Crisis led to Connections for Owensboro Church

On my way to Madisonville,
I stopped in at Third Baptist Church at 527 Allen Street in Owensboro.
On October 18, 2007, the Kentucky Council of Churches assembly
was meeting there when severe weather forced everyone to take
refuge in the basement.



Volunteer receptionist Edith Bennett remembers that Third's pastor,
Dr. James Byrd, said to her "Edith this is for real"
and urged her to go to the basement, the last one to arrive there.
After hearing terrible noises, those who had taken refuge emerged
to find extensive damage.



Along the path to recovery there have been some gifts to celebrate,
however. The rehabilitation workers have taken a personal interest
in the progress. When the large rear sanctuary window was in place,
one worker exclaimed to Dr. Byrd, "Looking at that will surely
help the preachers!" Also, the congregation received numerous
donations and communications of support from many Christians,
including an impressive variety of non-Baptist traditions.



The members of Third Baptist have announced that on August 9th
at 10 a.m. they will host a worship service to celebrate the Lord's
work. It will be followed by fellowship and refreshment. I would
encourage anyone who shared that fateful storm day to attend,
as part of healing that memory. And anyone else willing to strengthen
the blessing of Third Baptist's connectedness to the larger body
of Christ is encouraged to "RSVP" to the church office
by July 26th.



Snapshots of the church's tower in its first and last stages of
repair and a snapshot of Edith at her desk will serve as visual
aids for your prayers of support!



To
see more images taken during the 2007 Annual Assembly, click here.