April, 2020

THE CONTACT: First Baptist Church of Burlington

CHURCH STAFF

Dr. Terry E. Peele Senior Pastor

Rev. Joel N. Marshall Associate Pastor of Music & Worship

Rev. Stacey L. Grimm Associate Pastor of Admin. & Communication

Rev. Cameron M. West NextGen Pastor

Dr. Katherine Thomas Lucier Principal Church Accompanist

Jerry Cerezo Awakening Worship Leader

Lydia Jones Children’s Ministry Intern

Lynn Anderson Financial Secretary

Al and Patricia Paschal Church Custodians

Danny Scott Maintenance Technician

Lisa Moore Child Development Center Director

First Baptist Church of Burlington

FirstBaptistBurlington.com Phone:336.226.2433

info@FirstBaptistBurlington.com

Sunday Services Broadcast Live

9:00 Awakening Worship on Facebook & AwakeningWorshipFBC.org

11:00 Service on 1150 AM and 105.9 FM

Vol. 14, Issue 4

A Prayer of Hope

Loving God, Your desire is for our wholeness and well being.

We hold in tenderness and prayer the collective suffering of our

world at this time.

We grieve precious lives lost and vulnerable lives threatened.

We ache for our neighbors and ourselves, standing before an

uncertain future.

We pray: may love, not fear, go viral.

Inspire our leaders to discern and choose wisely, aligned with the

common good.

Help us to practice social distancing and reveal to us new and crea-

tive ways to come together in spirit and in solidarity.

Call us to profound trust in your faithful presence,

You, the God who does not abandon.

Author– Unknown

The ministers, staff, and congregants of First

Baptist extend our deepest sympathy to:

The Michael Family and friends in the loss of

John Michael

The Rubright Family and friends in the loss of

Marilyn (Marnee) Rubright

Our Deepest Sympathy

Guatemala Update

At this time our friends in Guatemala are safe. The country has experienced a more rigid shut-down than we

have. Our friends in Patzún, need our prayers. The economy has totally crumbled due to the global shut

down. They are scared, and many folks are only able to eat once a day.

As for our summer mission trip, the reality of travel still remains to be seen. We are praying that we will be

able to go. If summer mission trips are cancelled, many of our friends (drivers, translators, etc) will be with-

out their primary income for the year.

Stay Connected In This Time Apart

In a continuing effort to comply with state mandates and

good common sense, all FBC activities are canceled for

the duration of the NC stay-at-home order. Currently this

order is in effect from March 30 - April 29, 2020. If the

order is extended we will continue to comply. When the

order is lifted, our leadership will reassess and imple-

ment a plan that will allow us to come back together as

soon as we can do that in a way that is safe and responsi-

ble.

In the meantime, please know our staff is here for you.

We are praying for you and we are working to keep you

connected in new ways. If you have prayer concerns, if

you have questions or if you need to talk, reach out.

Please continue to pray for one another. Pray for the

members of our church family who are grieving, those

who are sick, and those who are feeling isolated and

alone.

Feeding Community—Update from Cameron West Thanks for the great support in our community feeding ministry during this time. The only items we may need

are individual cans/bowls of pasta such as ravioli or macaroni. ABSS has helped fill in the gaps with wonderful

lunch distribution, but I have already come across several community members who are either out of work, or

reduced work, with their main income being in the food industry.

One huge thank-you is to CBF. We received a grant through CBF to help us provide hot food for the commu-

nity. Two resident leaders, Tae and Tonya, are making the food and distributing it. Ms. Lynn has done an

amazing job keeping up with delicious food each week and I know the kiddos will miss it, but I am thankful we

have a resident leadership team who can fill in for her amazing work.

Celebrating Easter Together I N A T I M E O F D I S T A N C I N G

This week we will celebrate Easter. While our celebration will be different, it will not be less meaningful.

Here are the ways we can stay connected and celebrate together.

Check out our Facebook Pages throughout the week. Post your thoughts, comments, prayers, praises, and

concerns. Reach out to one another. Call, text or email your SS class or D-group. Reach out to our minis-

ters. We are here for you!

Join us on Easter Sunday

Awakening Worship 9:00 a.m.

Join us at 9:00 a.m. for Easter at Awakening Worship . We will have a blended live and pre-recorded wor-

ship service. We are excited to have guest worship leaders Michael Boggs, Ashley Seagle, and Kyle Mur-

phy! You can find us at either of the links below.

Awakening Worship Service Live Stream Site - christianworldmedia.com/livesite/awakeningworship

Awakening Worship Facebook Page - facebook.com/AwakeningWorshipFirstBaptist

Pastor’s Message 10:30 a.m.

Join us at 10:30 a.m. on our FBC Facebook Page for an Easter Sunday morning reflection from our Pastor.

You can find this at the link below.

FBC Facebook Page - facebook.com/FirstBaptistBurlingtonNC/

Easter Sunday Broadcast 11:00 AM

On Easter Sunday we will re-broadcast our 2019 Easter service. We hope these services will be a blessing

to you and your family. Tune in at 11:00 a.m. on WBAG Radio on 1150 AM or 105.9 FM.

North Carolina Baptist Singers & Orchestra

The remainder of our spring season concert series has been postponed until the

Fall/Spring 2020-2021 season. Specific dates will be announced soon.

The May 4, 2020 worship concert at Grove Park Church has been rescheduled for

Monday, April 12, 2021. Please hold this date on your calendar!

NC Baptist Singers & Orchestra is comprised of church musicians

from across North Carolina

In His Own Words

Our FBC Music Ministry looks forward to presenting our Easter Musical at a later date

TBD. Our musical is titled, In His Own Words. This musical provides an aesthetic expe-

rience in which the listener hears the message of the Word proclaimed through both

singing and narration. Both the narrative and lyric texts draw exclusively from the

words of Christ. We look forward to the time when we can come together for this

meaningful worship experience.

We look forward to presenting this musical after we resume worshiping together.

A specific date will be announced.

The Music Ministry of First Baptist Church

2020 Easter Musical

3 Ways to Give

Text Giving: Text the amount you want to give to

336-221-3951. Follow the prompts and your gift will be processed.

Online Giving: Go to our website at FirstBaptistBurlington.com. Scroll

to the bottom of our homepage and click on, “Give Online.” There are

easy to follow instructions. You can give a one-time gift, or you can set

up a schedule for your regular offering.

Mail Giving: P.O. Box 2686 Burlington, NC 27216

Stewardship Moment – April 2020

My family’s financial advisor constantly reminds us that we

are long-term investors, not day-traders; we must remain

committed to our long-term plan and continue to invest wisely

if we are to have any hopes of making it happen. Just like in

our personal finances, Annette and I are long-term investors in

this church, and all of you are as well. Staying true to our

church mission and our faith family and continuing to invest in

our church is critical for this church’s very survival.

We are in uncharted waters now as a church congregation.

Last fall, we all worked very hard to find and agree on a budget that would allow us to pay our mortgage on

time and fund our multiple worthy ministries and missions completely. Just when it felt like we were getting

there, maybe coincidently when we became too proud of our work and reliance on our own abilities to solve

the problem, our world gets completely upended by the corona virus. Our leadership at the staff and deacon

team levels did the best thing for us – move to online and radio broadcasts of our services and halt all gather-

ings until this is under control. While that is the absolute best thing we could do for our individual members,

it does create challenges for our corporate church.

I encourage, plead, and ask that each of you continue to provide the financial support your church needs to

weather this storm. Our ministries and missions continue; yes, they are altered in form, but the need for our

help is greater than it has been in recent memory. Our church’s financial demands continue even when we

can’t come to our church in person. We still must pay mortgages, utilities, salaries, insurance, and all the nor-

mal expenses, plus there are increasing missions’ opportunities God is presenting to us.

Please send your tithes and your offerings above the tithe in by mail, drop them off at the church if you are

there for some reason, or take advantage of our online giving options. Stay true to the mission, take care of

the church family, and pray unceasingly for God’s intervention in this time of worry.

Lastly, remember – wash your hands, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, don’t gather in groups,

cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, keep your hands off your face, and protect others if you have

the virus and/or symptoms by not exposing them.

Blessings,

Roger Phillips

Roger Phillips, Stewardship Chair

Until We Are Healed

To say these are “interesting times”

is somewhat of an understatement.

Our lives have been almost com-

pletely upended by something we

literally cannot see. Where is it?

How did it get here? How do I pro-

tect myself, my family, my posses-

sions from its disastrous effects?

When will life get back to normal

again? Will life get back to normal?

Or, what will normal look like when

this danger has ended?

I am a people person. I get my en-

ergy from contact with people. I

love to be around people. . .all

kinds of people. Social distancing

is a hard thing for a guy like me.

Sheltering in place is a new skill for

me. I know the science that makes

this necessary. I believe in the sci-

ence that makes this wise for us all.

But, not having the weekly or day

to day contact with you is a chal-

lenge for me.

This morning in the early morning

hours I awakened with a biblical

reference to social distancing on

my mind. In Luke 17 there is the

familiar story of the ten lepers who

call out to Jesus for healing. . .for

acknowledgement of their plight

“from a distance.” Have pity on

us!” Jesus replies, “Go and show

yourself to the priests.” In essence,

“Go get tested.” And, as they ac-

cept the mandate of the moment

they are healed. And, of course, we

all know that only one who was

proven to be healed came back to

give thanks.

Friends, we are going to be healed.

This pandemic will end one day. All

the science says if we do the right

things, this healing will come soon-

er than later. (By the way, I have

long held that good theology and

good science are perfectly compat-

ible!) But, until we are healed, per-

haps we would do well to do some

things differently.

One. We are already worshipping

differently. Our modified church

calendar is available on our web-

site. It is updated regularly with

pertinent information as to what

we are attempting to do and when.

Be a part of this as you can, but al-

so take a moment to look out your

window and have a moment of

worship for the renewal of life as

Spring is literally bursting forth

with evidence of God’s creative

glory.

Two. We would do well, I think, to

learn the lessons that these days

have thrust upon us. Spending

time with loved ones in a slower

pace will help us find a renewed

appreciation for them. We’ve all

learned that media is so repetitive

that our minds grow numb. Redis-

cover the “why I love this person in

my life” reasons that bind us and

our families together. I promise

you this is going to be a... “Where

were you when the Coronavirus

hit? . . .event of your life.

We should also learn the lesson of

“gaining the whole world at the

cost of our soul” mentality that

drives so many of our decisions.

The focus on having things, build-

ing portfolios that can melt like a

Spring snow, or having stuff that

fills our lives and empty our heart

can be replaced by “How much do I

really need?” or “What does my

neighbor need?’.

We also need to learn the lesson of

how little we actually control in the

world and who it is that we can de-

pend upon. We have three bird

feeders in our backyard. They are

bird feeders in name only. We ac-

tually feed some birds, about two

dozen squirrels, two chipmunks,

several raccoons, and about six

deer. Every day I go out with our

beloved Chewie and refill the feed-

ers and put deer corn on the

ground. It’s a chore of sorts and

fairly expensive. I do it because

Sandy and I value critters. We love

them. We love to watch them.

Now, they could certainly feed

themselves, but we find great joy in

providing for them. Just as we find

this joy in providing for our critter

menagerie, our Heavenly Father

takes great joy in providing for us!

This morning as I watched our me-

nagerie assemble I thought how we

must look to our Heavenly Father

who tries so hard to provide for us.

He does it because He loves us. .

.He finds joy in us. He wants to see

us have what we need. He’s the

Heavenly Father who watches over

the birds of the air. . .and of us. So,

we may not be able to control the

pandemic in the macro sense, but

in the micro sense we can control

our awareness. . .and gratitude. . .

to a Heavenly Father who truly

wants the best things for us no

matter what the circumstances. He

knows what we need before we

have need of it. He works in all

things for good.

Three. We can renew our strength

as we wait upon the Lord. The spir-

itual disciplines of prayer, medita-

tion, scripture reading, and self-

reflection will strengthen us for

what is to come regardless of what

that is. We may not be ready to

mount up on wings as eagles, or

run and not be weary, but it may be

that for a season walking without

fainting will be our best pace of life.

One final note. . .We have a Prayer

Team that has now grown to 56

people who have promised to pray

when I alert them to a need. This

team had its origins during the

days of Sandy’s illness. Over the

past three years it has grown from

an initial seven to its present size

with few losses in persons on the

team. . .all but one due to Saints

going home. I told them this week

that I’ve been riding around the

community, stopping in front of

the dwellings of our members, and

offering a brief prayer for those in-

side. I asked them not to call the

cops if they happen to see a white

Toyota pickup lurking outside! It

occurred to me some days ago that

the prayers of God’s people

brought down the walls of Jericho.

So, I’ve been praying for a wall of

God’s protection for the folks who

reside in those dwellings. I’m ask-

ing for people I love to be blessed

with the wisdom to do the right

things for their health and well-

being. I’m asking for healing for

those who are sick or will soon be

sick. I’m asking for God be with

you all according to His will and

purpose for your lives. So, don’t

call the cops!

Until we are healed, we will need to

find ways to pray for one another,

be present for one another, and

“see” one another in new and crea-

tive ways. We will need to sharpen

our vision to those in our communi-

ty who we do not see because see-

ing them causes us unease.

Healing will come! I know it will.

When it does, we will give thanks to

God for that healing!

Blessings!

Terry

First Baptist Church of Burlington

P.O. Box 2686

Burlington, NC 27216

Guatemala Yard Sale Date: TBD

Our Guatemala Mission Team, as of now, is

still planning to go to Guatemala this sum-

mer. This year we plan to raise resource

money with a yard sale.

We will announce a date as soon as we can.

In the meantime, being home gives us an

excellent opportunity to clean out closets,

drawers, cars, garages and storage buildings.

As you clean out, keep us in mind. We will

need lots of donations to make this a

success.

Backpack Buddies

As we welcome our Spring weather, it is time

to think about the final push to stock the

pantry for Backpacks. Our school children

are home but they still need to be given nu-

tritious food to finish the school year strong.

Please note we need: oatmeal packs, individ-

ual small cans of vegetables with pull tops,

chicken ramen noodles, pop tarts, small box-

es of chicken salad and crackers, grape jelly in

plastic containers, small

microwave containers of

macaroni and cheese, vien-

na sausages and beanie

weenies in pop top cans.

Thank you and bless you

for blessing these children.