Congratulations to Carol Lundberg on celebrating her 10th anniversary on Broadway’s administrative staff. When you see Carol, thank her for her years of service to Broadway.
Marriage Ministry:
Most of you are not surprised to hear that our church hosts many weddings every year. What you may not know is how seriously we take our marriage ministry at Broadway. Couples who use our church as their wedding venue are required to take part in marriage ministry classes together through our counseling center. These classes are designed to help the couples as they prepare for marriage through traditional pre-marital counseling, but also through interaction with other couples in the same stage of life, as well as through the welcoming and loving environment of Broadway Baptist.
The Marriage Ministry classes take place during the Sunday School hour, so many of the couples choose to join us for worship afterwards. It is a great opportunity to introduce them to this wonderful community of faith. Please be in prayer for the couples currently taking part in our marriage ministry, and the ones who will come to Broadway in the future. If you see any of these couples in the Atrium or Sanctuary, please take a moment to reach out to them and offer the hospitality that we are known for!
~Emily Holladay
Intergenerational Movie Day
Sunday, March 6 at 12 p.m.
Sponsored by LifeTimers and the Young Adults of the church.
Please join us after worship for lunch and “The Intern” (Starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway) in Friendship Hall. There will be a time of discussion following the movie. If you did not make a reservation, there is still space available.
Church-wide Pancake Breakfast
Parent/Child Dedications
On Sunday, February 21, we will dedicate Lane Lester and her family to the community of Broadway Baptist, and on Sunday, March 13, we will dedicate Otto Williams and his family as well. These will be the sixth and seventh parent/child dedications I have participated in during my 18 months at Broadway, and will be two of many to take place in the coming months.
Dedication days are always so special to me, because they are a reminder of the potential blooming within our congregation. God continues to bless us with new life, and we shine brighter as a community because of these precious little ones among us.
Often, when we have baptisms, or when you go to a wedding, the presiding minister will ask the congregation to remember their own baptism or wedding. What commitments did you make at the time? How can remembering that day reinvigorate the commitment you continue to make today?
It’s difficult to ask people to remember their dedication day, considering that most people are less than a year old when they are dedicated! So it follows that the dedication is really less about the child’s commitment and more about the church and family’s commitment.
When we dedicate children, we commit to raising them in Godly homes, providing a nurturing Christian environment for the children both at home and at church. We also affirm that they are loved and included as a part of the congregation, and that we, as a church, will teach them the stories of their faith, so that they will come to know God through us.
The parent/child dedications are some of the most beautiful moments in worship, but they also require so much of us. We are blessed to worship and serve in a church that takes the words of the dedication litany seriously. My prayer is that we will continue to do so in the days, weeks, and years to come.
~Emily Holladay
Praying the Labyrinth
A Prayer Labyrinth is an ancient spiritual practice. It is a place for reflection and contemplation. A Prayer Labyrinth can be a path on the ground or a design that can be traced with your finger. Throughout the season of Lent, there will be a Prayer Labyrinth available at the church for those who would like to learn more about praying through walking the labyrinth. Workshops will be available on the following dates and times:
Thursday, February 18, from 10 a.m. -12 p.m. (FLC Multipurpose Room)
Tuesday, February 23, from 6 – 8 p.m. (FLC Multipurpose Room)
Sunday, February 28, from 2 – 4 p.m. (FLC Multipurpose Room)
Monday, February 29, from 2 – 4 p.m. (FLC Multipurpose Room)
Quarterly Business Meeting
The Quarterly Business Meeting will be held Wednesday, February 24, at 6:15 p.m. in Friendship Hall. The 2015 year-end financial statements will be presented at this meeting. Please plan to attend. If you would like a dinner reservation, please call the church office at 502.895.2459 before noon on Tuesday, February 23.
Ordination History
I was once frightened by a paper cup. Heart racing, freaking out, Oh-My-Goodness frightened.
I thought maybe it was about to kill me. How so? I was swimming in open water, and as I raised my head slightly to breathe, the cup was right in front of my face. From my perspective, it looked very much like the bow of a boat.
So it is with ordination. (Yes, I just went from paper cups to ordination.) From one perspective, it’s a clear example of maintaining an ancient tradition. We were doing the same thing they did in the New Testament the day we laid hands on Right Rev. Chris Liles. But from another perspective, we were embracing what was a radical Baptist practice a mere few hundred years ago.
Allow me to explain. In large swaths of our country, you can’t swing a broom without hitting a Baptist or a Methodist. Why so, when there aren’t that many Baptists or Methodists in Europe? Well, on the American frontier, establishment churches (Anglicans, Catholics, for example) had a hard time supplying pastors to small rural congregations. Methodists adapted to this reality with the “circuit rider” model of pastors serving multiple churches. Baptists adapted by drafting farmers to do what used to be done by seminary trained clergy. (Brown University, for example, started out as a school for Baptist clergy.) Instead of writing back to Virginia or Pennsylvania for a minister, they just said, “Hey, Pete, you pray pretty good. How ‘bout we ordain you to be our pastor?”
Even today, Baptists practice a very grassroots version of ordination. There is no long process, no “sanctioning body” outside the church. A church convenes a council just like we did, and they question the person wanting to be a minister. If they pass this informal test, they are ordained.
Thanks be to God for rich traditions and for flexible spirits. Churches aren’t worth much unless they possess both!
~Chris Caldwell
EmpowerWest
Folks have been asking me what’s developing with EmpowerWest since its big coming out party back in early fall. As a reminder, EmpowerWest is a coalition of Louisville area pastors and churches, which seeks to unleash the educational, economic, and spiritual power of West Louisville residents so that they might maximize their God-given potential and capacity.
This coalition is still in the early stages of its development, but over the past few months, here are a few things which have been going on:
- Small groups are beginning to form for fellowship and learning together.
- A “Stokely’s List” of West Louisville businesses has been developed so that people can support them. It is in the process of being communicated to the broader community.
- A microlending ministry is being promoted through EmpowerWest.
- On MLK weekend we had:
- Friday night breakout sessions on a variety of topics, such as Racial Reconciliation, Asset Based Community Development, and Networking in the Community.
- Saturday prayer breakfast featuring world-renowned Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann.
- Music presented by a joint choir made up of EmpowerWest churches.
- Many events have taken place on a church-to-church basis as the congregations get to know each other better.
The next major thing is coming up the end of this month. As you might have read in the Courier-Journal, EmpowerWest has challenged Louisville and its leaders to read a book together: The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, by Edward E. Baptist. I’ve read this book, and although it’s not easy to review history and the prominent place slavery had in the development of our nation, the path to reconciliation leads through truth. Our goal is more than integration; it is reconciliation. And for folks to be reconciled going forward, they need first to be honest about where we have been. The author will be speaking at a community event on Monday, February 29, and we will offer a small group for those who might be interested in reading the book. For more information on the author forum, go to https://goo.gl/kunaX6
Music within Lent
Youth Choir
The youth choir will be singing one of their Jubilate Winter Retreat songs for us in worship, Child of God, on Sunday, February 7.
Children’s Choir
The Children’s Choir will be singing, Love, Christians, this is Your Song, on the first Sunday of Lent, February 14. Therefore, parents, please encourage your children to attend the next few rehearsals on Wednesday evenings at 5:55 p.m. so they can participate in this special worship service.
A Look Back: Caroling And Winter Food Baskets
Caroling And Winter Food Baskets
Every year the church youth deliver the food collected from White Christmas to Cochran Elementary. The food is divided into boxes according to the sizes of the recipient families. Our food is then paired with Christmas presents that parents can give their kids. The recipients of the food boxes and gifts are financially struggling families who will now have something to eat and give to their kids for Christmas. When we personally deliver the boxes to the families, it is cool to see how grateful they are and appreciative of what we do. Some of the parents even get emotional, because without this program they may have little to eat and nothing to give their own children for Christmas. I have learned that many people don’t have the opportunities I do and that I shouldn’t take what I have for granted. It puts in perspective the gaps in our society in terms of financial status and by helping the struggling families I feel that we help bridge that gap. Making these food deliveries every year has meant a lot to me, but even more to the families we help. I hope it continues to benefit more people each year.
~Carter Cox
Small Groups in Lent
This Lent, Pastor Emily and Mr. Curtis Barman will lead a Discipleship Class for 3rd-5th graders in the Children’s Sunday School Area. This class will focus on the Becoming Like Christ curriculum from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and will help children explore their faith and how they can make Christlike decisions now that they are getting older. Please pray for the students and leaders of this class as they seek to learn more about God over the coming weeks.
In conjunction with the 3rd-5th grade discipleship class, there will be a group for parents meeting from 5:15-6:45 in the Office Conference Room. This will be a time of conversation about how parents’ spiritual habits can serve as a catalyst to help their children grow in faith. If you are interested in being a part of this group please contact Susan Reed at susanr@broadwaybaptist.org
A Look Back - Trunk Or Treat
Trunk Or Treat
I don’t know how to talk about this year’s Trunk or Treat without gushing about the success of the event. Last year, the Children’s and Outreach Committees volunteered to plan the event in conjunction with the Social Team, who has done such a wonderful job of creating and organizing Trunk or Treat in the past. The goal was to make Trunk or Treat an event large enough for the community to attend, and one in which our whole congregation could participate.
The Outreach Committee sent post cards to the community, and passed out flyers at the St. Matthew’s Area Chamber of Commerce Trick or Treat event at Brown Park. Their work brought in multiple children from around the community, who experienced the warmth and hospitality (not to mention - fun!) of our church family.
The Children’s Committee and Social Team decorated the Family Life Center, planned games, and made lots of fun treats for the families to enjoy. Our Wednesday night crowd proved their ability to be flexible, and ate chili in the FLC, while enjoying the sights of children in costumes and the sounds of their laughter and enjoyment.
Overall, this event was not just about growing younger populations, but bringing together all the age groups represented in the church. It ended up being a night in which we could all celebrate together as a church body, and everyone left with a smile on their face!
~Emily Holladay
A Look Back: F.R.E.E. Class Visits Burnett Avenue Baptist Church
F.R.E.E. Class Visits Burnett Avenue Baptist Church
On July 15, The F.R.E.E. (Faith Reaching Every Edge) Sunday School class visited Burnett Avenue Baptist Church, a predominantly African-American Church on Hurstbourne Ave. The pastor from Burnett Avenue, Rev. Corrie Shull, led a book study on Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman. We received a very warm welcome. The focus was on fear and how it prevents us from living an abundant life. Rev. Shull shared many personal situations where fear created a barrier in his life, as did many in the congregation. In visiting with him after the study, we discussed the applications in our own lives. I immediately thought of my students and how I interact with them, and how it is important not to manage them by using power to create fear. I also thought of the fear that many of my students, mostly coming from the West End, deal with every day. The opening lines from the chapter captures it perfectly, “Fear is one of the persistent hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the poor, the dispossessed, the disinherited.” We left after a long talk inspired and with hopes of building relationships with the young people there.
~ Cassie Lyles
A Look Back: Finding Hope In Grief
Finding Hope In Grief
All Saint’s Sunday in November is a time when our church remembers those members and family members that have passed away during the previous year. For me, it is also within a few days of the anniversary date of my husband’s death. I had signed up to attend that afternoon a small group session on grief, led by Leslie Townsend, PhD.
I have had several years now to work through my grief, though at times it does not feel like it. I have wondered about this and knew I wanted to attend this group. Our numbers were small with all of us at various stages of our grief but the conversations and sharing were meaningful, thoughtful and inspirational.
Dr. Townsend is an excellent facilitator for small groups. She recommended readings including Kubler-Ross’ Stages of Grief, Wayne Oates’ Phases of Grief and “It Hurts So Bad Lord.” If this small group led by Dr. Townsend is offered again, I would highly recommend it for anyone experiencing grief.
~Donna Williams
A Look Back: Disciple Now
Disciple Now
What does Disciple Now mean to me? Yes, it’s a weekend retreat away from home. Yes, it’s fun. Yes, it’s a good way to bond with other youth. Yet I come out of every weekend with a new perspective.
This year, the theme of Disciple Now centered on how our relationship with God is anchored, specifically through music. I wouldn’t consider myself musically gifted, unless you count joining the middle school band and occasionally playing the piano in my living room. However, I’ve found myself growing closer to God through song in the past couple of years. Youth choir, handbells, and Jubilate, Broadway’s annual youth choir tour, has definitely played a significant role in that. But it was Disciple Now that opened my eyes to see this connection between myself, music, and my faith.
As a senior, leaving for college soon is one of the most terrifying thoughts I’m constantly reminded of. There was one song the youth sang this year in worship at Disciple Now that made me feel at peace with growing up so quickly and leaving my home in a few months; it’s called “Oceans.” One of the verses says,
“You call me out upon the waters /
The great unknown where feet may fail /
And there I find You in the mystery /
In oceans deep /
My faith will stand.”
The first time I heard this song, specifically this verse, something happened that is difficult to express in writing. I truly felt God’s presence surrounding me, reassuring me and telling me it’s okay to feel upset about leaving behind a place I love so much. Disciple Now is a time of change and of growth, and I can say I have continued to grow in my faith year after year of attending; I will never forget what I have learned from this retreat. It is one my favorite youth activities and it is a bittersweet moment that this past Disciple Now was my last.
- Meagan Sanders
Chris Liles Ordination Service
Saturday, February 6, 2 p.m., in the Chapel.
This Saturday, at 2 p.m., there will be an ordination service at Broadway for Chris Liles. Ordaining ministers is a rare event within the church. The last time we ordained a minister was about 12 years ago. For ministers, it is a day they will remember the rest of their life. For the church, it is a rare opportunity to participate in God's work by setting someone apart for a lifetime of service.
Ordination services are wonderfully affirming times. If you were at the recent deacon ordination service, you know what I mean. I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to participate in this unique day. Your presence will mean a lot to Chris, but it will also give you a richer love for and understanding of the Ministry of God's Church!
~Chris Caldwell
A Look Back: Baby Dedications
While I cannot deny that I was somewhat disappointed that we were not able to secure the dancing gazelles and the chimpanzee that we had specifically requested for the service, I must admit that Aleric’s dedication was very touching and deeply moving. We really appreciate the fact that we will be raising our boy in this church. The people who attend are some of the very best people that we have ever known. Its really hard to pick out a stinker from among the members, and believe me we’ve tried. If you’re in here somewhere, then you’ve hidden yourself well. We have gotten so much happiness from our membership at Broadway, and we know that Aleric is going to grow up with some very wonderful people influencing him on his journey to adulthood.
I remember all of the people that I went to church with growing up, and I remember how important their influence was in our lives (my brother and me). Many of the things that I learned in that church are still with me, and they have helped me become the person that I am today. I’m counting on you all to do a much better job with my son.
I call upon the men in this church to help my boy grow into the godly person that he is meant to be. I call upon the women of this church to love this boy and help him learn the importance of compassion and empathy. I call upon each and every one of you to instruct him in the ways of a godly life, and to correct him when he needs correction, and to praise him when he deserves praise.
Do not let your knowledge and your experience pass him by, but share everything that you are with Aleric and with all of the children of this church. You are irreplaceable, and just like the folks that I grew up with, your life experience will be the most valuable thing that you will ever share with them, and it will probably be the most valuable gift that they will receive in their long and blessed lives.
~Eric L. Crump
A Look Back: Parents Night Out
This past Christmas break, I helped watch kids at an event at my church called Parents Night Out, which allowed parents to drop their children off and not have to worry about them for a few hours. The children spent the evening playing games, making crafts, eating, running around, and watching The Polar Express. I stayed in the gym for most of the night making sure no one got into any accidents on the tricycle, but I’d go around looking for help somewhere else when the kids got tired of playing around in the gym.
I don’t consider myself terrific with kids, but I try to help out at church whenever I can, and they usually make it easy on me anyway. I’ve noticed that most of the time when a child does something wrong, he or she knows that it’s wrong and admits to it, instead of pretending that it didn’t happen like many others would do. They are all surprisingly conscious of what is right and what is wrong at such a young age. These aren’t major crimes or anything of course, the biggest offense is is usually making a mess of the ball pit or stealing someone’s toy, but they always own up to what they’ve done and apologize. I really appreciate the time I get to spend with them no matter the event, and I look forward to the next time I get to work with them.
~Davis Jones
A Look Back: Family Advent Breakfast
Family Advent Breakfast
This past Christmas Season was a bit more magical with Zeke now old enough to realize that Santa would soon be visiting our home laden with presents. While “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” rang through the air daily during November and December, Matt and I knew that our priority was to refocus that excitement to that of Jesus Our Savior’s Birthday. This is quite a tall task considering every day in a four year old’s life is pretty much all about them (or at least our four year old!). Thankfully, Emily Holladay and the Children’s Ministry put together a Family Advent Breakfast to begin the Holy Season.
After we fellowshipped and ate breakfast provided by Gracious Plenty, we were directed to three different stations. The first was to create an advent box. Once finished, it contained an advent calendar with various symbols for each week to help celebrate. The second station was to make an angel to give to the Homebound members. The third was creating jars of hot cocoa and marshmallows to place in the food baskets that were delivered after the Christmas Musical. This was Zeke and Hank’s favorite station as they filled about 10 jars, of course all while eating a chocolate chip or two. Cathy Smith and Glenna Hess helped at this station and I loved seeing the interaction of the children with these two adults.
I was filled with gratitude for all the people that help make Broadway’s Children’s Program function. Having multiple hands to guide my three boys during these early stages matters. The children understood that both the angels and the hot chocolate were given to others that needed it more than them. This giving to others is what fulfills the Christmas Spirit and can only be understood with practice.
Weeks before Christmas, Zeke found the glow sticks that were part of the Advent box. They had been included in the box to remind us to shine the light of Christ wherever we went. Matt and I walked into a dark playroom to find the three boys adorned with the glow sticks made into bracelets. The kids were floating around singing “little gray donkey, clip-clop, clip-clop, on the way to Bethlehem.” At least for a moment, the excitement of Christ’s coming was realized and embraced.
~Jessica Washer