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To the
whole Community:
I
greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus the Christ. I am honored and humbled to continue to
serve as President of the Baptist Ministerial Alliance of Columbus
and Vicinity (BMACV) for 2009. Historically, this organization of
member Black Baptist Churches in Columbus & Vicinity has served as a
beacon of support both to the brotherhood and community. We have
been very blessed to have the many gifts of ministry and outreach to
our community as a part of this great organization. By tradition, we
have always been an organization striving for unity of purpose.
Although we look back at 2008 as a time of decline in economic
prosperity –loss of jobs, housing and wealth- as
people of God, we
have hope of Christ! And, we are ever more fervent in our hope of
reconciliation and working together as we have elected our
44th President, Barack Hussein Obama. We pray
for his vision and strength of mind, body and spirit, as he focuses on
the many urgent tasks at hand. And, we pray for the Obama family.
Our
President,
Barack Obama has called for our country to respond to service
in a “Renewed America Together” effort, so that we create the change
we want to see. It is my prayer that “each of us” take up this call
and march into service for our families, our communities, our country.
As
Black Baptist, having been adopted into the body, we have no shortage
of great men of God
that have responded to the call to serve – we have to look no further
than the late
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to find a heart of a
servant; Rev. King responded as a “Samuel” and said, “Yes, Lord!”
Even in one of his great oratorical speech(s), “The Drum Major Instinct”,
Dr. King reminds us, as Christ reminds his disciples James and John
… anyone who wants to
be important among you must be your servant”… Mark 10:43
Please take the time to read
this portion of scripture in its entirety and pray for its relevance to
your life. If you do so, I believe you will see what
Christ provides as a glimpse of what such service
looks like.
I
thank you for your time, support and prayers for the work of the
entire body of the Baptist Ministerial Alliance of Columbus &
Vicinity. May God continue to bless and keep you, and give you true
PEACE!
Yours
in Christ,
Rev. J. Matthew Carter,
Sr.
Pastor Mt. Period Missionary Baptist Church
(
Link to church site )
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