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I Westfield Baptist Association

NewsletterDecember 2011

Norman B. Lockwood - Director of MissionsP. O. Box 879 - 207 W. 11th

Neoga, Illinois 62447Phone 217-895-5214 E-Mail NBL515@mediacombb.net (all lower case)

Cell Phone 217-232-5981

December 2011 - Special Emphasis - Lottie MoonChristmas Offering1 6:30 p.m. Pastor & Wives Christmas Fellowship,

Friendship Baptist Church4-11 Week of Prayer, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

6 Thrive Update with DOMS10 8:30 a.m. Pastor's Fellowship, Comfort Inn, Casey19 6:15 p.m. WBA Executive Board Meeting, Macedonia25 Christmas Holiday

29-30 Youth Encounter, Prairie Capital Convention Center,Springfield

January 2012 - Special Emphasis - North Central States RallySheraton Indianapolis Hotel & Suites, Indianapolis, Indiana1 New Years Day

14 8:30 a.m. Pastor's Fellowship, Comfort Inn, Casey15 SBC Sanctity of Human Life Sunday16 Martin King Day, Holiday16 7:00 p.m. WBA Council Meeting, Westfield

24-26 North Central States Rally, Indianapolis, Indiana28 All State Youth Choir Auditions, Mt. Vernon, Decatur

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WESTFIELD BAPTIST ASSOCIATIONStatement of Pur~

The Westfield Baptist Association is a family of churches-working together,fostering fellowship, and assisting one another in our unique setting to carry out thefull scope of the Great Commission (going, ministering, making disciples, baptizingthem, and leading them to maturity as disciples of Jesus Christ). In fulfilling thistask, we join in cooperative partnership with Illinois Baptist State Association andthe Southern Baptist Convention.

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PASTOR AND WIVES SPECIAL EVENTS

JanuaryChurch Anniversaries

Norman Lockwood, DOM 1994Fred Harner, Mt. Zion 2011

JanuaryBirthdays

11 Shirley Harner17 Tom Skinner20 Tim Boyce29 Art Orndorff

JanuaryWedding Anniversaries11 John & Julie Calio

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NEWSLETTER DEADLINE.December 15th

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Norm's Notes

It is good that we now have pastors for every church in our association. The newpastors are: Wayne Carrigan at Enon and Jack Bratten at New Hope. I have not

been able to meet them yet, but maybe they will come to the Pastor's & WivesChristmas Party at Friendship Baptist Church, Charleston on December 1st at 6:30

p.m, (Don't forget to bring a $5.00 gift for a woman & gentleman). God Bless.

CHURCH NEWS

ASHMORE BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: David Colvin

Reporter: Nancy Fluckey

We have had another busy month here at Ashmore Baptist Church. Theoutdoor baptism was wonderful. The snake came out after the baptism was done.Mike Finney is now a new member of our Church. They are a very welcome familyto our Church family.

Little Davis Colvin fell and hit his head on Saturday October 22nd• Davidended up taking him to ER but everything was fine. I know what a scary time thatcan be for parents.

Bob and Judy Livingston celebrated 50 years of marriage with an open houseon October 22nd• There was a huge attendance. Their anniversary was not until the29th but they left on Thursday October 27th to spend some time in St. Louis andBranson, Mo. Judy said they had a marvelous time on their trip. Isn't itwonderful when you see people staying together for 50 years.

Saturday October 29th we had our first trunk and treat. The awesome waswonderful. We ran out of chili and candy. We even made a second batch of chiliand still ran out. Jean Penrod handed out over 200 tracts just to the children. Weare making plans on how we can improve on next year. The Preacher could notbelieve the turnout that we had.

Bayley and Madison Bayles were baptized on Sunday October 30th• TomMarsh came up to do the honor. We were honored to have him and Linda in ourSunday School class. This makes 7 baptisms so far this year with another possible 3more before the end of the year.

Our Pastor went to the state mSA pastors and meeting in O'FallonNovember 1, 2, and 3. He came back really energized up again. The state has a lotgoing on for the next year.

Our AWANAprogram is wanting more helpers. They have been averagingover 60 on Wednesday nights. God is Awesome.

Friday November 11th we had family fun night at the Church. After a lightsupper we filled Shoe boxes for Christmas. We filled 25 boxes. Even though wewere small in numbers we accomplished a lot.

Several of the youth went to the Midnight Encounter in Mattoon so ourPastor was not with us to join in the fun.

Sunday November 13thDevonna Finney daughter of Mike Finney wasbaptized. That makes 3 of the family that has been baptized this year. There are

great things happening at Ashmore Baptist Church.The Choir has been practicing for the Christmas Cantata. I don't know if

there will be a letter next month as I am leaving town for awhile. But justremember Jesus is the reason for the Season.

CASEY FIRST BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: John Blaylock

Reporter: Kathleen Carlson

In late October First Baptist held a Pastor Emeritus Installation Service to honorRev. Tom Marsh. He served the Lord through our church for over 24 years beforeretiring. The service was followed by a church fellowship lunch. Praise the Lordfor dedicated Pastors.

Youth Pastor Mark was privileged to baptize Cory Navel in October and ShaylinRae in November. It's a blessing to see our youth give their hearts to the Lord.

The Shoe Box ministry of Operation Christmas Child is upon us already, andthe boxes are piling up. This is a fun project the whole family can participate in,and be a blessing to a child somewhere.

Our turn for the Community Supper had us serving nearly 200 dinners at thechurch plus some carried to shut-ins. This ministry is a joy to all.

First Baptist and the Casey E.M.S. are teaming together to be prepared forwinter disaster relief. We never know what mother nature may send our way as inthe case of last winter's blizzard blasts. First Baptist was happy to help manystranded travelers and plans to stand ready for such a need again.

The ladies of our church had a "fellowship-shopping day" in the Arthur &Arcolaarea recently. A delicious buffet lunch at Yoder's to keep us fortified was enjoyedby all. By the end of the day it was hard to tell who the big shopper was aseveryone seemed laden with many bundles. We shopped till we dropped, and had awonderful time.

Thank you and God Bless

CLARKSVILLE BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Jeff Loper

Reporter: Jean Loper

What a wonderful celebration we had as a church as we gathered on October23rd for our 86tbAnnual Homecoming. Sonny Haumesser, our guest speaker

brought a message to our church that was a blessing to so many at the 9:30 a.m.service. At 10:30 a.m., the concert was a time of worshiping the Lord as Steve andGinger Trine, led us into the presence of God. There was a good crowd and we hadseveral visitors, some who came to be reacquainted with Sonny,from his time aspastor in the Westfield Baptist Association. Following the services we joinedtogether for a carry-in-dinner. The Fellowship Hall was full, and the food wasdelicious. We thank all those who provided the food, and especially the members ofthe Kitchen Committee, headed by Sue and Wayne Cassady for bringing it alltogether.

This past month, on Friday, November 4th, one of our oldest members wenthome to be with her Lord. Lorene Harbor was a faithful member of our church, aswell as the Gleaner's Sunday School Class, and although in recent months herhealth was such that she couldn't attend, she still longed to be there. She had beena member for over 60 years when she passed away at the age of 95. Lorene will bemissed greatly by her family and friends.

The pastor and his wife left Sunday afternoon, November 13th, on vacation togo and see their children, grandchildren, and newest member of their family, theirgreat-grandson who was born in April of this year. During the time they were goneon Sunday evening, November 13th, and Sunday morning, November 20t\ JasonReichert was our guest speaker. Jason and his family have been attendingClarksville Baptist Church the last few months whenever he isn't ministeringsomewhere else. He and his wife, JoLee have been working with our AWANAprogram on Wednesday evenings with the Sparks.

Sunday evening, November 20th, we joined together with the rest of theMarshall community at First United Methodist Church for our annualThanksgiving Service. Paul Cooper was' the guest speaker this year.

As we quickly approach the holiday season it is easy to allow the rush of theseason to get our focus off of the Lord, but we pray that each of you will be able torejoice as we approach the season of remembering our Savior's birth.

ENON BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Wayne CarriganReporter: Jackie McCord

FAITH SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Chad Kerner

Reporter: Theresa Kinnison

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FREEDOM BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Tim Oakley

FRIENDSHIP BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Tom Skinner

Associate Pastor: Dan HuttonReporter: Linda Skinner

GREENUP BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Brooke DavisReporter: Marjorie Cizek

MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURHPastor: Marvin OakleyReporter: Joyce Oakley

MARSHALL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Paul Cooper

Reporter: Elena Myles

MARTINSVILLE BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Art Orndorff

Reporter: Lucy Johnson

"Let your light shine before men ... and glorify your Father" Matthew 5:16. Myquestion would be, "is your light bright, soft white, shining out, worn out, orburned out? What do you suppose would glorify your Father most? Maybe a bulbcheck is called for!?

On Saturday, Oct. 22 our church witnessed two funerals of a brother andsister in Christ gone home to be with the Lord. Unexpected to us, but planned bytheir Lord. We miss Jean Wilson and Steve Cline and continue to lift their familiesup in prayer. Our kitchen committee served a meal for Sister Jean's family.

On Sunday, Oct. 23 we witnessed God's blessings when new members

Alexandria Hammond and young Blaine Spittler were baptized into full fellowshipof our church family. Praise the Lord!

Kids and adults alike enjoyed dress-up/costume night at Kids Church forHalloween on Wed., Oct. 26. Anything imaginable from Thing ~& Thing 2 to theMad Hatter, "Picture Perfect" to a domino, a butterfly to Minnie Mouse, a jailbirdto Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, a 50's gal and a dressed-in-Ieather cycle duo ... andsooooo many more! Fun, fun & more fun! We thank our kitchen ladies for servingcookies and drinks for our fun evening.

Our Bread of Life meal was Thursday, Oct. 27 with 70 attending plus 13homebound and 2 extra for outreach delivered to. Coming up will be ourcombination church and community Thanksgiving meal on November 17. We hopefor a great turnout and lots of friends from the community joining us.

The Kitchen ladies served another funeral dinner for the Downey family onOct. 29th

• Then that evening, our ladies along with volunteer helpers at the RefugeYouth Center handed out 168 bags of candy and 147 cups of hot chocolate for"Holy-ween" when trick-or-treaters were out in Martinsville.

On Sunday evening, Nov. 6, Sister Lucy Johnson shared a slide showpresentation and stories from her mission trip to Brazil, South America inSeptember. We praise the Lord for seeds of Jesus' love and the gospel messagesown to children and adults alike while the Brazil team was there. Then onSaturday, November 12, Sister Lucy and Sister Kathy showed the picturepresentation and shared at the associational WMU meeting in Mt. Zion. They willcome to other churches to share if asked (Lucy 217-382-4040 or Kathy 217-849-3536).

Throughout 2011 a different item for boys and girls was collected each monthto be used for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. 31 helpers made short work(with lots of fun) on November 8th as we packed 53 shoeboxes. These were placedaround the altar and everyone formed a circle for prayer before we left thatevening. Then on Sunday, Nov. 13th, a dedication prayer for the ministry of theseshoeboxes was given by Pastor Art in morning worship. We are so blessed withSister Loretta Lee who emphasizes and plans this project each year.

Also on Nov. 13th, special emphasis on the Voice of the Martyrs was given anda video clip of a testimony by Padina in Laos was shown in the a.m. worshipservice. Pastor's dedication prayer also included heartfelt intercessory prayer forthis great need. Each Sunday school class was given a particular people groupfrom the Voice of the Martyrs, to adopt and pray for.

Bro. Justin has been super busy with youth work. 10 students fromMartinsville went to the Fall Retreat at Palestine Assn. Campground. We have 10-17 students participating on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school on a regularbasis. On Wednesday nights they are averaging 45 students with new ones comingeach week to join the activities. At present they are teaching "Who God Is",

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looking at core doctrines every week. Many of these youth are not attending anychurch regularly so much prayer is needed for this ministry and for Bro. Justin &Jesi.

Pastor Art is currently preaching a series of messages "Being Secure in anInsecure World" from the book of 1 Peter. This is a deep study but so meaningful.Pastor and Rebecca are also working on their new house, with help from several ofour men when they can get away to help. They are close to being done and willhopefully get it finished before weather gets really bad.

We at Martinsville First Baptist Church wish all a blessed Thanksgiving andextend the challenge to keep your lights bright-white and shining strong with thelove of Jesus.

MATTOON FIRST SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Dr. John Calio

Reporter: Marge Alumbaugh

We hear a lot about change all of the time--change in style of worship servicesand music as well as changes in our building and grounds. Right now we are goingthrough seasonal changes with the days becoming shorter, darker and colder. Theconcrete is being poured for our new parking lot and most of the excess dirt hasbeen hauled away.

With the seasonal changes we turn our thoughts to thee joys of the holidayseason. Our pastor and family are going to Washington D.C. area for the week ofThanksgiving for their annual get-together with his mother, sister and otherrelatives.

The choir is practicing for the Christmas Cantata, "The Father's Gift ofLove". It will be presented in the morning worship service on December 18th• Thechoir will be wearing Biblical costumes and there will be some speaking parts forBiblical characters.

The youth had a fun evening with an Associational event, Midnight Madness,on November 11tr., from 6 to 12 p.m, with games at the YMCA and food, music andmessage in our church.

The Live Wires had a cookout at the home of Joyce Cunningham on October20th, but it was too cold to stay outside so Charles Mears cooked outside whileeveryone else visited in the house. We had chicken breasts and pork chops with awide variety of carry-in dishes. More than 25 enjoyed the afternoon together.

We are collecting shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We uplift eachother in the trials of daily living. The prayers and concern of Christian friends aresuch an encouragement.

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MT. ZION SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Fred Harner

Reporter: LaDora Poe

MULLEN BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Tom Cosat

Reporter: Janet Yocum

NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Jack Bratten

TOLEDO FIRST BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Norman LockwoodReporter: Ann Lockwood

UNIVERSITY BAPTIST CHURCHPastor: Tim Boyce

WESTFIELD BAPTIST CHURCHInterim Pastor: Gene Ellis

Reporter:

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