The Outreach Committee is hosting a Community-Wide Block Party, which will feature live music, food, Steel City Pops, a small farmer’s market, and games and activities for children of all ages. Free admission and parking, but bring cash to support local vendors.
In many ways, we are now entering the most challenging period of the interim. By the time you read this article, the Ad Hoc Committee will have presented their recommendations to the Deacons who will have a month to think about and discuss the material before voting on their recommendation at the May Deacons’ meeting. This recommendation will come to the Church Business Meeting on May 23.
Please join us for the movie, Wonder, at our new time, 11 a.m. Enter through office door, take elevator to second floor, Room E-204. New this month will be lunch following the movie. For May, we will dine at McAlisters Deli with lunch on your own. Please call the church office at 502.895.2459 by Thursday, May 10, to let us know you plan on attending the movie and/or lunch.
Oaks Day, Friday, May 4, Church Office Closed, Normal Campus Activities Continue
Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, Church Office Closed, Church Campus Closed, All Activities Cancelled
Our annual Thanksgiving dinner and communion service will be held Wednesday, November 25, at 6 p.m. in Friendship Hall. Standing reservations do not apply. Please make a new reservation for this dinner by noon on Tuesday, November 24, by calling the church office at 502.895.2459. Please note that dinner is at 6 p.m. Please arrive early to ensure seating with your family.
I have had the pleasure of attending Women on Mission twice since joining Broadway Baptist Church. This past meeting, Bob Johnson led us in a very thought provoking study of Moses and the five women that God chose to place in his life to nurture, protect and support him. Dr. Albin Whitworth played the most amazing collection of old hymns effortlessly. It was beautiful from start to finish.
However, I was most struck by this amazing group of ladies who love God and Broadway Baptist Church. Helen Graves (103) joined BBC at the tender age of 19. Most of the ladies there have been active members of BBC for 30, 40, or 50 years. They continue to seek and find ways to share the gospel with the membership and the community at large. It would be easy for the group to compare aches and pains, but that simply did not
happen. Laughter and joy, smiles, and fellowship filled our morning together.
~Mary Lucy Hook
The Fulfilling God’s Vision Stewardship Emphasis for 2016 is underway. As of October 15, we have received 87 Personal Commitment Cards totaling $399,458. Our goal is 200 cards pledging $952,750.
The Ministry Budget for 2016 will be voted on at the Quarterly Business Meeting on November 18. Please submit your Personal Commitment Card by November 8 so that they may be included in the budget formation process.
Dare to Care has requested we change our volunteer day at their warehouse to the 3rd Tues. of each month. We will be joined with another church group that does the backpacks. This will be a new adventure for us. Hope we will have a large group from Broadway each month.
The first time for the new 3rd Tuesday is October 20th 2015. We will carpool from the Ofice Door of our church at promptly 8:50 a.m. Hope to see you there. The hungry children are counting on us.
If you have been to the Family Life Center in the past seven years, you have probably noticed the drink machine that sits back in the corner by the windows. In the summer of 2016, some of the youth will travel to Kosice, Slovakia, to minister among the Roma people there. One of the very simple ways you can be involved in supporting this trip is by purchasing a drink from this machine! All proceeds go directly to support the international trip the youth take. Drinks are $.75, and every penny helps! Thank you for the many ways you as a congregation have supported, and continue to support, the youth ministry.
All Saints Day is a time to remember those who have died in the faith of Christ. On Sunday, November 1, we will observe All Saints Day by reading scripture, singing songs, lighting candles and thanking God for the saints who have gone before us. More specifically, we will read aloud the names of those church members who have died since the previous All Saints service. And, ever mindful that many of you also grieve losses in your families outside the membership here at Broadway, there will be a time for others to be remembered as well.
Broadway invites you to participate in a seminar on grief and loss. Leslie Townsend will talk about common dimensions of grief and spiritual resources when facing loss. A time for sharing will follow. If you plan to attend, please sign up with Susan Reed in the church office at 502.895.2459 or susanr@broadwaybaptist.org
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is pleased to name Kristin Belcher as operations coordinator. Belcher holds degrees from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (MDiv), University of Louisville (MSSW), and University of Kentucky (BSW).
She is a certified social worker. Belcher’s experience with KBF is multi-faceted, beginning with volunteering on missions projects, serving as missions intern, and most recently managing the KBF office since 2013. She has served as student minister with First Baptist Church in Frankfort, KY since 2012. In 2014, Belcher won the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging for her contribution to the lives of older persons.
In addition to her administrative leadership for KBF, as operations coordinator Belcher will assume responsibilities including leading and developing missions opportunities, providing educational resources, and networking with churches, ministers and laity. Working with peer groups will be a focus, particularly developing the young Baptist ecosystem in Kentucky. Belcher began this new role on September 15, 2015.
Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is a fellowship of churches and individuals who are committed to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. The KBF’s mission is three-fold: 1) to help churches partner with one another and with other organizations that share a similar philosophy and goal; 2) to provide resources for churches and individuals as they do their work; and 3) to encourage involvement in missions and ministries in local communities, throughout the state, and globally.
By its very name, the congregation is the largest choir we have at Broadway! Every Sunday we are compelled by the awe-inspiring Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ to lift our voices in praise to our Creator as a corporate act of worship. At Broadway Baptist Church, we intentionally select a hymn that expresses our worship theme, enhances a specific element within the service, or guides us along the church year calendar. It is our hope that the combination of the text and tune inspires us to live out our faith along our spiritual pilgrimage.
To this date, we have sung 111 different hymn texts within our worship services. The vast majority of them have been very familiar, some not so much, and a few totally new to our hymnody at Broadway.
In his book entitled, The Singing Thing, John Bell asks the question, “Why do we sing?” Then, he discusses the following possibilities in narrative form: To Tell Stories, To Exercise our Creativity, To Revisit the Past, To Express Emotion, To Create Identity, To Give of Ourselves, To Shape the Future.
Therefore, how we go about selecting hymns for worship really matters! In addition, how we engage in the singing of hymns is important to how we worship. The next time you reach for your hymnal in worship, we hope you will choose to sing robustly or at least read the text. If it’s not your favorite hymn tune, focus more on the text and melody. Most importantly, make the effort to actively participate in the worship of God through engaging your heart, mind, and voice in the gift of music.
“Music is a fair and glorious gift from God.” Martin Luther
“He who sings prays twice.” St. Augustine
I once made a hole-in-one, and it was awkward. I mean, I was playing alone, and since nobody was with me, what was I supposed to do? Jump in the air? Shout? If a golfer screams on a tee box, and nobody is there, does he make a sound? All this to say, I do not count naturally infectious enthusiasm as one of my gifts. But let me just say, I am growing more and more excited about God’s spirit being alive in our church!
I’ll confess I had apprehensions about our discernment process: “What if we do this, get a sense of God’s calling, and then the church just doesn’t step up?” Instead, I’m feeling very strongly that narrowing our focus to these four priorities is reinvigorating us as we focus on God’s mission. I believe we are moving into a great period in the history of our church!
Our stewardship effort —”Fulfilling the Vision”—is a vital step in this process. Please return your Personal Commitment card by the first Sunday in October. In November, we will be voting on a budget aimed at Fulfilling the Vision, but we need to know the level of financial support before we can move forward with the plan. Ministry plans are being finalized now and will be updated on the website in early October. I will also be sending out a summary of the plan to the congregation.
I’ll see you on Sunday!
Wednesday, October 28
6 p.m. in Family Life Center Parking Lot
Trunk or Treat is less than a month away and we are so excited about this year’s event! We will line cars up in the Family Life Center parking lot, with games and inflatables in the gym. In order to pull off this wonderful experience for our children and opportunity for outreach, we need your help! Here are some ways you can help make Trunk or Treat a success:
1. Sign up to decorate your trunk.
2. Sign up to help with one of the games.
3. Provide candy for the trunks.
4. Invite families in your neighborhood to join us!
Please let Emily Holladay know if you would like to help at
emily@broadwaybaptist.org or by calling the church office at 502.895.2459.
Many thanks to all of the people who helped make Service in September a great success! We had over 100 people serving at the church and around Louisville the weekend of September 19. Volunteers cleaned up the Outdoor Science Lab at Chenoweth Elementary, made over 200 burritos and stuffed over 100 pairs of socks with items for people who are homeless, made casseroles for the West End School, rode and cheered in Bike to Beat Cancer, and had a wonderful breakfast crew who fed us! It is such a blessing to work alongside the people of Broadway to share God’s love through our actions. It’s also good to know our service to the community reaches beyond this one day. If you are interested in finding places to serve, please contact Kate Godwin (chair of the Missions Committee, kateagodwin@gmail.com) or Susan Reed at 895.2459 or susanr@broadwaybaptist.org.
Sunday, October 18
11 a.m. Worship Service
On October 18, the children will lead us in worship for our annual Children’s Sabbath. The theme will be “Serving God by Serving Others”, and we will explore Matthew 25:35-40. The children have worked hard to embody the words of Jesus, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did unto me.” You won’t want to miss this worship service. We have so much to learn from our children, and they are excited to share with you!
Did you know that Rhonda Abbott Blevins is the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship’s new coordinator? Rhonda comes back to Kentucky after serving on staff at a local church in Tennessee. She previously served as Associate Coordinator of the KBF, during which time she launched Extreme Build and KBF’s partnership with Morocco. She is the first woman to serve in this key leadership role in Kentucky.
KBF’s office is located on the second floor of our church, across from the Counseling Center. We hope that you will join us in welcoming Rhonda to KBF when you see her around the building!
Our theme for this year’s stewardship emphasis is, “Fulfilling God’s Vision.” This past spring we spent time praying and listening--discerning--in order to know what God wanted us to focus on as a church. Our prayer now is that, in addition to the time and talents we will need to invest in fulfilling this vision, your pledges of giving will allow us to fulfill the vision by keeping in place staffing and allowing us to invest in specific ministries and efforts organized around our new priorities. Please do your part to help Broadway fulfill the vision God has for us!
This Wednesday, September 23rd, Broadway is invited to participate in a summit unlike anything seen in Louisville before! Several congregations from the East End and Highlands will be gathering along with members of St. Stephen Baptist Church to discuss how we can work together to empower West Louisville to be the strong community it can become. Dr. Kevin Cosby, pastor of St. Stephen, has long maintained that ultimately West Louisvillians will have to take responsibility, personally and corporately, for turning things around in their lives and in their community. But he and others in West Louisville are also looking for allies and partners in this struggle. Come learn how we as fellow Christians can help to rebuild businesses, churches, and institutions in this devastated part of our community.
Where? St. Stephen Church, 15th & Kentucky
When? September 23, 7:00 p.m. We will carpool and depart from the west Broadway Baptist parking lot at 6:30.
Wednesday, September 23
6 p.m. in Friendship Hall
Jon and Tanya Parks field personnel (formerly known as missionaries) with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Kosice, Slovakia. Come learn from Jon and Tanya as they share about working alongside English teachers at an all-Roma private school. They lead conversational English classes, facilitate an afterschool English club and look for ways to create additional learning opportunities for students.
I come from a strong Georgetown College family, and had the joy of graduating there as an Organ Major in 1985, followed by a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance from U of L in 1987. I am a middle school music and chorus teacher in Georgetown and have exciting but tiring days with 275 kids who are involved in the choral program there. In addition to my teaching, I
had the great joy and privilege of serving as the part-time Minister of Music and Worship at Faith Baptist Church for the past 20 years. Leaving this very creative, musical congregation was undoubtedly the hardest thing I have ever done, but I felt I needed a slower rhythm to
my daily routine.
I am a Baptist preacher’s kid, and even at my present age, that is still a large part of my identity and one that I carry proudly and lovingly. I grew up in Beaver Dam Baptist Church where my father served as a pastor for 40 years. When I was in the 6th grade, I walked into our church sanctuary for evening worship, and the organist was sitting near the door. I stopped to talk to him for a moment and made the casual remark that I would enjoy learning to play the organ sometime. He took it as a challenge that very day to give of himself, and that began a Sunday afternoon routine of organ lessons, chocolate chip ice cream, and a visit with he and
his wife. As I progressed, this loving church organist began taking me to nearby cities for organ lessons, which were all funded by these dear people--not because they had to or felt they needed to, but because they wanted to. That was their gift to me--a gift that has forever changed and impacted my life. Now, that gift has led me to you, the people of Broadway Baptist Church, and I look forward to getting to know you and worshiping with you.
My husband, Robert, works at Toyota Manufacturing and has been there for 21 years. He is so talented, whether it be cooking, woodworking, landscaping.and the list goes on and on. We have 3 daughters who have blessed our lives immensely. Elizabeth just recently received her Master’s Degree in Art History from School of the Art Institute in Chicago; she loves Chicago, is very city savvy, and has chosen to live there. Emily is a Junior at Georgetown College majoring in Sociology and is looking forward to studying abroad this Spring at Oxford University in England; she loves to play ukelele and the guitar, and sing. Erin is a Senior in high school and is a captain for the Lady Cards Lacrosse team and is highly involved in band and chorus; she keeps us laughing. We have a Golden Retriever puppy named Scout who is cute, but very high maintenance!
Through my years, God has sent people, places, and opportunities into my life, and now, you are a part of my story. I thank God for you.
From August to May, every Wednesday before others sit down to a delicious Wednesday Night Dinner, there are several volunteers that come early and help with the set-up. This team of volunteers help one Wednesday night of the month with some faithfully working for years now. There are definitely advantages to being a Kitchen Team volunteer. First, you get your choice of dessert! It's a great fellowship time and you get to smell the wonderful aromas in the kitchen before it's time to eat. The work isn't hard. We cut and plate desserts, make tea and fill glasses with ice. We've got a few spots available for this coming school year so if you'd like to join our team, please contact Donna Williams at 502.774.0515.
Location
Broadway Baptist Church
4000 Brownsboro Road,
Louisville, KY 40207-1826
Phone: 502.895.2459
Office and Staff
Office Hours
Monday - Thursday
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Friday
OFFICE CLOSED
