Newspaper Page Text
Page 6B
November 9, 2022
^Reporter
CHURCH CALENDAR
Spotlight on Local Churches
PASTOR’S CORNER by Rev. Keith Harris
Email church calendar news to Diane Glidewell at news i ®mymcr.net by Monday
at 10 a.m. Church information is published free of charge as space permits.
Nov. 9
Food Distribution at
Christ UMC
The Circle of Care Mobile
Food Distribution at Christ
United Methodist Church, 417
N. Frontage Road, Forsyth will
be on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 10
am-12 noon.
Nov. 20
New Providence Baptist
hosts Laugh All Night
Comedy Tour
New Providence Baptist
Church, 2560 U.S. Highway
41 S, Forsyth will host the
Laugh All Night Comedy Tour
with John Felts on Sunday,
Nov. 20 at 5:15 p.m. This is
clean comedy for all ages. An
offering will be received to
benefit New Missions Helping
Families Flourish. For more
information, visit NPBCSMARR.
org/laughallnight or call 478-
994-2545.
Nov. 22
St. James Baptist hosts
Food Distribution
St. James Baptist Church, 110
James Street, Forsyth will host
a Mobile Food Distribution on
Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 10 a.m.
Nov. 24
Thanksgiving meals
from Forsyth UMC
Forsyth United Methodist
Church, 68 W. Johnston Street
will again provide Thanksgiving
meals on Thursday, Nov. 24.
Volunteers are welcome!
Dec.l
Monroe Co. Ministerial
Association
The Monroe County Ministe
rial Association meets monthly
at Christ United Methodist
Church, 417 N. Frontage
Road, Forsyth. The Ministe
rial Association will meet at
9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1
(combining the November and
December meetings). Ministers
at all churches in the Monroe
County area are welcome.
The Ministerial Association
meetings are an opportunity
for ministers to share infor
mation about opportunities
in the community and to work
together on projects that ben
efit the community, like aiding
travelers who need assistance,
sponsoring the Mary Persons
baccalaureate, organizing the
annual National Day of Prayer
program, contributing weekly
articles to the Reporter’s Pas
tor’s Corner and working with
Kingdom Builders to assist with
home repairs.
Ongoing
First Baptist Forsyth has
Lunch & Learn
First Baptist Forsyth, 95 West
Morse Street will begin a
Lunch & Learn program on
Thursday, Sept. 1 that will
meet in the Fellowship Hal
every 1 st & 3rd Thursday. All
ages are welcome. Pastor Dr.
Hambric Brooks will lead Bible
Study. Gather for coffee and
fellowship at 11:30 a.m. Bible
study and lunch will begin at 12
noon. Participants are encour
aged to bring a sack lunch.
It will be an interactive study
where dialogue is encouraged,
and discussion and questions
are welcomed. Brinq your
Bible.
Bread & Blessings food
pantry is open at Betha
ny Baptist
The Bread & Blessing food
pantry is open at the fellowship
hall of Bethany Baptist Church,
365 Pea Ridge Road, Boling-
broke every Monday from
10 a.m.-12 noon. There are
a variety of shelf stable items
available for families who need
them. For more information, call
478-974-0002.
Rocky Creek Bapt.
Church Motorcycle
Ministry Community
Breakfast
The Rocky Creek Motorcycle
Ministry hosts a community
breakfast every 2nd Satur
day of the month, and all are
invited to attend. Rocky Creek
Baptist Church 225 Rocky
Creek Rd., Forsyth.
Rock Springs Clinic
The Rock Springs Church
Health Clinic in Forsyth is
open every Wednesday from
8:30 a.m.-noon. New patient
consultations are available at
1 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th
Wednesday of each month.
The clinic is near Monroe
County Hospital at 100 MLK
Jr. Drive; the phone number is
478-992-9581.
God is life’s greatest
partner—Join the Faith Ride
A friend of mine shared a phrase
that captures the excitement
of following Jesus the Christ
(Messiah). She called it “A
Faith Ride.”
Faith is simply trusting
God. We can’t truly trust
God if we do not know God.
We enter into a relation
ship with God through
trusting in Jesus for eternal
life. Jesus said, “this is abso
lute truth, whoever trusts
in me has right now eternal
life.” - John 6:47. We trust
God enough to let go of try
ing to earn a place in heaven
or please God on our own.
We trust God enough to study His
Word because we believe it reveals how
we can live as we were created to live.
We trust God enough to let go of trying
to control things we were never meant to
control. In other words, we acknowledge
that God is God and we are not.
We trust God enough to follow where
He leads us.
We can even trust God with the results
of our elections. That doesn’t mean we
don’t vote and promote what we believe
in. Faith is active, not passive. If you
knew that you could trust me, and I told
you there are millions of dollars in gold
buried in your back yard and that you can
have it if you dig it up. What would you
do? Dig, baby dig!
When we learn to trust God in these
ways, life becomes a great adventure
orchestrated by God. We are able to do
things we could never do by ourselves
because God is also leading others and
supernaturally our paths intersect in a
harmony only God could orchestrate.
Needs and resources come together.
Friends are made to help fill in the notes
that we cannot reach and it all
happens at just the right time.
Fear is replaced with excite
ment. Worry is replaced with
an anticipation of success be
yond anything we can imagine.
Love, joy and peace become
our mode of operation.
God is life’s greatest partner.
We were designed to live in
partnership with God. Faith
allows us to recognize God as
the dominant partner. After all, God is
God and we are not. God is all powerful,
His understanding is comprehensive,
His resources are without limit. He is
the perfect partner. He knows and cares
what we need. Living in partnership with
God we find true meaning, direction and
purpose in life. He carries us to people
and places that are beautiful beyond
description. We were designed to live in a
trusting partnership with God and enjoy
this Faith Ride.
Rev. Keith Harris is pastor ofMt. Zion
United Methodist Church, 40 Rumble
Road, Forsyth. The Pastors Corner is
sponsored by the Monroe County Ministe
rial Association. The Ministerial Associa
tion will meet on Thursdays Oct. 20 and
Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. at Christ UMC, 417N.
Frontage Road, Forsyth.
Rev. Keith Harris
County adds positions, raises despite $2.7 million loss
All but Emami vote to add 5 percent raises to 395 employees & 13 new positions
Despite an unexpected
$2.7 million loss in revenue
from Plant Scherer, Mon
roe County commissioners
were still able to fund six
new Monroe County EMS
positions, seven new Mon
roe County Sheriff’s Office
(MCSO) positions, and a 5
percent raise for all county
employees last Tuesday.
During an hour-long
workshop on the county
budget on Tuesday, county
manager Jim Hedges and
county finance director
Lorri Robinson-Byrd
unveiled a projected 2023
total county budget of
just over $45.3 million
in revenues and just over
$43.2 million in expenses.
Largely due to the closing
of Unit 4 at Plant Scherer,
which is the county’s largest
taxpayer, Hedges said pro
jected revenues are down
more than $2.7 million
from 2022. However, he
said projected expenses for
2023 are down by just over
$5 million.
Hedges said the projected
2023 budget includes 303
full-time positions and 92
part-time positions with
funds available for six
additional MCES posi
tions to staff the Smarr fire
station on a full-time basis
as well as three additional
MCSO positions, two on
patrol and one in warrant
services.
Hedges said that leaves
the county with just over
$2 million in contingency,
but he offered three addi
tional spending options
to commissioners that
would cost a total of just
over $1.5 million. Hedges’
proposal called for the
funding of six additional
positions in MCES to staff
the Russellville fire station
on a full-time basis. He
also proposed funding for
seven additional unspeci
fied positions at MCSO. In
addition, Hedges proposed
across-the-board 5 percent
raises for all county em
ployees to account for infla
tion. Hedges said the raises
would be all for county
employees except himself.
He said that would leave
about $510,000 remaining
in contingency should
commissioners decide to
do what he proposed.
When budget discussion
continued in commission
ers’ regular meeting later
Tuesday, commissioners
took a straw poll on wheth
er to fund the additional
MCES positions at the
Russellville station. Emami
was the lone commissioner
opposed, saying he did not
want to add more employ
ees. He said existing MCES
staffers should be used to
man that station. Commis
sioners then took a straw
poll on whether to fund the
additional MCSO po
sitions. Emami was also op
posed to that measure for
the same reason cited with
MCES. District 2 Commis
sioner Eddie Rowland said
he would prefer just adding
four additional MCSO
employees while the other
three Commissioners were
all in favor of funding all
seven additional positions.
As for the proposed 5
percent across-the-board
raises, all five Commis
sioners were in support of
giving raises to all county
employees with District
3 Commissioner John
Ambrose requesting that
Hedges also be included in
the 5-percent raise. All five
Commissioners agreed that
Hedges should also get a
raise.
After about 25 additional
minutes of discussion, Am
brose motioned to approve
all three budget additions,
which was seconded by
chairman Greg Tapley and
approved 4-1. Emami cast
the lone dissenting vote,
saying that while he is
supportive of staff raises, he
is not in support of funding
additional positions in next
year’s budget.
All five commissioners
thanked Hedges and Coun
ty Finance Director Rob-
inson-Byrd with coming
up with a revised budget
less than two weeks after
learning on Oct. 20 that the
county’s taxes from utilities
would decrease by about
$2.7 million. Ambrose not
ed that Monroe County’s
millage rate has gone down
by more than a mill since
Hedges and Robinson were
hired in 2018. However,
Emami noted that even
though the millage rate
has gone down, property
values have risen in many
parts of Monroe County, so
residents are still paying a
higher tax bill. Emami also
pointed out that owners
of small tracts are also
carrying a disproportionate
amount of the local prop
erty tax burden since many
larger landowners have
their property in conserva
tion use covenants.
Commissioners are
scheduled to hold the first
of two required public
hearings on the 2023 bud
get at 6 p.m. on Tuesday,
Dec. 6 with final adoption
expected to occur following
the second public hearing,
which is slated for 9 a.m.
on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Some of the information
in this article is courtesy of
Richard Dumas, Monroe
County Public Information
Officer
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Forsyth-based Christian Radio
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478-957-9164
www.wbibfm.com
We are here to serve the
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Sunday morning local sermon schedule:
9 a.m. Dayspring Presbyterian Church
10 a.m. Rock Springs Church
11 a.m. New Providence Baptist Church
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