WORDS OF LIFE

WORDS OF LIFE

Faith Central Newsletter

A Bi-monthly Newsletter of the Central Baptist Church Rodney T. Morton, Senior Pastor

A Source of Inspiration

by John Mehrmann

MATTHEW 16:19

"I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH WILL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN, AND WHATEVER YOU LOOSE ON EARTH WILL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN."

A light was on in one office, even though most of the other offices had been dark for hours. The manager continued to work in the silence of the empty building, reviewing reports, studying numbers, responding to messages and emails that others would not read until the next morning. There was so much to do, so many responsibilities and so many decisions that would wait for the manager's guiding hand.

The silence was broken as the manager was startled to see one of the employees standing at the door. The employee knocked hesitantly, one foot in the office and the other still in the hallway. "May I come in for a moment?" asked the employee.

"Of course," smiled the manager, leaning back in the chair. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I had a lot of work to do and I wanted to catchup," said the employee. "If I get behind then it could impact our customers, and I don't want

that to happen. It's my responsibility, and I want to take care of it. I know that's what you would do."

"You're probably right," the manager said with a laugh. "So what made you stop in here?"

The employee approached the desk, sat down in one of the chairs beside it and said, "I wanted to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

The employee began, "You always work so hard, and you always take care of us. You come in early. You stay late. No matter how much you have to do, you always take time to talk to any one of us when we need you. You are so busy taking time for us during the day that you have to stay late at night to catch up on your own work. Yet, you never complain. You make us want to work harder and do

Continued on page 2...

A Source of Inspiration...

better, and you give us every opportunity to be successful. You are an inspiration to the rest of us, so what inspires you?"

The manager's eyes widened, "Wow, well that was quite a surprise. I appreciate the kind words and admit that you completely caught me off guard."

"Well?" persisted the employee, "What is your source of inspiration?"

The manager was silent for a moment, carefully contemplating the response. Then the manager stood up and said, "follow me."

As the manager and the employee walked down a row of cubicles, the manager started to point into them one by one. The cubicles belonged to the colleagues of the employee. "This person is a single parent and comes to work each day to support two children. Those children need someone to look up to, someone to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. This person doesn't work for me, this person works for them."

The manager paused at the next cubicle and said, "This person is a grandmother who is

working days so she can pay for her college education at night. She doesn't need a degree and it won't make any difference for her career. She is already past retirement age and she could quit at any time. She wants that degree to make her children proud and to give her grandchildren someone to look up to. She doesn't work for me, she works for them."

The manager moved to the next cubicle and said, "This person is overqualified for the job. It would be easy to leave for another company, probably get a promotion out of it and earn better pay. Why doesn't this person leave? After eleven years working with the same group of people, it is like a family. This person doesn't work for me, this person works here for all of you."

The manager paused at the next cubicle and said, "This person has a family to support. Two kids in school, a mortgage, two car payments, and a whole host of obligations that comes with taking care of a family. Needless to say, you know that this person doesn't work for me."

The manager pointed down the line of cubicles, "That young man

is engaged to be married, and he is saving up to buy their first

home. That next person has a daughter in college. The next one

wants to build a career out of this experience. The one after that

wants to be a musician and only does this job to earn enough

money to pay the bills."

Continued on page 5...

Sat, Sept. 12, 2015

10 am - 3 pm

West Baltimore & South Pulaski Sts.

A project of: Bon Secours Hospital | The Central Baptist Church | The Tabernacle of the Lord

Invited City & State Officials | Baltimore Ravens Mascot Coppin State University Dance Steppers

Health Screenings | Live Music | Food, food, food Zumba & Gospel Aerobics | Magic Show | Face Painting and more....

FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE

2

Summer Camp Program...A Big Hit

Second year in a row

by Dr. Gail N. Edmonds, Outreach Program Director

For the second year, the Central Baptist Church collaborated with Morning Star Baptist Church of Christ and sponsored 25 youngsters, ages 3-15, for Morning Star's five-week summer camp program. The children received breakfast and lunch daily along with Christian education, arts and crafts, and weekly outings to the neighborhood swimming pool.

Each day, the campers began with words of praise and heartfelt renditions of several well-known hymns. They learned the words to the Bible pledge, the Christian flag pledge, and to the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing." It was quite moving to see even the youngest campers engage in the spiritual and uplifting devotions. The campers enjoyed trips to the Washington Zoo and Baltimore's Shake & Bake Roller Skating Rink. And that's not all. Onsite, an amazing magician performed magic tricks and "Old Man Rapper" shared important drug-free tips with the campers.

Parents had the opportunity to visit the camp to see the beautiful "works of art" created by the campers. The closing program also provided an opportunity for the campers to showcase some of the new skills they learned... speaking, singing, and dancing. It was very impressive to see how much the students had learned in such a short period of time and how well they responded to the camp leaders and teachers.

At the close of the program, each camper received a book bag, note book, and writing tools. The book bags were graciously donated by the Bon Secours Hospital Community Works Organization, our community partner. The staff at Community Works hope to continue the collaboration with both churches.

Continued on page 4...

BACK SCHOOL

One of the best things about heading back to school is the chance for a fresh start. A new year, new teachers, perhaps even a new school offer students the opportunity to try a little harder and do a little better than the year before.

Praise God that he allows us to always start over. Jeremiah writes that the Lord's mercies "are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:23). With God's help we can begin each day with a clean slate and a new attitude, determined to make some changes for the better.

Practicing the ABCs

As school resumes, Christians of all ages can practice their faith ABCs. Connie Willems, editor of Discipleship Journal Online, suggests praying through the alphabet to describe God.

What would you list? Ideas include Almighty, Blessed, Christ, Divine, Elohim, Faithful, Gracious, Holy, and so on. If Q and X stump you, relax the rules a bit: Quitting? Never! And Xcellent, surely describe our Lord.

3

Summer Camp Program Continued...

Many thanks to Denise Fowler-Moott, Irish McNeill, Deacon Joseph L. Edmonds, and my Outreach Co-Director, Deborah Winfield, for volunteering many hours each week. Being a part of the camp was truly a blessing.

The Eye

by Faithe Thomas Excruciating pain seared through my eye. Since I had not slept in my contacts, I could not imagine what was causing so much pain. Perhaps I scratched my cornea somehow. Well, it will heal - or so I thought. Throughout the day the pain increased. As I looked at my eye in a mirror, I could see a blurry patch of white on my iris. By that afternoon I decided a trip to the eye doctor was in order. "An ulcer on the cornea," said the doctor. "It started when a germ found the warm environment under your contact lens and grew out of control. I'm going to prescribe a strong, aggressive antibiotic." Just like the ulcer, sin creeps into my life. Oh, it doesn't start out looking like sin. It begins as a thought, such as "I have too much to do today to spend time with God." This thought enters the environment of my busy schedule, and, before I know it, my priorities have swung out of control and I have not spent time with God for days.

Continued on page 7...

Fall back... Sept. 27

Sunday School

8:30 am

Sunday Worship Services

9:45 am

4

7 Labor Day 11 Patriot Day 13 Grandparents Day 15 Hispanic Heritage Month 23 First Day of Autumn

FREE

EXPUNGEMENT FAIR

SEPT. 23

10 am - 12 noon New Shiloh Family Life Center

2100 N Monroe Street Lunch served.

In a nutshell...

A Sunday school teacher gave her second-graders a month to memorize Psalm 23. One little boy was excited about the task but just couldn't remember the whole chapter.

When it came time for him to recite Psalm 23 before the congregation, the nervous boy stepped up to the microphone and said, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know!"

A Source of Inspiration...

Walking into the corridor, the manager paused and smiled as the custodian came around the corner. "This person barely speaks our language, but comes to work every day when everyone else has gone home. More than half of the money earned will go to family members who do not even live in our country, while this person keeps only enough to pay for food, shelter and transportation here every day. This person comes into my office and takes away my trash, not for me, but because it is what needs to be done to earn the money that goes to a family that lives hundreds of miles away."

"And then there is you," said the manager with a big smile. "You have your own reasons for coming in here every day. When I need a source of inspiration, all I have to do is look around me. I am surrounded by it. Inspiration comes from recognizing what is important to the people around you and making it your own. If I can feel the dedication that these people feel for their children, for their families, for their hopes and dreams, then I have all the inspiration that I need. They are inspired by their own sense of purpose, and I am inspired by them. Just as you believe that you are inspired by me, I am inspired by you."

Words of Wisdom

"Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness - I wouldn't know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self- consciousness." - Aaron Copland

"Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation." - William Arthur Wood

"Keep your fears to yourself, but share your inspiration with others." - Robert Louis Stevenson

About the Author

John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital.

OCTOBER

Columbus Day, Oct. 12 Bosses' Day, Oct. 16 Breast Cancer Awareness Diabetes Awareness Domestic Violence Awareness Lupus Awareness Clergy Appreciation

5

United Baptist Missionary Convention of MD, Inc. Women's Auxiliary

39th Annual Service Awards

Honoring Veterans, Law Enforcement, and Active Duty Military Personnel

La Fontaine Bleue

7514 Ritchie Highway | Glen Burnie, MD 21061

CBC HONOREES

Deacon Walter J. Blackwell Kenyeatta Washington

October 1, 2015

Central Hosts Community Open Forum on Health

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA works to make health care more affordable, accessible, and of a higher quality, for families, seniors, businesses, and taxpayers alike. In the spirit of the ACA and in collaboration with community partner Bon Secours Hospital, the Central Baptist Church hosted a Community Open Forum on Health, Tuesday, July 7, 2015. Over 160 persons, of which almost half were members of the Central Baptist Church, attended the forum to learn what Maryland is doing to implement the ACA throughout Baltimore City.

Senior Pastor Rodney T. Morton welcomed attendees to the Central Baptist Church, thanked everyone for coming, and opened the forum with prayer. Invited speakers from Maryland health agencies spoke on the proposal, Maryland's Health System Transformation.

Bon Secours Hospital CEO, Dr. Samuel L. Ross, began by introducing the "Believe In Our Youth Initiative," which includes:

1. The purchase of St. Martin Church to repurpose 2. Extended Summer Youth Employment 3. Youth Summer Employment Task Force Initiative 4. Young Families "Nurturing Parent" Workshops 5. Re-entry Programs for Ex-Offenders 6. Teen Mother Summer Employment 7. Health Career Scholarships

JEREMIAH 33:6

"NEVERTHELESS, I WILL BRING HEALTH AND HEALING TO IT; I WILL HEAL MY PEOPLE AND WILL LET THEM ENJOY ABUNDANT PEACE AND SECURITY."

Dr. Ross also invited everyone to the Community Fallfest (9/12) and to register for the Diabetes Walk at Canton Waterfront Park (10/4)

and the Heart Walk at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (10/10). Persons may register online at:

BonSecours2015. 6

Continued on page 8...

WE SAY THANK YOU!

Pastor Appreciation Sunday September 13, 2015

Worship Service - 9:00 am Celebration follows

DON'T

MISS IT!

The Eye...

I get so caught up in my schedule that I often take on more than what God ever intended. What amazes me is that I don't realize this until the pain starts. As I cry out to God, He graciously gives me the strong antibiotics of forgiveness, mercy, and discipline. The time spent before Him over the next days works a healing in my heart.

As with my eye, the best defense against the invasion is to keep the area pure. Psalm 119 addresses this in verse 9: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word." Victory is won or lost by my response to the initial thought of putting God second. I need to win the battle at that moment.

About the Author

Faithe Finley Thomas lived as a missionary in Ghana, West Africa for six years. Her book "Staying in the Breeze" is a thoughtful reflection of some of her experiences. It can be purchased through Master Design.

SEPT. 27

9:45 AM

Announcing...

Flower Ministry's

Fancy Hats Tea Party

Saturday, October 10, 2015

$15 pp 1-3 pm

31st Annual

MEN&WOMEN'S DAY

Celebrate with us!

Be blessed. Be revived.

Be here!

Sunday

October 25, 2015

7

Community Open Forum on Health...

Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) Commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen, shared three priority areas for BCHD, seniors, substance abuse and mental health, and youth. Persons who wish to share concerns or support the BCHD initiatives in these areas may dial into BCHD's "B'More Health Talks," a one-hour, biweekly conference call led by Dr. Wen. The dial-in number is 760-569-7171 and the participant code is 117-245-291.

President Vinny DeMarco, Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative (MCHI) described the purpose of the forum--to inform Marylanders of what health system transformation means and to hear Maryland's priorities for health system changes. He encouraged everyone to complete the evaluation sheet included in the packets they received.

Other speakers included Deputy Director Steve Ports, Health Services Cost Review Commission; Deputy Director Suzanne Schlattman, MCHI Community Outreach and Development; Dr. Irance Reddix, Co-Pastor, St. Johns Methodist Church; Director W. Daniel Hale, PhD, Healthy Community Partnership, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center; Dr. Rohit Gulati, Assistant Vice President, Medical Affairs, MedStar Health; and, Interim President & CEO Patrick F. Mutch, Saint Agnes Hospital. Also in attendance:

? President Gerald Stansbury, Maryland State Conference NAACP ? Director Carolyn Quattrocki, Maryland Health Connection ? Constituent Renee Cohen, Liaison for Health & Senior Issues, Senator Ben Cardin's Office ? Advocate Jen Brock-Cancellieri, 1199 SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East ? Director Adrienne Ellis, Maryland Parity Project, Mental Health Association of Maryland ? Executive Director Michelle Green Clark, Maryland Rural Health Association

For more information about the Community Open Forum on Health or the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, visit .

2 TIMOTHY 1:7

"FOR GOD DID NOT GIVE US A SPIRIT OF TIMIDITY, BUT A SPIRIT OF POWER, OF LOVE AND OF SELF-DISCIPLINE."

USHER

CELEBRATION

October 4, 2015

3:30 pm Baltimore Area Usher Ministries Invited

No Admission Freewill Offering Refreshments served.

Special Guest In Concert: Pauline Wells Lewis Legacy Mass Choir

8

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download