Vol. XXXVIII • No.

11 • June 6, 2008
“Among Friends”
Top 10 Statements I Heard During
Yard Sale Week

#10 “I love yard sale

week.” Heard more than once from the
lips of Kurt Varney. After 13 years Kurt
still loves to watch God show up in the
lives of teenagers as they haul, sort, price
and sell mountains of stuff during Yard
Sale Week.

#9 “Don’t worry, Mom…I slept at least three hours last night.”

Sleep definitely wasn’t the main priority for most of the youth last
week.

#8 “Nobody’s going to want a box of old bird journals!”

I was a little dubious as I crammed 50 back-issues of The Auk into a
cardboard box on the weekend before the sale.

#7 “My brother is an ornithologist…How much do you want for

this box of great bird journals?” This man was beside himself with
joy at his remarkable discovery. OK, lesson learned.

#6 “Run and grab the rolls of

plastic!” Rain clouds hovered over the
church most of the week. Kurt was ready.

#5 “Remove the plastic!”

Though it rained all over Atlanta, none of
it fell on FBC’s front lawn.”

#4 “Ma’am, I’ll be glad to carry that

to your car.” Our youth couldn’t have
been more hospitable to the folks who
showed up to shop.

#3 “You guys always seem to have

something going on!” One Decatur
resident stopped to express appreciation.

#2 “This one’s for Tyler!”

The spirit of Tyler Cagle definitely hovered over
the whole week. Tyler, who grew up in FBC’s
after-school and youth ministries, is still
hospitalized in Phoenix following a car accident
on April 13. He is making slow but steady
progress. Do keep going to God on Tyler’s behalf, Welcome New Members!
and pray for his parents, Terry & Winston.

#1 “I’m going to sing something that lifts up

the name of Jesus!” Gloria, a fabulous, full-of-
life resident of Clairmont Oaks, was asked by
Mark Hyman and Jeff Hill from Fox 5 News to
sing and accompany herself on one of the yard
sale pianos. The news clip ended with Gloria
pounding on the keyboard and wailing, “I’m so Scarlet Lanier (by statement) Jeff and Wendy Bigbie
glad Jesus set me free…singing glory, hallelujah, May 25, 2008 and Isabelle (by letter)
Jesus set me free!” June 1, 2008
Congregational Life Prayer Concerns as of
June 4, 2008
Quarterly Congregational Meeting—Wednesday, June 18
Our next congregational business meeting will be Wednesday night, June 18 at 6:30 pm. Come and In The Hospital:
join us! ▪ Tyler Cagle, Interim Care Unit,
Phoenix, AZ
Reception for Bill Neal and Tom Borgo--June 29 ▪ Martha Kiser, DeKalb Medical
Join us after 11:00 worship on June 29 for a reception in honor of two men who have served Christ ▪ Alice Atkinson, FL, mother of
on the FBC staff in significant ways. Bill Neal began serving as Minister of Senior Nancy Norman.
Adults in October of 2004. He resigned last summer in order to become CEO of ▪ Diane Wilemon, SC, sister of
Developmental Disabilities Ministry (DDM) but has continued to minister among our Carole Wright.
senior adults in a variety of ways. Bill is passing this ministry into the Sympathy To:
hands of Bob Williamson, who steps into the role of Minister of ▪ Fred Johnson on the death of his
Congregational Care and Senior Adults this summer. Tom Borgo mother, Bea Johnson.
began serving as FBC's facilities manager in March of 2003, bringing ▪ Marian Smith on the death of her
an unmistakable standard of excellence to everything under his care. Tom began a mother, Mildred C. Touchberry.
new job this month, serving as Facilities Manager at Clairmont Crest Apartments. ▪ Doris Parkman on the death of her
Danny Britt assumed management of our facilities last month. Join us as we honor sister.
and give thanks to God for Tom and Bill. ▪ The family of Mary Christmas.
▪ The Hackney family of the death
Community Picnic and Patriotic Concert—Sunday, July 6 of Liz’s mother, Laura Willis.
First Methodist and First Baptist Churches of Decatur are sponsoring a Community Picnic on ▪ The family of Rosalyn Dodd.
Sunday, July 6 on the front lawn of FBC Decatur. The festivities will include a picnic, activities for ▪ The family of Hamilton Jordan.
children, and combined choral concert. The choirs of FUMC and FBC will join together that day to Thank You Note Received from:
present a patriotic concert including songs with an American flair! What to bring? FBC ▪ Margaret Trawick
members are being asked to bring some desserts. The lunch (including beverages) will be
catered. Also, you may want to bring a lawn chair and dress in “picnic attire.” Activities will begin
around 12:30pm. Tithes & Offerings

Wednesday Nights This Summer A Generous People

2008 Ministry Action Plan

Weekly Need: .....................$ 27,361
Received on May 25:..........$ 19,672
Our Baptist Heritage Received on June 1:...............29,849
June 4, 11 & 18 Baptist Prophets: Their Lives & Contributions; Led by Peter Rhea Jones Y-T-D Need:.....................$ 601,949
June 25, July 9 & 16 Baptist Theology: A Really Short Version; Led by Charles Whaley Y-T-D Received: ..............$ 517,834
July 30, Aug. 6 & 13 Freedom: The Key to the Baptist Genius; Led by Bill Fulkerson Surplus/(shortfall):.............. (84,115)

“Years of Opportunity 2007-09”

Rebates with a Mission! Campaign
Your friends on the Missions Team are committing our tax Given to Date:...................$ 305,873
rebates for FBC’s 2008 Global Missions Offering. Bank Loan Balance:..........$ 271,229
Owed to FBC Fdn.:...........$ 180,000
Offering Goal for 2008: $32,000—to be distributed in the following order:
$9,000—three scholarships of $3,000 each for leaders of the Upland Holistic Development
Project in Thailand Wednesday Dinner Menus
$3,000—Decatur Cooperative Ministry (above and beyond our budgeted contributions to
DCM) June 11
$3,000—Decatur Emergency Assistance Ministry (above and beyond our budgeted Roast Beef w/ Potatoes and Carrots,
contributions) White Rice, Steamed Broccoli w/
$10,000—Hunger Relief in Indonesia ($1,200 will support the purchase of milk for 30 Cheese Sauce, Salad Bar, Yeast
village children for a year.) Rolls, Brownies w/ Peanut Butter
$4,000—The River Ministry in Southeast Asia. The centerpiece of this project is a medical Icing
boat that services villages along a major river system.
$3,000—International Student Ministry in Los Angeles, California June 18
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad,
Will you join us and let your check from Uncle Sam make a kingdom difference in the world? Marinated Tomatoes, Broccoli
Mai Cavalli * Gail Duke * Bill Fulkerson * Liz Hackney * Don Hammonds *George Hooten * Salad, Yeast Rolls, Peach Cobbler
Katie Howard * Fred Palmer * Julie Pennington-Russell * Nancy Peralta * Ann Smith * Bob w/ Ice Cream
Williamson
Youth Sp•t
Kid’s Zone
Intown is one of the most popular weeks for our youth! The week
kicks off on Sunday, June 22, with lunch at 12:30 in the Fellowship Wonderful Wednesdays
Hall. This lunch is open to all youth parents and families. After lunch we Summer Wednesdays will include fun filled adventures
will use Sunday as a day of preparation and fun for our week of June 11, 18, & 25, July 2, 16, & 30 and August 6
missions and community service. Each day we will be involved in some
sort of mission or community service activity. These will range from Summer Camp Mini Retreat
cleaning and childcare to light construction and meal preparation. In the When: July 9 – 11
evenings the youth will worship and reflect on the day. They will also Where: Dogwood Lodge in Chattanooga Tenn.
enjoy many field trips. The youth are encouraged to sleep at the church Who: Those who completed 3rd-5th grades
each night of the week and treat this like a week long mission
experience. We will wrap the week up with a day of cleaning and Thank you extended Session volunteers!
relaxation at the lake. The week will end on Friday evening after dinner
and worship. Upcoming Extended Session Volunteers:
We can use your help in many ways to help make Intown a big
success! You can pray that we will have a positive, safe, and beneficial June 8 June 15 June 22 June 29
week. You can help me find worthy mission and community service Castleberry Stanford Eargle Verdery
activities. You can make us cookies, cupcakes, brownies, or fudge for the Clay Hayes Perry Sunday
week. You can volunteer to be a supply runner, driver, or project Warshauer Fewell R. Leeth School
coordinator for the week. To recommend a project please call or email me Jones Duke Henderson Class
in the church office. (404/273-1653 -or- kvarney@fbcdecatur.com)
Summer Reading Program is here!
-Runs Sunday, June 15—Sunday July 20.
-Come to the Media Center, Room S229 before/after services.
-all children pre-K-6th graders may register.
-The theme is “Saddle Up and Read, Buckaroo!”

All kids will receive freebies when they register: a book bag,
book mark, and a reading log. When they bring back their
reading logs, they’ll get stickers. When each child completes
their log, they will receive a certificate and get a small prize.
The participant in each group (pre-k-2nd and 3rd-6th) who
reads the most books will receive a new book, get their name in
The Outlook, and be noted on our Bulletin Board. All readers
are winners—hope to see parents and kids in the Library this
Summer!

The Outlook, a publication of the First Baptist Church of Decatur,

Georgia, is mailed to members and friends of the First Baptist family.

Main Office......................................404-373-1653
Finance.............................................404-370-7694
First School ......................................404-370-7688
Activities ..........................................404-373-2442
FAX ..................................................404-370-7692
Debbie Britt .....................................404-373-1653
Ryan Forbes.....................................404-370-7690
Julie Pennington-Russell.................404-370-7684
Kurt Varney......................................404-373-1653
Bob Williamson ...............................404-370-7687

Computer Connections:
Website—http://www.fbcdecatur.com
E-Mail—fbcd@fbcdecatur.com

The Outlook, USPS 600-320, is published bi-weekly, except

Christmas week, by First Baptist Church Decatur, GA

Postmaster: Please send address changes to First Baptist Church,

308 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030