First Baptist Church301 E. Elm Street

(309)647-7241www.cantonfbc.org

Monroe Bailey ........................ Pastor Beth Kelly ............................... Office ManagerGretchen Thum ...................... Director of Children’s MinistryKaren Klinedinst ................... Director of Senior MinistryKent & Kelli Canevit ............. Director of Youth MinistryBarb Grant .............................. Pastoral Operations ManagerMike Wabel............................. Worship Leader

Fbc Canton

Volume 17 - Number 9 September 2017

First Baptist Church

Pathways

The Food Pantry has been blessed recently. On August 14 the transmission on the truck used to pick up food for the Food Pantry went out. It was to cost a little over $2,000 to replace it and when the women counted the offering for Sunday there was a donation from someone inthe amount of $2,000. Yes, the Lord has bless-ed us as the truck was quickly repaired and on the road.

We continue to have approximately 250 fam-ilies and over 100 home deliveries each week. This takes a lot of volunteer work not only onMonday but throughout the week. Jeff would appreciate dependable volunteers that he could call when he has a truck to unload, food to sort, shelving to install in the garage, etc.

Food Pantry News

We did get a new cooler which will store more and be more energyefficient. This will keep some donated foods from being frozen. We have also been getting fresh garden produce on Monday mornings and it is much appreciated. If you have more than you can use it would be appreciated for the Food Pantry.

Thanks to all for your assistance.Joyce Cannon

v Please keep Steve and Carol Birch and their family and friends in prayer in the loss of Carol’s mother, Libby Webb.

v Sympathy to the family and friends of Paul and Kim Moffitt in the loss of Kim’s grandmother, Dottie Sebree.

v Our sympathies go out to the family and friends of Mary Elliott.

v Sympathy to the Lowry family in the passing of their grandmother, Beulah White.

Sympathies

Mission HighlightDuring the month of September we will be highlighting the World Mission Offering which will be taken up on Sunday, Sept. 24 th . Your gift to the World Mission Offering helps people around the world to meetChrist, to grow as disciples and to serve as channels of God’s love to still more people. This offering makes it possible to train new global servants, care for the ones on the field and provide services and resources that they need through International Ministries. They seek to nurture the psychological, physical and spiritual transformation of those who

have experienced the trauma of trafficking or forced labor and work with the Body of Christ around the world to extend God’s love in situations of discord, suffering and conflict. Please be praying about what you can contribute to World Mission Offering.

In Christ,Joan RussellDeacon of Missions

Thanks to all who use Amazon Smile to support the church!! For the 2 nd quarter, the church

received $15.97!

Thank you for all the many prayers and kind thoughts during my recent surgery.  Even though hundreds of miles separate us physically, we are together through prayer. I could feel your prayers. Please continue to pray during my lengthy recovery period as I will continue to pray for my Canton FBC Family.  Our God is so good!

Janet Williams (address change)4901-G Columbia RoadColumbia, MD 21044

Thanks so much to Dale Wagner and John Reed for installing the new shelving in the Food Pantry rooms! It looks great and will be a great benefit to the mission!

Please let the office know if we need to add your birthday or anniversary.

Anniversaries 3 - Todd & Wendy McGurk

4 - John & Alma Lee Wertman

16 - Brooks & Mary Ellen Carver

19 - Jim & Pat Watts

Birthdays 1 - Becky Stevens

4 - Mark Lowery

6 - Mike Wabel

11 - Elizabeth Lowry

11 - Matthew Vogel

13 - Ralph Paul

15 - Philip Young

17 - Brooke Hendricks

17 - Joan Russell

17 - Caely Guthrie

18 - Marianne Stockman

18 - Diana Rock

27 - Jeff Ashwood

28 - Samuel Menk

29 - Todd McGurk

30 - Kelli Canevit

A Prayer for Our Teachers and StudentsLord, thank You for the men and women who dedicate their lives to educating children. I ask You to bless them with strength, joy, favor with students and parents, and a strong sense of purpose. Make them fruitful in every way. Give them wisdom, creativity, patience, insight, and endurance. Give them Yoursupernatural love for each student, so much so that those kids go home each day with a keen sense of being loved by You. Use these teachers to make an eternal difference in the lives of their students. I pray that their fami-lies will have an easy and peaceful transition into the school year.

I also pray for all of our students, particularly those who are entering new schools this year. Father, please give them courage, peace, and

joy. Let them make friends easily and connect well with their teachers. Let them find their se-curity in You, Lord. Please sharpen their minds and help them learn. Build godly character in them. Use our Christ-following sons and daughters to draw others to You. Help them let go of what others think and to love the unlove-ly. Help them obey You even when it’s really hard. Father, for our sons and daughters who have not yet made decisions to follow You, let this be the year. Let them see their need of You and surrender their precious lives to You.

Thank You in advance for the work You’re going to do in our teachers and students’ lives this year, Lord. I pray all of these things in the strong and mighty name of Jesus. Amen!

Barb’s CornerGod’s EclipseI hope you got to experience the eclipse of the moon over the sun on Monday, August 21. Seeing the eclipse was such a treat that happens rarely, the last time being in 1979. This was not a total eclipse but

approximately 93% in our area. The next such event is predicted for the year 2024. I hope to get to see that one also.

After viewing the eclipse during the day on Monday; I was awakened in the middle of the night with a thought that so impressed my mind; I believed it to be God speaking to me. The thought was, as Christians we are eclipsed every day by God’s great love. It is a total eclipse that covers us, wraps around us and just immerses us in it. I felt total peacefulness and eventually drifted back to sleep.

There are exciting changes taking place as the school year is off to a start!

Very soon you will see Kid’s Bible Bags outside the sanctuary. Inside is a children’s study bible and an age appropriate sermon

note sheet that will allow our pre-teens to engage in what is happening during the church service. The kids are too old to attend Children’s Church, but sometimes they need a little more to help them understand what’s being said or happening during the service. We ask that you return the bibles, in the bag, at the end of the service, so it can be used each week.

Beginning September 6, Kids ROCK (Kids Reaching Out for Christ’s Kingdom) will meet Wednesday’s from 6–7:30pm. The name has been changed from Kid’s Klub to Kids ROCK to show our children that we continually strive to run after Jesus… and let’s face it… kids rock! Their innocence and love is such a special gift to us.

We are dividing up our groups as well. The “Warriors” (Pre K-3rd grade) will meet in the children’s room and the “Crusaders” (4th -5th grade) will meet around the corner where the Boy Scouts meet… there will be signs and people to help direct.

It has been a dream of mine to split up the big group of kids in order to minister more appropriately to them, and God has blessed us with children AND fantastic volunteers who have that same vision! I ask our church to pray for us, as we begin this journey… that

He continues to give us the resources that we need to teach our children and that he brings kids and families to us to minister to.

David Jeremiah made a statement in his book, God in You – Releasing the Power of the Holy Spirit in Your Life, that said, “I believe that our dreams should be greater than our memories.” We have done some great things over the past few years with our children’s ministry; we have a lot of good memories and we have touched many little one’s lives. But shouldn’t we strive for more? Shouldn’t we keep reaching for those dreams that we think might never come true? You bet! And I know through prayer andstriving to run after Jesus, we are going to make an even bigger difference in the lives of our children!

Psalm 145:18-19 – The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.

Love and blessings,Gretchen ThumChildren’s Ministry Director

Children’s MinistryUpon waking the next morning I had forgotten God’s message to me during the night, until I saw the picture of the sun eclipse in the newspaper. I turned to John and said, “this eclipse is nothing when compared to the eclipse of our soul byGod’s great love. That’s the true miracle! And we don’t have to wait years; only to experience it between certain hours. It is available to us, God’s children, every hour of everyday. Don’t miss it and please don’t miss the opportunity to share it with someone else.

No special glasses needed!

Barb Grant,Pastoral Operations Manager

The Chairman’s CornerF Y I• We need drivers for the church van! You must have a valid driver’s

license to be eligible. If you would be interested in this ministry, please contact Beth in the church office.

• Love INC is in need of men and women with trucks who would be available to help pick up donated furniture and appliances. If you are willing, please call Love at 647-0037.

• Spoon River Pregnancy Center - Advocates Needed! Our advocates are trained to come along side our clients to help them make life-affirming choices in unplanned pregnancies, relationships, family matters and even personally. If you are interested or have questions, please call 309-435-7130.

• American Red Cross: Free smoke alarms installed. Make an appointment at getasmokealarm.org or call 844-319-6560 and press “9”.

• Mary Page has a new address: 9020 Monticello Dr. Granbury, TX 76049

• The Mainstream, the monthly newsletter from the American Baptist Churches of the Great Rivers Region, which FBC is a part of, is posted on the bulletin board outside the office. Check it out and catch up on our Area’s news. If you would like a copy to take home, please ask at the office. The Area III churches were invited to send a highlight from the last 50 years to be published in the Regional Annual Assembly 50 th Anniversary program. We sent a paragraph about our 180 year celebration along with a few pictures from that year’s highlights. The article from Paul Gibson, the Executive Minister was a great read also!

• Church Bowling League!  Linn Lanes, Sundays at 2pm, starting Sept.10th through Dec. 3rd. We are putting together teams of 4 people and will bowl 3 games each week. All ages are welcome, and there will be fun and fellowship for all! Cost is $8 per person per week, which includes shoe rental. If interested, contact Julie at Linn Lanes Bowling Alley.

Greetings everyone, I read an intriguing short story a few weeks ago about Henry Gerecke an Army Chaplain during World War II. Henry spent the last two years of the war serving as a chaplain at a hospital near London. His ministry in hospitals stateside could not have prepared him for what he found on the Western Front. He was constantly needed and always ready to offer a prayer, a message of hope, a cigarette — anything to ease the suffering of the wounded and the dying. Born Heinrich Friedrich Gerecke, Henry had become fluent in German while studying to become a pastor. His reputation for compassion and his experience ministering to prisoners made him an ideal candidate to be spiritual counsel to the Nazi defendants when the war ended. He did not volunteer for the job — the Catholic chaplain already working in Nuremberg specifically asked for Gerecke. It was a heavy proposition. First, it would mean forgoing the chance to go home to his wife Alma. And second, he had seen what the Nazis had done. He had stared into the shadows of Dachau’s ovens and wondered aloud how such a thing was possible. He wasn’t sure he could bring himself to shake the hands of those responsible, much less kneel with them and pray to the same God. What would that mean for him? What would that mean for God? No doubt many condemned men throughout history have found repentance and faith when certain death looms nigh. Chaplain Gerecke ministered to the most hated men in human history, guilty of atrocities so horrific only words forged in hell could adequately describe them. These were Hitler’s men. His closest confidants. His very own pack of wolves. Yet in the months leading up to their executions or imprisonments, many of them had been transformed from Hitler’s wolves into Christ’s lambs thanks to the ministry of a former farm boy from Missouri. This pastor reluctantly agreed to be the chaplain of the 15 Protestant war criminals during the Nuremberg trials at the close of World War II. Henry Gerecke was in his early 50s when he went, cell by cell, to introduce himself to his infamous “congregation” and to invite them to chapel services. Some refused, others wavered, and still others promised to be there. Of the 15 chairs set up for the first service, 13 of them were filled. Scriptures were read, sermons preached,

hymns sung, prayers

offered. And, through it all, hearts were changed. Soon some

of the very lips that had once barked, “Heil Hitler!” spoke a repentance- confessing, faith-affirming “Amen!” as they knelt to eat and drink the body and blood of their forgiving Lord. One even expressed a desire for their children to be baptized. One of them, though he began reading the Bible to find justifica-tion for his unbelief, ended up being led to faith by the same divine words. So reliant did these men become upon their pastor that, when a rumor surfaced that he might be relieved of his duty and allowed to return home, they wrote a letter to Mrs. Gerecke, begging her to ask him to stay. On that letter were the signatures of all these former Nazis, men who had enjoyed power and rank, now humbly beseeching a housewife in America, who had not seen her husband for two and a half years, to let him stay. In her brief reply, “They need you,” is packed a whole volume about sacrifice and love. Gerecke did not mince words, surrender his convictions, or water down the truth for them. On the evening before he was to be hanged, one of the men, Hermann Goering, asked to receive communion, just in case he was wrong and there was some truth to the Christian claims. But Gerecke refused to give communion to one who so obstinately refused repentance and treated the Lord’s Supper as if it were an edible, just-in- case, insurance policy.When Christ calls men into the office of the holy ministry, he calls them to be faithful—not successful, not popular, not practical, not winsome, not cool, but faithful. They are to preach even when they doubt it will bear fruit. They are to give the Word of Christ to sinners and let the Christ of that Word do his work. And he does. He convicts, he calls, he saves, he baptizes, he feeds, and, finally, he welcomes us into his kingdom with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

God Bless!Ike

September 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

9–10:00am - Sunday School10–10:30am - Coffee and Donuts 10:30am - Family Worship

Labor DayOffice Closed

Food Pantry Closed

9–10:00am - Sunday School10–10:30am - Coffee and Donuts 10:30am - Family Worship

9–10:00am - Sunday School10–10:30am - Coffee and Donuts 10:30am - Family Worship

9–10:00am - Sunday School10–10:30am - Coffee and Donuts 10:30am - Family Worship

9–11:00am - Food Pantry

6: 30 pm - Men’s Fellowship 9–11:00am - Food Pantry

9–11:00am - Food Pantry

5– 6 pm - Lighthouse (18-28)5: 30–6:00pm - Dinner b4 Bble Stdy6– 7:30pm - Adult Bible Study6– 7:30pm - Warriors (PreK-3rd grd)6– 7:30 pm - Crusaders (4-5th grd) 6– 7:30 pm - Youth Group (6-8th grd) 7:30–9:00pm - High School

• Nat. Cherries Jubilee Day

First Baptist Church • 301 E. Elm Street • (309)647-7241 • www.cantonfbc.org Fbc Canton• Preach the Word • Teach the Word

• Live the Word

Todd & Wendy McGurk (A)

John & Alma Lee Wertman (A)Mark Lowery

Mike Wabel

Elizabeth Lowry Matthew Vogel

Ralph Paul

Brooks & Mary Ellen Carver (A)

Brooke HendricksJoan RussellCaely Guthrie

Marianne Stockman Diana Rock

Jim & Pat Watts (A)

7:30am - Fisherman’s Club Fellowship Hall

Put this on your refrigerator as a reminder.

Blue Bold - Birthdays or Ann.

U - Upstairs ClassroomFH - Fellowship Hall

Jeff Ashwood

31

Samuel Menk

6: 00pm Wed. night Adult Bible Study meet in the Fellowship Hall

All Wed. night youth groups, meet upstairs in their classroom. Becky Stevens

Philip Young

5– 6 pm - Lighthouse (18-28)5: 30–6:00pm - Dinner b4 Bble Stdy6– 7:30pm - Adult Bible Study6– 7:30pm - Warriors (PreK-3rd grd)6– 7:30 pm - Crusaders (4-5th grd) 6– 7:30 pm - Youth Group (6-8th grd) 7:30–9:00pm - High School

5– 6 pm - Lighthouse (18-28)5: 30–6:00pm - Dinner b4 Bble Stdy6– 7:30pm - Adult Bible Study6– 7:30pm - Warriors (PreK-3rd grd)6– 7:30 pm - Crusaders (4-5th grd) 6– 7:30 pm - Youth Group (6-8th grd) 7:30–9:00pm - High School

• National Food Bank Day

• U.S. Bowling League Day • National Read A Book Day• National Cheese Pizza Day• National Acorn Squash Day• National Salami Day

• National Teddy Bear Day• National Hug Your Boss Day

•National Grandparent’s Day

• National Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology Nurses Day

• Stand Up To Cancer Day

• Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance • Nat. Chocolate Milkshake Day • National Peanut Day • Nat. Cream Filled Donut Day

• Nat. Double Cheeseburger Day• Nat. POW/MIA Recognition Day

• National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day

• Nat Apple Dumpling Day • National Cheeseburger Day• Nat Butterscotch Pudding Day• Talk Like A Pirate Day • National String Cheese Day • National Pecan Cookie Day • National Ice Cream Cone Day • Nat Great American Pot Pie Day

• Nat Strawberry Cream Pie Day• National Comic Book Day

• National Dumpling Day• National Pancake Day• Nat. Voter Registration Day • Nat. Chocolate Milk Day

• National Macadamia Nut Day

Todd McGurk Kelli Canevit

5– 6 pm - Lighthouse (18-28)5: 30–6:00pm - Dinner b4 Bble Stdy6– 7:30pm - Adult Bible Study6– 7:30pm - Warriors (PreK-3rd grd)6– 7:30 pm - Crusaders (4-5th grd) 6– 7:30 pm - Youth Group (6-8th grd) 7:30–9:00pm - High School

5: 30 pm - Sisters in Christ

5: 30 pm - Sisters in Christ

6: 30 pm - Men’s Fellowship

• National Coffee Day• VFW Day

• National Chewing Gum Day• Nat. Hot Mulled Cider Day• National Family Health and

Fitness Day USA

• Nat. Blueberry Popsicle Day• National V-J Day• National Tailgating Day

NEW GROUPS