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June
2004
BCA News
In
this issue:
1. Editor’s
Notes
2. Jammin’ with
Jan
3. 2005 BCA
Workshop Preview
4. Renewal Notice
5. 50th Anniversary
Mugs for Sale
6.
Thank you from East St. Louis
7. Grapevine
8. New
Members
9. Position
Available
Editor’s
Notes
Welcome to the first issue of the BCA Bulletin for the
2004-2005 year. I am happy to serve as BCA vice president for communications. I
have enjoyed my affiliation with BCA members since 1989 and count BCAers among
my dearest friends.
I currently serve as editor of The Focus, the
newsletter for First Baptist Church, Madison, Miss. I joined the church staff
in March 2002 as minister to preschoolers and their families and quickly
received the newsletter assignment. I had served the 13 previous years in
communication positions with Missouri Word & Way, Mississippi Baptist
Record and national Woman’s Missionary Union.
As we begin a new year in BCA, Mark
Snowden (BCA Webmaster) and I are attempting to make a greater connection
between the newsletter and the BCA web site, www.baptistcommunicators.org.
We want to make both of these communication tools a greater value to members.
Please help us with your input. Email us at bcaweb@aol.com.
I
also want your news items. Send them to me at the email address above or to
Keith Beene at bca.office@comcast.net.
Have
a great summer!
Meet
the President
Jan
Kelley, manager for the Office of Information & Communication for the
Arkansas Baptist State Convention, was elected BCA president at the April
workshop in St. Louis. Below is her first column. But before you read her
thoughts, get to know her a little better.
Jan
has worked for the Arkansas convention since 1981. She began her service in the
printing services area and has moved up the ranks to her current position. She
holds a degree in art education from Louisiana Tech University. She became a
Christian at 15 years old. She describes herself as a voracious reader; plays
the flute and sings; and “loves” computer stuff.
She
and her husband, Rick, have a son, Matt, who is pursuing a doctorate in
microelectronics (Jan will have to explain this to you!). Rick works for the
Arkansas Department of Health. Jan says, “I’m surrounded by science guys,
and I’m an art person. How crazy is that?!?”
Jammin’
with Jan
It’s
time to set the record straight. During his tenure as BCA historian, Chip
Turner developed a reputation for telling tall tales about the origins of the
BCA gavel, which has, through the years, passed from one president to another.
Now it’s time for what Paul Harvey calls “the rest of the story.”
Inscribed
on the handle and the head of the gavel are the words, "Ailanthus"
and "Heaven Tree." From this, one could surmise that the gavel was
fashioned from the wood of the Ailanthus tree.
The
Ailanthus tree was brought from China to Europe, then later to America.
According to the Ohio State University Extension Bulletin, the tree is
“common in waste places, roadways, and abandoned fields." Ailanthus is
noted for its ability to thrive in polluted areas.
But
here's the kicker: the tree’s odor is so offensive that some suggest it
stinks to high heaven, hence the name Heaven Tree. And to add insult to injury,
the smell of the male tree’s pollen is so obnoxious that male trees are
seldom planted or allowed to grow (sorry, guys). To soften the blow, the word
ailanthus actually is a Latinized form of the native East Indian word “ailanto,”
or “Tree of Heaven” because it grows taller than other trees.
God
calls us as Christians to “stink to high heaven” by living “lives of
love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering
and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). He also tells us we are to be as a city set
on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14). His desire is that, as we live
among the people of our world who live in sin and darkness, the fragrance of
Christ in our lives will draw all men and women to him.
How
fitting that the Heaven Tree came to us from China, a country where
Christianity thrives under the oppressive regime of communism. And just as
fitting is the fact that as communicators, God calls us to spread His fragrance
through stories and imagery, just as Christ did on earth centuries ago.
Do
you “stink to high heaven”? Do the stories you tell and the images you
create cause people around you to sense the fragrance of Christ? This year,
let's join together and commit ourselves as fellow BCAers to so live our lives
that people see Christ in us and are compelled to respond to His saving grace.
2005
BCA Workshop Preview
April
21-23, 2005
The
Westin Tabor Center
Downtown
Denver
$119
per night
In
2005, Southern Baptists in the Mile-High City of Denver, Colorado, will host
the annual workshop of the BCA. Plan now to attend this annual time of
fellowship, networking, professional development and FUN!! Allen Spencer is
program vice president. Contact him at aspencer@cbgc.org.
Colorado
is home to many evangelical ministries and publishing companies such as Focus
on the Family, The Navigators, Cook Communication Ministries and Group
Publishing. They offer a wealth of resources for a workshop such as BCA. The
workshop will provide opportunities to fellowship with other communication
professionals, discover tried-and-true techniques, comprehend new technologies,
and sharpen existing skills. Of course, a highlight will be the annual Wilmer
C. Fields Awards Competition.
Details
about the 2005 annual workshop will be mailed in early January 2005. For the
latest information, visit our website at www.baptistcommunicators.org/workshop/workshop.htm.
Mile-High
Missions.
Count
on it... in Denver
Your
response to the April workshop survey will help the Missions Committee plan
around your travel needs. If you have activity suggestions, let us know. We'll
add them to the mix as we work with the Denver program planning committee. Send
suggestions to eclay@FamilyNet.com.
BCA
Renewals
It's
time once again to renew your BCA membership. Renewal notices will be sent to
you in early July. Be looking for them. Professional members pay $75 and
students/retired members pay just $25. Make all checks payable to Baptist
Communicators Association and mail them to: BCA, 1715-K S. Rutherford Blvd.
#295, Murfreesboro, TN, 37130. BCA does not accept credit cards at this time.
Thank you.
50th
Anniversary Mugs
Not
able to make it to St. Louis for the 50th anniversary celebration,
but still want to have a memento? The 50th anniversary mug is the perfect
answer. The mugs are a cobalt blue with the special 50th anniversary logo
emblazoned on the side. http://www.baptistcommunicators.org/mug.htm
The
price of the mug includes all shipping costs. Make checks payable to Baptist
Communicators Association and mail to: BCA Anniversary Mug, c/o Keith Beene,
1715K S. Rutherford Blvd. #295, Murfreesboro, TN 37130. BCA does not accept
credit cards at this time.
Thank
You
EDITOR’S
NOTE: BCA members donated $530.43 to the East St. Louis Activities Center
during the 2004 BCA workshop in St. Louis. The North American Mission Board
matched that amount with another $520.00 for a total gift of $1,050.43. Eleven
BCA members traveled to the center on April 17 to help students write tribute
letters to adults in their lives. Below is a thank you note from the center’s
director.
Dear
Baptist Communicators Association,
We
received with gratitude your tremendous gift of $1,050.43 dollars.
These funds are being applied towards our summer camp ministries and we thank
you.
Most
of all, thank you for your gift of presence. Our kids enjoyed your being at the
Center as did our staff. This was our first creative writing seminar, and there
have already been requests for other follow-up programs. You may have started
something new for us!
May
God bless you all and again, thanks for caring and sharing.
Sincerely,
Chet
Cantrell
Grapevine
MARK
& MARY LEIGH SNOWDEN (IMB) became first-time grandparents on May 11. Kylee
Maeg arrived safely at 9 lbs, 12 oz, and 22 inches. Mark & Mary Leigh's
daughter, Lauren, her husband, Matt Sturgill, and Kylee live in Kentucky.
LELAND
HARDEN of San Rafael, Calif., has joined the Advancement Team at
Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Texas, as director of university
communications. A 1984 graduate of HSU, he was named one of two outstanding
recipients of HSU's first Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Leland’s wife is
Elise.
CHARLES
RICHARDSON, director of media relations at Hardin-Simmons University
and historian for the BCA, is a newly named member of the Abilene Neighborhoods
in Progress Board of Directors.
HARDIN-SIMMONS
UNIVERSITY now has 27 members on its Media Relations Advisory Board.
The group, which meets annually in the spring, is headed by Marv Knox, editor
of the Baptist Standard. Richardson (see above) and Brenda Harris,
assistant director, are staff liaisons.
New
Members
CORY
MILLER is the Communications Director at First Baptist Church in
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He may be reached at cmiller@fbcba.org.
LORRI
ALLEN is the News Director at FamilyNet.
She has recently begun producing news segments for inclusion on the Southern
Baptist cable network. All BCAers are invited to present items about their
agencies/institutions. FamilyNet is looking for hard news as well as mission
videos, samples of highlighted ministries, etc.
Those submitting materials will be credited when stories are aired.
Press releases, phone calls and emails are welcomed. For more
information contact Lorri at lallen@familynet.com
or (817) 570-1479.
THREE
Positions Available--The Placement service is a benefit to BCA members!
Communications
and Promotion Coordinator
Baptist
Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey
Assistant
Director, Communications Services
Bellevue
Baptist Church
in Memphis,
Tennessee
Communications
& Grants Coordinator
Baptist
Children’s Home and Family Services
in
Carmi,
Illinois
Read
all about them online: http://www.baptistcommunicators.org/placement.htm
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