"The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective."
~James 5:15-16
August 25, 2008
Please keep in your prayers my wife Linda. She has been diagnosed with Brain Cancer this week and will begin treatment for a non-operable tumor. The days ahead will be tremendously difficult, so I call upon my Baptist family for all the prayer support you can give.
Blessings,
The Rev. Dr. Frank H. Armstrong
Pastor, First Baptist Church of Weston, MA
August 22, 2008
I received a call this afternoon that Rev. Dr. Ella Mitchell became quite ill this past weekend, when she had gone to preach. She is hospitalized in the Bay Area, and has been since last Saturday or Sunday. They do not even have her listed as a patient, because of her need to heal, so there is not hospitalization specifics. Dr. Henry Mitchell is with her. They ask us to pray and pray for them both. Dr. Ella is 91 years young and is---has always been a faithful servant of God and a powerful preacher, pioneer of the Gospel.
Thank you,
Valentine Royal Thomas
July 31, 2008
The ABCNJ family is saddened to report the death of Mrs. Elsie Dianala Familiaran, mother of Associate Regional Pastor/Area Minister Elmo D. Familiaran. She passed away Sunday, July 27 at Torrance Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, Calif.
She had been in California visiting friends.
Elmo's mom had been fighting cancer for the past two years. She had responded well to her treatments and was strong enough to do a lot of things with her family. Elmo tells us that his mother passed away "peacefully, with dignity and on her own terms."
Mrs. Familiaran, 76, was preceded in death by her husband, Rev. Moley Familiaran, deputy general secretary for Cooperative Christianity and the ecumenical officer of ABCUSA.
Mrs. Familiaran was also the daughter of Rev. Delfin Dianala, the well known pastor who aided American Baptist missionaries in Hopevale during the Japanese occupation of the Philippine Islands during World War II.
The ABCNJ family expresses it heartfelt condolences to Elmo, his wife Marie Fe, and their children: Gabe and Maria. We also remember in prayer Elmo's brothers and sisters: Souci Grimsley, Cheery Furr, France, April Gebhardt and Ann Verrinoldi; and the entire family.
In recent months, Mrs. Elsie D. Familiaran worshiped at First Baptist Church, Westfield. Arrangements for a memorial service are forthcoming.
July 9, 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney, will undergo surgery for pancreatic cancer at 1:00 p.m. PST today, Wednesday, July 9, 2008. Dr. McKinney will be at the Swedish Medical Center on Broadway in Seattle, Washington.
Rev. Dr. McKinney is the Pastor Emeritus of the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle Washington, a veteran civil rights leader who has served American Baptist Churches USA and American Baptist Black Caucus faithfully for over 50 years. As a pastor he has prayed for many facing similar health challenges believing God for their healing. Let us honor this man of God by praying for him believing God for his healing.
Let us also pray for the entire family during this challenging time.
Thank you.
June 16, 2008
We pray for the congregations in the Midwest impacted by severe floods. From Dale Thomas, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Keokuk, Iowa:
As a congregation, we have not been greatly impacted at this point. One family has had to move out of their home near the river, and a couple other families have farm land that is going under water, but not impacting their homes. Overall, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and areas around Waterloo are the worst. The churches (at last report) are secure, but some families have been affected from our sister churches. We do not expect a flood crest for another day or two, predicted at or above the 1993 crest.
On another side of things in Keokuk, we experienced a break-in and arson fire in our Education Building. It could be as long as 6 months before we will be back to normal. We are grateful and thankful that it was not the church building, a century old structure that could not have survived a fire as well. No suspects of the crime. We seek justice and offer forgiveness in repentance.
Blessings,
Dale Thomas
May 28, 2008
Urgent Prayer Request from Lorie Smith of Mission Resource Development, ABCUSA:
Please pray for my husband, Phil, who has been in ICU at Pottstown Hospital since Saturday (May 24). When I first took him to the ER, he was in a life-threatening situation. The doctors were able to stabilize him, and even though he is out of danger at this point, he is still in critical condition. Phil really needs your prayers for a full recovery, and our entire family needs prayer to help us cope during this difficult time. Thank you.
April 11, 2008
VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 04/10/08) — Donald Martin, director of Facilities Planning and Maintenance, ABCUSA, died Tuesday night, April 8 in Philadelphia, Penn. following complications during surgery. He was 56.
“Our hearts go out to Don’s family with his tragic death,” said Rev. A. Roy Medley, general secretary for ABCUSA. “We certainly will miss him as one of our longest serving and dedicated staff members. Don had an amazing ability to juggle a lot of balls in the air and do it with great aplomb and dexterity. We will miss his jovial personality and the many skills he brought to his task in maintaining and marketing the building. Don was a wonderful disciple of Jesus who was active in his church and had a real concern for others.”
(Click to read more) www.abc-usa.org/news/2008/20080410b.htm
April 8, 2008
Please hold in prayer Bill Englund, family, friends and church. His daughter was killed in a fire Saturday morning at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Bill's daughter April was 21. There were two other students killed also, Amanda Rief and Scott Hams.
Bill is the pastor of First Baptist Church, 499 Wacouta Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101.
April 2, 2008
Prayers for the family of the Rev. Dr. Reaves Nahwooks, who died on Saturday, March 29, 2008, due to pancreatic cancer. Reaves was a faithful Christian, and active American Baptist, who was a member of the Commission on Life and Theology (COLT) and, as a layperson, served as a bridge between ABCUSA and Native American tribes, particularly in Oklahoma. Reaves also served churches in Nebraska and Oklahoma as pastor, after getting his M.Div. and D. Min. at Colgate Rochester, as a second-career seminarian. His wife, Clydia, two daughters, and a son, and their families, welcome our prayer support at this difficult time.
If you have prayer requests you would like to have posted please email to: sue.sechrist@abc-usa.org.
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