October 11, 2016
Dear LABC,
This coming Sunday we will begin a three Sunday emphasis on the global mission of the church, paying close attention to some of the history of Baptist foreign mission. This theme comes as we participate in the World Mission Offering, one of the primary ways in which American Baptists support American Baptist International Ministries.
On Sunday we will learn a little bit about George Liele, a person considered to be America’s first missionary – something that I did not know until this summer. Born in 1750 in Burke County, Virginia, to slave parents, George, by then a freed slave, left Savannah, Georgia for Kingston, Jamaica in 1782 to both escape re-enslavement and to start a church in Jamaica.
As I learn about Leile my mind is drawn to Onesimus, an escaped slave that we meet in the book of Philemon. There we learn that Paul both brought Onesimus into the Christian faith and sends him back to his master, Philemon, “not as a slave but as a brother.” There are questions of justice in both the story of George Leile and Onesimus but beyond those questions and beyond their identities as slaves, there is the truth that they had names, stories, ministries and callings. Their stories remind us that beyond our station in life are our names, our stories and the high calling God.
Jim H.
Prayers of the Congregation
- Nedra Hathaway (hospice care) and family
- Pastor Leon Jenkins, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church (new member of Evergreen Baptist Association) as he mourns the death of his mother
- Katrina Lau, recuperating from surgery at UCSF
- Mary Karne for Maryla, recuperating from surgery
- Joan Thatcher (vision concerns)
- Sydney Webster for Gigi (health concerns)
- All who are traveling
- The people of the United States as we prepare to vote
- All who minister as part of American Baptist International Ministries
- All who work for justice both locally and globally
- The people of Haiti, The Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba and the eastern United States in the wake of Hurricane Matthew
- Thanksgiving with Gloria and Phil Meads that their new granddaughter, Ariel, is gaining strength
- Thanksgiving with Jessie Guiton that Baby Valentina is thriving
- The Schelin family as they await the birth of their second child
- Kay and Jamie – Prayers for the week ahead for us both
- Barbara Bowman (health concerns)
- Myra Saxton and Lucille Riggins
- The Evans family
- Karen Okusu
- Carolyn Matthews for her son William, and all teachers, as he teaches at Castlemont HS
- All who are afflicted by harmful addictions
- Larry Sims for his family
- Thanksgiving with Paul, Johanna and Evan Wilkinson that Evan’s leg frame has been removed and as they welcome Gloria Joseph (Jo’s mom) as a member of their household
- All who live with mental illness, their families and those that provide them care and counsel
- American Baptist Home Mission Societies Peace Prayer for today – Tuesday, Oct. 11 — “understanding,” or the knowledge and ability required to make reasoned judgements about particular situations or subjects.
Announcements
Want to give the ministries at Lakeshore the “KoolAid” test? Join in the Long Range Planning conversations this Sunday following worship. Lunch will be provided (Make a contribution to help us cover the cost). We will have you on your way home by 2:00.
Free Lunch! This Saturday at Forever Young (12:15). Please RSVP with George Lee or Alodia Corpuz by Wednesday the 12th.