Sharing the News:
A weekly publication of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida
September 10, 2020
|
In This Issue:
Mission Updates from around CBF Florida
Memorial Service for Tom Allerton, Sunday, Sept. 13
Happy Birthday, Courtney Hester and Priscilla Howick (CBF-Endorsed Chaplains in Jacksonville, FL)!
Prayers of the People: Rick Burnette, CBF US Disaster Response Coordinator
|
|
Four Things to Know this Week in CBF Florida |
Dear
As you scroll down through this week's Sharing the News, you'll find several items of special relevance to CBF Florida. First, Amani Sasa, one of our CBF Florida mission partners, will be hosting an online benefit to celebrate the conclusion of its first year in its new ministry center. Florida's own Missy Ward Angalla directs this awesome, impactful minisry.
Second, CBF Florida will be hosting a series of webinars in October to help churches navigate the challenges of online ministry and communication during this time. The webinars are led by Christen Green Kinard (DigitalCongregations.com) and will give participants practical instruction and follow up coaching to help them achieve more effective online and virtual communications. CBF Florida churches will receive a 50% discount on their registration fee. Sign up now, since there are limited number of openings!
Third, I mentioned back in July that a team of ten was at work to discern prayerfully God's preferred future for Florida's Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Well, the team has come to the place where they will begin interviewing a number of you. Some interviews will be done in focus groups, others will take place over phone calls, and still others will be conducted by an online survey. These calls and interviews will begin in the next week or so. If you receive an email inviting you to participate, I hope you will consent. Your input will help us plan faithfully..
Finally, for the clergy who may be reading this, I want to invite you to join the annual Florida Clergy Convening. This year's Convening will be virtual -- no surprise there. It begins next Thursday afternoon, September 17, at 1:00 p.m. and concludes at 4:30 p.m. In addition to a plenary opening worship, keynoted by Rev. Jennifer Butler (CEO of Faith in Public Life), three workshops will focus on Education, Criminal Justice, Immigration. You can register for this free event by clicking here.
Thank you, friends, for your continuing support of the mission and ministries of Florida's Cooperative Baptists.
Grace and peace,
Ray Johnson
Coordinator, CBF Florida
|
|
Amani Sasa Anniversary Benefit and Auction |
|
Amani Sasa is celebrating two anniversaries in one! We've been bringing hope and healing to vulnerable refugee women in Uganda for 7 YEARS through the shelter. And just ONE year ago, we opened our new ministry center in Kampala.
To help us celebrate, we're inviting you to our online anniversary celebration and benefit on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 4:00 p.m. (EDT). And, since the celebration is online (via Zoom and Facebook) you won't need to come to Uganda for the party!
The online party will include inspiring stories of transformation, a ministry update, beautiful music, and an art auction. You will be able see and hear how your support and prayers have helped make men, women and children from all over East Africa safe, whole and empowered, especially during the pandemic.
We hope to "see" you there!
Missy and Francis
This event will be hosted on Facebook Live. Here are the links:
You can also join through Zoom. To request the link, email Melissa. You'll be sent the login information as soon as it becomes available.
|
|
Church Communications During COVID |
|
WEDNESDAYS AT 10 A.M. ET, OCTOBER 7 - 28
Brought to you by: Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida
This 4-part course is designed for church leaders -- from pastors to communications managers -- to learn to more easily and effectively navigate their church's communications during the pandemic and beyond. The course's topics include:
- Livestreaming: a clearer picture
- Beyond the live stream: social media
- How to increase online giving
- Virtual curb appeal: your church's website
CBF Florida churches will receive a 50% discount on the registration fee. You can learn more about these live webinars and you can register at CBF Florida's event page.
|
|
As you take time to pray this week, you are invited to remember the following concerns in the CBF family:
-
Pray for Parkview Baptist Church in Gainesville and Emmanuel Community Church (Palm Harbor) as they search for senior pastors.
-
Congratulations to Rick Shaw, and to the people of South Venice Baptist Church. We give thanks to God that Rick and his wife Martha have been called to to South Venice Baptist Church. Rick and his wife, Martha, will begin their ministry at South Venice in just a couple of weeks. Welcome to Florida, Rick and Martha!
-
Pray for the people of Louisiana as well as the recovery teams that have begun work in the area following Hurricane Laura. CBF Florida's disaster response coordinator, Kenny Phillips, and CBF Global's disaster response coordinator, Rick Burnette, were in Louisiana this week to deploy one of our disaster response trailers to the Lake Charles area.
-
A memorial service for Tom Allerton will be held online on Sunday, Sept. 13, beginning at 3:00 p.m. If you'd like to attend the service, contact CBF Florida's Administrative Assistant, Melissa Rodriguez.
-
Continue to pray for the churches of East End Grand Bahama and Little Abaco as they continue to rebuild after Hurricane Dorian.
-
Pray for Joe Boronat, a former youth pastor for Ray Johnson. Joe has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
|
|
Happy birthday to all of the following CBF field personnel, chaplains, counselors, church planters, and CBF Florida pastors!
Wednesday, September 9
- Wayne Weathers (Church Starter)
Thursday, September 10
- Nancy Campbell, Kansas City, MO (Chaplain)
- Sarah Montoya, San Fransisco, CA (Chaplain)
- Tashara Boochee, San Francisco, CA (Chaplain)
- Marv Knox (Staff Southwest)
Friday, September 11
- Courtney Hester, Jacksonville, GA (Chaplain)
- Larry Hovis (Staff North Carolina)
Saturday, September 12
- Bryan Lake, Cumming, GA (Chaplain)
Sunday, September 13
- Ron McCaskill (Church Starter)
- Richard Morris, Lebanon, PA (Chaplain)
- Kathy Turner, Charlotte, NC (Chaplain)
Monday, September 14
- Bart Grooms, Birmingham, AL (Pastoral Counselor)
- Priscilla Howick, Jacksonville, FL (Chaplain)
Tuesday, September 15
- Brandy Mullins, Manvel, TX (Chaplain)
- Martha Perusek, (Staff Decatur)
|
|
Rick Burnette
U.S. Disaster Response
Rick Burnette was appointed to manage CBF Domestic Disaster Response in collaboration with CBF state and regional organizations and other partners for disaster mitigation and response. For over three decades, Rick and his wife, Ellen, have been engaged in international agriculture development ministry.
Founding Cultivate Abundance in 2017, Rick and Ellen are engaged in the nonprofit’s efforts to serve farmworker families in Immokalee, Florida, and beyond. Immokalee is a small farming town of approximately 20,000. Although much of America’s wintertime tomatoes and other crops are grown there, Immokalee has a poverty rate of almost 45 percent. The economic and food access challenges of many Immokalee residents are rooted in their migrant worker status.
The mission of Cultivate Abundance—which works alongside the CBF Rural Americas team, CBF Florida and Together for Hope, CBF’s rural development coalition—is to address food insecurity among those who harvest our food by mobilizing appropriate resources to alleviate hunger and by encouraging small-scale food production within low income, migrant farmworker communities.
The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Exodus 15:2
|
|
STAY CONNECTED
Quick Links
Telephone - 863-682-6802
P. O. Box 2556 (Lakeland 33806-2556)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
