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 By Rev. Henry Green-- I don't know about you, but I am getting real tired of the snow! I love the changing of the seasons and I like a little snow, but I did not come to Annapolis to live in Buffalo, NY, and point of fact, we got more snow than they did this year!
Remember Haiti, now the work to rebuild begins! We responded to the devastating loss of life and displacement of families by the 7.0 earthquake and its aftershocks with funds through Baptist World Aid. Thank you to everyone who made a sacrificial contribution to this effort. Our children, again, took the lead with another coin drive called "Change for Haiti" and raised several hundred dollars. At this writing, we do not have a final count with one more Sunday left in their drive, but the number is substantial! This was one of the most catastrophic events to hit our part of the world in years. We must continue to respond in a positive way to this great challenge. With crisis comes both danger and opportunity. The danger is this poor country will revert to their old patterns and the opportunity is they will receive the assistance and set a path to a more hopeful future. We must resist cynicism and simply act with courage to be their friends and good neighbor.
The Visioning Task Force mailed each church member a survey that was due in the church office by March 1. This month, we will read the ideas shared by our members and begin the work of casting a positive vision for the future. Additionally, we are in the midst of the season of Lent. On the Sunday prior to Ash Wednesday, you received the 2010 Lent and Holy Week Prayer Journal. You have the opportunity, in this journal, to reflect on each of the passages and your life of service to Christ. The devotional process is to Pray - Read - Reflect - Pray - Act. As you think about your personal spiritual journey, pray and reflect on how you may use your gifts in service to the church. We are a community of faith with a new vision cast in the old story of the Good News of God's eternal love in Christ. Find that love in your heart this Lenten Season.
On Easter Sunday, you will receive a You've Got the Time CD (MP3 Format) recording of the New Testament (English Standard Version). You've Got the Time is a 40-day commitment to listen to the New Testament for only 28 minutes a day. In 40 days, you will hear the entire New Testament. We are grateful to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Faith Comes By Hearing for the opportunity to share this spiritual gift with you. We have recordings for Adults and Children. Additionally, we want to thank Elizabeth Britt and Britt Industries for printing and publishing this prayer journal. It is also available on our web site: www.heritagebaptistonline.com.
With Love, your pastor,
Henry
P.S. I hope you will order a new Celebrating Grace Hymnal in honor or memory of someone special in your life. I would love to be able to use these new hymnals on Easter Sunday!
For the first time since I have been the pastor of Heritage, we had to cancel church two weeks in a row. This had a direct impact on everyone and caused us to delay the Soup-er Bowl fundraiser for the Light House Shelter. Yet, it did not deter us form having the fundraiser on the 21st and I am so grateful to Lea Hurt, Zachary Pope (and entire Pope Family), our entire staff, and a cast of others for helping it to happen. Special thanks to Speaker Mike Busch and Alderman Fred Paone for being our guest servers and to everyone that contributed to the success of this fourth-annual event. We received over $1,300 this year, down some due to having to change the date due to weather, but a success none-the-less. Once again, Heritage met the challenge of fulfilling the great mission of the church! |
