Baptist Bugle

We extend our Christian love and sympathy to the family of Lois Sommer. Lois passed away February 3rd. Lois faithfully served as nursery attendant at First Baptist for many years.

The church received the following notes:
Dear Friends at First Baptist Church:
            Thank you for your $1,000 donation to We Care of Grundy County, Inc. Thanks also for your generous food drive!! It is through such support that we are able to help thousands of Grundy County families in need with rent, utilities, medications, dental assistance and food each year.
            These are trying times for low-income families in Grundy County. In 2004, We Care served 448 families with food from our office food pantry. In 2009, that number has skyrocketed to 1,682, which represents a 275% increase in just five years. Thank you for helping us continue to meet those needs.           
Sincerely, Denise Gaska, Executive Director

BREAKFAST
All men & women are invited to Sherwood Oaks to our monthly breakfast. We will meet on Saturday, March 27th  at 8:15 a.m. Please join us!

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS
Don’t forget to set your clocks AHEAD Saturday evening,
March 13th, before going to bed!

BOARDS MEET
All boards will meet on Tuesday, March 9th at 7:00 p.m.

PRAYER NIGHT
We meet for prayer on the 4th Tuesday of each month. We will meet for prayer on Tuesday, March 23rd  at 7:00 p.m. Join us as we gather to pray for our church, specific prayer requests, our community and our country.

PRAYER LINE
The church has a prayer line which you may call 24 hours a day which will list those needing prayer, along with a devotional thought from Pastor Steve. The prayer line number is 815-942-0751. If you have a prayer request, please call the office, 815-942-0812, and we will include your prayer request in the prayer line message. There are  prayer request cards, and a box to place them in, on the welcome table in the foyer.

SINGLE MOMS
Meeting dates for March are Monday, March 1st, Monday, March 15th and Monday, March 29th . Single Moms meet for Bible study and fellowship at 6:30 p.m.  If you are a single mom, we invite you to join this group for encouragement, sharing, and fellowship. If you might know of a single mom who you think would like to come, please extend a warm welcome!

Baby Dedication
On Sunday, March 14th we will have a Baby Dedication. If you are interested in having your child dedicated, please see Pastor Steve.

Reception of New Members
On Sunday, March 21st we will have reception of new members. If anyone is interested in becoming a member, please see Pastor Steve or Jason Aitkenhead.

BIBLE STUDY OPPORTUNITIES

1. Wednesday Night Women’s  - 6:30 p.m. (home of Mitzi Welch, 1658 Stoney

Brook Lane, Morris) - The women are finishing the book of Hebrews from the LifeChange series.  You are invited to join them as their begin their
new study, Blackaby’s “Encounters with God: 1&2 Timothy and Titus”.

1. Thursday Night Men’s – 6:45 p.m. (church)  - The men are finishing their study, The Measure of a Man by Gene Getz. Their new study will be “Christian Beliefs” by LifeGuide.
2. Friday Morning Women’s – 9:00 a.m. (church) -The women are studying Beth Moore’s Study, Living Beyond Yourself.

BAPTIST YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
BYF for youth in grades 6-12 meets weekly at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday nights. Pastor Steve leads the youth in a Bible study, followed by games and activities and refreshments! Invite a friend and join us!! Adults are welcome to come and assist with the games, activities and refreshments. If you would like to volunteer snacks on a particular Sunday evening, there is a sign-up sheet on the kitchen pass through window.

                    TeamKID Sunday Night Children’s Program
Also on Sunday nights, children ages 3 years through 5th grade meet weekly for our children’s program, TeamKID. TeamKID begins at 5:45pm each Sunday night.
Kids, invite your friends to join you each Sunday night!
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Area I Annual Gathering     ~     Sunday, March 21, 2010
Theme: Thy Kingdom Come
FirstBaptistChurch, Sterling, IL
2:30 pm Registration ~ 3:00 pm Worship ~ 5:30 PM Dinner
6:30 pm Keynote Speaker –
 Victoria Goff, National Coordinator, Volunteer Ministries, ABC/USA
There is no cost this year but we must register ahead.
Children and youth will have special activities planned for them.
Fried chicken will be furnished and churches are to bring
dishes to share! Please let the office know if you are attending.
Our new Field Minister, Dr. Richard Ricks who now serves
our Area I will be present. Dr. Ricks is replacing
Dr. Cheryl Henson, who formerly served as our Area Minister.
                                        

CHURCH VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE
First Baptist is playing in the Church Volleyball League. March games are as follows:
          March 2               8:00 pm               FBC plays Living Water
          March 9               7:00 pm               FBC plays Immaculate Conception
          March 16                                         No Volleyball Scheduled
          March 23             9:00 pm               FBC plays Peace Lutheran
          March 30                                          No Volleyball Scheduled
If you are interested in playing, contact Mark Conrod, 815-942-4489.

March Angel Food
Order Dates for March:
 Monday, March 8, 9-11 am         Tuesday, March 9, 5-7 pm
Thursday, March 11, 5-7 pm            Saturday, March 13, 2-4 pm**
** Note time change for Saturday orders
Distribution Day for March: Saturday,  March 27, 10:30am – noon
2009 Angel Food Recap (January-December)
                                    People Served: 1284                                 Orders Filled: 2918
Our church was able to donate 130 units of food ($3,900) and $1,800 in cash for a total of $5,700.           

On Sunday, February 21st, a special offering for the people of Haiti was taken.  $1311.00 was collected. The church will match funds up to $1,000.00 by using the money we received this past November for hosting the Home for the Holidays Tea at our church. The total will be evenly distributed between Missionary Flights International and Samaritan’s Purse.

“SOUPER BOWL” COLLECTION
On Sunday, February 7th, our youth collected donations to the “Souper Bowl of Caring” Offering. We sent a total of $465.75 to We Care.  We Care works throughout the county to provide food to thousands of residents each year through mobile food pantries and office pantry visits.

Women in the Potter’s Hands is a faith-based women’s group of all ages, meeting for the purpose of providing encouragement during the daily struggle of life, nurturing camaraderie and equipping women to daily grow closer to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Recap
WITPH met on Monday, February 22nd for their monthly meeting. Dr. George Roebuck and his wife, Debbie, gave the program on the Friendship Ministry of Grundy County, formerly known as Special Touch Ministries. A video was shown highlighting the special summer camp held annually at Carlinville, IL.

 Friendship Ministry meets monthly at our church and is a non-denominational Christian ministry/service organization serving the concerns of people with disabilities. They share a light supper, have special speakers, music and singing and finish the evening with crafts. Dr. Roebuck thanked our church for our generosity in allowing them to meet in a handicap-accessible setting.

One of the concerns Dr. Roebuck shared was the fact that several of the persons will need help with finances as far as summer camp is concerned this year. Most of the residents who work at Illinois Valley Industries faithfully put $10 - $15 aside each paycheck throughout the year so they can pay for their own camp expenses. Illinois Valley Industries has had to cut back, and work projects for those residents is not as plentiful as in previous years.  They do service projects and sell candy to help with this expense. Helping with a camp scholarship would be a great end of the year gift for WITPH!

If anyone is interested in volunteering with this program, you may call Bob and Dee Kelsey, 815-325-1089 or George and Debbie Roebuck, 815-942-5416 for more information.

Our meeting ended with refreshments and a wonderful devotional by Kristi Larson sharing the wonderful inspirational story of a father’s love for his son.

Our next WITPH meeting will be held Monday, March 22nd at 7:00 pm at the church. Our program will be a Pampered Chef Power Cooking Demonstration by Michelle Aitkenhead. Please join us!
 
WITPH Ministry Team
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PEPPER PROFIT PROGRAM
Dine In or To Go at Chili’s, 88 W. Gore Road, Morris and 10% of your purchase (excluding taxes) will benefit:
GRUNDY THREE RIVERS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
March 7th – March 11th
You will need to present a voucher. Vouchers may be picked up on the shelf just inside the front door of the church.

AMERICAN BRAIN TUMOR ASSOCIATION
PATH TO PROGRESS                        5k Run/Walk
                                    I recently formed Team Phenomenon to participate in the American Brain                                        Tumor Association– Path to Progress 5K Run/Walk on May 22nd, to raise                                                      money for brain tumor research andpatient/family support programs.
                                    After two brain surgeries, radiation, radiosurgery, a stem cell transplant,                                                          an ommaya placement and numerous chemos (most experimental)                                                                 Joshua Mellen earned his angel wings. In August of 2009 I lost my                                                                    husband after a nine-year battle against Medulloblastoma, a type of brain                                                       tumor. Josh and I participated in this awesome event the last two years.                                                          This year I will be running in his memory. I’m determined now more than                                                          ever to help raise the awareness of brain tumors. One of the ways we can support this event is to have a large team on event day. Please consider joining Team Phenomenon along with your family and friends. Together we can make a difference! I have set my fundraising goal at $500 and ask you to support my efforts with a donation. You can do this easily by going to www.pathtoprogress.org click on the “make a donation” link then type in and select my name, Megan Mellen, from the list of Fundraisers. If you prefer to write a check, please contact me. I appreciate any donation you give! Thank you.                     Megan Mellen
(Founded in Chicago in 1973, ABTA was the first national, nonprofit organization dedicated solely to brain tumors. Today, ABTA is a leader in research, education and support. In 2008, ABTA awarded more than $2.6 million to brain tumor researchers searching for better treatments, and ultimately, a cure, and more than 1.3 million services and resources to brain tumor patients and their families. To learn more about ABTA, visit their website at www.abta.org )

Special Olympics Illinois
Special Olympics Illinois is a not-for-profit organization offering year-round training and competition in 19 sports for more than 22,000 athletes ages 8 years and older with intellectual disabilities at no cost to the athletes or their families. Power Plungers are a dedicated team of fun-loving, unselfish and passionate ladies who support and believe in the importance of Special Olympics. They will raise money by joining over 3,600 people statewide who will voluntarily jump into freezing cold water in the middle of winter. Renee Gretencord is part of this group and will jump into Loon Lake at Silver Springs Park in Yorkville on March 7, 2010. This event is the project of Law Enforcement Torch Run with 100% of the proceeds going toward its fundraising efforts for Special Olympics Illinois.
If you wish to donate, you can visit:  http://firstgiving.com/reneegretencord
If you wish to make a cash donation, please call Renee at 815-942-0087

AMERICA FOR CHRIST OFFERING 2010  With Willing Hands…Connect. Care. Celebrate.
America for Christ gifts support Christ-centered ministries that are transforming lives across the United States and Puerto Rico – from addressing Children in Poverty initiatives and resettling refugees violently driven from their homelands to providing evangelism training, developing discipleship resources and leading ministry workshops and conferences.
Please join us in giving generously to the America for Christ Offering 2010 and help us reach our goal. Together we can touch and change lives for the cause of Christ. Together we can make a difference. For the love of Christ urges us on…” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
We will receive gifts to the America for Christ Offering on Sunday, March 14th through the end of the month. Envelopes are located on the table in the foyer.