Excerpts from the May issue

PASTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE PROGRESS REPORT

The Pastor Search Committee needs your help!
In an effort to project our church in a way that would inform a prospective member or possible pastor candidate about our church, we will be freshening up our church web site. Besides the terms that we often hear such as "loving" or "friendly" to describe our church and our fellowship, please think of other adjectives and/or considerations that would depict our church in a unique way. Please send your ideas to Leesa Holloway, lfholloway@msn.com.

The committee has begun to receive resumes from prospective candidates. We will be reviewing them over the next few weeks. Please continue to keep us and our task in your prayers.
HEROES OF THE BIBLE SERMON SERIES CONTINUES

During the month of April, Interim Pastor Boyd Frank led us to look at Joseph’s life, specifically how he handled adversity, temptation and how he forgave. On May 5 we look at Abraham and later this month we consider Josiah (II Kings 23:1-7) and David (I Samuel 16:11-13.

LADIES BIBLE STUDY

Ladies, if you haven’t ordered the new study book, Experiencing God’s Peace, for use beginning in June, see Jeanne Mathieson today. The book focuses on Philippians and is part of the series A Woman After God’s Own Heart. The group meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays for study, fellowship and support. All women of the congregation are invited.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY


“Happy Mother’s Day” means more
Than have a happy day.
Within those words lie lots of things
We never get to say.

It means I love you first of all,
Then thanks for all you do.
It means you mean a lot to me,
And that I honor you.

But most of all, I guess it means
That I am thinking of
Your happiness on this, your day,
With pleasure and with love. Copied

AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY SURVEY
More than half of Americans think the Bible has too little influence on our morally declining culture, yet only one in five read the Bible on a regular basis. Fifty-seven percent of Americans read their Bibles four times or less per year. Those ages 18-28 read their Bibles less than three times per year, if at all. The study used telephone interviews and online surveys and was released in March to take advantage of the buzz created by “The Bible” TV miniseries. The study found the average household has 4.4 Bibles.


MEN’S BREAKFAST
Saturday, May 18, 8:00 A.M.
Dalton Kirk will be circulating a signup sheet.

LADIES LUNCH
Ladies Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, May 21, at Dustin's BBQ on Clyde Morris and Dunlawton. Note: I am moving it to 3rd Tues this month because of the Memorial Day holiday. Meet at the restaurant at 11:45 A.M.

ON THE BOOKSHELF

Especially for Mothers, Helen Steiner Rice
Building Bonds Between Adults and Their Aging Parents,
Gary Hauk. Dr. Hauk’s book provides practical guidance for both the adult child and their parent.
Just Because They’ve Left Doesn’t Mean They’re GONE,
Stephen A. Bly. This very readable book has intriguing chapters dealing with how to “worry” about your adult kids in a nice, healthy way; lending money; sharing your wisdom; sharing faith.

Thanks to Donna Walker who has donated two boxes of non-fiction Christian books from her personal library.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
The arrival of summer is right around the corner! And what summer is complete without Vacation Bible School? Mark your calendars for June 24 - June 26. We're going to have HayDay fun! Kids will be up to their elbows in farmin’ fun as they explore one simple Bible truth: Jesus will always love us. We will be needing some volunteers, so keep your ears (not the corn kind!) tuned for details to follow. Leesa Holloway

FILM REVIEW
Life of Pi

The story of Pi is a tale of one boy's faith. He is so open minded he cannot believe in the God of only one religion. He believes in Hinduism which as an Indian was his mother's belief. He came to believe in Christ through a Catholic priest. He also believed he was a Muslim.

The film focuses on his survival tale. His family leaves India on a Cargo ship, bound for Canada with all the animals from his father's zoo. There is a terrible storm and only Pi and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker survive and must endure over 200 days at sea. The film has been called a "visual miracle" and is also spiritually moving.

Pi has many profound introspective observations including, "Vishnu sleeps in a cosmic ocean and we are the stuff of his dreams." "Thank you Vishnu for introducing me to Christ. I came to faith through Hinduism and found God's love through Christ." And at the end of the film he says to the writer of his tale, "In the end, I suppose the whole of life is letting go. What hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye." You see, he didn't have a chance to say goodbye to his family in the shipwreck.

As you can imagine, it is a rather sad story and the ending is ambiguous leaving you to wonder what really happened to Pi at sea. Ultimately it is Pi in the telling of two different versions of his survival that his vision of religion is revealed. He is still a devout believer in God. He just doesn't believe that one religion or story is better than another. He believes that each person must choose for their own self which story is best for them.
Sandra Kleinschmidt

MUSIC AND WORSHIP
With all the talk and the plans to go to the Buryl Red Tribute Service in New York City, I ended up staying at home and missing it because of illness. After taking two rounds of antibiotics and staying in bed, I had to cancel my trip. I missed the opportunity to be with the Century Men as they honored my dear friend, Buryl Red on Monday April 29, 2013 at the Central Presbyterian Church in New York City. I also missed performing with the Stetson Choral Union on Tuesday, April 23 at the First Baptist Church in DeLand. I had a chest x-ray and saw my doctor on Monday, April 29.

I am grateful to the Choir who continued to function in spite of my illness and my efforts to attend choir rehearsal even while I was not feeling well. A special thank you to Bill Walker, Mary Ellen Galloway and Carrie Sue Frank who always are so dependable and who carry on whenever it is necessary. And as always, I want to thank Leesa Holloway, Choir President, for helping me during these past four weeks of illness. Thanks guys. Each of you is very important to me.

Condolences
I wish to express my sympathy to Priscilla Towle in the loss of her mother and to Lois Cox and Mary Adams in the loss of their sons. These choir members have been very faithful to our Choir and we want to express our sympathy to them in this time of grief and sadness.

Music for Meditation
Music for Meditation at the All Saints Lutheran Church has not been held for the past few weeks because of repairs to the roof of that church. Starting again in May the concerts from 12:15 to 12:45 PM will again be held on Wednesdays.

Upcoming . . .
The next important thing to consider is finding a pastor for our church. Leesa Holloway and the Pulpit Committee are to be commended for their diligence in their search for the right person to lead our church. We need to give this effort our prayerful attention. We also need to hold Boyd Frank up in prayer as he continues serving as our Interim Pastor. He has been bringing us some wonderful messages on the heroes of the Old Testament.

The Church Council agreed to a shortened Vacation Bible School this summer. It will be held on June 24-26. I am delighted that we are continuing efforts to reach out to the children in our community.

Let us remember to pray for each other and pray for the continued growth of New Hope Baptist Church.
Dennis Bucher

MISSIONS
Halifax Urban Ministries

The need continues for canned meats, paper goods, baby food and diapers. We donate the first Sunday of the month to support the ministry of HUM.
SECRET SISTER REVEAL
We are not having a Mother’s Day Tea this year, but suggest you use Mother’s Day, May 12, to reveal your identity to your New Hope Secret Sister of the past year. Did you guess or is it still a mystery? If you have a story about this experience, please pass it on to our editor.

REPORT FROM CBF SPRING CELEBRATION

Ray Johnson, Coordinator of CBF Florida, highlighted the following.
• Suzii Paynter’s messages at the two main worship services were wonderful, uplifting, and joyful. Mrs. Paynter was named Executive Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in January 2013.)
• The combined choirs in worship on Friday night were fabulous and made for a truly worshipful moment.
• The chaplains’ luncheon, a first, was well attended.
• The presentations on the church and the internet/ digital media were extraordinarily informative.
• There was standing room only for Karen Alford’s presentation on her mission work in the wake of the 2010 tsunami that struck the Mentawai Island chain off the west coast of Sumatra.
• We enjoyed lots of fellowship times and informal conversations around the hallways of Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church.
• CBF received $2,800 to kick off CBF Florida’s 2013 Annual Mission Offering.

DEATHS IN THE CHURCH AT LARGE


George Beverly Shea
George Beverly Shea, the baritone who sang to millions at Billy Graham’s crusades for six decades, died April 16 in Asheville, North Carolina at the age of 104. He composed the music for “I’d Rather Have Jesus” at age 23, but may be best known for his rendition of “How Great Thou Art.”

Duke K. McCall
Dr. Duke McCall, retired president of two Southern Baptist seminaries, died April 2 at age 98. He set a high standard for personal and academic integrity and is remembered fondly by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary graduates. Following retirement he served for five years as president of the Baptist World Alliance.

Composer Buryl Red
Buryl Red, renowned composer, conductor, arranger and musical director of The CenturyMen, died April 1 after a battle with cancer. He was 77. With Red as conductor, The CenturyMen performed on television, were finalists for Dove and Grammy Awards and traveled around the world.

Red wrote more than 1600 published compositions. The Washington Post described his works as “uncommonly creative.” The song “In Remembrance” is from the youth musical Celebrating Life for which he wrote the music.

Gordon Cosby
Gordon Cosby, founder of The Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC, died March 20 at age 95. His was a far-reaching vision of the church in the era of church renewal.