United Christian Ministries is in need of cereal, spaghetti noodles and sauce.
To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
1st Explorers After-School Program Recap
On Tuesday, Kaitlyn came and read a story and played a game with the kids. On Wednesday we had RAs, GAs and Mission Friends. Thursday Generation Kids came and did a fun program with us. And Friday was a chill day.
Mission Moment 1.28.26
Ryan Wilson
Senior Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church, Seneca, South Carolina
When I think about blessings, the story of Jacob stealing his father’s blessing from his brother Esau comes to mind. And what has always grabbed me about this story is when Esau comes to his father Isaac and cries out, “Bless me—me too, my father!” It’s excruciating and painful! Esau feels shunned, insulted and outcast! To be honest, I’ve never quite understood why Isaac couldn’t offer another blessing to another child.
What I do know is that children crave the blessing of their parents. I see it over and over in the preschool and children’s ministry at our church. I’ve also seen it in coaching children and youth sports. Children and youth look over and crave encouragement and compliments from their parents, no matter their abilities. Children want and need to be blessed by their parents. When parents bless their children, kids sense the love of their parents and know that they belong and matter to their parents. Self-esteem and confidence grow in the child who is blessed. The emotional support that a child receives from the blessing cannot be understated.
We often think of Jesus blessing children and even scolding his disciples when they were hindering the children from coming to Him. What this tells us is that Jesus knows the importance of blessings. Parents often look to scripture for help in knowing the words to share in blessing their children.
My wife, Kay, and I are empty nesters this year. We hope we have blessed our three children (young adults) so that they can thrive in their new settings. We want them to be able to be faithful, contributing members of whatever community in which they find themselves.
As I think of Scriptural blessings I want my children to hear, I think of these:
When they are down in life, I hope they hear Rom. 15:13: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When they are struggling with demons within them, I pray they hear these words of God’s protection in Phil. 4:7: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
When they are anxious or doubting, may they hear Josh. 1:9: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
And finally, when they are striving to be loving toward others as Christ has loved them, I hope they hear Phil. 1:9-11: And this is my prayer: That your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.
Pray...Give...Go.
Midweek Meal Cancelled This Week
Due to the extreme cold anticipated throughout much of this week,
we will not be gathering Wednesday evening.
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of cereal.
To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Midweek Meals
Our winter mid-week meals will resume tonight, January 21
at 5:30 p.m. in the MFC. Dinner that evening will be fried chicken,
fried okra, salad, roll & dessert. We look forward to seeing you there!
1st Explorers After-School Program Recap
Last week at First Explorers we talked about snowflakes and how each one is unique—just like us. Debbie made popsicle snowflakes with glitter with the kids. We played basketball whenever the weather wasn’t freezing outside. Whenever we were inside, we all played games and read books.
Mission Moment 1.21.26
Isaac M.T. Mwase
Chair, CBF Global Missions Council (2024-25); Associate Pastor, University Baptist Church, Baltimore, Maryland
Yesterday I said hello to a friend from seminary days. He was calling to see how I was doing. In March of 2025, the year of my 65th birthday, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. My friend proceeded to share with me the sad and terrifying news that he also had joined the throng dealing with some kind of cancer. He is grappling with breast cancer. This is also the cancer that led to the death of his first wife and left him a widower to raise three beautiful children by himself for several years, until meeting and marrying his current, devastated spouse. He works as a hospital chaplain. I prayed with him just as he had prayed with me when I informed him of my own cancer diagnosis in March.
We compared notes about our treatments. I am undergoing hormone therapy and preparing to undergo radiation treatment sometime during the summer of 2025. My prostate cancer was characterized by a Gleason score of nine with metastasis to the lymph nodes; that of former President Joe Biden metastasized to the bones. My friend is going to have surgery June 2025 followed by radiation treatment.
It is ironic that I moved to Maryland from Alabama to become a Cancer Prevention Fellow with the National Cancer Institute. My main cancers of interest you ask? Prostate cancer, because it has a high incidence among Black people and cancers of the brain because of the way these cancers affect our sense of selfhood.
Cancer diagnoses no longer spell immediate death. However, all affected must confront our mortality. The why me question is best answered by a hymn I implore my family to include in my memorial service when I depart from here to the heavenly realm, When Morning Comes.
When Morning Comes
1 Trials dark on ev’ry hand,
and we cannot understand
All the ways that God would lead us
to that blessed Promised Land;
But He’ll guide us with His eye,
and we’ll follow till we die;
We will understand it better by and by.
Chorus:
By and by, when the morning comes,
When the saints of God are gathered home,
We will tell the story how we’ve overcome;
We will understand it better by and by.
2 Oft our cherished plans have failed,
disappointments have prevailed,
And we’ve wandered in the darkness,
heavyhearted and alone;
But we’re trusting in the Lord,
and according to His Word,
We will understand it better by and by. [Chorus]
3 Temptations, hidden snares
often take us unawares,
And our hearts are made to bleed
for some thoughtless word or deed,
And we wonder why the test
when we try to do our best,
But we’ll understand it better by and by. [Chorus]
Source: Baptist Hymnal 2008 #615
If cancer is a test, then all affected can benefit from a blessing.
Blessing for a Cancer Diagnosis
At the time of diagnosis,
may our response be infused with serenity.
May we find a care team
equal to the cancer.
May family and friends
produce more solace than alarm.
May we be granted a passing grade
in dealing with the mixed emotions
that attend us:
anger,
discouragement,
hopelessness,
anxiety.
As we undergo treatment,
grant that our energy levels
are equal
to our past commitments.
And if commitments have to change,
let joy be found
in new activities.
Amen!
1st Explorers After-School Program Recap
This month we’re talking about what makes you unique. Tuesday we made paper snowflakes to hang up on the bulletin board outside the choir room. Wednesday we had RAs and GAs. Thursday we talked about New Years traditions and the Chinese New Year celebration. We colored dragons that Andrew drew for the kids. Friday we just had a free day inside since it was raining.
Mission Moment 1.14.26
Melissa Roysdon
Pastor, Providence Baptist Church, Cookeville, TN
"Each one helps the other, saying to one another, 'Take courage!'”
– Isaiah 41:6
On December 26, 2023, everything in my world changed. That night I answered the phone, believing it was my husband, but I heard this strange voice saying, “Melissa this is…and I have Tony’s phone. I think he may have had a stroke…” I was only able to process some of what I was hearing, but at some point, I realized I would be meeting a helicopter at Vanderbilt Hospital and that I had heard my husband in the background telling an EMT what his name was.
The next few days were filled with prayers of gratitude and pleas for wisdom and healing. He had suffered damage, but nothing like I had feared. We were optimistic that with therapy and time he would recover. When we came home, I was so filled with joy that sometimes he thought I didn’t notice how much he was struggling with tasks that were once simple. He was grateful, but not ready to be joyful. During this time of struggle, I reached for my copy of John O’Donohue’s book of blessings. Each night I would read, “For Courage” as we settled into bed and before each of us offered our own prayers for courage, wisdom and healing.
While there were days when the strange new reality seemed overwhelming, through it all we found strength together. Today, he still struggles with not being the same, but we both know how blessed we have been and that we are stronger for having gone through this together, trusting God to hold us when holding on was all we could do.
For Courage
By John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us
When the light around you lessens
And your thoughts darken until
Your body feels fear turn
Cold as a stone inside,
When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen,
When one voice commands
Your whole heart,
And it is raven dark,
Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world.
Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light,
Know that you are not alone,
And that this darkness has purpose;
Gradually it will school your eyes,
To find the one gift your life requires
Hidden within this night-corner.
Invoke the learning
Of every suffering
You have suffered.
Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.
A new confidence will come alive
To urge you towards higher ground
Where your imagination
will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!
Pray...Give...Go.