Jean Wright Decatur

Vol. XXXVIII • No. 9 • May 9, 2008

“Among Friends”

Welcome New Members!

“…The LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” Psalm 96:5-6 For the past two months beauty has been tapping me on the shoulder—addressing me constantly in the form of azaleas and dogwoods and purple passion pansies. Everywhere I look, roses and candytuft and camellias have been preaching their little hearts out. The fragrance of night blooming jasmine, the smell of spring rain—these have been calling out to me, along with choruses of cardinals and yellow-rumped warblers and the movement of butterflies and the sweetness of grass. I think I could live to see two hundred spring times and never stop being astonished. And it all points to a God who loves beauty. A Creator who, when fashioning the universe, opted for extravagance rather than the merely essential I believe there is a message in this for us at First Baptist Decatur: If it's true that God is beauty and that God pours out beauty as a gift to us—then it's also true that our response to such a God ought to have some beauty in it. “What if God means to use Brian McLaren has the artists among us to lead said that finding God our congregation into a and expressing faith in the 21st century will call deeper dimension of faith?” for theologians to join hands and hearts with the poets, musicians, filmmakers, actors, architects, dancers, sculptors, painters, novelists, photographers, web designers and every other artistic brother and sister possible. I think I know what he means. Last night I caught a fresh glimpse of God while watching Dominique Fewell dance. Her music was a modern version of Amazing Grace. I’ve heard this great song thousands of times but Dominique’s radiant face, and the movements of her graceful limbs as she twirled and floated and leapt across the floor in periwinkle blue, gave brand new expression to “I once was lost but now am found…was blind but now I see.” What if God means to use the artists among us to lead our congregation into a deeper dimension of faith? What might God have in store for folks inside and outside our walls through the painting of Doris Brasfield and Joel Gilmore and Dave & Georgia Rowswell and Ellen Jones? How might God want to shape us through the photography of Chris Stanford… the landscaping of Bill Langford… the interior design of Bill Bailey…the dancing of Brooke and Breanna Morgan…the music of Zack Brawner…the poetry of Jeanie Gushee…the theatrical gifts of Allison Gilmore and Elizabeth Beasley? How might God use your artistry here? Do you remember your Crayola crayons? There’s the box that comes with eight—the basics—red, blue, yellow, brown, etc. Very nice. But at First Baptist Decatur I have a hunch that God intends to pull out the jumbo box! You know, the one that comes with colors like Carribbean Green and Atomic Tangerine and Magic Mint. The more I come to understand God's love for this world, the more I feel the need for my life's response to be splashed with all the colors in the jumbo box. How else can we say thanks? Blessings,

John Webb (by statement) April 6, 2008 Baptism Day! (L-R) Gib Stanfield, Ian Johnson, John Stanfield, Pastor Debbie, Kate Crabtree, Amanda Faulkner, Luke Crabtree, Katie Johnson

Rebates with a Mission! The Missions Team was meeting on a recent Wednesday evening and having an animated conversation about all of the opportunities our church has to make a difference in the lives of people locally… nationally…globally. We asked each other: • How can we accomplish some outstanding and significant missions endeavors this year? • How can we contribute more to Decatur Coooperative Ministries, DEAM, Moncrief, Habitat for Humanity, the Hill Tribe people of Thailand and others in this world of need? Minds began to wake up, words followed words, and then—out of the blue (or perhaps from the mind of God)—someone blurted out: Why don’t we challenge our church family to contribute their tax rebates to the FBC Global Missions Offering! WHAT A GREAT IDEA! Your friends on the Missions Team are committing our tax rebates for global missions. Will you join us and let your check from Uncle Sam make a kingdom difference in the world? Joyfully, Mai Cavalli • Gail Duke • Bill Fulkerson • Liz Hackney • Don Hammonds • George Hooten • Katie Howard • Fred Palmer • Pastor Julie • Nancy Peralta • Ann Smith • Bob Williamson

Congregational Life Sharyn Dowd Joins the Pastoral Staff On May 4 the congregation voted to call the Rev. Dr. Sharyn Dowd as Minister of Adult Spiritual Formation and Mission Engagement. Carreker Hall was full of adults and youth who came to hear Sharyn teach the morning Bible study, followed by a time of question and answer. At the end of the Sunday School hour deacon chair John Hamrick called the congregation into a brief business meeting in which Sharyn was affirmed enthusiastically. Sharyn concludes her teaching duties at Baylor this month, will move to Georgia in June and will take up her leadership responsibilities at FBC early in August. If you would like to send her a note of welcome her address is 2912 Cole Ave., Waco, TX, 76707. [email protected]. Children’s Choirs present Rock Solid: God’s Promises for the Trail of Life on Wednesday, May 14, at 6:45pm in the sanctuary. In addition, the 3-5 years old kids will be singing! It’s going to be a Rock Solid night! Decatur Civic Chorus in Concert—Sunday, May 18, 3:00pm The Decatur Civic Chorus under the direction of our own Mary Anne Sharp will present their 60th Anniversary Concert in our sanctuary. It’s a great community gathering every time they sing! May is "Moncrief Month" at FBC! In the month of May, our church family is collecting toys and school supplies for the Moncrief Center’s Earn as You Learn program. During their summer camp, children will earn tickets by completing academic activities and then can ‘purchase’ items such as these toys. This program is designed to teach foundational lessons in hard work, planning, and saving, as well as motivate children to improve their basic skills. The Center needs a variety of toys (from dollar toys to nicer items) for boys and girls ages six to ten. School supplies (especially book bags, pencil sharpeners, erasers, markers, and decorative notebooks) are needed too. Donations may be dropped in the Missions Collection Bins around the building throughout the month of May. Clairmont Oaks Spring Fling! Dessert & Storytelling—May 17 You are invited for dessert and stories about elders presented by Jean Wright, Executive Director of Clairmont Oaks Inc., Julie Pennington-Russell and Zandra Matthews, former Clairmont Oaks Service Coordinator. Date: Saturday, May 17, 3:00-5:00 at Clairmont Oaks. Reserve your place by calling Barbara Gifford at 404-378-8887. Community Picnic and Patriotic Concert—Sunday, July 6 The First Methodist and First Baptist Churches of Decatur are sponsoring a Community Picnic and Combined Choir Concert on our front lawn. Festivities begin at 12:30pm Vacation Bible School—July 21-25 This year’s VBS theme is Power Lab—Discovering Jesus’ Miraculous Power! Don’t miss this opportunity to serve as children from all over Decatur embark on this exciting adventure—following Jesus as he heals, helps, and gives power to people who need him. VBS is open to children in Kindergarten-5th grade.

Go…Be…Do! Missions Corner Upcoming Opportunities… June 15-21—Hagar’s House Meals This is FBC’s week to provide meals for Hagar’s House, an emergency night shelter in Decatur for homeless women with children. Sunday School classes and other groups are invited to sign up for one of the evening meals during that week. Saturday June 21—Hagar's House Clean-up FBC is pitching in to give Hagar’s House a good cleaning! Join us and make a difference. Throughout the Year—Sack Lunches for the Homeless The Missions Team will be contacting Sunday School classes about making approximately 40-50 sack lunches for one month out of the year.

Prayer Concerns as of May 7, 2008 In The Hospital: ▪ Tyler Cagle, Interim Care Unit, Phoenix, AZ • Jim Minton, Gwinnett Medical Sympathy To: ▪ The family of Margaret Jean Jacobus. ▪ The family of Elton Cook. ▪ The family of Sara Ponder Smith. ▪ The family of Bill Trawick. ▪ Frances Poole on the death of her sister-in-law, Jeanine Bruce. ▪ The family of Bobby Campbell. ▪ Shirley Smith on the death of her daughter, Jeannie Commins.

Tithes & Offerings

A Generous People 2008 Ministry Action Plan Weekly Need: .....................$ 27,361 Received on Apr. 20: ..........$ 17,534 Received on Apr. 27: ..........$ 21,372 Received on May 4:............$ 33,053 Y-T-D Need:.....................$ 492,503 Y-T-D Received: ..............$ 422,570 Surplus/(shortfall):.............. (69,933) “Years of Opportunity 2007-09” Campaign Given to Date:...................$ 296,561 Bank Loan Balance:..........$ 271,229 Owed to FBC Fdn.:...........$ 180,000

Wednesday Dinner Menus May 14 Glazed Ham Steak, Roasted Potato Medley, Steamed Baby Carrots, Salad Bar, Yeast Rolls, Chocolate Cake Kid’s Menu Pigs in a Blanket, White Rice, Sweet Peas, Ice Cream Bars May 21 Meat Loaf, White Rice, Steamed Cabbage, Salad Bar, Cornbread Muffins, Frozen Strawberry Pie Kid’s Menu Cheese Pizza, Salad w/ Ranch Dressing, Cookies

Youth Sp•t At the end of this month our 2008 yard sale will be over and we will be ready for our busy summer. This year we are having two mission weeks. The first is in the Appalachian Mountains of Hurley, Virginia. Our second mission week will be happening in and around Decatur, Georgia. These weeks will give our youth an opportunity to share the love of Christ with others in need, and to learn about a life of Christian service. We have a couple other big weeks this summer also. One of them is our Junior Senior Retreat to Chicago and our Beach Retreat to Florida. Both of these weeks allow the youth to have an opportunity to focus on becoming more intentional followers of Christ. Along with these big weeks our youth will still meet regularly on Sundays and Wednesdays throughout the summer. There will also be all kinds of fun and crazy things going on with our youth all summer. The summer is a great time for youth to experience and get plugged into our youth ministry. You can find more information about these big weeks on our website www.decaturyouth.org or you can email our youth ministry at [email protected] Ways you can help with the yard sale… Pray for good weather. Pray for a successful sale. Bring a case or two of water. Donate Items for the sale. Come and help price. Come and help setup. Come to prayer and prep day. Come and help cleanup on closing day. Come at 6:15 on opening morning. Don’t ask to buy anything early!

The Outlook, a publication of the First Baptist Church of Decatur, Georgia, is mailed to members and friends of the First Baptist family. Main Office......................................404-373-1653 Finance.............................................404-370-7694 First School ......................................404-370-7688 Activities ..........................................404-373-2442 FAX ..................................................404-370-7692 Debbie Britt .....................................404-373-1653 Ryan Forbes.....................................404-370-7690 Julie Pennington-Russell.................404-370-7684 Kurt Varney......................................404-373-1653 Bob Williamson ...............................404-370-7687 Computer Connections: Website—http://www.fbcdecatur.com E-Mail—[email protected]

The Outlook, USPS 600-320, is published bi-weekly, except Christmas week, by First Baptist Church Decatur, GA Postmaster: Please send address changes to First Baptist Church, 308 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030

Kid’s Zone Coming up this summer... Wonderful Wednesdays Summer Wednesdays will include fun filled adventures June 11, 18, & 25, July 2, 16, & 30 and August 6 Beach Party Summer Retreat Come along to feel the surf and catch the wave of God’s love When: June 1-7 2008 Where: Jekyll Island Ga. Who: Rising 3rd graders through rising 6th graders

May 11 Bigbie Kennedy Palmer Milton

Extended Session Volunteers: May 18 May 25 Turk Anand Smith Fisher Mwangura Parker Edmonds Madden

June 1 Hinkle Carter Salcedo Hamrick