ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)—Labor Day was no picnic for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers involved in responses to flooding along the East Coast and in North Dakota.

About 60 men and women working through North Carolina Baptist Men prepare thousands of meals for residents left without utilities after Hurricane Irene. (BP PHOTO/Mike Creswell)

And those responses to floods and fires were afoot even before Tropical Storm Lee dumped up to a foot of rain along the Gulf Coast areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. The storm then moved northeast, where it spawned tornadoes in Alabama and Georgia, damaging dozens of homes and causing flash floods in the Atlanta area. At least two people died and 16,000 customers were left without electricity as a result of Lee, according to the Associated Press.

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, Mike Flannery, state disaster relief director for the New York Baptist Convention and a director of missions in Buffalo, reported recovery work will be a crucial need in upper-state New York and north New Jersey, where water levels were receding but were not yet low enough to insert mud-out units.

"We are desperate for mud-out units," said Flannery, who cited a minimum need for six mud-out teams from other state Baptist conventions.

Flannery also is having to educate inexperienced New York flood victims who don't know they must gut their homes down to the framing and do mold and mildew removal before re-occupying their houses.

Flannery is coordinating three emergency food-service operations—two in Washingtonville, N.Y., run by New York and Mississippi Baptists, and another at Trinity Baptist Church in Schenectady, run by 40 feeding volunteers from Kentucky. The Schenectady operation—preparing 6,500 daily meals—has the capacity to churn out 15,000 meals a day.

Flood damage in Wilmington, Vt., underscores the need for mud-out volunteers requested by Baptist Convention of New England officials. (BP PHOTO)

"Please tell Southern Baptists to keep us in prayer," Flannery said. "In times of crisis, people point their eyes and ears to the Lord." Flannery said the New York flooding is the most pervasive disaster in his five years in disaster relief in the state.

Volunteers from 25 of the 42 state conventions are assisting in many other disaster relief responses in the 11 states pounded by Hurricane Irene, including feeding units in North Carolina and Virginia.

In North Carolina—where Irene struck its eastern coast and 42 counties have been declared disaster areas—Southern Baptist Disaster Relief fielded more than 1,200 job requests for mud-out and chainsaw work and completed about 600, reported Gaylon Moss, state disaster relief director for the Baptist Convention of North Carolina.

"In North Carolina, four have accepted Jesus as Savior, more than 1,200 volunteer days have been recorded, and about 88,000 hot meals have been prepared," Moss said. Disaster relief units from seven state conventions have responded at 13 separate sites across North Carolina.

Mark Madison of the Baptist Convention of New England said needs are widespread in that region.

"We're focusing on four locations in southern Vermont and in Montpelier. We have 100 jobs assessed and ready to work. We really need 12 more mud-out teams as well as chaplain/assessment teams to make an impact," Madison said.

In all, after Hurricane Irene, 375 chainsaw and mud-out jobs have been completed; 13 people have made decisions for Christ through 725 gospel presentations and ministry/chaplain contacts; and nearly 2,800 showers and laundry loads have been provided.

To date, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief units have prepared nearly 268,000 meals for Irene's victims, volunteers and responders.

Bruce Poss, disaster relief coordinator for the North American Mission Board, supports Madison, Flannery and others in their desperate pleas for mud-out teams from other parts of the country.

Mud-out and feeding continues in Minot, N.D., where 66 people have made professions of faith in Christ and volunteers have delivered 123,000 meals over the last eight weeks, Poss added.

"We still need to show a strong presence in Minot, although a lot of that will start closing down in mid-September, and all of it will be shut down by the end of the month."

LUBBOCK—In the Lubbock-Cooper school district, seniors teach a seminar on a topic of their choosing. Kelsey Vines' turn came Sept. 2, 2008.

"You can lead the class on anything you want to, and she led the class on Matthew 6:34—which I don't think is a coincidence," said her father, Thom Vines. "It says, 'Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself.'"

A few hours later, Kelsey was killed. She was driving home from school when the steering controls on a 48,000-pound dump truck broke and hit the car she was driving.

Kayla, her twin sister, was sitting next to her, but her physical injuries were limited to an ankle and a few scrapes and bruises.

The days that followed were traumatic for all the members of the Vines family, as well as for Kelsey's boyfriend, John Michael Vestal.

Her father turned to Scripture to heal his broken heart and bruised faith.

"As much as anything in the past years and months, it's Proverbs 3:5 that I keep coming back to. We don't know why this happened. We certainly don't like that it happened. But we don't lean on our own understanding. We trust God," Vines said.

That deep-seated trust led Vines and Vestal to write a book, Tragedy and Trust: Can You Still Trust God After Losing a Child?

Vines describes Vestal as "without a doubt the single best human being I've ever met—a deep, deep abiding faith and rock solid."

While he is glad his daughter chose to spend her last 11 months of life in a relationship with such an exemplary young man, Vestal's character also is the source of some pain.

"Kelsey was already a Christian, but we watched her faith flower with him. And what they lost together, could have had together, that's part of the pain," he admitted.

Vestal's spiritual maturity beyond his years served as a steadying influence for Vines after his daughter's death. "After the accident, as much as anybody, he became my spiritual teacher," he said.

Vines wrestled with the question: "Why do you trust God?"

"I thought long and hard about this, and then I suddenly realized the answer was right there in front of me all the time. The reason we trust him is because he loves us," Vines said.

"Why does he love us? Because he created us, and we are his children. Just as I love my children, he loves us on an infinite scale.

"So, I can accept it. I don't understand why this happened —how this was part of his will. But I know he loves us, and therefore, for some reason I do not understand, this is the way it had to be."

Even so, Vines acknowledged he still misses his 18-year-old daughter, even after three years have passed.

"To be sure, there's still human grief. The first thing we think of each morning when we wake up is Kelsey. The last thing we think of at night is Kelsey. Every day I have one or two of what I call 'Kelsey moments.'

"Despite all that, we love our Lord, and that's what keeps us going. And I remind myself every day that I will see her again," he said. "We will always have grief. On this side of the grave, it will never be over, but what awaits us beyond is wonderful.

"The last three years have been the most horrible and most wonderful time of my life.

"The horrible is easily apparent—we lost our child, which for a parent is as bad as it gets. But the growth and the coming to the Lord and the joy we've found in that has been wonderful."

Becky Vines finds solace in knowing her daughter is in the arms of her Heavenly Father. She recalls stories that remind her of her daughter's faith.

One story is of a young man Kelsey offered a Bible to at the end of her junior year in high school.

He refused, but on the second day of school following the summer break, he asked Kelsey if he could still have the Bible.

Days later, he was at the visitation at the funeral home asking her family if they wanted it returned.

"I told him to wear it out," her father said.

Kelsey's parents agreed healing has been a process.

"I know where she is, and that gives me peace. I say, 'I know where you are, and I know you're safe and that I just can't call you on the phone.' And that's the way I have to handle it," her mother said.

For her father, a couple of dates mark his healing. The first is July 22, 2009.

"The accident site had always been the place where Kelsey died. … On July 22, it just popped into my mind, 'That's where Kelsey went to heaven.' Not where she died, but where she went to heaven.

"It took me 10 months, but that was a real turning point—when I was able to look at the place not as a negative, but a positive. I go by that spot nearly every day, and it's still painful, but it's also a place of hope," he said.

The second marker was last fall when he made contact with the driver and the owner of the dump truck to let them know of his forgiveness of them.

Vestal, now 22 and a teacher and coach in the Lubbock-Cooper school district, said the book allowed him to track the spiritual journey and see God's hand in his life.

"It's been cool to see how far God has taken us. It's three years later, and we're still here. God has a plan for our lives, and the plan God had for our lives did not stop. It continues on. The plan God had for our lives did not change at all," he said.

Just as all their lives have continued, her mother said, Kelsey lives on as well.

"People still send her Facebook messages: 'I got baptized today because of you.' Kids go on mission trips and tell her story, so she's still giving testimony for the Lord."

Figuring out why is not something Vines worries about anymore.

"We don't know, but we trust—that's the core of the book, the core of our experience," he said.

The book is available on Amazon.com as a paperback and an e-book.

WASHINGTON (ABP) – Prominent religious leaders of various faiths joined Sept. 8 in Washington to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director Brent Walker, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal and Carroll Baltimore, president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, were among leaders in the interfaith group formed to celebrate America’s faith communities’ role in bringing healing to a nation still recovering from fear and division that have defined the country during the last decade.

Along with mourning victims of 9/11, the coalition, called Shoulder to Shoulder, highlighted religious organizations that have led grassroots efforts to unite religious communities across the country in the face of anti-Muslim sentiment.

Shoulder to Shoulder was formed last year to fight anti-Muslim sentiment by encouraging freedom and peace. In Thursday’s ceremony at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, the leaders celebrated the religious community’s role in helping to heal the nation.
 
“A decade after our nation was attacked, we honor those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, not only with uplifting words and enduring memories, but with a renewed commitment to the common good and the bedrock values that have made America a land of opportunity for people of diverse ethnicities and faiths,” the 26-member coalition said in a joint statement.
 
“The time has come to reclaim the sense of community and shared purpose that guided us through those trying days a decade ago. Fear-based politics and discrimination against Muslim Americans and those perceived to be Muslim disgrace the memories of those who perished on Sept. 11, and desecrate the core values that make our nation great. The presence in America of people of all faiths and belief systems enriches our diverse country. The ideals that unite us are more powerful than the differences that divide us.”

After the event, Walker spoke a word of support for the families surviving those killed in the attack and the importance of religious liberty for all, particularly for Muslim Americans.   

“Our lives were changed forever on 9/11 when we suffered the most hellish act of aggression on our native soil since the War of 1812,” Walker said. “So, on this 10th anniversary, we remember those whose lives were lost and the families that survived them. We also pledge to continue our efforts to protect religious liberty for all people, particularly religious minorities. When anyone’s religious liberty is denied, everyone’s is in jeopardy.”
 
Other coalition members include American Baptist Churches USA, The Episcopal Church, the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, the Islamic Society of North America, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. 

In the days after the attacks nearly 10 years ago, the BJC issued a statement calling for a national response that is “careful not to compound the tragedy by sowing seeds of hate, casting blame where it does not belong, and seeking vengeance instead of justice.” It continued, “The response should be directed in ways that respect the religious freedom and civil liberties of all Americans, reject religious and ethnic stereotyping, and avoid the loss of innocent life.”

–Jeff Huett is director of communications for the Baptist Joint Committee.

AUSTIN—Texas has the second-highest rate of hunger in the nation, the U. S. Department of Agriculture announced Sept. 7. And according to a new report sponsored in part by the Texas Hunger Initiative , hunger even exists in some of the state’s wealthiest counties.

According to USDA, 18.8 percent of Texas households, or one in five were at risk of hunger between 2008 and 2010.

Coming on the heels of the announcement, the Texas Food Bank Network, the Texas Hunger Initiative and First Choice Power released “Hunger by the Numbers: A Blueprint for Ending Hunger in Texas.”

The 508-page report includes a scorecard for each of the 254 counties in Texas, as well as recommended resources for funding and programs to fight at a local, statewide and national level.

“Hunger by the Numbers: A Blueprint for Ending Hunger in Texas” incorporates the newest national data on hunger made available by Feeding America, the nation’s network of food banks, along with U.S. Census data and statewide data on usage of federal and state programs.

“As Texans read this report, they will learn some startling facts about the size of the hunger problem in their state, which currently ranks second-worst in the nation when it comes to hunger," said Jeremy Everett, executive director of the Texas Hunger Initiative, a partnership involving the Baylor University School of Social Work’s Center for Family and Community Ministries and the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission .

“They also may be surprised to learn the extent of the hunger problems in their own back yards.”

In Harris County, where Houston is located, 18 percent of the people are food insecure. In Hidalgo County, in the lower Rio Grande Valley, the number is 24 percent.

Even Montgomery County, home to The Woodlands and some of the state’s most affluent ZIP codes, has a food insecurity rate of 15 percent, meaning one in seven residents is at risk of hunger.

For more information and to view each county’s hunger scorecard, visit www.firstchoicepower.com/HungerGapReport .

ETBU awarded foundation grant. The Butterfield Memorial Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to East Texas Baptist University. The grant from the Christian charitable foundation serving community health needs will fund scholarships for upper-level nursing students in the Frank S. Groner Endowed Memorial School of Professional Studies. ETBU nursing students who demonstrate a strong commitment to the Christian faith and see nursing as a means to use their gifts and skills as a ministry are eligible for Butterfield Memorial Foundation scholarships.

Tillman to direct theological education. The Baptist General Convention of Texas has tapped Bill Tillman, T.B. Maston Professor of Christian Ethics at Logsdon Seminary, to leads its theological education efforts. Tillman began on a part-time basis Aug. 16 while he completes his fall teaching schedule at Logsdon. He will begin serving as full-time director of theological education Jan. 1. Tillman has been the T.B. Maston Professor of Christian Ethics since 2000. He taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1981 to 1997, first as an assistant professor and later as an associate professor. A longtime Texas Baptist leader on education and ethics, Tillman has served on numerous BGCT boards, including the Christian Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Southeastern State College, now Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He earned his doctorate from Southwestern Seminary.

Historical Society event slated for Amarillo. The Texas Baptist Historical Society will hold its annual fall meeting at 11 a.m. Oct. 24 in the Heritage Ballroom A1 of the Amarillo Civic Center. The luncheon meeting will include the election of officers, recognition of the history award winners, and a presentation on Mary Hill Davis by Jennifer Hawks, a student at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. The cost of the luncheon is $10 payable at the door. For reservations, contact Autumn Hendon at the Texas Baptist Historical Collection, autumn.hendon@texasabaptists.org, (972) 331-2235. Deadline for reservations is Oct. 17, and seating is limited.

Baylor core curriculum makes "A" list. Baylor University was one of only 19 institutions nationwide to earn an "A" for its core curriculum, according to a report on the state of general education at the nation's colleges and universities from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. No other Big 12 university and only three other Texas institutions made the "A" list. The study—posted at www.WhatWillTheyLearn.com— looked at curriculum offerings at 1,007 major public and private colleges and universities in all 50 states. Institutions are assigned a letter grade ranging from "A" to "F" based on how many of seven core subjects they require— composition, U.S. government or history, economics, literature, math, science and foreign language at an intermediate level.

• Benji Morrison to Mount Carmel Church in Whitehouse as student pastor.

• Austin Stevenson to Calvary Church in Tyler as student pastor.

King Arthur loses burial battle. A self-styled druid who identifies himself as a legendary British king lost his bid to rebury immediately prehistoric human remains at a sacred pagan burial site. John Timothy Rothwell—who changed his name to King Arthur Pendragon in court documents—lost his court battle to win custody of the cremated remains from a team of experts at Sheffield University. London's High Court ruled scientists had not acted unreasonably three years ago when they dug up the remains of more than 40 bodies, thought to be more than 5,000 years old. Forensic experts now are allowed to keep the ashes for study and analysis until 2015. Researchers are expected to rebury them in the same spot where they were found at England's prehistoric pagan stone circle at Stonehenge.

Quote by first century apostle, not First Avenger. "We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up." Who said it? According to a recent poll, more Americans attributed the passage to comic book hero Captain America, Martin Luther King Jr. and former President George W. Bush than its actual source—the Apostle Paul in the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians. A survey commissioned by the American Bible Society found 56 percent of Americans surveyed misattributed the quote. Only 12 percent correctly attributed it to the Bible. The survey by Harris Interactive was conducted online among 2,572 adults.

Failed circumcision gets mom probation. A 30-year-old Portland, Ore., woman who botched a home circumcision of her 3-month-old son has been sentenced to five years probation. Keemonta Peterson, inspired after reading the Old Testament, decided she wanted her son to be circumcised. But because she believed he was too old to be circumcised by doctors, she decided to do it herself, after watching YouTube videos. She called 911 after the failed circumcision left her son bleeding uncontrollably and in great pain. Peterson pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal mistreatment and agreed to undergo mental health treatment and work with a mental health probation officer. Two other charges of abuse were dismissed. Doctors completed the circumcision and the boy has fully recovered, Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney John Casalino said.

Churches to reclaim property. A prominent Czech church leader has welcomed an agreement that would allow churches to reclaim land and buildings seized under communist rule but forfeit state subsidies in return. A draft settlement finalized in Prague allows religious groups to retrieve assets confiscated after the 1948 communist takeover, while obtaining financial compensation for others. Separately, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his government will return properties seized from recognized minority religious groups in 1936. Some Catholics and most Protestants are not on the government's official list of minority religions.

—Compiled from Religion News Service

Judge grants church planter's motion to stay in U.S. An immigration judge granted a motion allowing a Baptist church planter facing possible deportation to Mexico to remain in the United States. Hector Villanueva, who arrived in the United States 38 years ago as a toddler, found his legal status in jeopardy last August when his application for citizenship revealed a 16-year-old felony conviction in California. That was before he accepted Christ in prison and prior to passage of a law that immigrants who commit a felony can be deported. Villanueva, the bivocational pastor of Iglesia Bautista La Roca in Siler City, N.C., receives support from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina as a church planter. In granting Villanueva's request for waiver, the judge said the evidence indicates the father of six has lived an "exemplary life" since his prison term and that he is "completely rehabilitated." While granting the waiver, the court warned Villanueva such a waiver can be granted only once, and any conflict with the law in the future would be grounds for immediate deportation.
 
Australian Baptists oppose same-sex marriage. Baptist leaders in Australia issued statements recently opposing a proposal to change the current legal definition of marriage to include gay couples. John Beasy, national president of Australian Baptist Ministries—formerly the Baptist Union of Australia—said members of Baptist churches in the nation "overwhelmingly support" the current definition of marriage as between a man and woman and oppose moves to change it. "A strong society needs a strong commitment to marriage and family," said Rod Benson, an ethicist and public-issues spokesperson for Australian Baptist Ministries. "Marriage is best understood as the union of a man and a woman, and the law is best left as it is." Australia's current 1961 Marriage Act defines marriage as "the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life." A same-sex marriage bill introduced in 2009 would have removed all discriminatory references based on sexual or gender identity from the 1961 law. The bill did not pass, but Parliament passed a motion asking all 226 members to consult with their constituents about whether gays should be allowed to marry. More than 50 church leaders representing Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant denominations recently wrote letters to Parliament members, kicking off a campaign supporting the current definition of marriage as between a man and woman.

Bibles needed for India. Book-Link, an arm of Fellowship of Baptist Educators, is collecting Bibles, theological books, biblical reference books and other materials to send to India. It costs about $4,500 to ship a 20-foot container filled with 747 boxes of books to India. Book-Link has shipped about 2 million Christian books, journals, tracts, Christian music CDs and cassette tapes to more than 5,000 recipients in 82 countries at no cost to those who received them. For more information, contact Olin Williams at Book-Link International, 100 Book-Link Way, Eubank, KY 42567, e-mail him at booklinkway1@windsteam.net or call (606) 379-17334.

—Compiled from Religion News Service

• Baptist University of the Américas will hold its fifth annual Eagle Run Oct. 15 to benefit Communities in Schools of San Antonio. Registration opens at 7 a.m., and the run will start at 9 a.m., which will begin and end on the BUA campus. Registra-tion before Oct. 15 is $15, but on the day of the race, registration is $25. BUA students and staff also are involved in the organization's mentoring program. A community health fair will follow the run. For more information, call (210) 924-4338, ext. 207.

• Blake Killingsworth has been named vice president for communications at Dallas Baptist University. He previously served as an assistant to the president for 10 years. He is a member of First Church in Cedar Hill.

• Hardin-Simmons University has added several new faculty members, including Jennifer Asbury, instructor of nursing; Bob Brooks, dean of the HSU School of Music and Fine Arts; Emily Dean, assistant professor of educational studies; Kerri Fisher, assistant professor of social work; Carrie Jones, assistant professor of art; Olivia King, instructor of nursing; Truby Miller, instructor of educational studies; John Reams, visiting professor of woodwinds; Jeremy Rhodes, assistant professor of sociology; Indira Tyler, associate professor of nursing; Janet Viola, associate professor of nursing; and Bryan Yorton, associate professor of philosophy.

Anniversaries

• Bill Killion, 15th, as minister of music at First Church in College Station, Aug. 11.

• First Church in Howardwick, 40th, Oct. 2. Coffee and doughnuts will be served from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Frankie Just, the church's first pastor, will be on hand. Other guests include Doug Dubose, Genoa Goad, Bryan Knowles, Bob Miller, Jim Powell and Robert Griffin. A lunch will be followed by a service at 1:45 p.m. David Stout is pastor.

• Tarrant Association, 125th, Oct. 14. A part of the anniversary celebration will be Faith in Action service weekends set for Oct. 14-16 and Oct. 21-23.

Death

• Herb Weaver, 76, Aug. 30 in Tulsa, Okla. A graduate of Baylor University, he was active in Royal Ambassadors. He served five churches as an RA counselor for a total of 16 years. He worked with Dallas Association to coordinate the wilderness program at Camp Chuala. In 1980, he became RA director for Union Association, directing the leadership training camp from 1982 until 2002. He served as Region 14 director for Texas Baptist Men, and RA/Challengers director and Baptist Men on Missions coordinator for UBA. He co-authored the book 100 Years of Royal Ambassadors. He was a member of South Main Church in Houston. He is survived by his sister, Jana King.

• Dick Baker, 84, Sept. 5 in Dallas. He was a 1950 graduate of Baylor University, his years as a student there interrupted by his voluntary service in the U.S. Navy during the end of World War II. While a student at Baylor, he was a part of the youth revival movement as a music leader and soloist. He began the Baylor Religious Hour Choir that remains an active choir today. He also cowrote the Baylor Fight Song. While attending South-western Seminary, he was minister of music at Birchman Avenue Church in Fort Worth. He left there in 1956 to begin a ministry of music evangelism. He was a member of the Billy Graham Crusade teams in Akron, Ohio, and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Soon after, he joined with his brother, BO, as an evangelistic team. They traveled the United States and the globe preaching the gospel through word and song. When his brother returned to the pastorate in 1973, Baker continued his music evangelism ministry and also served as vice president of Crescendo Music Publications and music coordinator for World Evangelism. In 1980, he became the first minister of music at Prestonwood Church in Dallas. The church grew from 75 members to more than 6,000 over the next 12 years that he served there. He retired from Prestonwood in 1992 and returned to music evangelism until 2007. He began composing songs in 1947 and continued writing until earlier this year, most written with his brother. More than 300 of his songs were published. His accolades include an honorary doctorate from Dallas Baptist Univer-sity and the establishment of the Richard Baker Chair of Music Missions and Evangelism at Southwestern Seminary. He also received the George W. Truett Award for Distinguished Service and the the L.R. Scarbrough Award from the seminary. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ann, and brother, BO. He is survived by his son, Paul; daughter, Lori Simmons; and four grandchildren.

Event

• The second annual Women Leading Women Conference will be held at Pinecrest Church in Silsbee Oct. 8. Rhonda Kelley will be the keynote speaker. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Breakout sessions will include "Reach Women for Christ," "Nurture Women in their Faith," "Involve Women in Kingdom Work," "Support the Church Family" and "Engage the Next Generation." The cost of the conference is $20 until Oct. 1 and $25 if paid after that date. The cost includes lunch. For more information, call (409) 656-7589.

BASTROP—When Leticia Lybarger learned her house burned to the ground, she was devastated. Her property was uninsured, and she had lost everything her family wasn't able to stash quickly in their vehicles.