Newspaper Page Text
12A
JUNE 8, 2000
B The Augusta Christian Unity Council is sponsoring a
Pentecost Prayer and Praise Service at Paine College on Sun., June
11,4 t 7 p.m. Local choirs will be asked to participate as a Unity Choir.
Since most of the music will consist of familiar songs, choirs are asked
tomeet that dayin their own choir robes at 5:30 p.m. for practice, then
tojaininsongat 7 p.m. Speaker will be Bishop McKinley Young of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church. For more information, please
call Dr. Vivian Robinson at (706) 722-8593.
B The choir of Lower Tabernacle Baptist Church, Hwy 220 in
Lincolnton, Ga., along with the choir of Greater Level Hill Baptist
Church will present a Gospel Music Workshop. Seminars and
rehearsals will be held June 9 and 10 at 6 p.m. each day. The concert
willbe held on June 11 at 4 p.m. Workshop facilitator will be Brother
Michael Lewis of Louisville, Ga. Cost is $5 per person, $3 per person
wi/group of 10 or more. For additional info, please contact Brenda
Nunnally at (706) 678-3159 or Mary Garnett at (706) 359-5517. Rev.
Henry McKinney is pastor of Lower Tabernacle.
4
BEverfaithfulMissionary Baptist Church, 314 Sandbar Ferry
Rd. of Augusta, will host a vacation bible school nightly through June
J, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The theme will be “Celebrate, Jesus Loves
Me!« John 3:16.” For more info, call (706) 722-0553 Tues. - Fri.,
between 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Rev. Dr. Rosa L. White is pastor.
B Hammond Grove Baptist Church, 590 Hemlock Dr., North
Augusta, S.C., willhold a Father/Son Breakfast at the church on June
10, at 9 a.m. Speaker will be Rev. Gregory Cannon of Victory Temple
A.OH. The church will celebrate Men’s Day on June 11 during the
10:46 a.m. morning service. Rev. Bobby G. Hankerson is pastor.
B The Sister Austin Choir of the Tabernacle Baptist Church,
1223 Laney-Walker Blvd. of Augusta, will hold a Reunion Gospel
Concert on Sat., June 10, at 6 p.m. The choir, under the direction of
Lilltan Holman Clayton, will perform a varied program of spirituals,
gospels, hymns and contemporary gospels. Pianist Robert Abraham
will accompany the choir and Ann Nealous Johnson and Edward M.
Mclntyre will serve as emcees. The concert is free. A love offering
willibe taken and a scholarship will be given to Paine College to
support the Ann Nealous Johnson Endowed Scholarship which was
established by Jessye Norman.
B Good Samaritan Baptist Church, 1556 Maple St. of Augusta,
willhost nationally known speaker Rev. Reginald Maurice Copeland
as guest preacher on Sun.,June 11,at 11a.m. Rev. Copelandissenior
pastor of Clifton United Methodist Church of Atlanta. He has been
featured as a future leader of America in Ebony magazine. For more
infofcall 722-5853. Rev. Dr. Robert Turner is senior pastor.
B The Music Ministry of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church,
710 East Cedar St. of Augusta, will present the Children’s Choir
Musical on Sun., June 11, at 2:30 p.m. Vacation Bible School will be
held June 12-16, 6 to 8 p.m. daily. Classes will be available for all ages.
Rev. Dr. Johnny R. Hatney is pastor.
B Gospel Water Branch Baptist Church, Fury’s Ferry Rd. of
Evans, Ga., will hold Summer Enrichment 2000 June 12 through July
21. Registration will be held June 8-9. Cost is SSO a week per child,
grade levels K-8. For more info, call 860-7091. The church will
celebrate its Annual Men’s Day on Sun., June 18, at 10:45 a.m. The
speaker willbe Rev. Dr. C.J. Watkins of Beulah Grove Baptist Church.
The theme will be “Doing God’s Will With a New Attitude Through
Leadership.” The church Rev. Robert L. Ramsey is pastor.
B The Ida K. Bogan Education Center of Mount Vernon Baptist
Church will be holding its Annual Vacation Bible School and Church
Picnic June 12-21, 6to 8 p.m. daily. The church picnic will be held on
Sat.,June 24, at Mallard Point Picnic Site at Lake Springs/Thurmond
Lake/Clarks Hill recreational area on June 24. There will be Bible
Study, fun, games, music, arts and crafts, free food and cold drinks.
For more info, call 736-8078.
Continuved next page
Paine College hosts first
music ministry seminar
Paine College will host the
first Annual Music Ministry
Seminar on Saturday, June 17,
2000, from 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon
in the Gilbert-Lambuth Memo
rial Chapel. Registration will
be a $35 fee which includes
music, seminar materials, con
Fax your church, pastor installation, and other worship news
to our Amen Corner at (706) 724-8432.
- What if... o
Children were born without prejudice?
‘ ‘ They are!
| “The purpose of religion as revealed from the
heaven of God’s Holy Will is to establish unity
and concord amongst the peoples of the w0r1d...”
For more information about the Baha’i Faith
Call (706) 863-9498
Orvisit us at http://www.scescape.net/bahai/
B (53
AUGUSTA FOCUS
tinental breakfast and lunch.
For more information, please
call seminar conductor Dr.
Sandra Scott at (706) 821-8223
or e-mail scotts@mail.paine.edu.
Churches from throughout the
CSRA areinvited to participate.
Belle Terrace pastor uses church
as pulpit for community outreach
By Eileen Rivers
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
“You can clearly see the sec
tions of these neighborhoods
where the community’s religious
leaders have already done some
tremendous work,” Reverend
Martin Lowry, pastor of Belle
Terrace Presbyterian Church,
explained. -
Pointing out newly refurbished
homes nestled on clean streets,
located next to smaller, aban
doned and dilapidated ones,
Lowry also acknowledges that his
grassroots neighborhood improve
mentorganization has many chal
lenges ahead. Challenges he
seemstowelcome with open arms.
“My ultimate goal is to bring
the whole community together ....
setting an example for other sub
communities in our area to start
outreach programs that their resi
‘dents can rely on,” Lowry ex
plained.
The seeds of that goal are al
ready takingroot. Since he estab
lished Neighborhood Improve
ment Project Inc., in 1997, the
group, in alliance with University
Hospital, hasestablished ahealth
clinicon the grounds ofthe Golden
Camp Road church site. Several
months later a senior program
was built, and is currently run
under the same umbrella organi
zation, and is staffed with Belle
Terrace church volunteers.
In addition, the NIP also spon
sors a Super Shuttle — a trans
portation system that provides
rides for 30906 residents 60-years
of-age and older. .= .. , .
“One of thettHihgswe aré doirg"
with NIP is providing help to our
seniors,” Lowry said. “With the
cost of prescriptions going up,
medical services and social secu
rity threatened, it’s dire for us to
dosomething more meaningful in
our neighborhoods. We also spon
sor a yearly Senior Olympics.”
But even more important, the
pastor said, is the church’s new
est program — a disciple course
intended to guide people toward
“their right path,” and ultimately
back to community service.
“This courseis not just for people
who want to do something church
related,” Lowry explained. “It’s
for anybody who wants to explore
themselves and find out what God
really put them here to accom
plish.”
The program has a dual pur
pose — first to help people within
the community find their own
calling in life, and second to help
them use their gifts in service to
~.Sonshine 16 g &
- =¥ " Love You CGan Listen To
(706) 738-9191 Business
P.O. Box 1454 (706) 738-0044 Request
Augusta, Georgia 30903 ~ (706)733:0044 Request
7 i Hasr :j %o Kot
e
’.m-x., % ¢ b
Ve g T
\.‘i" B
L '
A
= - ‘
.. '
T
®o o
=
The Reverend Martin Lowry, pastor of Belle Terrace Presbyterian Church: Through his dis
ciple program he hopes Augustans will learn that there is no big difference between Presby
terians and Baptists. Photo by Eileen Rivers
—a——nd XFLR Pty
“Before, the churches here were so
divided along racial lines. Now all
the congregation members are work
ing together.” — Rev. Martin Lowry- -
RRI t.A'y!!‘l'QlH ‘: ;
others, the pastor said.
Lowry, who has also been a
chaplain in the U.S. Army Re
serves for the past 20 years,
learned about the Methodist based
program from a nurse while work
ing at the Charleston Veterans
Association Medical Center.
Blown over by her “infectious’
enthusiasm,” he realized that the
only logical thing would to be to
bring the program to Belle Ter
race.
The course, which will start in
late August or early September,
consists of three 32 to 34-week
classes: Becoming disciples
through Bible study; Into the word
into the world; and Remember
who you are.
Much like the course he is try
ingto teach, Lowry believes when
he finally let his life go to God, he
was lead to unify the community.
“Thefirst sermon I gave at Belle
Terrace was on Easter Sunday
i 5 ‘r;";“‘;!”&'»"" vr—_’\. e e
ML LI s e B
four years ago,” Lowry said.
“When I came here the Lord had
placed on my heart this theme: A
date with destiny.”
Since then, he has secured his
own “destiny” as a community
leader, and continued that of Belle
Terrace as a church focused on
community outreach.
The church itself started thirty
years ago from an outreach day
care center in Terrace Manor El
ementary School. Center volun
teers soon started teaching com
munity Sunday school. By the
end of 1969 the elementary school
was used for regular church ser
vices, and three years later the
church thatisnow known as Belle
Terrace was constructed.
But throughout its expansion,
no one brought in a disciple pro
gram — a stamp that, unlike the
others, is completely Lowry’s.
“The Presbyterian churchisnot
as popular in the black commu
nity asthe Baptist church,” Lowry
Spirit
said. “But hopefully through
things like this disciple program,
we can reach out to everyone in
the community, notjust those who
are already in our church, and let
others learn what the church is
all about. They’lllearn that there
:is"nobig difference bétween the
Presbyterians and Baptists.”
Even while working to expand
his congregation, Lowry is still
keeping the church’s mission of
unification alive. So far he has
gained support from 12 other re
ligious leaders in the area as part
of NlP’s Pastors Group.
“Before the churches here were
so divided along racial lines,”
Lowry explained. “Now all the
congregation members are work
ing together.”
Lowry hopes to eventually use
NIP to start new programs_that
will bring more economic oppor
tunity to the South Augusta area,
start family support groups and
expand the projects existing care
for the elderly.
For more information about
Belle Terrace Presbyterian
Church, Neighborhood Improve
ment Project Inc., or Belle
Terrace’s upcoming disciple
course contact Rev. Martin Lowry
at 793-6908.