The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 134, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 18, 2010 Page: 6 of 18
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m
KCH PAGE
6A Pace
The Albany News
www.thealbanynews.net.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
WO R DS about the WO R D
written by local pastors
Albany Ministerial Alliance
— OFFICERS —
President..........Dennis Patience, 762-2019
Vice President ...Josh Clevenger, 281-898-8645
Secretary........Anthony Parker, 762-2078
32 buckets sent to Haiti
Roz Thomas
Trinity Episcopal
Church
“So he set off and went
to his father. But while he
was still far off, his father
saw him and was filled with
compassion; he ran and put
his arms around him and
kissed him.” Luke 15:20
As we approach the last
two weeks of Lent, a season
of repentance, reconcilia-
tion and renewal, we need
to ask ourselves, “Have I
really repented of my sins?”
We are called to repentance
by John the Baptist and Je-
sus. The Bible verse above
comes from Jesus’parable of
the Prodigal Son, certainly
a story of a young man who
repented seriously for the
wrongs he had committed.
The New Testament
was originally written in
Greek. The word we find
there that is translated as
“repentance” in English
is metanioa (pronounced
meh-TAH-noy-ah). That
Greek word means to turn
around or to go the other
way.
The best illustration I
have heard of this word
goes something like this:
You’ve made arrangements
to meet with some family
in Dallas for a few days.
So on the morning of your
departure you drive to
Abilene and hop on 1-20.
The day is overcast, but not
rainy. You spend some time
fiddling with your CD’s and
finally satisfied, lean back
and sing along with your
favorite music, happily
anticipating a good couple
of days ahead. Suddenly
you notice you have just
passed a road sign which
reads “Sweetwater 28 mi.”
Uh oh. Sweetwater is west.
Dallas is east. You realize
that you are traveling in
the wrong direction.
Now you are probably
very sorry about this. In
fact, you are filled with
regret. You are totally re-
morseful! You have wasted
a lot of time driving the
ROZ THOMAS
wrong way and this makes
you feel ashamed and hu-
miliated.
The parable of the Prodi-
gal Son is a stunning ex-
planation of this. The son
turns from everything he
had done wrong and hum-
bly returns to his father’s
home, hoping to be treated
only as a servant. But the
father’s forgiveness is way
ahead of him.
As the son makes his
way back, he rehearses
his little speech. He says to
himself, “I will get up and
go to my father and I will
say to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against heaven and
before you; I am no longer
worthy to be called your
son; treat me like one of
your hired hands.’”
But before he even gets
there, his father sees him
and is “filled with compas-
sion.” He runs and puts his
arms around him before
the son ever has a chance
to open his mouth and say
anything. The father knows
from the son’s actions, what
is in his heart. He doesn’t
need to hear the words. In
fact, the words would be
meaningless without the
actions.
I once knew a man who
was a member of a con-
gregation I served. I had
not been priest there very
long before I heard about
his reputation for philan-
dering, despite his being
married with children and
a regular church goer.
One night this man was
caught “in flagrante de-
licto” in his car with a nurse
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in the town’s hospital park-
ing lot. The security guard,
mistaking the couple’s
situation as one of danger
rather than embarrass-
ment, opened the car door
and shot my parishioner
man point-blank with a
shotgun.
The man lived, possibly
only because he was so
close to the hospital. Later
when I visited him, he told
me, ‘Reverend, I’m not the
same man as I was. I’m
going to change my life.” I
had heard those words from
others, but did not want to
seem cynical, so I said, “I
hope so. You’ve been given
quite the second chance
and not everyone gets that.”
The remarkable thingis,
he did change his life. He
became a good family man,
seen around town taking
his wife out to dinner or
his children to the mov-
ies. (Fortunately his wife
chose to forgive him.) He
was a skilled artisan and
carpenter and began using
his skills to enhance his
own home and the church
as well.
He never again spoke
of the incident. He didn’t
go around telling every-
one what a changed man
he was. He didn’t even
mention it again to me,
although from time to time
as I admired his work on
the church building, we
exchanged a significant
glance.
This man had learned
the importance of behavior
in the process of repen-
tance and reconciliation.
He knew that God had
received him back with
arms outstretched and he
never lost his gratitude. He
became an example to his
children, a loving husband
to his wife and a walking,
breathing Prodigal son to
his church and community
As soon as he turned
around and started walk-
ing the other way, his
Father in Heaven saw him
in the distance and has
ever since given him the
strength to continue to his
way to the Kingdom.
First Baptist Church
has collected 32 “Buckets
of hope” in the last few
weeks to be delivered to
the people of Haiti.
The five gallon buckets
are filled with enough food
to feed a Haitian family
for a week, according to
the Southern Baptist Di-
saster Relief organization
that is coordinating the
humanitarian project. The
buckets can then be used
by the people of Haiti for
other needs.
Local church members
enthusiastically supported
this “hands-on” approach
to helping the people of
Haiti.
Some expanded the
project to their workplace
and classroom. Albany first
graders earned enough
money for two buckets
by doing chores at home,
with encouragement from
their teacher, Roxanne
Raymond.
Raymond used the proj-
ect to teach about less
fortunate children, defined
“emergency food relief,”
and had the students work
together to pack the buck-
ets. They discussed Haiti’s
geography, the staples
needed to survive, their
nutritional value and for
Photo Provided By Sasha Walters
Albany residents recently sent 32 five-gallon "Buckets of
Hope" filled with foods such as rice, beans, oil and flour
to victims of the Haiti earthquake. The nationwide effort
was coordinated by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
math, they weighed the
items (27 pounds).
An unofficial goal of 20
buckets was set when a
church member donated
20 buckets to be filled, but
members surpassed that
goal with 32.
During the March 7
Sunday worship service,
a prayer of dedication was
given before church mem-
bers loaded all the buckets
into a trailer for the next
leg of their journey.
Rob Walters, a local
southern Baptist Disaster
Relief volunteer, organized
the effort and delivered the
buckets to the area collec-
tion site on March 8. They
were shipped to Dallas,
then Miami and will ulti-
mately be distributed by
Haitian Baptists in Haiti
within a few weeks.
Nationally, Southern
Baptists expect at least
100,000 buckets to be
transported to Haiti.
Southern Baptists have
a long history of churches
cooperating in missions
efforts around the world.
Marriage seminar set Mar. 27
Representatives from
Abilene’s Texas Family
Institute will be in Albany
at the Church of Christ on
Saturday March 27, to of-
fer a one-day seminar on
relationships and marriage.
The classes will be con-
ducted by John R. “Rusty”
McLen, Executive Director
of Texas Family Institute
(TFI) and a licensed fam-
ily therapist, and Suzanne
Perkins, TFI’s Director of
Operations. The program
will begin at 9:00 a.m. and
concludeby5:00p.m. Lunch
will be provided and child
care can be provided upon
request. The program is
offered free of charge.
The seminar is intended
for any couple - dating,
engaged, or married, who
would like to strengthen
their relationship, learn
new communication skills,
and get to know each other
on a deeper level.
Perkins notes that,
“While eight hours seems
like alongtime, most people
find it is a good way to
spend a Saturday. It really
is about the couple and not
the teachers.”
Because the course is
approved by the state as
part of its “Twogether in
Texas” initiative, couples
will qualify for a waiver of
the state portion of their
marriage license fee by par-
ticipating in the program.
‘We see so many mar-
riages in trouble these days,
we wanted to offer some
‘preventive maintenance’
to help people develop the
communication patterns
and problem solving skills
that will help keep their
relationships out of crisis,”
said Anthony Parker, minis-
ter at the Church of Christ.
“Ideally, couples will
get this training before
they get married, but it
is never too late to learn.
Even those who have been
married for many years
can take advantage of the
opportunity to ‘tune up’
their relationships.”
More information is
available at www.stay
twogether.com. Advance
registration, which can
be made through Friday,
March 26, is required.
Contact the Church of
Christ at 762-2078 or the
Texas Family Institute at
670-0969 or online at www.
albanychurch.net.
Alliance makes plans for Easter services
The Albany Ministerial
Alliance will once again
host its well-attended
Holy Week noon worship
services on Monday, March
29 through Good Friday,
April 2.
A different local pas-
tor will deliver a brief
daily message based on
this year’s theme, “Walk
Through the Week with
Jesus.”
The services will be
held at Matthews Memo*
rial Presbyterian Church,
with lunch served both
before and after to accom-
modate work schedules.
Meal times are 11:30 a.m.
to 12:00 noon and 12:30 to
1:00 p.m.
This year’s speakers are
as follows:
Monday - Trey Little,
Tuesday - Paul Moore,
Wednesday - Bruce
Stovall, Thursday - Den-
nis Patience, and Friday
- Steve Ulrey.
The noon worship times
also include congrega-
tional hymns, scripture
reading and prayer.
Sunrise Service
An Easter sunrise ser-
vice is being planned by
the Albany Ministerial
Alliance, with local resi-
dents and their holiday
guests invited to come to
Stasney’s Cook Ranch.
The Easter morning
service will begin at 7:00
a.m. on Easter Sunday,
April 4.
Bart Burgess will over-
see the service, entitled
“Resurrection Hope.”
Chairs will be provided
for those who attend, and
a light breakfast will be
served.
Albany residents of all
denominations are urged
to participate in the ser-
vice, which will conclude
well before Sunday School
classes and morning ser-
vices begin within their
own congregations.
The Easter service will
overlook the lake at the
ranch headquarters so
that those attending might
enjoy the sunrise over the
water.
Directions to the ranch,
which is about a 10-minute
drive from Albany, are as
follows:
Follow FM 1084 (Cook
Field Road) from the Post
Office about 5.5 miles.
Turn right at the derrick
with the Stasney Ranch
name on it. Follow the
main ranch road about
three miles to the ranch
headquarters.
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The Shackelford Co. Sheriffs Office
is looking for your help in solving the
following case of Criminal Mischief.
Sometime between the late evening hours of
March 14th and the early morning hours of
March 15th, one or more persons damaged nu-
merous mailboxes on Pate Street. If you have any
information about these crimes or any person(s)
involved, you are urged to call Crime Stoppers
at 1-800-222-TIPS. You do not have to give your
I name. Crime Stoppers will pay a cash reward of
up to $1,000 and you can remain anonymous.
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Lucas, Melinda L. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 134, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 18, 2010, newspaper, March 18, 2010; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1118412/m1/6/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.