E-Link Online -- News of the American Baptist Churches of Michigan

Plan Now to Attend ABC-MI Annual Equipping Event in October

This year's Annual Equipping Event/Business Meeting will be held at First Baptist Church of South Haven, October 17 and 18. Information and registration packets have been mailed. Click on graphic at right or on this link to view registration materials online.

Prayer for Today

Almighty and everlasting God,
Give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity;
and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise,
make us to love that which thou dost command;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. -- Collect for 14th Sunday after Trinity, BCP, Anglican Church of Ireland

Arrivals, Departures, Celebrations, Concerns

§ First Baptist Church of Sault Ste. Marie has called the Rev. John Mazarella as pastor, beginning August 17. A graduate of Arizona State University, John earned his M.Div. from Denver Seminary in 1989 and has held pastorates in Minnesota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and, most recently, Pennsylvania. In May of this year he completed a nine-month study at the Global Awakening School of Ministry with a focus on cell group formation and leadership, community outreach, personal evangelism, contemporary worship, children's ministry, and healing and intercessory prayer. He and his wife Becky have three children; Jonathan, 13, Bethany, 10, and Keira, 7. John has been called to Sault Ste. Marie to lead them in the "New Birth, Living Hope Initiative" which is a five-year turn-around plan. The Rev. Tucker Gunneman completed a very short term interim with FBC of Sault Ste. Marie on July 13, which focused on preparing the congregation to call a pastor and making ready for the changes called for in the Initiative. We welcome Pastor Mazarella to the greater ABC-MI family and wish him God's blessing in his new place of service.

§ The Rev. Richard Harding, pastor emeritus of Cordova Community Baptist Church, died Monday, July 28. Harding had a long history of service as a commissioned missionary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, which carries out mission in America as National Ministries. "The entire American Baptist family mourns the loss of this home missionary who gave such a large part of his ministry to Cordova and Alaska," says Dr. David Laubach, National Ministries' associate executive director for Strategic Missional Relationships. "His vision and steadfast service over 33 years will bear fruit for generations to come. His voice and life will be missed in the work of American Baptists in Alaska." Harding served as pastor of Cordova Community Baptist Churches and an American Baptist missionary from 1975 to 1999. Recently he filled the pulpit when the pastor, his son Rev. John Harding, was out of town. Also, he taught Sunday school and assisted with the Sunday morning children and youth ministry. His used his passions -- teaching, preaching and multimedia -- to praise the Lord. Harding was responsible for much of the church's use of technology and many special projects. > > > Read rest of ABNS story.

§ The Rev. Dr. Kevin M. Turman celebrated the 20th year of his ministry with historic Second Baptist Church of Detroit on July 27, 2008. His son Theodore Turman, a student at Candler School of Theology, preached a rousing sermon at the morning service on the transforming power of Christ's love while Dr. Turman's best friend and colleague in ministry, the Rev. Dr. John Borders, spoke at the later service raising up the impact and import of 20 years in ministry. "Divine Revelation," a liturgical dance ministry was featured in the Anniversary Celebration along with the Celestial Hand Bell Choir with which Dr. Turman himself played. Second Baptist Ministers, the Rev. Dr. Louise Beamon and the Rev. Alex Pickens III also led in worship, making an inspiring and enthusiastic service for all. In addition to his service as Pastor at Second Baptist, Dr. Turman currently serves ABC-MI as Region Board President and Peer Leader of a Ministry Leadership Group. Dr. Turman graduated from Harvard College and Yale Divinity School and received his doctorate in Biblical Preaching from United Theological Seminary. After serving the Ebenezer Baptist church in Boston, MA and subsequently Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Turman was called to Second Baptist Church of Detroit. As the first African American congregation in Michigan, Second Baptist has a rich history of activism and evangelism. It was a stop on the Underground Railroad and has built a chapel in Cap Haitien, Haiti. Dr. Turman is President of M.O.S.E.S. (Metropolitan Organzing Stragety Enabling Strength) and the Metropolitan Detroit Council of Churches, and is a former President of the Michigan Progressive Baptist Convention. He continues to shape and serve Second Baptist in a way that has allowed it to be a source of inspiration, strength and encouragement to its members, friends and neighbors, both locally and globally. Dr. Turman is married to the former Denise Thomas, R.N., and has two son, Theodore and Benjamin. Congratulations to 20 years well-served! -- Pat Hernandez

MSU American Baptist Student Foundation Wants to Know Your Spartans!

Greetings from East Lansing! Another school year is fast approaching, and as we anticipate the return of students to campus, we need your help in identifying and reaching out to students you know who will be attending Michigan State, especially new freshmen.

When freshmen arrive at Michigan State, they are bombarded with opportunities to become involved in literally hundreds of different student organizations. Among those organizations are a wonderful variety of student ministries, including ABSF. However, research shows that if a student does not become involved with a church or other faith organization within their first two weeks at school, their chances of ever becoming involved in such a group rapidly decrease. That's why one of the most important things you and your church can do to help your students in their college faith walk, as well as ABSF's ministry at Michigan State, is help them start to form connections with the Christian community at MSU before they ever set foot on campus.

If you or your church know of any students coming to MSU for the first time, or students returning to MSU that are looking for a Christian community to call their home-away-from-home, please pass the name of Jeff Rector, our Campus Ministry Coordinator, on to them, along with his e-mail (rectorje@msu.edu). Or feel free to pass the student's name and contact information along to Jeff, and he will make sure to reach out to them in the next couple of weeks.

Again, at this time of the year, the most important thing you can do to both support ABSF's ministry, and the spiritual journey of your new Spartans, is simply to help us make connections with the students you know are coming to MSU. ABSF thanks you for your continued prayers and support as we look forward to another year, and we pray for God's blessings upon you and your students. -- Jeff Rector, Campus Ministry Coordinator, MSU American Baptist Student Foundation

New Ministry Leadership Group Launched

Recognizing how clergy health is affected by the stress put upon spouses of those in ministry, the Leadership Ministries Team has launched a new Ministry Leadership Group geared towards clergy wives. Mrs. Josie Wyne will serve as Peer Leader of the group.

Born in Mississippi, Mrs. Wyne began her education at Mississippi Valley College and completed it at Western Michigan University, earning a degree in Education with minors in Music, English and Elementary Education and then a Masters in Teaching Reading. A retired teacher with over 30 years of service in Kalamazoo Public Schools, Mrs. Wyne now serves as a volunteer with the American Red Cross. She has been deployed twice, having responded to the Katrina Disaster as well as the wild fires in California. She also serves as a Hospice volunteer.

Mrs. Wyne is the wife of the Rev. William Wyne (Pastor, Second Missionary Baptist Church) and the mother of two grown daughters, Lisa and Genesis. As "First Lady" and Director of Christian Education at Second Missionary Baptist Church in Battle Creek, Mrs. Wyne has been involved in fruitful ministry and faithful living.

As a Peer Leader, Mrs. Wyne brings her love of the ministry as well as the unique calling of being a Pastor's wife and "First Lady."

If you are interested in being part of this group and the growing network of clergy wives in ABC-MI, please e-mail Pat Hernandez at phernandez@abc-mi.org The next meeting is Saturday, August 16. If you are a clergy husband of a woman in ministry and are interested in being part of a group, please e-mail as well.

New Pastor Orientation Scheduled

The ABC-MI will be sponsoring an Orientation for New Professional Church Leaders at the Region office in East Lansing on Tuesday, September 16, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. According to the Rev. Tucker Gunneman, ABC-MI Transitional Ministry Consultant, "This event will provide new pastors and associate pastors with an opportunity to meet the ABC-MI staff and also to learn about the exciting ministries the Region has to offer as we seek to fulfill our vision of Growing Healthy Churches. This will also be a great opportunity to become acquainted with other professional church leaders who also are new to their ministry settings." There is no cost for this event and lunch will be provided. If you would like to attend, please notify Debbie Hart at the Region office by phone at (800) 632-2953 x 221 or email dhart@abc-mi.org.

Interfaith Discussion on How Faiths Balance Present and Future

The Common Ground for Peace is Israel/Palestine Working Group is very excited to announce: "SCRIPTURAL REASONING II - "This World and the World to Come: How Our Faiths Balance the Present and the Future."

Thursday, August 28, 2008, St. Clare's Episcopal Church/Temple Beth Emeth (2309 Packard St., Ann Arbor) Light potluck dinner at 6:30pm;

At 7:00pm, our three speakers will present texts and brief interpretations. Small group discussion will follow until 8:30pm.

We are honored to present the following speakers for this event:

Rabbi Robert Dobrusin, Beth Israel Congregation of Ann Arbor
The Rev. Paul Simpson Duke, Co-Pastor of First Baptist Church in Ann Arbor and adjunct professor of New Testament at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit
Heather Laird, B.A. from Indiana University in Political Science and Arabic and Islamic Studies; Fellow for the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding; President of Muslim Social Services of Washtenaw County

Please save the date to join us!

Short Notices

A Baldwin electronic organ and a Remington upright piano are available at no cost for any individual, church or organization that could use one or both. Click on images to see larger picture. The instruments are in the former Allen Park Baptist Church building. The cost of moving each one would be the responsibility of the recipient. For more information, contact Rev. Roger Dahlen, Detroit Baptist Union president, at 734-284-6300 or bethel1@ameritech.net.

The 2009 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff is now available. Very soon many churches will be evaluating and determining compensation for church staff. A helpful resource is the 2009 Compensation Handbook. Surveying 4,800 churches representing 11,000 employees, the handbook provides a complete analysis of 13 church positions, including breakdowns based on denomination, income, size and geographical location for both full time and part time positions. The handbook can be ordered online at http://store.churchlawtodaystore.com/20cohaforchs.html, or via phone at 1-800-222-1840.

There is a new Senior Adult Newsletter at www.abc-mi.org. To access the Senior Adult Newsletter, M.O.S.A.I.C. (Motivating Our Senior Adults In Christ), simply click this link or go to www.abc-mi.org and click on "Senior Adults" in the left-hand column.

Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit will offer the course on Baptist History and Polity (4 credits) in winter term 2009. The class will meet 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on four Saturdays (1/24, 2/7, 2/21, 3/7) and will also require some work via Internet. Dr. Joseph I. Mortensen, adjunct professor at ETS, is the instructor. This course meets a requirement for ordination in ABC-MI. For more information contact the Seminary or the instructor.

Friendship House Golf Outing: Attention all golfers. Please see this flyer for infomation about Friendship House's 3rd Annual Golf Outing on September 27. This is a fund raiser to support the ministry of Friendship and Harvest House. Put your foursomes together and call to reserve your spot! We are also looking for hole sponsors and raffle door prizes. -- Dennis Trezona.

This week's Prayer Call for ABC International Ministries calls attention to the needs of the our missionaries. > > > Go to Prayer Call.

The Friendship House Newsletter is now provided in both PDF and DOC formats. The DOC format is a much smaller file and will take much less time to acquire on slow dialup connections. Read it in PDF at http://abc-mi.org/elink/fh.pdf or in DOC format at http:abc-mi.org/fh.doc.

The next issue of E-Link Online will be published on August 25, 2008. Please send news items and notices to the Editor (editor@abc-mi.org) by August 20.

Editor's Trips

Disclaimer: listing of these references does not imply endorsement of positions or policies advocated in them by either the American Baptist Churches of Michigan or the editor of E-Link Online. They are provided here for further thought, discussion, and inquiry. Caveat lector. Suggestions for "Trips" and readers' comments are welcome. Send to editor@abc-mi.org.

The Editor

»»  Rick Warrens' Brain Disorder -- http://tinyurl.com/6lee4b (Time Magazine)
»»  My Sweet Lord -- Top 10 Religious Treats -- http://tinyurl.com/5eyz46 (TimesOnline)
»»  Faith's Real Riches -- http://tinyurl.com/62fud4 (Washington Post)
»»  Disbanded Church Gives $2.2 Million to Central Baptist Seminary -- http://tinyurl.com/678eel (ABP)
»»  Olympic Athletes Say They Won't Lose Faith -- http://tinyurl.com/5boezu (WP)
»»  Too Much Trendiness in Worship Turns Musicians into Baristas -- http://tinyurl.com/5umva4 (ABP)
»»  Ten Critical Questions About Ordination -- http://tinyurl.com/66jqd4 (Ethics Daily)
»»  Wounded Soldier of the Cross Scarred by Christian Service -- http://tinyurl.com/5fusok (ABP)
»»  Common Sense About Prayer in Public Settings -- http://tinyurl.com/6gf2r4 (Detroit Free Press)

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