A Right (Or Wrong) Way To Worship?

D
Sermon Topics
Page 2D
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Religion Writer: Rebecca Hoeffner
903-596-6304, [email protected]
© 2010, Tyler Morning Telegraph
BOOK REVIEW
AROUND
EAST TEXAS
Seeing God In Nature
Breakthrough
Prayer, Missions
Conference Set
For Lindale
Tyler Doctor Gordon Publishes Book To Show Creation Clues Throughout Earth
The 33rd Annual
Breakthrough Prayer and
Missions Conference is
taking place at the World
Commission Center at
Creekwood Ranch in
Lindale. The conference
will be going on from
Sept. 2 through Sept. 6
from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and
will feature international
missionaries as guest
speakers. There will be a
special “Labor Day
Barbecue Blast” beginning
at 2 p.m. Sept. 6. The
afternoon’s festivities
include a carnival, fishing
contest and concert. Cost
of the Sept. 6 afternoon
event is $5 per person or
$15 per family. Call 903882-5501 to pre-register.
DR. CHARLES GORDON
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
It happened by chance, said Dr.
Charles Gordon, a local Tyler neurosurgeon and author of “In Plain Sight: Seeing
God’s Signature throughout Creation.”
Gordon was in the throes of medical
school when he saw a tree that looked like
a brain cell and thought he’d been hitting
the books too hard.
Years later, he noticed how the spiral of
hurricane Katrina looked just like the spiral galaxy he’d seen through a telescope.
Since then, he’s been collecting photos
of things with similar patterns that occur
in nature.
The photos were compiled in his self-
published book in December of last year.
Gordon’s book is arranged as a 40-day
devotional of thoughts coupled with Bible
verses and photos. The pictures compare
similar patterns that occur in nature and
the human body at the microscopic level,
while others patterns can be seen with the
naked eye. The book is a 175-page tribute
to wonder.
“The more we learn, the more amazing
creation becomes,” Gordon said. “We still
don’t have all the answers, but there’s an
order and a beauty and a majesty we just
can’t explain from a random creation.”
The point of Gordon’s book, he says, is
to point out the consistencies and repetition in the universe, and argue for the exis-
tence of a creator based on those observations.
“… the Creator shows himself in his
handiwork,” the book reads. “You have
never seen a painting that painted itself.
But you can learn a little about an artist by
studying his work. Every artist who has
ever painted, sculpted or drawn has a
unique style.”
Interestingly, though he is a scientist,
Gordon says there are some shortcomings
to scientific studies.
“Science is a tool that helps us understand the physical world,” his book reads.
“It can’t tell us much of anything about the
See GORDON, Page 2D
GIVING IN THE KINGDOM
Pass The Torch
FOREST HOME
BAPTIST OPENS NEW
SANCTUARY SUNDAY
Forest Home Baptist
Church in Kilgore will be
holding services in its
new sanctuary Sunday.
Sunday School begins at
9:15 a.m., the worship
service starts at 10:30 a.m.
For more information, call
903-984-2117.
BACK TO SCHOOL BASH
TODAY IN KILGORE
The 33 The Ministry will
hold a “Back to School
Bash” from 6:30 to 9:30
p.m. today at Highland
Park Baptist Church in
Kilgore. The free event will
include music by Faithful
City, EnHisDay and
Kimber Rising and a message by Carl Mohn. For
more information, contact
[email protected]
g or call 903-720-7546.
MARTIN TO SPEAK AT
FIRST BAPTIST TYLER
ON TUESDAY
Christian author Charles
Martin will be speaking at
6 p.m. Tuesday at First
Baptist Church in Tyler.
This event is open to the
public and dinner is
included. The cost is $15,
and reservations are
required. Reservations
can be made through Pat
Mallory at 903-752-9343.
GROUP NASH3
TO PERFORM AUG. 29
IN BEN WHEELER
Nash3 will bring the
morning worship at Ben
Wheeler United
Methodist Church in
downtown Ben Wheeler
on Sunday, Aug. 29, at
9:15 a.m. The Rev. David
Johnson is pastor. They
have written for stars like
Reba McEntire, Diamond
Rio and as of late, Dolly
Parton. Building Bridges
of Hope is a music driven
humanitarian charity outreach founded by Nash3.
They have been able to
help many other charities
by sharing proceeds from
their CD sales.
— Staff Photo By Jaime R. Carrero
TO GIVE IS DIVINE: Above, Park Heights Baptist Church pastor Jim Bob Hughes passes the mantel to Higher Heights Baptist pastor
James E. Hawkins during the final Park Heights service Sunday. Below, Higher Heights member Joshua Hudson looks out on the congregation from the choir room. The two churches held service together during Park Heights’ last service as a congregation.
Struggling Church Hands Keys To Growing Congregation
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
African-American, white and
Hispanic congregants waved their
hands, sang and swayed to the singing
of the African-American gospel choir at
the packed Jubilee service at Park
Heights Baptist Church on Sunday.
Though the packed service was called a
“jubilee,” the feelings throughout the
sanctuary were bittersweet.
Park Heights has been steadily
declining in membership over the years.
Regular attendance ranged in the teens
to the 20s, and the congregation is mostly made up of white senior citizens. The
current building has been at the location
since 1965, but the community around
the church has shifted to a mostly
African-American and Hispanic population.
Because of these issues, Park
Heights Baptist Church decided to officially disband after 70 years of existence and give its church building and
assets to a predominantly AfricanAmerican congregation, Higher Heights
Baptist Church.
The exchange was facilitated
through the Smith County Baptist
MELLOWTONES
CELEBRATING SIXTH
ANNIVERSARY
The new Mellowtones will
celebrate their six
anniversary today at 6:30
p.m. at Galilee Baptist
Church in Hallsville, Texas.
Musical guests include
Redemption, The Lewis
Family and the Sons of
Paradise. For more information, call Fred Tennison
at 903-720-6250.
Send in items for Around East
Texas to [email protected]
or P.O. Box 2030, Tyler, Texas
75702.
Association. Both churches are members of the Southern Baptist
Convention, which renounced its racist
origins in 1995.
“(Higher Heights) can come in and
church and passed his mantel — a satin
cloth serving as a Biblical symbol of
authority — onto the shoulders of
Higher Heights pastor, James Hawkins,
and the two church leaders embraced.
“I will cherish this mantel until the
day that I die,” Hawkins said.
Higher Heights was outgrowing its
current building, and the Tyler
Independent School District had purchased the land surrounding the church.
There was no room for them to expand,
Hawkins said.
“Park Heights is being good stewards with what they have,” Hawkins
said. Hawkins compared Hughes to
Ezra of the Old Testament, saying that
he was preparing the way as the prophet
did for Nehemiah and that God would
elevate Hughes “to another level” for his
faithfulness. Higher Heights had
approached Park Heights a year ago to
try to purchase the building, but the congregation wasn’t ready, Hawkins said.
This time, the roles were reversed, and it
do things that we aren’t able to do, and was Park Heights’ idea to say goodbye
reach people we aren’t able to reach,” to the church home they’ve used for
said Park Heights pastor Joe Bob almost 50 years.
Hughes.
Hughes presented the keys to the
See CHURCHES, Page 2D
commentary
A Right (Or Wrong) Way To Worship?
I
REBECCA
HOEFFNER
visited Park Heights Baptist
Church last Sunday to cover the
disbanding story that’s in the
section this week. Park Heights
Baptist Church, a predominantly
older white congregation, gave its
church to a young African-American
congregation in the hopes they would
be better able to reach the surrounding
community.
It’s a powerful testimony to selfsacrifice and concern for the needs of
others, and I was impressed.
While I was there I couldn’t help
but notice how differently everyone in
the sanctuary was worshipping. Let’s
face it, there are lots of cultural differences that go along with age and ethnicity. Higher Heights was leading the
worship, and I’m sure Park Heights
worships differently when they are on
their own. The music was different,
not to mention the way people were
responding to it. Some people were
more vocal while others were silent;
some had their hands down at their
sides while others lifted them in the
air. But everyone seemed to be having
a joyful time.
I’ve always been intrigued by the
debate about the proper way to worship. How do we determine the difference in what is doctrinally prescribed
and our personal preference?
There are lots of ways to worship,
just in Christian traditions alone.
Muslims believe little things you do
throughout the day should be worship,
See HOEFFNER, Page 3D
2D
Tyler Morning Telegraph SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010
ON FAITH
Summer Camp For
Christians, Atheists
By DAVID YOUNT
Scripps Howard News Service
Parents of young children are
prone to view school vacations
as a mixed blessing — liberating
for the kids, but a burden on
themselves to keep the youngsters occupied, especially when
both Mom and Dad work for a
living.
Fortunately, churches across
the denominations assist harried
parents by conducting vacation
Bible schools.
When our own three daughters were young we were gratefully ecumenical, enrolling them
in Episcopal, Lutheran and
Presbyterian parishes in our
neighborhood.
This summer, our eldest
daughter, now in her 40s, was
recruited to teach in her own
parish’s vacation Bible school.
Complicating her debut as a
teacher is the presence of her
own 5-year-old daughter as a
member of the class.
“She doesn’t seem to be at all
interested in God or spirituality,”
she recently complained to me.
“What if she never is?”
I attempted to comfort her by
recalling that, at the same age,
she and her sisters weren’t especially keen on religion.
Vacation Bible schools are
such a good idea that there are
now similar summer camps
designed by atheists for children
of non-believing parents. The
Sunday Times of London
———
Christian Church
(Disciples Of Christ)
First Christian, 4202 S.
Broadway Ave., Tyler. Sunday
school 10 a.m.; worship, 9
a.m. traditional, 11 a.m. contemporary, Dr. Chris Pulliam,
“Choosing Life Over Death.”
University Christian, 3500
Old Omen Road, Tyler.
Worship 10:45 a.m., Rev. Ron
Byrd, “Majoring In The
Minors!”
———
Christian Church
(Independent)
Tyler Christian, 2916 County
Road 1125. Bible school 9:30
a.m., worship 10:30 a.m., John
CHURCHES
“It’s a better fit for everyone
and is in the best interest of
Kingdom growth,” Hughes said.
“It seemed like the right thing to
do.”
One of the Park Heights
church members, Dorothy
Roach, 90, had been a member
of Park Heights for decades. She
hasn’t decided where she will
attend church for certain, but
she’s excited about the new possibilities with Higher Heights.
“I’m hoping it will be a
blast,” she said. “And I think it
will be. I think this is going to be
something outstanding Park
Heights had never seen.”
GORDON
Continued From Page 1D
With the acquisition of the
new church building, Higher
Heights will be able to sell their
old church building and cancel
their associated debts, putting
the church in a position to be
debt-free.
Higher Heights has several
ministries they believe will have
a positive influence on the community, Hawkins said. The
church has a Spanish-speaking
ministry, a clothing ministry
called “Manna,” and “Day-byday” drug and alcohol rehabilitation ministry.
“We’re really trying to make
a difference,” Hawkins said.
HOEFFNER
which makes the possibilities
endless. And while there are
rituals in the Jewish faith,
there is room for creativity
among the non-orthodox
Jewish.
What’s interesting is how
we get attached to one way of
worshipping. We are creatures
of habit, aren’t we? We like to
sit in the same spot in class,
order “the usual” at restaurants and drive the same way
to work.
But what effect does habit
have when we’re worshipping
a living God? If we make
things habitual in a relation-
Continued From Page 1D
ship, are we worshipping God
— or the experience? When
we insist on one way of worship (traditional, gospel, contemporary, the list goes on),
do our brains go on autopilot?
Yes, we all have our
favorite songs and rituals that
mean something to us. It’s
comforting and beneficial to
go back to those and remember why they’re important to
us. But sometimes I wonder if
God looks down and says,
“C’mon, you did that exact
thing, sang that exact song,
last week. Can we change it
up a little?”
Continued From Page 1D
spiritual realm. True science is a gift, not a
religion. And the worship of science is
much like worshipping your monkey
wrench or your hair dryer.”
The book is interesting, with beautiful
pictures, thought-provoking questions and
entertaining stories, but is a long way from
definitively proving the existence of a
God. While some of the pictures show a
striking similarity, others are a bit reaching. Gordon is aware that the book doesn’t
serve as proof, but still believes the patterns serve as evidence for a master
designer with a recognizable style.
“God requires faith, the Bible tells us
that,” Gordon said. “He’s not going to submit Himself to definitive proof.”
Gordon’s book would be a great addition to any coffee table or nightstand, and
effectively combines lightheartedness
with contemplative theories.
“The design repetitions in creation
— Photos Courtesy Dr. Charles Gordon
with things that are totally unrelated are
really remarkable,” Gordon said. “I don’t IN DESIGN: Images from “In Plain Sight,” a book by Tyler’s Dr. Charles
know why people haven’t made a bigger Gordon, shows the similarities between a human fingerprint (left) and the
stripes on a zebra.
deal about it.”
SERMONTOPICS
M. Davis,
Jesus.”
“The
Touch
of Hunter Drive, Tyler. Sunday
school 9:50 a.m., worship 8:30
———
a.m., traditional 11 a.m., mornChristian Science
ing song 11 a.m. Ignite. Rev.
First Church, meeting at First Mark Dahn, “Less Is More.”
Presbyterian Chapel, 230 W. Trinity Lutheran HawkinsRusk St., Tyler, Sunday school Holly Lake Ranch, 3718 S.
(up to age 20) 11 a.m., service Farm-to-Market Road 2869,
11 a.m. “Mind.”
Hawkins. Evening worship
———
6:30 p.m. Rev. Mark Dahn,
Church Of Christ
“Less Is More.”
N. Tenneha, 1701 N. Tenneha
———
Ave., Sunday Chool 9 a.m.;
Methodist
morning worship, 10:15 a.m., Dayspring UMC, 7414 S.
Rev. Kennon Olison, Sr., The Broadway Ave., Carmike
Praise That Saves.”
Theater. Worship 11 a.m. Rev.
Oakdale, Corner of FM 1252 Jeff Olive, “Story.”
& SCR 370, Winona. Bible Fairwood UMC, 1712 Old
study 10 a.m., worship 11 a.m. Omen Road, Tyler. Sunday
Leamon G. Keele, “Smooth school 9:30 a.m., worship
Things.”
10:45 a.m. Rev. Rick Tate,
———
“The Spacious Place.”
Episcopal
Flint UMC, 10896 County
Christ Episcopal, meeting at Road 169, Flint. Sunday
All Saints Episcopal School, school 9:15 a.m., worship
2695 SSW Loop 323 (next to 10:30 a.m. Rev. Brenda Lucas,
Sam’s) at 10:30 a.m. Rev. “Do You Practice Hypocrisy?”
David Luckenbach, Rector, Lanes Chapel UMC, 8720
“The Last Shall Be First.”
Old Jacksonville Highway,
St. Francis, 3232 Jan Ave., Tyler. Sunday school 9:25 a.m;
Tyler. Sunday school 9:30 worship 8:30 a.m. and 10:30
a.m., worship service 8:30 and a.m. Lou Thomas, “Taking Out
10:45 a.m. guest speaker, The Trash To The Ultimate
Rev. Stepehn McClasky.
Trash Man!”
———
Noonday UMC, 17320 Texas
Jewish
Highway 155 South, Noonday.
Beth El (Reform), 1010 Sunday school 9 a.m., worship
Charleston
Drive,
Tyler. 10:30 a.m. Rev. Brenda Lucas,
Shabbat service 8 p.m. Friday. “Do You Practice Hypocrisy?”
Rabbi Neal Katz,
Pollard UMC, 3030 New
Congregation
Ahavath Copeland Road. Sunday
Achim (Conservative), 3501 school 9:45 a.m., worship,
S. Donnybrook Ave., Tyler. 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. (tradiShabbat service 9 a.m. tional), Rev. Rob Fisher, “Why
Saturday, Torah reading 8 p.m. NOT Now?”; 11 a.m. (contemFriday.
porary
in
Founder’s
———
Auditorium). Rev. Richard
Lutheran
Luna, “Why NOT Now?”
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Swan-Wood Springs UMC,
(ELCA), 4900 Kinsey Drive, Swan. Sunday school 9:30
Tyler. Sunday school 9:15 a.m., worship 10:45 a.m. Rev.
a.m., English worship 8:15 Marion
Burgess,
“My
a.m. and two 10:30 a.m. serv- Shepherd.”
ices, (traditional and praise), St. Paul UMC, 215 S. Clayton
Spanish worship 9:15 a.m. Ave., Tyler. Sunday school
Rev. Dr. Mark Braaten, 9:45 a.m., service 10:50 a.m.
“Worship.”
Rev. Gerry Giles, “Will You
Trinity Lutheran (MS), 2001 Have a Seat When the Music
In The
First Place
By Paul W. Powell
A Call from God
I was preaching in a church years ago and at the close of the service a man told
me that when he was a seventeen-year-old student at the University of Texas,
God called him to preach. But he didn’t answer the call. He put it this way, “The
phone rang, but I did not pick up the receiver because I knew who was on the
other end of the line.”
God will call you, you know. Sometime through scripture, sometime through the
preacher, sometime through your conscience. He’s got your number. Even if it’s
unlisted he’s got your number. He’s even got your cell number, so he can reach
you anywhere, anytime. And when he calls you’ll know who’s on the other end
of the line even if you don’t have caller ID.
But, you don’t have to pick up the receiver. You don’t have to answer when God
calls. In time he’ll stop calling or you’ll become so accustomed to the sound
that you no longer hear it.
Has God ever spoken to you? If he calls, answer him. It’s the way to peace and
happiness.
First Baptist Church - Tyler Texas
One Church - Two Locations
Both 12 minutes from Loop 323
South Campus - Contemporary Worship
1 mile South of Loop 49 on Hwy 69
Worship 9:00 am - Bible Study 10:15 am
Downtown Campus - Traditional Worship
1 Block west of the Square on Ferguson
Bible Study 9:30 am - Worship 10:45 am
TV Broadcast
Sunday 11:00 am
Wednesday 1:00 pm
Channel KLTV 7
Cable Channel 38
Sunday 8:00 pm
Saturday 6:00 pm
Cable Channel 38
Cable Channel 38
www.fbctyler.org
Stops?”
Winona UMC, 206 Tyler,
Winona, Sunday School 9:30
a.m., Worship, 10:30 a.m.,
Rev. Paul E. Porter, “Taking
My Pain.”
———
Nondenominational
Bethel Bible, 17121 U.S.
Highway 69 South, Tyler.
Sunday School 9:30 and 11
a.m.; Worship 9:30 a.m. and
11 a.m. Ross Strader, Senior
Pastor, “Colossians 3: 12-17.”
Grace Bible, 2004 Broussard
St. Sunday school 9:30 a.m.,
Worship 10:45 a.m. Rev. Ceciil
Price,
The
Believer’s
Redemption Blessings.’
Grace Community, 3215 Old
Jacksonville Highway. Worship
8:30, 9:30 and 11 a.m. Doug
Clark,
senior
pastor,
“Community.”
Grace Community, 3001
University Blvd. Worship 9:30
and
11
a.m.
Danny
Loeffelholz, campus pastor,
“Community.”
Grace Fellowship, 18802
Farm-to-Market Road 2493,
Flint. Worship 11 a.m. Robert
Burkett, “Chrisitian Ethics!”
Holy Ghost Gospel Temple
Church, 11422 Farm-toMarket Road 14. Worship 11
a.m. Rev. Billy E. Tennyson,
“Are You Grounded and
Rooted In Christ?”
———
Orthodox Christian
Holy Apostles, 602 Lynch,
Bullard. Mass 10:30 a.m.
Father Michael Hull, “Where
Are the Other Nine?”
———
Presbyterian
Fifth Street, (PCA) 1616 E.
Fifth St., Tyler. Sunday school
9:30 a.m., worship 11 a.m.
Rev.
Steve
Simmons,
“Baptism,
Approval
and
Temptation.”
First Presbyterian, (PCUSA),
230 W. Rusk St., Tyler.
Worship 8:30 and 11 a.m. Rev.
Dr. Stuart Baskin, “So You
Want to be a Prophet?”
Highland, 3101 Paluxy Drive,
Tyler. Sunday school 9:30
a.m., worship 10:30 a.m. Rev.
Scott Mackey, “Unshakeable.”
———
Seventh-Day Adventist
Tyler Church, 2935 SSE Loop
323, Tyler. Sabbath school
9:20 a.m. Saturday, worship
10:40 a.m. Saturday. Ms.
Mavis
Rojas,
“On
the
Montaintop With God.”
———
Grace Communion
International
New Covenant Fellowship,
Comfort Suites, 303 E. Rieck
Road, Tyler. Sunday worship
11 a.m. David Orban, “The
Other Lord’s Prayer.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Deadline
for submitting sermon topics
and guest speakers is 5 p.m.
Tuesday. Submit items to the
Tyler Morning Telegraph, P.0.
Box 2030, Tyler 75710, fax
information to (903) 595-0335,
or e-mail: [email protected].
*5((1$&5(6%$37,67&+85&+
75283+:<
7</(57;
JV
Q
L
Q
RU
0
\
GD
Q
X
6
W
R
V
G
JX
WR
X
\
$
D
J
:
Q
L
Z
Q
H
LQ
J
$1
H
%
) ;KPML]TM"
6M_
'(7$,/6
___OIJKWZO
Baptist
Community Baptist, 18495
Texas Highway 64 East. Bible
study 10 a.m., worship 11 a.m.
Rev. Dennis Cliborn, “Growing
in Joy and Peace.”
Cornerstone Baptist, 1200
Old Omen Road, Tyler.
Sunday School 9:30 a.m.; worship 10:30 a.m., Rev. Lynn
Griffith, “Think Jesus.”
First Baptist, 301 W.
Ferguson St., Tyler. Bible
study 9:30 a.m., traditional
worship 10:45 a.m., Paul
Powell, “Keeping the Fire
Burning.”
First Baptist South Campus,
U.S. Highway 69 South &
Farm-to-Market Road 2813,
Tyler. Bible study 10:15 a.m.,
contemporary worship 9 a.m.
Paul Powell, “Keeping the Fire
Burning.”
Friendly, 1903 E. Front St.,
Tyler. Sunday school 8:45
a.m., worship 10 a.m. Rev.
Dale Perry, “Sitting in a Desert
Plugging the Well.”
Gresham First Baptist,
16844 County Road 165,
Tyler. Sunday school 9 a.m.,
worship 10 a.m. Rev. Roy
Thoene, “The Message From
Genesis I.”
———
Catholic
(St. Luke 13:22-30)
Holy Family, 16314 Farm-toMarket Road 849, Lindale.
Mass 5 p.m. Saturday and 9
and 11 a.m. Sunday (11 a.m. in
Spanish). Rev. Mark Dunne.
Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception,
423
S.
Broadway Ave., Tyler. Mass
5:30 p.m. Saturday, and 6:30,
8 and 10 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m.
(Spanish) and 6 p.m. Sunday.
Rev. Anthony McLaughlin.
Our Lady Of Guadalupe, 922
Old Omen Road, Tyler. Mass 7
p.m. Saturday and 8 and 10
a.m., 12:30 and 5:30 p.m.
Sunday (all Spanish Masses).
Our Lady Queen Of Angels,
707 Bradford St., Overton.
Mass 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Rev.
Patrick Fenton.
Prince Of Peace, 903 E.
Main, Whitehouse. Mass 5
p.m. Saturday and 8:30 and 11
a.m. and 12:30 p.m. (Spanish)
Sunday.
Rev.
Daniel
Daugherty.
St. Boniface, Chandler. Mass
5 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m.
Sunday.
St. Charles Borromeo, 1501
Texas Highway 155 North,
Frankston. Mass
6 p.m.
Friday and 9 a.m. Sunday.
Father Jones Jayaraj.
St. Paul Chapel, 1015 ESE
Loop 323. Mass 9 and 11 a.m.
Sunday.
St. Peter Claver, 104 N.
Border; Spanish Mass 9 a.m.
Saturday and 9 a.m. noon and
1:30 p.m. Sunday; English
Mass 10:30 a.m. Sunday,
Mass. Rev. Luis Larrea.
St. Mary Magdalene, 18221
Farm-to-Market Road 2493,
Flint. Mass 5 p.m. Saturday
and 9 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
reports that the original, called
Camp Quest, was founded in the
United States by a lawyer,
Edwin Kagin, after he heard that
a boy had been turned away
from a Scout camp for being an
atheist. There are now six Camp
Quests in the U.S. plus another
one in England.
Mornings at Camp Quest are
devoted to traditional camp
sports and activities, according
to the Sunday Times. Afternoons
are devoted to serious discussions unburdened by hymns and
prayers. A typical discussion
asks the students to respond to
the question: “Should the rich
give their money to the poor?”
At the outset, the children are
told that there are two unicorns
in the camp that can’t be seen,
heard or felt, the Sunday Times
reported.
Students are challenged to
disprove the existence of the
fanciful animals. Top prize in
the U.S. camps is a vintage $100
bill, printed before the words “In
God We Trust” were added to
our currency.
Amy Turner, writing in the
Aug. 1 issue of the Sunday
Times, explains that “the unicorn game is clearly an exercise
to teach the idea that you should
be skeptical, and that if somebody postulates something that
can’t be seen or heard or
smelled or touched or tasted,
then the burden is on them to
demonstrate that it exists.”
RELIGION
8:15
a.m.
ă6XQGD\0RUQLQJ%LEOH6WXG\
%LUWK6HQLRU$GXOW
9:45
a.m.
ă6XQGD\0RUQLQJ%LEOH6WXG\
%LUWK6HQLRU$GXOW<RXQJ6LQJOHV
ă&HOHEUDWLRQ:RUVKLSLQWKH:RUVKLS&HQWHU
ă&URVVZDON:RUVKLSLQWKH&RQIHUHQFH&HQWHU
11:15
a.m.
ă6XQGD\0RUQLQJ%LEOH6WXG\
$GXOW&ROOHJHRQO\
ă&HOHEUDWLRQ:RUVKLSLQWKH:RUVKLS&HQWHU
ă&URVVZDON:RUVKLSLQWKH&RQIHUHQFH&HQWHU
?WZ[PQX" ?Ia[\W
*W\P?WZ[PQX
;MZ^QKM[NMI\]ZM*QJTM
<MIKPQVOJa8I[\WZ
,I^QL,aSM[
¹+MTMJZI\QWV?WZ[PQXº
IRUWKRVHZKRGHOLJKWLQ
WKHFKRLURUFKHVWUDDQGPXVLFWKDWLVFKDUDFWHULVWLFRI*UHHQ
$FUHV:RUVKLS
¹+ZW[[_ITS?WZ[PQXº
IRUWKRVHORRNLQJIRUD
PRUHLQIRUPDO\HWSHUVRQDOZRUVKLSH[SHULHQFHIHDWXULQJWKH
*UHHQ$FUHV&URVVZDON:RUVKLS%DQG
D
Sermon Topics
Page 2D
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Religion Writer: Rebecca Hoeffner
903-596-6304, [email protected]
© 2010, Tyler Morning Telegraph
AROUND
EAST TEXAS
CROSS BRAND
HOLDING RODEO
The Cross Brand
Cowboy Church is
sponsoring an All
Women’s Ranch Rodeo
today at the Cowboy
Church Arena. Teams
from Kansas, Oklahoma
and Texas will be competing. The rodeo starts
at 1 p.m.
PRAYER, MISSIONS
CONFERENCE SEPT. 2
The 33rd Annual
Breakthrough Prayer
and Missions
Conference is taking
place at the World
Commission Center at
Creekwood Ranch in
Lindale.
The conference willheld from Sept. 2
through Sept. 6 from 10
a.m. to 7 p.m. and will
feature international
missionaries as guest
speakers.
There will be a special Labor Day Barbecue
Blast beginning at 2
p.m. on Sept. 6. The
afternoon’s festivities
include a carnival, fishing contest and concert. Cost of the Sept. 6
afternoon event is $5
per person or $15 per
family. Call 903-8825501 to pre-register.
CHURCH OF CHRIST
CELEBRATES 75 YEARS
The Tyler Church of
Christ will celebrate 75
years of existence with
a parade and community birthday party today.
The parade will begin at
9 a.m. at the corner of
Moore and Cochran
streets in North Tyler.
A short program will
be held at 11 a.m. featuring proclamations
from the city, county
and the Governor’s
Office.
A co-ed volleyball
game is scheduled in
the afternoon. There
will be activities on the
yard for the church and
children.
HAMPTON TO BE
INSTALLED SUNDAY
An installation services for the Rev. Donald
R. Hampton, Sr., the
newly elected pastor of
the North Star
Missionary Baptist, will
be held at 2:30 p.m.
Sunday.
The associate ministers of North Star will
direct the worship services, and the music
ministry will provide
inspirational singing.
NEW COVENANT
HOSTING ‘BIG EVENT’
New Covenant
Church is holding “The
Big Event” on Sunday
from noon until 3 p.m.
The event includes
free food, games and
prizes, and inflatables
for the kids, including
water slide.
For more information call 903-534-9333.
TRINIDAD HOLDING
MEMORIAL CONCERT
The Trinidad Fire
Department presents
New Grace In Concert
today at 7 p.m. at the
Trinidad High School
Auditorium, in memory
of Tim Herring. Tickets
are $10 and are sold at
Gibson’s or Malakoff
pharmacies in Athens.
Call 972-646-5593 or
903-778-2600 for more
information.
AROUND EAST TEXAS
Islam Open House A Success
Area Muslims Share Beliefs, Cultural Traditions With Attendees
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
The East Texas Islamic Society
held its fifth annual open house on
Tuesday evening. Despite the
national controversy over the New
York Islamic Cultural Center, the
tone from the 60-plus audience
was more respectful than previous
years, organizers said.
“The purpose of the New York
mosque is to worship one God,
not to force people to be Muslim,”
said Imam Faisal Ahmad.
Ahmad began serving as the
Imam about two weeks ago, and
grew up in New York. Ahmad has
degrees in Islamic law and studied
overseas after working for IBM as
an engineer.
“Even though he’s a Yankee,
we still accept him,” said Abdur
Kafray, executive board member
for the Islamic Society and the
evening’s moderator, with a grin.
Chuckles rippled through the
audience, a common sound
throughout the evening.
Many of the questions posed
by the audience were simply
about Islamic beliefs and traditions. The Imam focused on the
basic ideal of Islam’s peaceful
theology and respect of Christian
and Jewish believers.
“The word ‘Islam’ literally
translates as ‘one who submits
lovingly to God,’ the Imam said.
“Moses and Abraham were giving
their ‘Islam.’”
Diane Isham, who identified
herself as Catholic, enjoyed the
program, she said. She’s been
reading the Quran for three years.
Ms. Isham has a Muslim neighbor
— a woman who visited her table
and brought her the ethnic
desserts prepared by volunteers
later in the evening.
“She’s always so beautiful in
her garden,” Ms. Isham said with
a smile.
The hijab (the traditional head
covering worn by many of the
Muslim women in attendance), is
purely voluntary and should be
worn only to show modesty,
Imam Ahmad said.
“If you look at depictions of
the Virgin Mary, she actually covered her head, too,” the Imam
said.
While some of the audience
members came because of an invitation or a relationship with a
member of the mosque, others
came simply to learn more about a
See OPEN HOUSE, Page 2D
— Staff Photo By Herb Nygren Jr.
Q&A: Imam Faisal Ahmad answers questions
at the East Texas Islamic Society’s open house
Tuesday in Tyler.
BEHIND BARS
‘Love Covers A
Multitude Of Sins’
Committed Clergy Minister To Incarcerated
At Coffield Unit, The Largest Prison Site In Texas
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
PALESTINE — Chaplain Dan Rose sat at his
desk in the Coffield Unit and listened as an inmate
asked to change the religious preference on his
prison travel card. Billy Joe Williams, who had just
arrived to the Coffield unit under a burglary charge,
wanted to change his official religion to Islam. The
chaplain, a Catholic, asked Williams what he
thought about Christ.
Williams denied that he believed Christ was his
savior.
Rose turned to face the computer and typed the
new religion onto the form.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Last month, the Catholic Diocese of Tyler was
one of 16 mission dioceses nationwide who were
awarded a grant by the Catholic Extension to
expand its prison ministry.
“The program focuses on increasing prisoners’
access to Scripture and maximizing the benefits of
that access by implementing accompanying Bible
study sessions,” a news release from the Extension
Society reads. The grant totals $40,700 for the dioceses.
With more than 4,000 offenders, Coffield is the
largest unit in Texas, Rose said. The charges and
sentences range from capital murder to burglary to
sexual assault. Out of the range of sentences, 1,400
of them are for 40 years or more, the Texas Tribune
reported.
AN ODD MIX
The chapel in the Coffield Unit is an odd mix of
prison security and spiritual sanctuary. A multi-colored floor-to-ceiling stained glass window engulfs
the front wall of the chapel. Signs made of computer paper that read “stay away from the window,” are
taped to the wooden support beams.
“There used to be pews in here,” said Father
Paulsen, the priest who conducts Mass every
Wednesday. The pews were removed and replaced
with white, plastic, folding chairs, the priest said,
See PRISON, Page 3D
CHURCHES PRESENT
FINANCIAL PROGRAM
Financial Peace
University, the 13-week
program taught by
Dave Ramsey, will be
held in Tyler at
Dayspring United
Methodist Church
beginning at 6 p.m.
Sept. 1. Contact Candi
Turney at 903-581-0550
to register.
— Staff Photos By Rebecca Hoeffner
FINDING ANSWERS: At left, a prisoner at the Coffield Unit in Palestine takes communion with Father Paulsen, who conducts mass at the prison every Wednesday.
Above, prisoners pray during the service.
commentary
FOREST GROVE
HOLDING CONCERT
God’s Grace In Dark Places
Forest Grove Baptist
Church in Chandler is
sponsoring a Gospel
concert at 5 p.m. on
Sunday. Featured artist
is Victory Road of
Longview. For more
information call 903849-2378.
Send in items for Around East
Texas to
[email protected] or P.O.
Box 2030, Tyler TX 75702.
sat in an East Texas prison this
week with an inmate and watched
in surprise as his eyes filled with
tears and his voice trembled.
I’d never been to a prison
before, and I certainly didn’t expect this.
We weren’t talking about how long he’d
been there or how much he missed his
family, although he’d been there for a
while and spoke of his family members
I
REBECCA
HOEFFNER
often during the interview.
The topic that made him get choked
up? God’s grace and mercy.
A lot of people say that prison conversions aren’t genuine. But they have the
potential to be the most genuine of all.
Think about it: you’ve just been convicted of a crime and are facing a long
amount of time where you have no control over where you go or what you do.
As far as society’s concerned, you’re at
the bottom of the barrel. When else
would you try a lifestyle that is so radically different from the one you’ve been
used to?
Since what you’ve been doing before
obviously hasn’t worked out so far, what
have you got to lose?
See HOEFFNER, Page 2D
RELIGION
SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010 Tyler Morning Telegraph
3D
DENOMINATION SPLIT
New Lutheran Group Likely To Rise
Tyler Church To Be Among Charter Members
By PATRICK CONDON
Associated Press Writer
MINNEAPOLIS — Richard Mahan
and Anita Hill are both Lutheran pastors who were inside a Minneapolis
convention hall last summer when delegates for the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America voted to allow noncelibate gay and lesbian pastors.
Afterward, each cried for different
reasons.
Mahan, lead pastor at St. Timothy in
Charleston, W.Va., said he cried
because he realized he would likely
leave the denomination in which he had
invested 42 years of ministry. For Hill,
the openly gay lead pastor at St. PaulReformation in St. Paul, they were tears
of “joy and relief.”
A year later, the ELCA is moving
gay pastors into its fold — it’s now the
largest Protestant denomination in the
U.S. to allow noncelibate gays into its
ranks — even as the most visible dissidents strike out on their own.
Mahan and other critics of the decision plan to gather this week in
Columbus, Ohio, for another Lutheran
convention. Leaders of 18 former
ELCA churches are expected to be
among more than 1,000 Lutherans voting Friday to create a brand new
Lutheran denomination that they claim
will follow the Scriptures more faithfully: the North American Lutheran
Church.
“The issue is departure from the
word of God,” Mahan said. His church
has already voted twice to end its longtime identity as an ELCA church, also
ending an annual $36,000 in tithing to
the denomination.
Meanwhile, Hill will finally join the
official roster of ELCA pastors. She
was ordained in 2001, but she had been
kept off the roster because she lived
openly with her lesbian partner, with
whom she’d shared a commitment ceremony in 1996. That meant she was not
eligible for the full housing allowance
and retirement benefits and could not be
PRISON
a voting delegate to churchwide assemblies.
Next month, Hill and two other lesbian pastors will gather to receive the
ELCA’s newly designed Rite of
Reception and officially join the roster
of the St. Paul Synod. The St. Paul bishop will “lay on hands,” Hill said, in a
ceremony that is becoming more frequent around the country. Seven gay
and transgender pastors were received
last month in San Francisco. Similar
ceremonies are planned soon in
Minneapolis and Chicago.
“At my church there is a sense of
great celebration, of people being very
happy that our work to make the ELCA
a more inclusive place has come to
fruition,” Hill said.
Her denomination will be slightly
smaller: As of early August, 199 congregations had cleared the hurdles to
leave the ELCA for good, while another 136 awaited the second vote needed
to make it official. In all there are
10,239 ELCA churches with about 4.5
million members, making it still by far
the largest Lutheran denomination in
the U.S.
And the breakaway members gathering in Ohio will face their own challenges if they vote to start another
denomination at a time when attendance at mainline Protestant churches is
falling and denominational distinctions
appear irrelevant to a growing number
of churchgoers. But pastors in a few
churches that plan to join the North
American Lutheran Church say there
are still good reasons to be part of a
larger church body.
“For a lot of congregations and a lot
of churchgoers, there is value in a larger Lutheran fellowship,” said the Rev.
Mark Braaten, pastor at Our Savior’s
Lutheran Church in Tyler, another charter member of the new denomination.
About 75 percent of the churches
that already left the ELCA have affiliated with Lutheran Congregations in
Mission for Christ — another, smaller
denomination. But the Rev. Mark
Chavez, Lutheran CORE’s director,
said some Lutherans found that denomination too loosely structured and wanted a choice that retained aspects of the
ELCA identity.
Some ELCA refugees have a more
bottom-line reason to join a new
denomination. Under many church
constitutions, congregations that leave
the ELCA and try to strike out as a
wholly independent church could actually see their ELCA synod council
assert legal ownership of their property
and church buildings. “People don’t see
it as too likely, but it’s not a discussion
too many want to have,” Braaten said.
So why go through the hassles —
especially when even critics of the
ELCA’s more liberalized policy admit
that no congregations are likely to be
compelled to install a gay pastor?
“I don’t think it’s the issue of
whether someone is going to have a gay
pastor forced upon their church, as
much a question of what a straight pastor is going to be teaching,” said the
Rev. David Baer, pastor of Immanuel
Lutheran Church in Whitewood, S.D.,
another charter member of the new
denomination. “What’s God’s intention
for marriage, for sexuality? The concern is the ELCA is trading in its teaching and losing its grounding in scripture
and no longer having a moral center.”
Organizers of the new denomination
will reveal on Friday its 18 charter
churches — a number they hope will
grow to 200 or more within a year.
Hill, who in her early days at the
church helped found a ministry for gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said she was disheartened by the
departing churches.
“There are some who feel they must
leave the ELCA over that,” she said. “I
feel sad about that, it’s unfortunate. But
to feel you have to leave over the inclusion of your brothers and sisters — that
diminishes who we are as the body of
Christ.”
— AP Photo By Jay LaPrete
NEW GROUP: Rev. Richard Mahan, lead pastor at St. Timothy
Lutheran Church in Charleston, W.V., stands outside the church
where Lutheran pastors are preparing for the formation of the new
North American Lutheran Church in Hilliard, Ohio.
Continued From Page 1D
because the inmates would “do
business” behind the pews.
In May, the Austin
American-Statesman reported
the beginning of an organized
crime investigation of at least
five inmates at the Coffield
Unit, including alleged drugsmuggling and money-laundering.
Still, Father Paulsen said, he
enjoys what he does, because
he knows it’s what he’s supposed to be doing.
“It’s where I belong,” he
said. “In Matthew 25 it says
‘Whatever you did for one of
the least of these brothers of
mine, you did for me.’ Well,
here they are.”
The first time Williams was
imprisoned he received a fiveyear sentence for burglary. He
was 16 when the sentence
began. He has six months left at
Coffield for his second fiveyear sentence. Williams is 27.
He’s had a hard life,
Williams said. His biological
mother worked as a prostitute
and was addicted to drugs. He
doesn’t have a relationship with
his father.
A male role model is essential for men to develop a sense
of right and wrong, said David
Wheeler, adult psychologist
and program director at the East
Texas
Medical
Center
Behavioral Health Clinic.
ANGER AND
DESPERATION
When he ended up in prison
for the second time, Williams
was angry with God. So, he
started looking into Islam as a
way to get back at God, he said.
“I knew it would make Him
jealous,” Williams said. “It was
like ‘I’ll show you.’ He allowed
me to fall deep into it.”
Inmates are often at a point
of desperation when they come
to Coffield, Chaplain Rose said.
“They appreciate anything
you give them,” Rose said.
“They’re down on their luck
and they appreciate your ministry.”
James “Sam” Weldon
Burton, 52, is another inmate at
Coffield. When Burton was first
incarcerated in 2006, he went
through the standard medical
tests required for every inmate.
That was when he found out
he had AIDS.
Burton is serving three life
sentences.
security officials feel they’re
necessary.
Measures like the count and
the enormous amount of paperwork are constant frustrations
to the Chaplains and volunteers.
“We’re so buried in bureaucratic nonsense that we don’t
have time to really minister,”
Chaplain Rudy Ray said. Ray
has been serving in prison ministry for 18 years.
“I’ve seen it increase more
and more over the years,” he
said. “Every time we blow our
nose we have to fill out more
forms.”
MORE THAN
MEETS THE EYE
Williams was sitting in his
cell, casually flipping through a
Bible, when the pages fell open
to Psalm 51. King David had
written the Psalm in repentance
after his adultery with
Bathsheba.
“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing
love; according to your great
compassion blot out my transgressions.”
Williams couldn’t stop reading the Psalm.
“I wasn’t reading it anymore
— it became a prayer,” he said.
“By the end of it, something
changed.”
Williams struggled to keep
his composure as he described
his return to Catholicism from
Islam.
“When you come from a
background like mine, the pain
is all you understand,” he said.
“But Christ just heals you
inside. It’s nothing you can put
your finger on. It’s like he just
reached down and said, ‘OK,
you’ve been hurt enough.
That’s enough.’”
Conversions are not uncommon in prison, no matter what
an inmate’s background, Father
Paulsen said.
“Some of them have a big
wake up experience,” the Father
said. “They really do.”
For Burton, learning about
his AIDS diagnosis was his
wake-up call.
“I’m going to meet my
Maker pretty soon, and I needed to be ready,” Burton said.
“AIDS saved my life.”
Burton was charged with
aggravated sexual assault of a
child. He’s appealing the sentence, but it doesn’t look good,
he said.
“Not all of us in here are
guilty,” he said quietly.
According to The Innocence
Project, a New York based
organization dedicated to freeing the wrongfully imprisoned,
there have been 258 post-conviction DNA exonerations in
the United States.
“Some of them really are
innocent,” Father Paulsen said.
FIGHTING
A STEREOTYPE
After the counting interruption, the Mass continued with
Father Paulsen’s teaching.
“If you’re religious when
you don’t feel like it, then
you’re more like Christ,” the
priest said to the quiet men.
“Because he didn’t feel like
going to the cross. This separates the men from the boys.”
Father Paulsen gives the
inmates their Communion
every Wednesday. The men line
up and wait patiently for their
blessing.
“People are afraid of prison
because of what they see in the
movies,” the priest said. “But
often you’ll find more courtesy
here than on the outside. I’m
safer in here than I am out
there.”
When the Mass is over, the
men shake hands and chat for a
few minutes.
“We don’t have our families
in here, so we kind of become
like each other’s family,”
Burton said. “We lean on each
other a lot.”
Mentality is the essential
difference between inmates and
free men, Rose said. He quoted
a verse in Revelation in which
Jesus spoke of spitting the lukewarm out of his mouth.
“In the free world, there’s a
lot of grey,” Rose said. “But
here, everything’s black and
white.”
But, just like the free world,
not every conversion is genuine, Rose said. According to
the Department of Justice, 68
percent of ex-convicts are rearrested within three years of
being released.
“They’re just like us, really,”
said Charles Hoffman, a ministry volunteer. “They just happened to get caught.”
Subscribe
Today
to the
Call
800.657.2040
or visit
TylerPaper.com/section/circulation
The Two Ingredients for
a Successful Marriage:
Love & Respect
Come Join Us
For this 14 week
study beginning
September 5, 2010
9:30am • Room 350
First Baptist Church
301 W. Ferguson
Tyler, TX 75702
For more info call Chris
Roberts 903-316-7106
DAY-TO-DAY
FRUSTRATIONS
In the middle of the Mass on
Wednesday, Rose came out of
his office and shouted over the
singing.
“Count! Everybody c’mon!”
The singing stopped and the
inmates filed out of the chapel
for one of the daily counts —
the men are counted several
times a day for security reasons.
Father Paulsen grumbled.
“Now it will be hard for
them to come back and focus Please call Mark Stevenson
again,” he said. Normally the for a personal consultation
count occurs right before the
for your loved one.
Mass, but they can happen any(903) 258-0150
time throughout the day when
Learn how to
resolve conflict
while energizing
and motivating
each other.
Experience
understanding,
forgiveness,
reconciliation,
change and
hope.
The Grand Lady is Back........
Reunion Plaza, 1401 Rice Road is ready to accept
patients. A new administrator, excellent nursing staff
and restaurant style dining service make Reunion
Plaza one of the most sought after skilled nursing and
re-hab facilities in Tyler. With 15 years in the community and a long history of providing exceptional care,
Reunion Plaza is better than ever. Native Tylerites
know how important it is to have proven healthcare
facilities in this region, and Reunion Plaza is no exception. The Grand Lady of Tyler is Back and ready
to serve the people of Tyler, like it has for 15 years.
The Church With Heart ...
in the Heart of Tyler
West Erwin Church of Christ
420 W. Erwin • Tyler, TX 75702
903-592-0809
Bible Classes: Sun. 9 a.m., Wed. 7 p.m.
Worship Services: Sun. 10 a.m. & 6 p.m.
For details on all church activities www.westerwin.org
“I’m Lookin’ Good!”
Christian author and speaker, Patsy Clairmont, remembers having
one of those days when everything seemed to be going her way.
When she tells it, it is hilarious: “You know what I mean girls,”
she says, “everything just fell into place, and after I had put on my
makeup, fixed my hair and gotten dressed, I just had to admit as I
examined my reflection in the mirror, that ‘I was lookin’ good.’”
Ms. Clairmont said that as she walked down the street, everybody
else seemed to notice it too. “I was really lookin’ good. Everybody
stared. A trucker even honked as he went by and yelled something out
of his window. I just smiled and waved, and checked my reflection in
a shop window just to enjoy the view. To my horror, I realized that I
had an extra pair of panty hose stuck to the bottom of my left shoe,
and had been dragging it across town.”
There are more than a few things that I struggle with emotionally
about this life of ours. My greatest argument with God is this: why
do things go wrong when we work so hard to make them right?
Of course we all know that God did not give Allison Thompson
the inside scoop to a theological and moral dilemma that has been
debated since the book of Job. Knowing that our understanding of
God’s universe is limited doesn’t keep us from asking the questions,
however.
The good news is that God never fails to answer us! He may
not give us full insight into the workings of this world, but he does
show up for our questions, and God does answer. I can make this
claim because the Bible proves it to
be true over and over again. In the
book of Jeremiah, for instance, God
tells a homeless community of Jews
that “The Lord has saved his people.”
And then he goes on to say, “Your life
shall be like a watered garden.”
Friends, we may find ourselves
cruelly jolted by reality time and
again. We may be humbled by
embarrassing experiences or mistakes
we have made. We may be knocked
Rev. Allison Thompson flat from real tragedy. Whatever
associate pastor
comes our way, however, we know
that to God “We are lookin’ good” because He made us, restores
us, and saves us ….. every day.
With blessings,
Rev. Allison Andrews Thompson
300 W. Erwin, Tyler 75702
903.592.7396
www.marvinumc.com
903-561-6060
1401 Rice Rd. • Tyler, TX
Join us for traditional and contemporary worship
at 8:45 and 11 a.m. each Sunday
See traditional services at 10 a.m. Sunday on CBS 19
D
Sermon Topics
Page 3D
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Religion Editor: 903-596-6304
[email protected]
© 2010, Tyler Morning Telegraph
AROUND
EAST TEXAS
CHURCH TO
CELEBRATE JACKSONS
ANNIVERSARY
People’s Missionary
Baptist Church will celebrate the 19th anniversary of Rev. Marcus
Jackson and his wife
Jackie’s church leadership.
The celebration will
take place at 3 p.m.
Sunday at 2908
Bellwood Road. The Rev.
Christopher Nauls of
True Vine Baptist Church
will be guest speaker.
Call 903-595-1477 for
more information.
GOSPEL SERVICE
IN KILGORE
A gospel worship
service will be held at 7
p.m. today at Bates
Memorial CME Church in
Kilgore.
Students who attended Kilgore Colored High
School or C. B. Dansby
High School are invited
to the event.
QUARTET IN CONCERT
TODAY IN ATHENS
AT GOSPEL HALL
The Florida Boys and
First Voice Quartet will
be in concert at 6 p.m.
today at the Texas
Gospel Music Hall, 6513
Highway 19 South
Palestine St., in Athens.
The doors open at 5
p.m. Tickets are for sale
at The Scroll Book Store
in Tyler and First State
Bank in Athens. Call 903677-2492 for more information.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
YWAM Celebrates No. 50
Worldwide Mission Organization Now Present In 190 Countries
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
GARDEN VALLEY — Colorful flags
representing nations across the world were
waved in the air at the Youth With A
Mission 50th anniversary celebration this
week.
School children preformed a song titled
“We Speak to Nations,” and ministry leaders shared powerful testimonies of
YWAM’s work over the past 50 years with
the nearly 600 staff, families and students
in attendance.
In 1960, Loren Cunningham was a
young pastor who had a vision to take
young people on missionary expeditions.
“This idea was almost completely
— Courtesy Photo
unheard of at the time,” said Debbie
Lascelles, YWAM co-director. “Today,
many churches send young people on mission trips every year.”
Loren and his wife, Darlene, the
founders of YWAM, have traveled the
globe to celebrate in 44 different YWAM
locations and regions. YWAM Tyler was
the 43rd location celebrated this year. Youth
With A Mission has more than 1,300 operating locations around the globe and more
than 20,000 staff members.
Today the 20,000 full-time missionaries,
known as “YWAMers,” are located in 190
nations and are involved in a diverse array
THE EAST
TEXAS
YWAM staff
and students
converge for a
group photo to
celebrate the
mission organization’s 50th
anniversary
earlier this
week.
See YWAM, Page 2D
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
‘FESTIVAL
OF SACRIFICE’
POLLARD UMC
HOLDING
CINDERELLA AUDITIONS
Pollard United
Methodist Church will
hold auditions for
“Cinderella,” the musical,
at 6 p.m. Nov. 29 and 30.
Auditions are open to
everyone age 8 and
older.
The show will open
March 24. Call 903-5972571 for more information.
REVIVAL AT LIBERTY
MISSIONARY BAPTIST
THIS WEEK
Liberty Missionary
Baptist Church, 2506 N.
Broadway Ave., invites
the public to attend its
Harvest Revival, held at
7 p.m. each night from
Sunday to Tuesday.
KINGSWAY OPENING
NEW CAMPUS IN
GLADEWATER
Kingsway Christian
College and Theological
Seminary, an international network of Bible
colleges, is creating a
new campus in
Gladewater.
“We really had a
vision for a more complete ministry, and that
includes education,” said
Dr. Christopher Toote,
seminary president and
pastor of New Home
Baptist Church in
Gladewater, where the
seminary will be headquartered. Toote has
several degrees from
seminaries across the
country and one in the
Caribbean.
Classes are scheduled
to begin in January, and
seminary officials hope
to have 100 students
enrolled, Dr. Toote said.
There are four campuses expected to open
around East Texas: the
one in Gladewater, one
in Tyler, Longview and
Henderson.
“We wanted to have
classes in convenient
locations,” Dr. Toote said.
Unlike other campuses in the Kingsway network, Greek and Hebrew
will be mandatory classes for anyone earning a
theology degree, Toote
said. While the advisory
board hasn’t finalized
tuition prices yet, Toote
is confident they will be
below $70/credit hour.
“People have to be
trained properly for ministry,” Toote said. “That
includes practical application as well as theoretical.”
Send in items to Around
East Texas by e-mail to [email protected], by
mail to P.O. Box 2030,
Tyler TX 75710 or by fax
to 903-595-0335. Please
have your news release
submitted by 5 p.m. on
Thursday.
— Staff Photo By Jaime R. Carrero
A muslim boy participates in the morning prayers at the East Texas Islamic Center in Tyler during the
celebration of the Eid al-Adha holiday on Tuesday.
East Texas Muslims
Gather To Celebrate
Annual Holiday
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
Millions of Muslims, and one from the East Texas
Islamic Society, made the annual pilgrimage to Mecca this
week.
Sabir Karakunnu was fortunate to be able to make the
trip, said Imam Faisal Ahmad of the East Texas Islamic
Society.
“I was planning to go, but the paperwork didn’t go
through,” the Imam said. Only a certain number of applicants are allowed each year, and the Imam has been on the
journey before.
“It calms me somehow, as if I were approaching
Paradise,” the Imam had written in the journal he kept during the 2004 trip. “It’s a peacefulness I cannot describe, a
joy deep in the heart. The cool air, the cleanliness, the spirit — the beautiful spirit that fills the air and cleans you
inside.
“It washes away all the years of worldly dirt that has
clung to my longing spirit.”
— Staff Photos By
Jaime R. Carrero
Amina Cole (above), of
Tyler, gets breakfast
after morning prayers
Tuesday. At left, Imam
Faisal Ahmad speaks
to the attendees at
the East Texas Islamic
Center.
See HOLIDAY, Page 2D
commentary
Thankful For What God Gives
A
REBECCA
HOEFFNER
fter the Eid al-Adha service
on Tuesday morning, the
men’s prayer room at the
East Texas Islamic Society
came alive as the men stood
up to greet each other with the traditional
Eid greetings to wish each other a happy
holiday.
When they approached one another,
they would clasp hands and pull each
other into a hug. Then, like old-fashioned
movie stars, they hugged each other again
on the other side.
I must have looked surprised as I
watched, because the president of the
society, Irfan Sattar, came up to me with
a smile.
“Have you ever been to an Eid celebration before?”
I shook my head. I had learned about
the holiday from the imam, but I hadn’t
been to a service before.
The embrace was reserved for the holidays, Sattar said.
Even if you are upset with a brother
during Eid, it is important to still
embrace one another. It clears the air, he
said.
See HOEFFNER, Page 2D
2D
Tyler Morning Telegraph SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2010
RELIGION
CHRISTMAS SEASON
Salvation Army Angel Tree Event Begins
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
More than 3,000 children and senior adults are on this year’s Salvation
Army Angel Tree, Salvation Army
Captain Doris Lawrence said.
“Our volunteers have already put
in so many hours to get all the angels
together,” Ms. Lawrence said.
Every year during the holiday season, the Salvation Army sets up
Christmas trees at businesses around
East Texas decorated with cards that
represent someone who may not get
Christmas gifts that year. People can
sign up to take a card and purchase
the requested gifts for that child or
senior to make sure they have gifts for
Christmas.
After picking out the gifts, shoppers return the unwrapped items and
the card to the original location or to
the Salvation Army. The organization
is also offering online shopping with
JCPenney for the second year. The
gifts purchased online at angel.jcpenney.com will be shipped directly to
the Salvation Army at no additional
charge.
“This is what really kicks off the
holiday season for me,” Tim
Brookshire said at the kickoff ceremony in Broadway Square Mall on
Friday. Broadway Square Mall is one
of the locations where shoppers can
go to get an Angel Tree card.
The ceremony featured Christmas
medleys played by the Grace
Community High School jazz band.
Speakers at the ceremony placed
special emphasis on the difficulty for
families with children this year. Some
parents worry that they may not be
able to afford Christmas presents for
their children this year.
“This is an emotionally difficult
realization for parents as they think of
the disappointment their child will
face on Christmas morning and
ridicule at school when their child is
asked what they ‘got for Christmas,’”
Vicki Hastings, Community and
Corporate Relations Coordinator, said
in a news release. “This is an added
stress that no parent should have to
face — especially when already facing the stress of the struggle to make
ends meet.”
Shoppers can get an Angel Tree
card at these locations: Hideaway
Lake Clubhouse, 101 Hideaway
Lane,
Hideaway;
Wal-Mart
Supercenter, 6801 S. Broadway Ave.,
Tyler; Austin Bank of Whitehouse,
100 Horton, Whitehouse; Trane A/C
Company, 6200 Troup Hwy, Tyler;
TJC Student Activities Rogers
Student Center - 1400 Fifth St., Tyler;
Regions Bank, 100 E. Ferguson,
Tyler, and various locations; WalMart #1022, 3820 Hwy. 64 West,
Tyler; Suddenlink, 3015 SSE Loop
323, Tyler.
Also, the Harvest Church
International, 3034 McDonald Road,
Tyler; UT Tyler, 3900 University
Blvd., Tyler; UT Tyler (HPC building,
3rd floor), 3900 University Blvd.,
Tyler; T.K. Gorman High School,
1405 ESE Loop 323, Tyler; The
Cascades, 4511 Briarwood Drive,
Tyler; All Saints Episcopal Church,
2695 SSW Loop 323, Tyler; Biolife
Plasma Services, 1827 W. Gentry
Pkwy. Tyler; First Bank and Trust,
2211 Three Lakes Pkwy., Tyler; Rose
Heights Church of God, 2120 Old
— Courtesy Photo
SHOPPERS AT BROADWAY SQUARE MALL peruse the Angel
Tree cards with volunteers from the Salvation Army during the
organization’s kickoff event Friday.
Omen Road, Tyler; On The Border, Club, 6110 South Broadway Ave.,
4301 S. Broadway Ave., Tyler; Texas Tyler.
Bank and Trust, 6530 S. Broadway
For more information, call the
Ave., Tyler; and Woodcreek Athletic Salvation Army at 903-592-4361.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
General Assembly Church Holds Conference
The General Assembly Church of the
Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the
Truth, held its 105th Annual Assembly at
the General Assembly Institute in Tyler
this week.
The four-day training conference
attracted leaders from churches located
throughout Texas and in northern
California.
The theme this year was “Committed
to Positive Change for a Better
Tomorrow.”
HOLIDAY
The November session is an educational training event especially for ministers,
church leaders and other laity. Several
workshops were featured, including
“Recapturing the Lost Generation,”
“Leadership,” “Building a Productive
Church,” and “Changing Current
Thinking for Future Change.”
Church leaders are able to return to
their local churches with information that
will enhance that congregation’s continued growth and development, said Eldress
Cynthia Bursey, General Assembly
Institute President.
“The mission of the General Assembly
Institute is to provide multi-levels of educational and developmental enrichment
training seminars, based on ethical and
spiritual principles according to the Word
of God,” Ms. Bursey said.
“The specific focus is to allow persons
of various ages and levels of education the
opportunity to receive Christian educational instruction.”
Continued From Page 1D
Unless physically or financially unable, all Muslims are
commanded to make the journey to the city at least once in
their lifetime, where the
Islamic prophet Mohammed
was said to have made his
farewell sermon.
“Allah, out of his mercy,
grants a way for everyone to
worship, even if we are far
away from Mecca,” Ahmad
said in his Eid al-Adha sermon.
The BBC reported nearly 3
million visitors traveled to
Mecca this year for the annual
Hajj, making it the largest
annual gathering of people in
the world.
Eid al-Adha, or “the
Festival of Sacrifice” begins
after the Hajj, which took place
on Tuesday. The holiday recognizes the willingness of
Abraham to sacrifice his son to
God. At the last moment God
told Abraham not to harm the
boy, but he and his son are recognized for their willingness.
While there are some discrepancies between the story in
the Jewish Torah and in
Muslim beliefs about if the son
was Isaac or Ishmael, the imam
said the lineage isn’t what is
important about the story.
“Both of Abraham’s sons
were beloved to him,” the
imam said. “Muslims don’t
consider lineage important —
what you believe is what matters. Someone could be a
descendant of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon
him) and if he doesn’t believe
HOEFFNER
The air of good feeling was
palpable at the celebration.
Women’s eyes sparkled as
their girlfriends gushed over
the beauty of their henna-tattooed hands, specially decorated for the holiday. Men were
all smiles as they embraced,
often lingering to ask about
one another’s families. It was
heartwarming to watch the
interaction.
The holiday season is an
interesting time of year. While
the specific reasons for celebrating each holiday is different, we all pause on these special days to consider something greater than ourselves.
And for people of faith, we
pause to remember the love
and blessings that we believe
come from God.
— Staff Photo By Jaime R. Carrero
MUSLIM MEN do their morning prayers at the East Texas Islamic Center during the
Eid al-Adha holiday on Tuesday.
in the one God, he’s not a
Muslim.”
Muslims at the East Texas
Islamic Society celebrated with
traditional food from a variety
of countries, a carnival filled
with bounce-houses, facepainting, and games after
prayers and a sermon. They
also slaughter animals for the
holiday, and give a third of the
meat to the poor. Many members of the mosque also give to
the poor in countries overseas.
A focus on others is one of
the themes of the holiday, the
imam said. A donation box is
set up in the lobby to collect
donations for the Ullah family,
fellow members of the East
Texas Islamic Society. The
wife and mother in the family
accidentally fell and suffered a
serious brain injury. The donations help the family pay the
overwhelming medical bills.
As is a holiday tradition for
the members of the East Texas
Islamic Society, a member was
recognized for going above
and beyond in their service to
the society. This year, Ashraf
Kafray was recognized.
“It’s nice to be recognized,
but I give credit to God,”
Kafray said.
Kafray was one of the original members when the
mosque members began gathering more than two decades
ago.
“We started out with nothing,” Kafray said. “We started
with eight to 10 families. Now
we have about 300.”
Continued From Page 1D
of work. YWAMers are helping
girls caught in human sex trafficking in Southeast Asia, and
they are serving food and ministering to homeless children in
Sao Paulo, Brazil.
They are running discipleship schools and have trained
more than 200 people working
in various jobs in Hollywood.
They are also working in East
Texas with girls facing
unplanned pregnancies, and are
training teachers and planting
schools around the world.
The YWAM campus near
Garden Valley hosts hundreds of
people each year who come to
receive training in how to “help
fulfill the Great Commission,”
Mrs. Lascelles said.
Leland Paris, former director
and one of the founders of the
East Texas YWAM campus,
began the second YWAM base
in Hammonton, N.J., in 1970.
Later, he started another YWAM
ministry in Solvang, Calif. In
1980, he and his wife Fran and
their staff moved to East Texas,
where they joined Jim and Jan
Rogers, who had pioneered a
YWAM ministry in Tyler. Mr.
and Mrs. Paris have since been
the directors of YWAM Tyler
until this summer, when Chris
and Debbie Lascelles were
named co-directors.
Paris presented Loren and
Darlene with a framed copy of
the very first Discipleship
Training School curriculum,
created by Leland and Loren in
1974. Since that time, over one
million people around the world
have attended that program.
On one trip to an African
nation, 17,000 militants rose up
against the government proved
to be very violent, Cunningham
said. Militants killed several
thousand people.
At the height of this vio-
lence, a YWAM team felt God
was directing them to go to the
camps of the militants and share
the Gospel with them.
The team approached the
dangerous group, and 300 people immediately surrendered
their lives to Jesus and their
weapons to the YWAMers. To
date, more than 8,000 militants
have surrendered, and the government of the nation has asked
YWAM in that region to rehabilitate these people, Cunningham
said.
“It is amazing that 20,000 of
us around the world work every
day without a salary,” Mrs.
Lascelles said. “What is more
amazing is how God provides
for all of us. We each have testimonies that show how faithful
our God is.”
It’s important to look ahead
to the next 50 years, and commit
to stewardship of the ministry
that over time is being passed on
to the next generation, Lascelles
reminded the audience at the
end of the event. The YWAM
campus is presently fundraising
to complete a new kitchen, dining, classroom and events center
that is needed to accommodate
growth.
“The future of missions
belongs to those who prepare
for it,” Lascelles said.
Subscribe
Today
to the
Call
800.657.2040
or visit
TylerPaper.com/section/circulation
The Church With Heart ...
in the Heart of Tyler
West Erwin Church of Christ
420 W. Erwin • Tyler, TX 75702
903-592-0809
Bible Classes: Sun. 9 a.m., Wed. 7 p.m.
Worship Services: Sun. 10 a.m. & 5 p.m.
For details on all church activities www.westerwin.org
Continued From Page 1D
And it seems that when we
stop to consider God’s love,
something magical seems to
naturally follow. When we
stay aware of how God pours
into us, we turn around and
pour into others.
We gather together to sing
and laugh, to simply enjoy
each other’s company. We get
angels from the Salvation
Army Angel Tree and we
spend time baking sweets we
hope our family and friends
will enjoy.
We even go out at an
ungodly hour on Black Friday
to get that perfect gift for our
loved one.
“If we can come together
in body, we can come together
in spirit,” the imam said in his
Eid sermon on Tuesday. That
YWAM
spirit of the holidays is one of
the best things about this time
of year. Isn’t it neat that being
mindful of what we’ve been
given by God makes us want
to turn around and give to others?
Someone says it every year
around this time, but wouldn’t
it be great if we could act this
way all year? Why couldn’t
we? God’s blessings aren’t
any more special when it’s
cold outside than when the
sun stays out all day. We just
seem to be more aware of
them.
Of course, with the business of life, it’s easy to forget.
But at least for now, we can
focus on sharing the holiday
spirit and be mindful of where
it comes from.
COLLEGE HILL
MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
1314 West Houston Street • Tyler, Texas 75701
Everyone is invited!
79th Church Anniversary
Anniversary Service
November 21, 2010 • 3:00 p.m.
The guest speaker and church will be Pastor Bertrain Bailey and the St. John Baptist Church in Dallas.
So, while people of many
faiths in America are celebrating Thanksgiving next week,
let’s remember to give thanks
for all the giving that goes
around — what God gives to
us, and what we give to others
in return.
Vanderbilt
Baptist Church
(Known for Being True
to The Word of God)
Marvin A. Gardner, Pastor
“Old Fashion Preaching”
with King James version
and Traditional Hymns
Sun School 10am
Morning Worship 11am
Evening Worship 5pm
Wed Worship 7pm
In The
First Place
By Paul W. Powell
Some Things to be Thankful for
This Thanksgiving season many people are having a hard time. Maybe you are one
of them. Here’s something to think about as Thanksgiving approaches: if we could
shrink the population of the earth to a village of 100 people, it would look like this:
• Fifty-one would be female, forty-nine would be male
• Seventy would be non-white, thirty would be white
• Seventy would be non-Christian, thirty would be Christian
• Eighty would live in substandard housing
• Seventy would be unable to read
• Fifty would suffer from malnutrition, one would be near death
• One would have a college education
• Fifty-seven would be Asian, twenty-one European, eight from South America,
eight African and six from the United States
• Fifty percent of the earth’s wealth would be in the hands of six people, all
six would be U.S. citizens
Now, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.” (Psalm 107:1)
First Baptist Church - Tyler Texas
One Church - Two Locations
Both 12 minutes from Loop 323
South Campus - Contemporary Worship
1 mile South of Loop 49 on Hwy 69
Worship 9:00 am - Bible Study 10:15 am
Downtown Campus - Traditional Worship
1 Block west of the Square on Ferguson
Bible Study 9:30 am - Worship 10:45 am
TV Broadcast
Sunday 11:00 am
Wednesday 1:00 pm
17495 Hwy 69 South
Channel KLTV 7
Cable Channel 38
(5.5 Miles S. of The Loop)
Everyone Welcomed
Sunday 8:00 pm
Saturday 6:00 pm
Cable Channel 38
Cable Channel 38
(903) 839-9555
www.vbctyler.com
www.fbctyler.org