The Memorial Baptist Church G r e e n v i l l e , N C

Volume 41 Issue 1 January 2017

As many of you may know, January 13, 2017, will be 10 years since an arsonist set fire to our church building. That event had the potential to leave a significant scar in the life of TMBC. Our church family weathered the storm of rebuilding the church, replacing materials lost, and revising our infrastructure to protect it from future harm. Ten years ago some may have wondered what was next for TMBC. Ten years ago some may have thought that TMBC would never again be what it once was and that its light in the community had been extinguished. Fast forward to the present, and you can see a church on the move and once again making a vital difference in the community.

With that in mind, in March of 2016, the ministerial staff began planning a 10-year celebration for Sunday, January 8, 2017. (Given the MLK holiday, we thought it best to celebrate early.) This day will be a celebration of appreciation, renewal, and a vision toward the future! We hope that you can attend to share your remembrances around the dinner table with friends, hear from special guests, and learn about the exciting future ahead of us at TMBC!

Service: 10:30 am

Luncheon: Immediately Following Service (Please bring a covered dish to share.)

Wednesday, January 11

Starting at 5:30 pm

Bring your best pot of chili, pan of cornbread, or both to

share in the first ever TMBC Chili and Cornbread Cook-Off.

There is no charge for this meal.

Inserted in this months newsletter is an article by TMBC Historian, Hugh Wease.

From Fire to New Beginning

2007—2017

Ed Porter January 29—February 4

341-5482

Matt Turner January 15—21

754-8232

Richard Murphy January 1 –7

756-7405

TMBC WMU Monthly Meeting Tuesday, January 10, 10:00 am

Torchbearers Classroom All ladies of the church are invited to attend.

Dave Gordon January 8—14

756-7191

Backpack Buddy Supply List Proteins: 7.5-oz. microwavable bowls of Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli, Beefaroni, Spaghettios, Beef Lasagna, etc., and 4.75-oz.

cans of Vienna Sausages or Beanie Weanies Fruits: Individual cups of applesauce (plain, cinnamon, etc.) and fruit cups (peaches, pears, mangos, mixed fruit cocktail,

etc.) Grains: 1.2-oz. boxes of breakfast cereal (any type), Pop Tarts (any flavor), chewy granola bars (any flavor), and fruit cereal

bars (any flavor) Juices: 10-12 pack juice boxes or bags (any flavor) Snacks: Individual pudding cups (any flavor), 1-oz. bags of Cheez-Its crackers, 1-oz. bags of Ritz-Bits crackers, 1.375-oz.

sleeves of Lance crackers (any flavor), 1-oz. bags of pretzels, individual boxes of raisins, and individual packs of fruit chews

Collection point is located outside the fellowship hall.

Wayne Hanks January 22—28

321-6643

Boyd Library News The Progressive Class has donated Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow, a highly regarded book by Nancy Guthrie, in memory of Kirsten Waybright. Kirsten is the granddaughter of Demi and Sue Mack.

The Ott Alford Class has donated Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, the tenth book in the well-loved Mitford Series by Jan Karon, in memory of Magdalene Jackson Jones, Elva Ann Hales’ mother.

Other recent additions include: Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Ruth and Esther Lysa Terkeurst’s Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions Karen Kingsbury’s The Friends of Jesus Max Lucado’s book for teens, Make Every Day Count Tim Tebow’s Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life’s Storms.

Please come check out Boyd Library. If you need help or have suggestions for books or DVDs, please contact Marcia Chesson at mmchesson@yahoo.com.

Fundraiser Coffee Shop for a Cause

Each Sunday in January, beginning January 8 9:30—10:00 am

Warm Beverages and Breakfast Pastries

Beverages (12 oz.): $2.00

Baked Goods: $1.00

All proceeds will benefit TMBC Relay for Life Team.

Contact Sharon Halsey at 71706886 if you would like to participate in upcoming fundraising events or the team event on

Friday, April 28, 2017.

Remember to pray for the law enforcement

officers for whom you selected cards and

send them additional cards letting them

know you are praying and thinking of them.

Nov 15

Walter Byrum and the Byrum Family Kemp Ewing Doris Nicholson and Darlene Riddle

(Diane Brady’s friends) Olivia Tesh(

Pat and Kathryn Tesh’s great niece) Sue Mack Brittany Avin Linda Parker Norman Gibson (Diane Brady’s friend) Cecil Daughtry (Janice Gray’s uncle) Kyleigh Anderson Rhett Barrett

(Nancy Harris’s great-nephew) Peggy Monteith Noah Sugg (John Sugg’s brother)

Tanya Godwin (Tony Godwin’s sister-in-law)

Henry Stokes (Addie Laney’s friend) Rob Lee (Lloyd Parker’s friend) Barbara Whitehurst (Ed Porter’s client)

Homebound/Shut-Ins Iva Edwards Mary Mann Margaret Little Ethel Donovan

December Attendance

Dec.

4 Dec. 11

Dec. 18

Connect 38 — 20

Sunday School

179 171 169

Worship 164 350 160

Hanging of the Greens

190

MEMORIAL MATTERS!

Budget Update December 20, 2016

Act Receipts YTD as of 12.20.16 $571,216

Budgeted Receipts as of YTD 12.20.16 $645,188

Difference-Over/(Short) ($73,972)

Act Receipts -December 2016 YTD $571,216

Act Receipts - December 2015 YTD $665,179

Difference-Over/(Short) ($93,964)

Act Receipts- December 2016 YTD $571,216

Estimated Disbursements - Dec 2016 YTD $598,723

Difference-Over/(Short) ($27,507)

In Our Prayers A new prayer list begins the first of each month. Call the church office if you would like to add or remove someone from the list.

Happy Anniversary and Thank you

to Fran Wilson

27 years of service to TMBC

January Staff Birthdays

Misael Marriaga—January 2 Martha Huggins—January 10

Kay Godwin—January 19

Thank you to the ladies from WMU for helping create angel costumes and the Baptist Men for constructing the stable for the Live Nativity.

Invitation to a Miracle

The Christmas Cantata was

wonderful again this year. Thank

you to Dr. Byrum and to everyone

who had a part in this year’s

performance.

TMBC WEE 2017-2018 Preschool

Registration ALL of our currently enrolled students and siblings may to register for the 2017-18 school year with no lines nor lottery. Simply complete a new registration form and turn in the registration fee and just like that, your

child is registered for another year!

Be sure your paperwork is turned in between Thursday, January 26—Wednesday, February 1.

General Public Registration

Feb 2 8:00am-10:00am

FROM FIRE TO NEW BEGINNING

2007 - 2017

On Saturday night, January 13, 2007, a devastating fire engulfed The Memorial Baptist Church building and seared the hearts of the congregation. Intentionally set, the fire destroyed the children’s wing and the two-story education section and caused substantial smoke and water damage to the fellowship hall, office suite, and sanctuary. The soaring flames reached and badly charred the landmark 92-foot steeple.

Within an hour of the fire alarm that brought fire fighters and other first responders to the burning church, another fire signal summoned firemen to Unity Free Will Baptist Church, located less than one mile from Memorial’s fire. A third call sent police to nearby Oakmont Baptist Church to investigate an attempted break-in.

The Saturday night havoc notwithstanding, on Sunday morning the congregation of The Memorial Baptist Church gathered at the picnic shelter behind the burned-out church building for a makeshift morning worship service and prayer. “The church of Memorial is the people,” noted Dr. Randy McKinney, Senior Pastor. During that service, the African- American congregation from Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville cut short its worship service in order to come and reach out to the sad and grieving members of TMBC. Cornerstone’s Senior Pastor Sidney Locks’s first remarks to Pastor McKinney were, “This fire didn’t happen just to your church – it happened to the body of Christ.” For Dr. McKinney, Cornerstone’s unexpected visit and Pastor Locks’s words were “the most meaningful experience in the whole journey” through the fire. “They came and cried and prayed with us.”

On Sunday afternoon, Oakmont Baptist Church opened its doors for the TMBC congregation to gather for worship. Dr. McKinney again reminded the displaced church members that they are “God’s Temple.” His remarks, combined with the uplifting support of local churches, buoyed the spirit of the worshipers.

Finding places to worship and space for the church staff to work as well as facilities to house the Weekday Early Education program marked the beginning of The Memorial Baptist Church’s journey through the 2007 fire. For twelve weeks the displaced Baptists became nomadic worshipers as they moved from church to church in the Greenville community. The host churches were Oakmont Baptist, January 14; Cornerstone Missionary Baptist, January 21 and April 1; First Presbyterian, January 28; Covenant United Methodist, February 4; Trinity Freewill Baptist, February 11; Sycamore Hill Missionary Baptist, February 18; St. James United Methodist, February 25; Grace, March 4; Parker’s Chapel Free Will Baptist, March 11; St. Peter’s Catholic, March 18; and Immanuel Baptist, March 25. Services were held on Sunday afternoons, beginning with choir practice at 2:00 pm; fellowship and updates on the restoration work from 3:00-3:45 pm, and worship service and children’s service from 3:45PM-5:00 pm.

Sunday School classes met at various places and at various times. Some classes met in homes; others gathered in churches, restaurants, the ECU Baptist Student Union, and Cypress Glen. Immanuel Baptist and St. Timothy’s Episcopal housed the large Weekday Early Education program. Immanuel also opened its doors to the Hispanic Mission. The Chinese ministry gathered in private homes; Oakmont Baptist provided temporary space for the church office staff.

Memorial’s worshipers returned to TMBC’s campus for Easter service on Resurrection Sunday, April 8, 2007.

More than 450 gathered in a tent erected on the west side of the damaged church sanctuary. They heard Senior Pastor McKinney proclaim, “This tent is here to remind us of God’s vision along our journey. We felt despair, fear, and a sense of hopelessness as flames torched this beautiful building. We have come to celebrate rebirth as a people. We celebrate that God has stretched and challenged us to appreciate church in new ways.”After the one-day Easter visit to their home grounds, Memorial’s members began to meet jointly with Immanuel’s congregation for 11:00 am Sunday worship services. This arrangement of shared worship, which lasted through September 2, worked well for both churches. Immanuel had the church building but no pastor; Memorial had a pastor but no building.

RECOVERY REBUILD RESTORATION

The overall renovation of Memorial’s church home required demanding work and a staggering cost. Damages were initially assessed at one million dollars but quickly ballooned to three million dollars. Fortunately, excellent church insurance helped allay financial concerns. The workload, however, was enormous and required the hands of many, including professional contractors and other specialists. The church coordinating council issued calls for volunteers to serve on task forces to help do the work that had to be done. Some of the most important task forces were (1) insurance and facility rebuilding, (2) interior decorations, (3) damaged property disposition and replacement, (4) Weekday Early Education short-term facility planning, (5) volunteer coordination, (6) community appreciation, (7) Easter and post-Easter worship, and (8) software needs. In addition, numbers of volunteers from the community, including ECU students, helped remove furnishings, materials, books, and records from the cold, dark, and water-soaked church building.

The rebuilding and restoration plan called for the renovation to be done in three phases. The first stage was the church office suite and the fellowship hall. Stage two included the children’s wing and the education wing; the restoration of the sanctuary was the principal focus of stage three. With the exception of the organ, which had to be replaced, the sanctuary was completed and ready for use on Sunday, January 13, 2008. On that happy Sunday morning, Senior Pastor Randy McKinney proudly declared, “One year to the day,” to mark the joyous return of TMBC’s congregation to the beautifully restored sanctuary. With more than 700 crowded worshipers gathered for the dedicatory service, Dr. McKinney developed the theme of ‘hope and enthusiasm” that had sustained the church during its long period of endurance following the fire. On Sunday night, the congregations of TMBC and Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church shared the worship service. Accompanied by his choir, Pastor Sidney Locks served as the principal speaker. Admiring the newly restored sanctuary as he stepped into the pulpit, he intoned, “Look what God can do; look what God has done.”

The catastrophic fire of 2007 galvanized and unified TMBC and created a strong spirit of cooperation with sister churches in the community. Within the congregation, members eagerly accepted challenging assignments; non-members responded to God’s call and their baptisms stirred the waters of the baptistery. On Palm Sunday, April 1, 2007, Senior Pastor McKinney baptized eight candidates at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church. During 2007, twenty-nine members, representing nineteen families, joined the church. One month after the fire, one young member, Graham Byrum, responded to God’s call to enter the ministry. Relationship building was also a major emphasis between and among the membership and with other churches, particularly with Cornerstone. Taking the lead from Pastor Sidney Locks, TMBC developed a yokefellow prison ministry.

POST-FIRE ISSUES

Following the crisis of the fire and the restoration of the church building, challenging economic conditions also became a serious concern of the ministerial staff and the congregation. The near collapse of the national economy in the last months of 2007 and the year 2008 had an alarming impact even locally. As early as mid-2009, the finance team reported that the church faced a financial crisis and recommended a downward revision of the budget. Expenses were cut, but “no major mission/ministry projects were dropped.” In the fall of 2009, Associate Pastor Rick Bailey resigned to accept the call as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Farmville, NC. For 2010, the church adopted a smaller budget and, by year’s end, three of the pastoral and ministerial staff had resigned. They were Senior Pastor Randy McKinney, Minister of Students and Missions Steve Ayers, and Minister of Children and Families Melissa Frazier. Only Minister of Music Walter Byrum remained on the ministerial staff. (Misael Marriaga continued as the Hispanic pastor.)

From 2011 through mid-year 2015, The Memorial Baptist Church struggled through more than four years without effective senior pastoral leadership. In 2011 Dr. Thomas McCann led the church as an intentional interim pastor and directed the church’s transition team. The Reverend Gregory Bowers served as senior pastor from August 2012 through July 2013, when he was asked to resign. Dr. Glenn Jonas of Campbell University then served in an interim capacity to lead Wednesday night Bible study and to fill the pulpit on Sunday.

A New Beginning

Upon his arrival as TMBC’s forty-second senior pastor on June 22, 2016, Dr. T. Bradley Smith (Brad) challenged members to pursue “intentionally a life that is full of grace, dignity, and redemptive love.” He has wholeheartedly embraced the church’s mission statement to worship God, share Christ, and serve others and has urged Memorial’s faith family to be “more intentional and creative about living out” these mission imperatives. The first imperative, to worship God, must have “top priority.” The essence of worship is to honor God. Therefore, worship must be authentic and must “extend beyond the one-hour Sunday morning service.”

The second imperative, sharing Christ, calls for a vision of a “Connections Ministry” that will “connect each newcomer and each new member with a member of the connection ministry team.” In addition, a rebuilt and inviting website is an essential tool to use as the church shares Christ in “the digital age.”

The third imperative, to serve others, is foundational for The Memorial Baptist Church. To enhance Memorial’s capacity to serve others, the church body called Abbi Mullens as associate pastor of families, formation, and community engagement on May 15, 2016. Her arrival came just in time. She and other church staff and many volunteers were in great need to serve others as hurricane Matthew brought high winds and flooding waters to eastern North Carolina in early November. The church served more than “1000 people who were in need of food, shelter, and clothing.” A new frontier of service to the community for TMBC is the Backpack Buddies program for needy children. Beginning with the 2016-17 school year, the church now feeds “more than fifty students each weekend.”

By year’s end, Dr. Brad Smith will complete slightly more than eighteen months of pastoral service at The Memorial Baptist Church. There is considerable evidence in spirit and accomplishment to indicate that we are truly experiencing a New Beginning, full of vigor, “energy,” and excitement as we envision that “The Best is Yet To Be” for The Memorial Baptist Church.

Hugh Wease

January At A glance

January 2 Church Office Closed

January 4 No Wednesday Night Activities

January 8 9:30 am Sunday School 10:30 am 10-Year TMBC Fire Commemoration Service and Celebration Covered Dish Lunch Following Service 2:30 pm Deacon Council Transition Meeting Congregational Care Transition Meeting

January 11 Wednesday Night Activities Resume

Chili and Cornbread Cook-Off

January 13—16 Youth Winter Retreat to Disney World for Faith in 3D

January 16 Church Office Closed

January 22 Youth Winter Jam Trip

January 29 4:00 pm Quarterly Church Conference

Wednesday Night Schedule

5:30—6:15 pm Family Meal on January 11

Chili and Cornbread Cook-Off Bring your best chili and/or cornbread to share.

6:00—6:45 pm Children’s Choirs 6:15 pm Prayer Time and Youth Group 6:30—7:30 pm Adult Bible Studies and Glow Kids 6:45—7:30 pm Mission Possible Kids 7:30—8:30 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal

No reservations are required.

End of Year Contributions TMBC must comply with the IRS directive that requires all 2016 contributions to TMBC be given by December 31, 2016. If the donation is mailed, it must be postmarked by December 31, 2016. All money received after January 1, 2017, will be placed in our 2017 books. We appreciate your cooperation and ongoing financial support! If you have any questions, please contact Beth Caudle, financial assistant, at 252-756-5314 or finance@tmbc.org.

New Directory Please call the church office with any updates to your information in the directory. A new directory will be printed in mid January.