Dodge Center schedule

Yesterday’s post announced the 150th Anniversary Celebration for the SDB Church of Dodge Center, Minnesota. The celebration will be held on Sabbath, June 6.

The Schedule for the day is as follows:
9:30 am
Praise Time

10:00–11:30 am
Worship with special music, sharing letters of memories and the morning message (Nick Kersten)

11:35 am
Congregational picture outside the church building

12:00 noon
Sabbath Dinner for all

1:30-4:00 pm
Time to visit and reminisce. Opportunity for tours to location of previous parsonages, hopefully the previous location of the church building

4:00-5:00 pm
Sharing of memories, singing, and historical presentation

6:00 pm
“Bug-free” indoor picnic (grills will be outside). Park benches available outside

7:00 pm
Community Movie night movie

8:30/9:00 pm
Snack (possibly s’mores around the campfire on the south lawn)

150th anniversary mugs will be available for sale for $5.00 each plus shipping. These mugs are cobalt blue with white printing featuring the 1873 church building on one side and the present building on the other. These may be purchased at the church after the Sabbath, or picked up any time if payment has already been received. They will also be available to be picked up at Conference in late July.

Contact person is Madelyn Neher at 507-633-2887 or mbneher@kmtel.com

Dodge Center's 150th on June 6

From Pastor Dale Rood and Madelyn Neher,

On June 6, 2009, the Dodge Center, Minn., Seventh Day Baptist Church will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of its legal organization. Twelve people gathered June 4, 1859, at the home of Benjamin Bond to “consider the propriety of forming a Seventh Day Baptist church.” Now, 150 years later we are anticipating a much larger group of people to celebrate the past and even more importantly to consider plans and dreams for the future because of the work of the past.

We invite those who have been associated with the Dodge Center Seventh Day Baptist Church to join with us in this celebration. We would invite our sister churches to send a letter of greeting to share with all who would be here that day. We would also invite any who are interested to come to Dodge Center on June 6.

Our speaker for the day will be Nick Kersten of the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Society. He will be bringing a short message Sabbath morning and a more detailed presentation in the afternoon. Nick is an excellent speaker who will give us much more than dry historical facts but will make those facts come to life for us in our present day.

If there are any who are able to come, please notify Madelyn Neher at 507-633-2887 or mbneher@kmtel.com. There are Americinn motels in Kasson (5 miles east of Dodge Center) and in Rochester (20 miles east) and Owatonna (20 miles west). If you are in need of lodging in a home, please contact Madelyn.

We request your prayers for the ministry of the Seventh Day Baptist Church in Dodge Center and the surrounding area. Please pray with us for this celebration that it will truly serve to honor and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ whom we serve and follow.

Pentecostal Courage

A message from Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam

Pentecost marks the season of the Spirit.

As at the first Pentecost, the Spirit blows and the result is a remarkable empowerment. The weak are made strong, the timid made brave and those who fall silent in the face of perceived threat to their personal safety now burst the bonds of concern for self and bear potent witness to unvarnished, life-transforming truth.

Filled with the Spirit, the disciples escape the grip of fear and timidity and speak a word in the name of Christ calling all who would listen to the new life God makes available to all who repent and believe the Gospel.

Holy Spirit-inspired courage is badly needed in our world today.

It is such courage that will help Christians express their views on the meaning of the shuttered doors to former sacred spaces in centers which once claimed competence to interpret the mind of Christ and to disseminate it to those not so fortunate to be able to clearly discern that mind.

It is such courage that will help people of faith to discuss how the fortresses from which flowed voluminous literature clarifying how to do ministry now seem to crumble before the weight of a constantly growing secularism that threatens to push religion permanently to the margins.

Meanwhile, the weak find strength to raise their voices, without knowing whether anyone will listen and hear. By their liberation to speak, as the Spirit empowers them, they create holy mayhem that upsets the established order.

Pentecost summons us to rise up and speak courageously, to recognize that it is only in the power of the Spirit that we can speak truth to power, bear witness to the convictions we have been led to hold and to live authentically as people whom God is constantly renewing.

Pentecost calls us to be people of real courage, not because of who we are, but because of Who possesses us. Let us not forget, however, that when the Holy Spirit empowers us to act courageously, some may feel threatened by the prospect of losing their position of privilege. This may cost us dearly. Yet, what price can we not pay to live as God's pentecostal people?

Pentecost 2009

Bible Study Without Borders

Unable to get to a conventional group Bible study or simply want additional group Bible study?

Several members of our church in Boulder, Colorado, have formed what they call a “Group Bible Study Without Borders.” And now they want to open it up to a wider audience.

We recently added a “Worship Resources” section to our website (found under the “Community” tab). This is where you will find the new “Without Borders” study group.

Amy Skaggs Stephan leads the group while other members add insights and questions to the study. Amy says, “You are invited to join us, read and study the Word with us, find out what insights your group members have discovered, share your insights… overall, find out how God will use this group Bible study to bless you!”

Again, at our website under the “Community” drop down menu, select “Worship Resources” and you will find the link to join this new study group. May the Lord increase your wisdom and spread His Kingdom through this new resource.

June SR is on-line

The June issue of The Sabbath Recorder is now posted at our website.

Along with some insightful articles by SDB youth is coverage of the national "Bricks for Malawi" campaign. Organizer Jean Jorgensen was hoping to raise enough money to provide 100,000 bricks toward Malawi's goal of 300,000. Well, the Lord opened the floodgates of ingenuity and generosity and SDBs raised enough money to have the locals make... oh, I'll let you read the good news in the SR. The kids and churches had fun, and the Thembe Medical Clinic will reap the benefits.

The printed copy of this 2009 Youth Issue will be in the mail system next week.

BJC Responds to Court Nomination

From the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty

WASHINGTON - While retiring Justice David Souter's church-state record will be difficult to replace, the Baptist Joint Committee hopes that President Barack Obama's nominee for the High Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, will do just that.

"More than any other justice, Justice Souter has reflected the Baptist Joint Committee's understanding of the proper interpretation of the religion clauses and how they apply to contemporary church-state issues," said BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker.

Judge Sotomayor has impressive credentials and extensive judicial experience. Her time working as a prosecutor and her time working in a private law firm before her appointment to the federal bench give her experience in many different aspects of law.

Sotomayor also enjoyed bipartisan support in her career. She was appointed to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush and elevated to the appeals court by President Bill Clinton.

Read the rest of the statement here.

Deweese Retires from History Society

By Bob Allen, Associated Baptist Press

Charles Deweese is retiring in October at age 65 after 10 years as executive director of the Baptist History and Heritage Society.

Deweese, who was treated for lymphoma in 2007 and 2008, said his health is excellent and is not the reason he is stepping down. He said body scans last fall and in January and April have all come back clear.

Deweese called working at the Baptist History and Heritage Society--formerly an auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention Historical Commission before that agency was dissolved in a denominational restructuring in 1995--"the culminating work of my life."

"The society is a true grassroots Baptist organization; working with its members constitutes one of the true joys of my career," he said.
Organized originally in 1938, the Society became an independent Baptist history organization called the Southern Baptist Historical Society in order to continue its work after dissolution of the Historical Commission. In 2001 Deweese led the organization to change the name to Baptist History and Heritage Society to encourage broader than Southern Baptist participation.

Today the society has nearly 700 members in the United States and 30 international members in 16 countries.

[In recent years, Seventh Day Baptists--including Nick Kersten and Pastor Pat Bancroft--have presented papers at the BH&HS annual gatherings.]

For the entire story of Mr. Deweese's retirement, click here.

BJC's Walker meets with Saudis

From the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty--

Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director J. Brent Walker met Monday with nine officials from the Saudi Ministry of Education as part of a U.S. State Department project to explore the nature of religious and public secondary education in the United States.

As part of its program, the delegation is examining religious and ethnic diversity in the United States, as well as the relationship between government authority and religious practices, including the nature of involvement by government in operations of religious educational institutions.

Click here to see the whole story.

Historical Society Meeting Today

Today, the SDB Historical Society is holding their annual meeting at 2:00pm at the Center in Janesville. This gathering will conduct the Society's official business, including the adoption of our 2008 Annual Report, the election of officers for the coming year and other business which may arise. All who can attend are cordially invited, though only those who are members of the Society may vote at the meeting. After the meeting, there will be a brief reception in honor of Norma Rudert, of White Cloud, MI. Norma is leaving the Society's Board of Directors after 12 years of service.

For those who cannot attend the meeting, we invite you to pray for God's wisdom for the Board of Directors and for the gathered Society.

Pastors Conference pictures available

Pictures from the 2009 Pastors Conference held in Shiloh, NJ in April have been posted on the COM website. A formal picture was not taken this year. 29 Pastors and Executives, and 4 spouses attended.

You may have already seen pictures that others took and have posted. Or you may have been one of John Pethtel's friends who received his live tweets during the conference.

Fellowship, learning, worshiping together and times of discussion and sharing all make up the appeal of the every-two-year conference. Attenders came from 14 different states, Florida being represented by the most: 5.

Thank you for your prayers and if your pastor attended, thank you for allowing that to happen with time away, pulpit supplies and registration and travel costs. Click here and scroll down to and click the big button in the center of the page to see the pictures on the COM website.

2009 Sabbath Renewal Day

This Sabbath, May 16, many of our churches will be celebrating “Sabbath Renewal Day.” Sponsored by the American Sabbath Tract and Communication Council (part of the SDB Alliance In Ministry), this annual remembrance helps to refocus on one of our foundational distinctives.

Packets of worship helps have been sent to each church. The packets include adult and children messages, adult and children Sabbath School lessons, worship service suggestions and original bulletin covers depicting the theme, “Only On Sabbath.”

If you’ve misplaced your packet, nearly all of the material can be e-mailed to you by contacting us at media@seventhdaybaptist.org, or give us a call at 608-752-5055.

Samuels' Wedding "Golden"

"Together they have found a friendship, raised a family, and built a beautiful marriage."

So begins the invitation to join Rev. Joseph and Mrs. Joyce Samuels in celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary this Sabbath, May 9, at the Plainfield, New Jersey, Seventh Day Baptist Church. Joe has been pastoring SDB churches in Jamaica, Canada, and the U.S. for many years. He is also the most recent past-President of the SDB World Federation.

The Golden Anniversary celebration will be held at 4:00 pm with a reception to follow. Joe and Joyce were married in Jamaica on April 8, 1959. Congratulations!

BWA’s Callam challenges Brits

From Eron Henry, Baptist World Alliance

Washington, DC -- Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam called on British Baptists to become more fully engaged in God’s mission.

Callam, speaking at the annual assembly of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) in Bournemouth, England, on Saturday, May 2, told the 2,000 worshippers, “Christians will faithfully fulfill their missionary calling only if they do God’s mission in God’s way.” Such mission, he said, “has its origin in God the Father.”

“Jesus knows that if his disciples are ever going to faithfully carry out the demands of mission, they cannot depend merely on themselves…. We need the Holy Spirit,” Callam declared. “Our own personal resources are valuable, but they are not sufficient.”

Reminding the congregation of past British missionaries (such as William Knibb and James Phillippo who went to Jamaica in the Caribbean, and William Carey who went to India), Callam urged British Baptists to be obedient to “the work we are called to do.”

The Baptist Assembly is a joint gathering of the BUGB and BMS World Mission, the main mission agency for British Baptists.

The occasion of the assembly was also used to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Baptist witness. The first Baptist church was established in Amsterdam in the Netherlands in 1609 by British exiles who fled religious persecution in their homeland.

The BWA will also mark 400 years of Baptist history during the BWA Annual Gathering in the Netherlands from July 27-August 1.

Happy May Day!

The latest Sabbath Recorder has an interesting column about May Day. It's found on Leanne Lippincott-Wuerthele's "Reflections" page. (You can read the on-line version by going to the SDB home page and clicking on Sabbath Recorder.)

Once you download and read the pdf, you'll see why Leanne would say, "Happy Lei Day!"

Also, the One Eternal Day blog by Jim Skaggs has a classic May poem, graphic, and some clever comments about this special day on the calendar.