As I write these words there is still one month to go in this year, and yet already it feels like 2020 has drug on for a decade or longer! This year has brought… Read more →
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John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, encouraged every small group meeting to begin with a question: How is it with your soul? More probing than our traditional “how are you?” greeting, this question calls us to look beyond the surface and examine how – or if – we are experiencing the presence of God’s grace in the midst of life’s circumstances. How are we doing in that place where the center of our spiritual selves meets with the living God?
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So, what do you do when a global pandemic prevents you from gathering for worship and forces you to stay at home? For Ed Griffin, the answer involves a trombone. On a typical Sunday, worshippers in the sanctuary can hear Ed play along as part of the orchestra in support of our congregational singing, but in these times, which are anything but typical, Ed uses his beloved instrument to bring a little joy to his neighbors.
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As believers, we celebrate the “sanctity of life.” But what, exactly, does it mean to do so?
At the Blue Ridge Women’s Center (BRWC), we seek to answer that question every day.
Jesus said, in John 10:10: “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
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For many, the upcoming holidays bring with them grief and often painful reminders of loss. Geri McDaniel and Sherry Hearn, co-coordinators of the upcoming GriefShare (beginning in February) and GriefShare: Surviving the Holidays ( This Friday, November 8) sat down to talk through practical ways to approach grief and offer support to family and friends who are grieving.
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Connie Moorman couldn’t understand why Jeremy’s name kept grabbing her attention. He was on trial for charges related to a double murder, and every time she would hear about him in the local news, she felt a sense of burden about him. A few days later a co-worker asked Connie to please pray for a friend, whose son was on trial. It turned out that son was Jeremy.
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In April, Bonsack commissioned Larry & Lynda Brumfield and Larry & Phyllis Perdue to serve for a week in Nickelsville, Virginia at the Southwest Virginia Partnership, a missions outreach that is sponsored by the Baptist General Association of Virginia along with three area Baptist Associations (Clinch Valley, Powell River, & Wise). The Brumfields and Perdues joined over 50 individuals from churches across the Roanoke Valley as they coordinated BookNet, an in-school book donation program for 12 schools in three counties, volunteered at Gate City’s food bank, visited nursing homes, and renovated the Partnership’s dining space to help accomodate future volunteers. Larry & Lynda Brumfield as well as Phyllis Perdue sat down for a conversation to reflect on the trip.
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Perhaps you’ve heard of the “farm to table” movement within the food industry, which seeks to provide locally grown food for service at restaurants, school cafeterias, and local markets. Bonsack now has its own version of this movement in the form of our community garden.
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When was the last time you looked inside a kaleidoscope? A classic childhood toy, a kaleidoscope is a cylindrical tube with a series of mirrors that, when peered into, reveals an optical effect of moving, colorful, and perfectly symmetrical patterns. A high-quality kaleidoscope looks a lot like brilliantly moving diamonds or dancing stained glass.
While a kaleidoscope is a fun toy, it admittedly makes for an odd name for a musical presentation. Yet, Kaleidoscope is the name of our church’s Festival of Choirs and Congregational Song, happening May 5.
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Lent is the period of 40 days that leads up to Holy Week. Admittedly, we Baptists have tended to not pay much attention to the liturgical calendar, but there is some wisdom to be gained in listening to what the broader Christian family has to tell us during this season.
Let’s face it, there is nothing uniquely spiritual about New Year’s Day. The only mention of a new year in the Bible comes at the Passover in Exodus 12, when God is leading his people out of slavery in Egypt. When we translate from the lunar calendar used back then to the Gregorian calendar used today, Passover happens in March or April, in the week that leads up to our celebration of Easter. January 1 never appears in the Bible…
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As we prepare to close out this year and enter into a new one, there are a couple of visible changes that you can anticipate. Neither one by itself represents a major overhaul, but taken together they are part of our larger effort to begin implementing the priorities of our new strategic plan...
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The dictionary defines influence as “the power or capacity of causing an effect.” In other words, to have influence is to have an impact on the outcome of something.
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Back in early December, I made a personal commitment to read through the Bible over the next year. I am fortunate to have a powerful Bible study software program on my computer, and one of the features it provides is the ability to create your own Bible reading plan. It will even track your progress electronically so you can always know where you stand in relation to your goal. How’s it going?
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As I write these words, it's the day after Christmas. After weeks of constant activity, there is finally a moment of calm and quiet to sit and reflect on all that has happened. That’s one of the things I appreciate about Christmas; it serves as a marker in time that forces me to look back at the year that has passed.
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