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Billy Powell
Columnist
Pastor almost
drowns in
baptism
A minister friend told
me that he almost
drowned in conducting a
baptism ceremony. He had
just graduated from semi
nary and had begun pas
toring at a small church in
Kentucky. Since his
church did not have a bap
tismal font, he would bap
tize new members at a
nearby lake. On this par
ticular Sunday, he had five
candidates for baptism.
The first four went with
out a glitch. The fifth was
a young lady who couldn’t
swim and was fearful of
submerging her head
under the water. As the
lady stepped forward to be
baptized, the depth of the
water where she and the
pastor were standing was
about waist level.
Unbeknownst to the pas
tor, he was standing on a
ledge. Mere inches behind
his feet was a sharp 6-foot
drop off in the lake. With
the lady tightly clutching
his left arm, he positioned
his right arm behind her
back. To gain better foot
ing and balance before
lowering her into the
water, he stepped slightly
backward. When he did,
he stepped off the
precipice and into the
deeper water. With a loud
splash they both disap
peared from sight. When
the pastor surfaced the
lady was hanging onto his
neck. Each time he
attempted to pull away,
she would cling to him and
pull him under again.
Both were taking in water
and gasping for breath.
When it became apparent
to the deacons observing
from the shoreline that
they both would drown,
they waded in and saved
them. A soaked, red-faced
and embarrassed pastor
decided he would postpone
the lady’s baptism until a
later date and test the
depth of the water before
hand.
I remember joining the
i First Baptist Church in
Perry when I was 11 years
old. It was during a
; revival. After several
; nights of the revival, I
decided to make a profes
sion of faith and join the
, church. When I told moth
! er of my intentions, she
told me to wait until the
; following night so she
j could go with me. “ I want
; to join when you do Billy,”
; mother said. So we both
walked down the aisle
together as the congrega
tion sang “Just As I Am.”
We were both baptized at
the same time some two
weeks later. What a won
derful memory!
The most memorable
baptism was Jesus’ bap
tism by John the Baptist.
After Jesus was baptized,
the heavens were opened
and the Spirit of God
descended like a dove,
lighting on him. Then a
voice from heaven, said,
“This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well
pleased.” This marked the
only time in scripture that
all three personages of the
Trinity appeared at once.
FRIDAY,
JANUARY 14, 2005
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JUSTICE ROBERT BENHAM
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WARNER ROBINS -
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Inc. will sponsor the Bth
annual Martin Luther King
Unity Breakfast at 9 a.m.
Monday in the New
Beginning Center at The
First Baptist Church
Garmon Street.
The cost of the program is
$3, which includes break
fast. Dress for the program
is causal.
The speaker will be
Georgia Supreme Court
Justice Robert Benham.
Benham, a life-long resi
dent of Georgia, was born
to Jesse Knox Benham and
The following programs for sen
ior citizens are sonsored by the
Houston Healthcare Center. All
exercise participants must provide
a signed physician referral. Call
(478) 988-1813 for more informa
tion.
Perry Senior Care meets every
Monday (10 a.m.), Wednesday (9:30
a.m.), and Friday (10 a.m.) at Rozar
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Family Faith
Clarence Benham in
Cartersville, Georgia. He
graduated from Summer
Hill High School in
Cartersville in 1963, and
Tuskegee University (B. S.
political science) in 1967;
attended Harvard
University; and graduated
from the University of
Georgia, Lumpkin School of
Law (J. D. degree) in 1970;
University of Virginia (LL.
M. degree) in 1989.
He was appointed to
serve on the Georgia
Supreme Court in 1989. He
is also the first African-
American to serve as chief
Senior Care programs in Houston County
Park for exercise class featuring
strength and flexibility stretching.
On Wednesday only, PVO Bingo
immediately follows exercise. On
Friday only, a healthy lunch ($5)
and a guest speaker targeting sen
ior adult mental, spiritual and/or
physical health are provided after
exercise.
Warner Robins Senior Care meets
each Tuesday and Thursday (9
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justice of the Georgia
Supreme Court. He served
as chief justice from 1995
until 2001.
He is a former vice presi
dent of the Georgia
Conference of Black
Lawyers, a former board
member of the Federal
Lawyers Association and of
the Georgia Association of
Trial Lawyers. He is the
former chairman of the
Governor’s Commission on
Drug Awareness &
Prevention, a member of
the State Bar Task Force on
the Involvement of Women
& Minorities in the
a.m.) at the Houston County YMCA
(corner of Ga. 96 and Moody Road -
922-2566) for exercise class featur
ing strength and flexibility stretch
ing led by a certified instructor.
Once a month (usually the third
Thursday) a mini-check will be pro
vided focusing on required annual
checks for Senior Adults such as
blood pressure, blood sugar and/or
cholesterol.
Profession, the Georgia
Commission on Children &
Youth, the National
Association of Court
Management, and a mem
ber of the National
Conference of Chief
Justices, a member of the
Federal-State Jurisdiction
Committee, President of
the Society for Alternative
Dispute Resolution,
Chairman of the Judicial
Council, Chairman of the
Chief Justice’s Commission
on Professionalism, and a
member of the Governors
Southern Business
Institute.
During the program, a
special tribute will be held
to honor veterans and
active duty military service
men. For more information
about the program and tick
et information, please con
tact Ira L. Foster at (478)
953-3836 or Brenda Kirvin
at (478) 987-9935. Tickets
can also be purchased at the
church by calling 923-2279.
Proceeds raised at the
breakfast will benefit the
Houston County Branch
NAACP The program is
open to the public.
Centerville Senior Care meets
each Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday (9 a.m.) at the New
Centerville City Hall for exercise
class featuring strength and flexi
bility stretching led by a certified
instructor. Once a month, a mini
check will be provided focusing on
required annual checks for Senior
Adults such as blood pressure,
blood sugar and/or cholesterol.
Project
Linus
reaches
500
Just before Christmas, 36
blankets were donated to
Children’s Hospital of
Middle Georgia by the
Perry Chapter of Project
Linus. This donation
brought the group’s dona
tions since 1999 to a total
of 500. Shown here is
Nolan Hester, a 6 year old
from Savannah, who
received one of the hand
made blankets on Dec.2l.
With Nolan are Kathy
Tolbert, child life specialist
at the Children’s Hospital
and Emily Heath, Perry’s
Project Linus Chapter
coordinator. Heath says
that blankets have been
donated not only from the
Middle Georgia area, but
also from areas such as
Tifton, Fitzgerald,
Thomasville, and even as
far away as Kittery, Maine!
To learn more about help
ing with this ongoing
effort, call Emily Heath,
(478) 987-3291.
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