Prince of Peace Catholic School’s 2019 Geography Bee winner Douglas Frederick (center) and runners-up Sara Sypeck (left) and Laura Granger (right).
The National Geographic Bee is an annual contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society. It’s open to students in fourth through eighth grade in participating schools. Prince of Peace Catholic School students look forward to this fun and challenging event every year. This year, POP’s Douglas Frederick won the Hoover school’s annual Bee. The eighth grader was among 165 students in grades five through eight in the preliminary competition at POP. The field was narrowed to 10 finalists who competed for the school title. Douglas will now take a written test to qualify for the state level Bee held at Samford University this spring. The winner there will go on to compete at the National Geography Bee held in Washington, DC in May. †
Briarwood angler Grayson Morris recently signed to fish for the University of Montevallo. Briarwood currently has two former anglers fishing in college.
The Briarwood Christian School Bass Team won their first team tournament of the year on February 9 at the ASABFA Regional at Lake Martin. “This has been a culmination of a lot of hard work and team work,” says Jay Mathews who coaches the six-boat varsity team (12 anglers) and 35 club members. This is the 8th season for the Briarwood Bass Team which competes year-round. The team also finds time to host their own fishing television show, “Winning Edges” which airs on the Jimmy Houston Network (JHL.TV). “It is totally produced by the students,” explains Coach Mathew.
Another big win for the team came on National Signing Day when team member Grayson Morris signed to attend the President’s Outdoor Scholars Program at the University of Montevallo. Grayson’s accomplishments include winning the Bassmaster National Championship in June 2018 with fellow angler Tucker Smith. The two will defend the title again this season.
Big win for the Briarwood Christian School Bass Team at Lake Martin. The team’s next big tournament is March 9 on Lake Eufaula.
Coach Jay Mathews has also been recognized for recently publishing an anglers’ handbook, Winning Edges Fishing available on Amazon. Professional angler and Bassmaster Classic Champion Randy Howell shared, “Awesome, easy to read handbook for young anglers in high school fishing. I highly recommend the book to young anglers, their captains, coaches and parents!” †
Clearbranch UMC in Trussville started live streaming their services in December 2018 and are seeing a growing number of individuals joining them on line to worship.
It happens to the best of us. We decide we are going to be in church each Sunday, but sometimes life gets in the way. Things like vacations, sick kids or car trouble keep us from worshipping with your church family. Luckily, we can pull out our phones, open our laptops or activate the streaming box on our TV to livestream the services.
In today’s age of “convenience attendance,” online worshippers have become one of the fastest growing segments of a church’s membership. Clearbranch United Methodist Church (UMC) in Trussville began live streaming on Christmas Eve 2018 and weekly views of their Sunday morning worship services average around 350 a week.
These are good numbers to add to Sunday morning weekly attendance, but the REAL ministry of online church streaming emerges DURING the service itself. Browsing through the comments section of any Clearbranch service stream shows members that are home dealing with frustration or hardship. They interact with points that the pastor is making in his sermon. They ask for prayers over things they are enduring. These people would love to be there in person, but they simply cannot make it physically to the church building. The church has to take Jesus to where they are instead.
The church’s spread through the world in a digital way can take many forms. Clearbranch uses livestreaming through services like Facebook or on their website. Anyone can download their ROKU app and watch services live on their TV. They also offer the complete services as “audio only” options through Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Clearbranch also creates original content each week on its YouTube channel that acts as a follow up to each week’s sermon from the previous Sunday.
Basically, the church has to accept that there are people hungry for Jesus, and, due to one thing or another, may not darken the door to the sanctuary. They may have been hurt by the church at some point and have issues being there in person. Being able to watch from where they are, on their terms, allows the church to do its job and continue to minister to the world. Options like livestreams or podcasts allow the curious or broken to be a part of the church and hopefully grow in their walk with Christ.
Author Adam L. Gustine leads CovEnterprises, a social enterprise initiative of Love Mercy, Do Justice, for the Evangelical Covenant Church. He has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Missio Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jesus is not, nor has he ever been, primarily interested in getting people saved. Salvation is but a first step, a means to a desired end. What was Jesus interested in? Discipleship. A thoughtful reading of the great commission reveals that Jesus is interested in creating a people who follow his teachings, not simply a group of people who individually accept Christ. He intends for the gospel to be lived.
In his new book, Becoming a Just Church, Adam L. Gustine is calling us to live as the people of God by extending justice and life into the world. In the kingdom of God, justice is not about retribution, it’s about righteousness – and Jesus tells us what righteousness looks like. It is about setting the world aright. It is about replacing hatred with love, discord with peace, and greed with generosity. It is about welcoming the other, ministering to the poor, and bringing relief to the oppressed. A disciple of Jesus desires the well-being of everyone, regardless of their social, political, religious, ethnic, or economic status. In summary, we are to treat others the same way we would want to be treated, regardless of who they are.
Author: Adam Gustine
Becoming a Just Church is a powerful reminder that Jesus wants his people to live prophetically and proleptically. We are called to live in anticipation of the Kingdom, not only by resisting unrighteousness, but by also joyfully creating righteousness. We are subversive. We are hopeful. We are agents of peace and grace.
We are disciples of Jesus.
–Darrel Holcombe, Owner Sanctuary Christian Books and Gifts Colonial Promenade, Alabaster
Singer/songwriters Zach Crowell, Matt Jenkins and Bryan Simpson will take the stage at Iron City Birmingham and share great stories about their hit songs. The one night only event benefits Mission Lazarus, www.missionlazarus.org.
Every song has a story. Hear the stories behind hit songs such as Carrie Underwood’s “Heartbeat,” Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road,” Keith Urban’s “Cop Car” and more on March 22, 2019 when Songs on a Mission stops in Alabama at Iron City Birmingham.
Songs on a Mission began in Nashville, Tenn. in 2017 as a country music fundraising concert and has since developed into a tour. Singer/songwriters Zach Crowell, Matt Jenkins, and Bryan Simpson will share behind the scenes stories on the journey of creating their chart-topping songs as a part of an evening of amazing music that benefits the ministry Mission Lazarus, www.missionlazarus.org. In addition to the artists above, they have also written songs sung and recorded by Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line, and Cole Swindell. Crowell, Jenkins, and Simpson will entertain the audience by performing their acoustic music throughout the evening. These performers have personally seen the impact Mission Lazarus is making around the world and want to share with others the reason behind their support of the ministry.
Mission Lazarus is passionate about helping transform the lives of people living in poverty in Haiti and Honduras. The nonprofit has four key areas of ministry: Spiritual, educational, agricultural and medical. Through these ministries, volunteers share the good news of Jesus Christ and create relationships with those living in poverty. Cofounder and CEO Jarrod Brown started Mission Lazarus when God gave him a deep love for the country and people of Honduras following a mission trip. The nonprofit’s foundation is rooted in Scripture. The financial goal for Songs on a Mission Alabama is $150,000. The money will enable Mission Lazarus to continue transforming the lives of those in Honduras and Haiti.
To purchase your tickets for this one-night only event, visit https://impact.missionlazarus.org/SOM. Be sure to use the code 2019BCF at checkout upon purchasing Value Seating for Two by March 15, 2019 and receive a 22% discount. Excellent seats start at $195 and include a cocktail hour, seated dinner, exclusive concert and post-event reception. In addition, VIP tables receive a pre-show meet-and-greet with the performers. Space is limited to 200 seats.
At a recent gathering, Kenneth Paschal with the Alabama Family Rights Association introduced himself and asked,
“Laurie, what’s your one and one?
What’s one thing you are particularly grateful for today?
What’s one thing you would like prayer for today?”
What great questions!
As a recent empty nester, the answer to both those questions were on the tip of my tongue that day and weighing heavy on my heart.
“Kenneth, as much as I miss them, I am so very grateful to God today for allowing all three of my sons to be away in college. And my big prayer today? For my three sons in college to follow God’s guidance and will for their lives.”
Today as our Birmingham Christian Family team prepares this 225th issue of the magazine for print my One Thing I am particularly grateful for is the opportunity God gave me almost 20 years ago to spread Good News in our community and the way He has chosen to sustain it with readers and advertisers like you who support our mission. My One Thing I ask of God today is for the magazine to continue reaching people with the Good News of Jesus Christ as long as He desires and in doing so impact our community in a very positive way.
I’ve decided to start each day with a One and One. At least One Thing to thank God for and at least One Thing I will share with Him and trust He will answer. I’m also going to look for opportunities to ask those God places in my path the question Kenneth asked me, “What’s your One and One?”
“Look to the Lord & His Strength, Seek His face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11
MARCH GIVEAWAYS!
TO SAY THANK YOU for reading and supporting the businesses and organizations that advertise with us and make spreading Good News possible, we have Two Great Giveaways this month!
THREE WAYS TO Win VIP Tickets to Tony Evans Live at Clearbranch United Methodist Church Thursday March 14, 2019 at 7 p.m. THREE Winners (2 tickets each).VIP Ticket includes early entry, preferred seating, meet & greet with Tony and Anthony Evans at 5:30 p.m., plus a copy of Dr. Evans Book and Anthony Evans CD.
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Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church is celebrating a success for the parish’s first blood drive of 2019. The blood drive on January 13, a joint effort of the Knights of Columbus Council 4304 and the American Red Cross, comes at a time of a critical need for donations during the winter. According to knight John Corso who organized the project, “We once again exceeded our goal of 51 units and turned in 54 collected units today”. Appreciative for the donations, the Knights seen here cooked and served a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, and biscuits for donors and their families.
Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School and the Institute of Anglican Studies at Beeson in conjunction with The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) will host the Racial Reconciliation and the National Covenant Conference at Samford, February 12-13, 2019. The event will bring Protestants, Catholics and Jews together to answer the question, “How does thinking about God change the way we think about race?” Talks at the conference will address covenant and race in the Hebrew Scriptures, exile and return from slavery, white supremacy, Martin Luther King Jr.’s appeal to the national covenant, and many other subjects. “This country suffers from continuing racial tension. We are convinced that the tension cannot be resolved by politics alone because our racial divides have vital spiritual, moral and cultural dimensions,” said Gerald McDermott, director of Beeson’s Institute of Anglican Studies and organizer of the event. “Our hope is that this new approach will help bring repentance, forgiveness, and healing… This conference will take a fresh approach by exploring the implications of the biblical tradition of national covenant. We think it will open fresh possibilities for our fragmented society.” Visit www.theird.org/racial-reconciliation for details on other conference speakers, agenda and registration. General admission tickets are $75, with discounted rates for students ($20), clergy ($25) and veterans ($25). †
Students at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School recently packed and sealed over 10,000 meals for hungry orphan children in Haiti. “This was such an extraordinary event,” said OLS Principal Mary Jane Dorn. “Instead of selling magazines or coupon books, we are holding our first- ever FEED THE NEED event to help those less fortunate in a country in another part of the world,” she said. “What better way to teach our students the importance of being of service to others.”
Command Master Chief Eric Mays (left) of Birmingham, Ala., recently retired after 30 years of Naval Service. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by NRD Commanding Officer Cmdr. Jeffrey Reynolds during his retirement ceremony. His military awards include: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (4), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (5), Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Good Conduct Medal (5), Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal (2), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal (2), Sea Service Ribbon (5), Overseas Service Ribbon (5), Kuwait Liberation Medal, and Sharpshooter Ribbons for Rifle and Pistol.
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