Hey Christo ! Marquis Arrue

Pastor Marquis Arrue and his daughter perform Hey Christo at Sunday night's Music Concert. Marquis is the Pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista de Rahway, which worships every Sunday at 12PM.

John's Story

A nice story from a young man who was an athiest before God touched his heart.

Kim Kushner in El Salvador

Kim does little of everything in El Salvador. Right now Kim has been working with several delegations that have come to visit the Baptist Federation from partner organizations around the world. In a normal week Kim does a mix of institutional development with how the Federation can be more effective in serving and partnering with local churches around the country. Kim also works with project based ministry, things like agricultural development, bakery coops for women, charity schools run by churches, working with national leaders and partners to make those projects functional, help with fund raising strategies, and just spending time with them. It´s a lot of fun and a lot of work.

At the regional level, Kim has been invited by partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to serve as coordinator of a regional assessment of theological education. She expects to ultimately organize a regional gathering for theological educators where they will have the opportunity to discuss the trends of the assessment and explore strategic directions for their unique education contexts.

From 2002 until 2004, Kim served as a volunteer missionary with a holistic community health and development organization which prepared local farmers to provide primary health care services in rural Nicaragua.  She helped train promoters and coordinated over 40 short-term mission teams who came to partner with rural communities in building health clinics and digging wells.  In 2005, Kim spent four months working with short-term groups who were partnering with Deborah House in Tijuana.

From August 2006 until April 2008, Kim worked with the Volunteers in Global Mission team at Inter­national Ministries providing administrative and program support.  She then spent four months in Chile, volunteering with a local church preparing women and youth to plan and develop church-based social outreach ministries.

She works with Federation churches in the areas of leadership and empowerment projects with women and youth, as well as informal theological training in the local churches.  Kim also supports short-term teams and individuals partnering in El Salvador.

Please pray for unity and direction in the new generation of young leaders in the church in Miramar; also for continued growth of the new Baptist Women in Ministry group.   Thank you!

For more information about Kim Kushner; http://www.internationalministries.org/missionaries/kim_kushner

Elvis Presley Sings How Great Thou Art

The King Loved Gospel Songs. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopa) is native to North America and was a staple in the Native American diet. It was imported to Europe in the early part of the 16th century by the Spaniards via Turkey (the country.) It was confused in those early times with the Guinea fowl which also arrived via Turkey, and both birds were called turkeys in those days. When it was assigned its latin name in the 18th century, the name turkey still stuck. Native Americans called it peru with no reference to the country of the same name.

Turkey was introduced to the early Pilgrim settlers by the Native American Wampanoag tribe after the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. The first year for the settlers was bleak, with many dying from the journey. Their seeds, aside from barley, did not produce any usable crops. The Indians assisted the settlers, introducing them to native foods such as corn and squash and showed them how to hunt and fish. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 at the behest of Governor William Bradford, and the Native Americans were invited guests of honor.

Thanksgiving became an official holiday in the United States on October 3, 1863 via proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln. This was largely due to the lobbying efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Magazine who had lobbied for 17 years for the holiday. The proclamation declared the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

By 1916, Thanksgiving was referred to in writings as Turkey Day due to the popularity of the bird at the traditional feast.

Interestingly enough, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to move the official Thanksgiving date to earlier in November in order encourage a longer Christmas shopping season as a Depression recovery strategy. His idea was shut down by Congress, and the official date was declared permanently as the fourth Thursday in November via Public Law #379.

The popularity of wild turkeys nearly wiped them out. The federal government stepped in with protection in 1991, and they are now found in 49 states.
Turkey was most-associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas, making winter the prime season for turkey farmers. In 1935, the per capita consumption of turkey was only 1.7 pounds.

Today, turkey has been recognized as a lean substitute for red meat. Aggressive marketing by turkey farmers by advertising and availability of parts rather than the necessity of cooking a whole bird has increased consumption to 20 pounds per person per year, with 74 percent of the consumption being in sliced turkey sandwiches.

And, of course, who can resist drying the wishbone from the breast of the turkey to make a wish?

From About.com