TCC Annual Meeting here

Eleven members of the American Sabbath Tract and Communication Council, service agency for the SDB General Conference, will meet this weekend at the Center in Janesville for its annual gathering.

This year will be different: We're starting a whole day early (depending on those who can make it through the snow out west) to discuss some important matters. Retired banker Ron Ochs, representing the Conference's ad hoc committee set up a year ago, will help lead the Tract Council toward new goals and eventually a strategic plan for the organization and ministries.

The Council will also hear reports from our subcommittees (Sabbath Recorder, Sabbath Promotion, Electronic Media, and Publications), review our financial status, review actions from Conference that affect our work, elect officers and committee chairs, and do a performance review for the Director of Communications.

We would appreciate your prayers for safe travel and Spirit-led discussion. May each of our agencies work toward the mission of our Conference--to unite, encourage and equip our local churches in their endeavors to fulfill the Great Commission.

Cell Phone vs. the Bible

Got this in an e-mail from my daughter-in-law’s mom, Danita.


Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible the way we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

Does this make you go, “Hmm... Where is my Bible?”

One more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop and think, “Where are my priorities?”
And no dropped calls!

BJC Scholarship

Scholarship contest asks students to revisit JFK speech on separation of church and state

The Religious Liberty Council of the Baptist Joint Committee announces the 5th annual Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest, which is open to all high school students in the graduating classes of 2010 and 2011. This year’s contest will commemorate the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s landmark speech about the relationship between his religion and his politics and the separation of church and state. The scholarship contest offers a grand prize of $1,000 and airfare and lodging for two to Washington, D.C. Second prize is $500, and third prize is $100.
Complete information on the contest can be found online at www.BJConline.org/contest
Students enter the scholarship contest by writing an essay addressing the following topic: The year 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of presidential nominee John F. Kennedy’s speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association about the relationship between his religion and his politics. On September 12, 1960, the Roman Catholic politician spoke to the group of Protestant ministers about his religion and the way it would – and would not – affect his decisions as president. In an essay, discuss whether you think Kennedy was correct in advocating an absolute separation of church and state. Also, discuss the implications of his speech and how the principles he laid out are – or are not – followed by politicians and other leaders 50 years later.
More on the topic and links to the complete text and video of the speech are available online at www.BJConline.org/contest. The Web site also has all of the requirements and necessary forms available for download. All entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2010.
Winners will be announced in the summer of 2010, and the grand prize winner’s essay will be featured in the BJC’s flagship publication, Report from the Capital. The winner will also be recognized at the BJC board meeting in Washington, D.C., in October 2010.
Essays will be judged on the depth of their content, the mastery of the topic, and the skill with which they are written. Students should develop a point of view on the issue and demonstrate critical thinking, using appropriate examples, reasons and other evidence to support their position.
Visit www.BJConline.org/contest for more information on the topic and contest rules.

November SR on-line

Are you a THANKFUL Christian? Could you thank God in the midst of getting deported, or being relocated after a hurricane, or discovering that your husband has fallen down a 60-foot bluff?

The latest Sabbath Recorder contains those powerful testimonies. Accept the challenge to be thankful! Also, read about better nutrition, being a mentor, the life of our greatest Sabbath reformer, and much more.

Thank you for your readership and support.

Biggest Loser underway

I just heard from Peggy Chroniger with some "Biggest SDB Loser" weight-loss competition updates.

She got word from 14 of our churches, and 12 of them have signed on officially. I told her that when I visited in Verona, N.Y., they had 22 participants. Our Milton, Wis., church has 39 people involved, so we split into three teams to have some friendly competition among us.

I loved what she said about her group in Alfred Station, N.Y.:
"We have 16 from Alfred Station. We are competing with a local Baptist church for fun. The loser has to cook dinner for the winner. Their coordinator keeps them motivated by telling them they are NOT cooking dinner for a bunch of Seventh Day Baptists!"

Hey-- whatever sheds those pounds!

The Biggest SDB Loser competition runs through the end of June next year, so your church can still join the fun. Contact Peggy at chroniger@frontiernet.net. Ready, Set, LOSE!!

Many meetings coming up

Many SDBs will soon be traveling for weekend meetings out East:

The Memorial Fund trustees are to gather in Alfred Station, N.Y. on Sabbath night,
then have a joint session with the Directors of the SDB Board of Christian Education on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the SDB Missionary Society meets in Ashaway, Rhode Island.

Please keep these meetings on your prayer calendar, that the Lord's will would be done, and that we would all minister with His power and grace.

SDB's at BJC

SDB Pastors David Taylor and Ken Chroniger joined Executive Director Rob Appel at the recent BJC Board meetings in Washington DC. Standing with the SDB bunch is Brent Walker, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committe on Religious Liberty, who also celebrated 20 years with the BJC.

This is the first time in years that SDB's have had three people in attendance at a BJC function.

BWA observes Hunger Month

From the Baptist World Alliance

Washington, DC -- The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is observing October as Hunger Month.

During October, the BWA appeals to all Baptists for donations to relieve hunger around the world. Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the BWA, handles the appeal on the behalf of the international Baptist organization.

The BWAid Hunger Fund aims to help fulfill the first of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted by 192 countries in September, 2000.

The full list of MDGs are: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and work toward the development of a global partnership for development.

BWAid has joined with other Christian organizations in the formation of Micah Challenge, an international campaign that encourages Christians to support the Millennium Development Goals.

Baptists everywhere are urged to educate themselves during this month about hunger issues, to pray for those who are hungry and those helping them, and to give generously so that the BWA may respond expeditiously to the many requests it receives.

Resource materials may be downloaded from and donations made at the BWA website.

Contributions may also be mailed to:
Hunger Month Appeal
Baptist World Aid
405 North Washington Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
USA

CLT to meet

The denomination's Coordinating Leadership Team is gathering to meet at the SDB Center in Janesville on Thursday and Friday.

Some of the agenda items will include:
• Executives or Presidents of our SDB Agencies providing recent updates from their ministries;
• Discuss the work of the Ad Hoc committee on administrative improvement;
• Communication and new contact issues;
• Coordinated budgeting procedures; and
• Every-member mailing schedules.

We ask for your prayers as we meet and for God's blessing of wisdom and vision.

SDB Teacher Honored

On October 6, business retailer Office Max honored school teachers across the country with their "A Day Made Better" campaign. Their goal is to "Erase Teacher-Funded Classrooms" by providing supplies to deserving and gifted teachers.

The only teacher honored in Janesville, Wisconsin (pop. 60,000) was long-time public school teacher Cheri Appel, wife of SDB Executive Director Rob Appel. Cheri teaches at Jackson Elementary and is a member of the Milton, Wis., SDB Church.

The story about Cheri's nomination and coverage (with fun photos) of her being surprised by over $1,000 of school supplies is found at the "A Day Made Better" website. You can view the history behind the campaign, then click on "The 2009 Stories," click on the state of Wisconsin, then scroll down to "Janesville."

Congratulations, Cheri, for a job (and career) well done!!

More Sermons On-Line

Let's add another Seventh Day Baptist church that has gone on-line with their sermons.

The Verona, New York, SDB Church has started posting both their written outlines and an audio file of Pastor Steve James' messages. Click here to go to their website.

For a more complete list of SDB churches that share their Sabbath messages, go to our website and look for "Worship Resources."

Baptists and Human Rights

From the Baptist World Alliance

Washington, DC --The Baptist World Alliance position on human rights has had three major emphases—war, racism, and religious freedom.

Stating that "the BWA has maintained constant vigilance in the area of human rights," General Secretary Neville Callam said that "the BWA has repeatedly affirmed its opposition to war," constantly "opposed racial discrimination and its parent, racism," and declared that "the very identity of the Baptist movement is inextricably bound up with the issue of religious freedom."

Speaking during the annual Pruit Memorial Symposium at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, on October 2, Callam informed the audience of mainly university faculty and students that "the BWA understanding of human rights fits well into, and is continuous with, the general human rights theory advanced within the wider ecclesial community."

Offering a sweeping overview of the BWA long tradition on human rights issues, Callam drew upon the many addresses, statements, manifestos, and resolutions of Baptist World Congresses and BWA General Council meetings over the past 104 years.

The international Baptist leader declared that the worldwide Baptist organization also paid keen attention to social, economic and political rights, especially to children and women's rights. Also affirmed were the right of disabled persons to participate in their community, the right of the sick to receive care and dignity, the rejection of torture and inhumane conditions in prisons and institutions for the mentally disturbed, as well as the right to maintain cultural identity.

Callam said that scriptural and theological understandings of creation, redemption and covenant, all help to undergird the BWA's longstanding position in defense of human rights.

The symposium theme was "Religion, Politics and Society: The Baptist Contribution." Callam spoke on the topic "Human Rights and the Baptist World Alliance."

Baptists Respond to Disasters

Washington, DC --Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), is coordinating relief efforts to the Philippines and Indonesia after these countries were badly affected by a typhoon and earthquakes.

A team from BWAid Rescue24, the rescue and recovery arm of BWAid, is in the Philippines and is working with Baptists in that Southeast Asian country. The main island of Luzon bore the brunt of Typhoon Ketsana which made landfall on September 26, and has killed many.

A second BWAid Rescue24 team is in Padang on the Indonesian island of Sumatra after the island was affected by strong tremors on September 30 and October 1. At the time of reporting, at least 1,100 people were killed as a result of the earthquakes, with thousands more trapped in collapsed buildings. Indonesian Baptists are organizing volunteers and coordinating relief and rescue operations.

The Rescuer24 teams, which are coordinated by Hungarian Baptist Aid, consist of doctors, rescuers and dog handlers, and include volunteers from Singapore, Hungary, Germany, and the United States.

Baptists from Hawaii and New Zealand are offering assistance to the Pacific islands of Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga after tsunamis, which resulted from earthquakes, caused widespread devastation and death.

The BWA and its affiliates continue to appeal to Baptists from across the globe to offer assistance. "We need your financial giving," pleaded Paul Montacute, director of BWAid. The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA, has made "appeals to Baptist partners in [the] Asia Pacific region for prayer support and generous contributions to respond to the needs arising due to natural calamities in [the] Asia Pacific region."

Assistance may be made at http://www.bwanet.org, or sent to:
Baptist World Aid
Baptist World Alliance
405 North Washington Street
Falls Church, VA22046, USA

Phone: +1 703 790 8980
Fax: +1 703 790 5719
Email: BWAid@bwanet.org
Contacts: Paul Montacute or Lee Hickman

Please designate for "Asian Disaster Relief"

The Seventh Day Baptist General Conference USA and Canada is a member of the BWA.

Here is the little Berg

Thank you Kevin for posting this announcement. (See end of next blog below.)

Life gets busy with all the changes a new little one brings. Here are a couple of snapshots. This is a picture of the proud parents and Elijah. He is about 10 hours old in this pose. Miriam was worn out AND is a good actor.

The pictures do a good job of telling what I need to say. Thank you all for your prayers.