Newspaper Page Text
Page 2B
April 20, 2022
ARfeporter
Spotlight on Local Churches
PASTOR S CORNER by Rev. Pamela Johnston
Focus on Easter message to
practice a life of resurrection
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrec
tion and the life. Whoever believes in
me, though he die, yet shall he live.” John
11:25
W e all know the Christmas
season begins earlier each
year. In 2021, I’m pretty
sure I heard
Mariah Careys ‘All I Want
Is You’ before Halloween.
That’s primarily so the retail
world can make the most
of each passing week. The
more gifts we buy, the better
off they are.
Of course we, as Chris
tians, celebrate the holiday to
remember the birth of Jesus.
But if Christmas was mainly
about preserving a vital story
in our faith tradition, then we
would make more of Epiphany, the day
the Magi were supposed to arrive to visit
the newborn king, and we would surely
celebrate the Easter season longer than
any other high holy day.
As it turns out, many churches hold to
the tradition of Eastertide, the practice
of celebrating Easter for 50 days. Histori
cally, the period of seven weeks that falls
between the day of Jesus’ resurrection and
the day we celebrate Pentecost are all part
of the Easter season. Imagine egg hunts,
Easter baskets, new dress clothes, and
ham dinners at grandparents’ houses for
seven weeks in a row!
According to verses in the Old Testa
ment (Leviticus 23), the Jewish harvest
festival was to begin at sundown on the
sabbath after the first grain offering and
last for seven weeks. It then concludes
with the Feast of Pentecost, which falls
in May and which Christians have made
into a celebration of the coming of the
Holy Spirit, or the birthday of the church.
Growing up, we never celebrated Easter
more than one Sunday. As a teenager, I
would rise early and hike up Stone Moun
tain with my friends to attend a sunrise
service at the top. It was very dark, usually
windy and always exciting-we felt like we
were in a place we were not supposed to
be. I suppose Mary, Peter and John prob
ably felt the same way that morning they
found the empty tomb. In recent years
many Protestant churches have begun
holding multiple services during Holy
Week, the days leading up to Easter Sun
day, but most do not mention the season
after the Day of Resurrection.
Why do you think we place less empha
sis on an event that is just as miraculous
as a virgin birth and, in fact, more central
to the reason we believe in eternal life?
A man claiming to be the Son of God
who was brutally executed in public and
then buried comes back to life. He leaves
the tomb and wanders the area around
Jerusalem, appearing several times so he
might bestow wisdom and further illu
minate the purpose of his
time spent on earth.
It seems like a no-brainer
that we need more than
one week to celebrate it.
Easter is a huge mystery;
it turns everything inside
out and upside down.
Jesus died on the cross, but
somehow he is still with
us. You can’t contain or
begin to understand that
message in just one week.
Wendell Berry includes
a phrase at the end of his poem ‘Mani
festo: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.’
Practice resurrection, he writes. It is an
odd directive for mortals, especially when
most of us live focused on whatever diffi
cult circumstances face us in the moment.
Yet greed, fear, and brokenness existed in
Berry’s time, just as they did in the time of
the disciples, and just as they do now.
Berry challenges us to practice it
because we must choose to live by hope
when it makes no sense. We must work at
it, try it on. We must perpetually seek new
life, even amid impossible circumstances
because that is the promise of our faith.
Remember that Jesus’ resurrection is a
foretaste of our own. Even when the Ro
man government flexed its muscles and
Jesus’ friends had deserted him, death did
not win. His ascension is a foreshadowing
of our own ascension.
I am so glad for the season of Eastertide.
We should all take advantage of a seven-
week focus on the message of Easter to
practice—over and over again—a life of
resurrection. God can bring joy when
before there was sorrow, wholeness when
before there were painful scars. Living
into that mindset will probably take us
more than seven weeks; it is meant to take
a lifetime.
Rev. Pamela Johnston is pastor of Ebenezer
United Methodist Church, 1671 Dames Ferry
Road, Forsyth Go. The Pastor's Corner is
sponsored by the Monroe County Ministe
rial Association, which meets on the second
Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at Christ
United Methodist Church, 417 N. Frontage
Road, Forsyth.
Rev. Pamela Johnston
CHURCH CALENDAR
Email church calendar news to Diane Glidewell at news'-mymcr.net by Monday at
1 0 a.m. Church information is published free of charge as space permits.
April 23
6th Annual Charity
Golf Tournament
The Forsyth United Methodist
Men and Boy Scout Troop # 51
will sponsor their 6th Annual
Charity Golf Tournament on
Saturday, April 23 at 8 a.m, at
The Forsyth Golf Club. Proceeds
benefit the Bob Land Memo
rial Scholarship Fund and BSA
Troop 51. Golf and lunch is $50
per player, $200 for 4-person
teams. Hole Sponsorships are
$100. Fun and prizes for all! Cal
(404) 392-5595 or (478)
550-6096 for information &
registration.
April 24
St. James Baptist
celebrates 156th
anniversary
Saint James Baptist Church,
110 James Street, Forsyth will
celebrate its 156th Church
Anniversary on Sunday, April
24 at 11 a.m.The anniversary
speaker will be Rev. Christo
pher E. Cabiness of New Hope
Baptist Church of Macon. All
are welcome to join St. James
Baptist in celebrating where
God has brought us from,
rejoicing in the present and ex
citedly expecting what God has
in store for this Body of Christ.
April 26
Food distribution at St.
James Baptist
St. James Baptist Church,
1 10 James Street, Forsyth
will host a drive-through food
distribution on Tuesday, April
26 beginning at 1 1 a.m.
in partnership with Middle
Georgia Community Food
Bank. The distribution is at St.
James on the 4th Tuesday of
each month, weather permit
ting.
April 30
Chicken Q at Christ UMC
Christ United Methodist
Church Methodist Men, 417
N. Frontage Road, Forsyth
will hold a Chicken-Q on
Saturday, April 30 from
1 1:30 a.m.-l p.m. Tickets are
available at the church for
$10, and walk-up custom
ers will be served while
meals last. Meals include a
half-chicken, slaw, chips and
bread.
May 11
Circle of Care Food
Distribution will be at
Christ UMC
The Circle of Care, with
the assistance of com
munity churches and other
volunteers, will distribute
food packages provided by
Middle Georgia Community
Food Bank on Wednesday,
May 1 1 at Christ United
Methodist Church, 417 N.
Frontage Road, Forsyth. Re
cipients should begin lining up
at 10 a.m. Future monthly dis
tributions are planned for the
second Wednesday of each
month. Check Christ United
Methodist Church's Facebook
page or call 478-994-1232
for updated information.
May 24
Kynette UMC celebrates
Family & Friends Day
Kynette United Methodist
Church, 266 Martin Luther
King, Jr. Drive, Forsyth will
celebrate Family and Friends
Day on Sunday, May 24 at
1 1 a.m. The guest speaker
will be Minister Juanita
Daniely Hogan of Mt. Gilead
Baptist Church, Forsyth. All
are invited.
Did you know?
Snapshots from
Monroe County History
id you
know
that the
Monroe
County
Commissioners once
maintained creosote
pits for farmers to use?
Farmers put their fence
posts in them to ensure
longevity One
such creosote pit
was on Highway
42 South at Stu
art's Mill on the
Tobesofkee.
While supporting farm
ers in putting up lasting
fences, which would keep
in livestock, the county
commissioners warned
landowners not to put
BICENTENNinL
* CELEBRATING E00 VEBRS *
E5T. 1821
those fences too close
to the road, for then the
fences would interfere
with the operation of the
machinery the county
used to maintain those
dirt roads.
Nominate mom for Mother of the Year
The deadline is 5 p.m.
on Friday, April 29 to
nominate your mom as
Monroe County’s Mother
of the Year for 2022. The
Reporter is sponsoring the
Mother of the Year con
test. Simply write in 400
words or less why your
mom should be Mother
of the Year. The winning
nomination should in
clude specific details about
how mom has sacrificed
to meet her family’s needs.
She must be a Monroe
County resident, but the
nominator doesn’t have to
be. Nominations are due
at 5 p.m. on April 29. The
winner will be featured in
the Reporter just before
Mother’s Day, May 8, in
the May 4 issue. She will
receive gifts from local
businesses. The top nomi
nations will be printed as
well. Nominations should
include the name of the
mother and the person
nominating her and the
author’s phone num
ber. Email to publisher@
mymcr.net, fax to 994-
2359, or mail to RO. Box
795, Forsyth, GA 31029.
High Falls
Continued from Page 1 B
date. He said HFLA hasn’t
collected any membership
dues over the last two years
but has had few expenses
and is solid financially.
He explained that HFLA
is registered as a 501(c)3.
Over the years it has been
instrumental in protecting
High Falls Lake environ
mentally. Its purpose/ob
jectives are to address safety
issues and to protect High
Falls Lake and the Towaliga
watershed, which extends
through surrounding coun
ties, including Spalding
and Henry. Initially it met
quarterly, then it reduced
meetings to twice a year.
Chappell said the com
panion organization, the
High Falls Civic Club, met
monthly before Covid. It is
not a 501 (c)3 and doesn’t
have by-laws or dues like
the HFLA. The purpose of
the Civic Club is to bring
people together socially
and to keep them informed
about issues of common
interest. The two groups
have generally the same
members.
Chappell said those inter
ested need to decide how
often to meet and whether
to continue both groups.
To continue, some people
need to commit to lead the
organization(s) and take
on the roles of officers.
Chappell, who has been
president for the last seven
years, said he will be glad
to help with a transition of
leadership and to continue
to manage finances since
he has just gotten them in
order.
Membership dues for
HFLA are $25/person and
run from April 1 to March
31. After the meeting
people lined up to pay dues
and indicated on a sign-up
sheet whether they would
be willing to take a leader
ship role. It appeared that
interest in maintaining the
organization is strong.
Chappell asked if the
group wished to have its
annual Independence
Day Boat Parade this year
and whether it should be
on Saturday, Sunday or
Monday since July 4 is on
Monday. The consensus
was Monday, July 4. It
was asked that the parade
cover as much of the lake
as possible since people are
often waiting all around the
shore to see it.
g
V CENTERS Of AMERICA
■ FORSYTH
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•Auto Injuries • Family Care
• SPORTS INJURIES
Certified Physiological Theraputics
In Office X-Ray
Most Insurances Accepted
478-994-1562
255 Tift College Drive • Forsyth
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Thursday by Appointment Only • Friday: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Lee’s Haircutting
www.ForsythDiscCenter.com
Lee Smith
994-1666
Mon - Fri 10 to 7
...Unless Playing Golf
S S 1 B L
E BY:
Ready to Meet
Your Pet Needs
r ANIMAL ^
MEDICAL
CLINIC
• Boarding • Bathing
• Medical Management
• Wellness & Preventive
• After Hrs. & Emerecncv
Dr. Brandon Pinson
60 S. Jackson St. * Forsyth.GA ♦ 478-994-4986
Voted 2014 Best Veterinarian by readers of the Reporter
Freeman Funeral home
A name that can be trusted for funeral and burial arrangements
26 Brentwood Place • Forsyth
994-6483 • 994-6576
“Servicing Each Family With Equal Respect”
WBIB-FM 89.1
Forsyth-based Christian Radio
Believers in Broadcasting
478-957-9164
www.wbibfm.com
We are here to serve the
local church and community.
Sunday morning local sermon schedule:
9 a.m. Dayspring Presbyterian Church
10 a.m. Rock Springs Church
11 a.m. New Providence Baptist Church
facebook.com/believersinbroadcasting
CAROUSEL
HOME CARE
PERSONAL CARE HOME FACILITY
Quality & Compassionate Care
Owned & Operated
by a Licensed Nurse Practitioner
478-994-3694
173 S. Lee Street
Forsyth, GA 31029
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