as it lets people see all we have to offer.

DON’T FORGET…If you have something you would like to be in the newsletter, please let April know by the 20th of each month by either telling her or you can email to starcherbaptist@gmail.com

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We have the following graduating from college in May 2015

Brittany Cavender (granddaughter of Ed and Margaret Cavender) She will be graduating from Marshall University with a Regents Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Leasa Slater (granddaughter of Mary Slater) She will be graduating on May 16 from University of North Texas, Denton Texas, with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science, She is a member of Sigma Phi Lambda (Christian Sorority). She will be attending Birkbeck University, London England beginning fall 2015 pursuing a Masters of Arts in Medieval Literature and Culture.

Amanda Whitlock – (wife of Chase Whitlock, daughter of Rick and April Snodgrass) She will be graduating on May 16 from West Virginia State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. She also has special endorsements in Pre-K and Special Education. She will be graduating with a 3.26 GPA and is a member of Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education. She will be pursuing a Master Degree in Education.

CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!!!!

SONG QUESTIONNAIRE

We would love to get the congregation to tell us their 5 favorite songs from our hymnal. We will incorporate these songs into our services. Please take a moment to list your songs below and tear off and put in the basket in the vestibule.

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