MARCH-APRIL 2012

HARVESTS

We had two harvest-thanksgiving programs during the period. The first was at Six Roads on March 18 and we had a little over a hundred out for the event. We had a lot of competition as all the churches in the area as well as some of our other churches also had harvests the same evening.

The program featured recitations by the Sunday School children and then we had a number of selections by the combined adult choir. The program finished off with a play by the youth centered around the Parable of the Banquet in Luke. It was entitled “What’s Your Excuse?” It was presented in three scenes. The first featured a home in Barbados and a zealous young man inviting his family to the harvest program but they all came up with some excuse or another for not going. The second scene was a household in Haiti still suffering from the effects of the earthquake and cholera but they are excited when they are invited to go to Church the next morning and they get ready extra early only to arrive and find the church already full. The third scene was the parable from scripture where the master prepared a feast and when the feast was ready all the invited guests came up with one excuse or another – I bought land, 5 yoke of oxen and just got married and we are told the master sent his servant to the poor, lame and crippled and invited them to the banquet. In the end the youth all called out different excuses and one asked the audience “What’s your excuse?” and then they all said “You can’t fool God”.
After the service people bought the produce and prepared items that were donated to help raise funds for the congregation.

The Grazettes harvest came up on April 1. The harvest consisted of presentations by the Sunday School and Women’s Fellowship, mostly in song. Then we had the combined choir and the youth play presented again. We had a great crowd of over 115 out for the occasion. We held it again in what would be the bottom floor parking area in the building because the Sunday School area where we normally hold services now could not hold the crowd. Everyone had an enjoyable time.

EASTER ACTIVITIES…

We had a fairly good Resurrection time at the churches. We had Good Friday Services at Six Roads at 10 a.m. and Grazettes at 11 a.m. The services were fairly well attended. We then had a Youth Group sponsored Easter Fish Fry on Good Friday Evening. We had two major problems. First, we had a problem getting fresh fish. This has been one of the worse years in living memory for fish, especially flying fish. At this time normally flying fish would be selling at 100 for $25-35, but they were selling at 100 for $80-90. The other larger fish which normally sells for $4.50/pound was near $10/pound. We had to settle for using salted cod and we fried Bajan Fish cakes. This is close to what you would call “hush puppies” in the U.S. but we have more fish in them. Then we did not have as big a crowd as we would have liked. However, we did have a good night and those who came enjoyed themselves.

Easter Sunday had moderate attendances at both congregations. For some reason we don’t attract the crowds that you do in the U.S. for the Easter services. Then in the evening we had an “Upper Room” service and this also did not attract to big a crowd.

On Easter Monday which is a public holiday here also we had over 100 for the combined Church Sports. We had four teams (Houses) and we had a keen competition with only around 60 points separating the lowest from the highest team. The team sports like tug-of-war, Water Bottle Relay and the regular relays were keenly contested.

BLOG MARCH 2011
Let me apologize for the long delay between blogs, we have been very busy over the Christmas period and the beginning of the year. I hope to be more prompt in writing in the future
GRAZETTES RETREAT
The Grazettes congregation had their annual retreat on January 21 which is a holiday here. The theme was “How Hungry are You” and we focused on “Hungering and thirsting after righteousness. We had 25 out and the workshops were well received and the food was good as usual. We also use these retreats to plan strategy and share ideas for the uplifting of the congregation.
5OTH ANNIVERSARY
We have been quite busy because two of our groups will be celebrating 50th anniversaries this year. The Churches of Christ Camp here already kicked off their activities since October last year but Six Roads have now been busy getting ahead on planning.
The Camp Theme for the year is “50 Years – Molding Youth for Christ” and they had so far an opening Activity when we were away on furlough and then two fund raising activities in the form of a Movie Night and a Garden Party and Chinese Auction. These were not as well attended as we would like but we are hoping for better.
Activities coming up are:
Pizza Sale - April 16
Camp Rally and Preregistration – June 11
Week of Activities – July 17-23. This week will start with a Church Service and culminate with a Camp Banquet and Awards Dinner.
Six Roads theme for the year is “Celebrating our Jubilee in Christ” and here are the activities planned so far:
Old Time Harvest Thanksgiving Program – March 20 at 4.00 p.m.
Fundraising Pizza Sale – March 26
Family Month emphasis especially on Family Day May 29
Week of Activities – September 25-October 1. This also climaxes with an Awards Banquet on October 1. During the week we will have a series of historical presentations.
GIRLS TO WOMEN HOSTS TEA PARTY
The young ladies in the congregation who meet each Monday night as the Girls to Women Christian Club decided on their own to revive the Tea Party which was formerly put on by the Women’s Fellowship. The date chosen was February 26 and from the look of it they did a good job. They had over 100 out for the event and they had well rendered specials and a well-received skit. The food was also good.
Wendy is the main sponsor of this group and they do things that are interesting to girls and encourage the girls in Christian deportment and memorization of scripture.
ACTIVITIES COMING UP
Six Roads Harvest Thanksgiving - March 20
Six Roads Pizza Sale - March 26
Grazettes Harvest Thanksgiving - March 27
Camp Pizza Sale – April 16
Good Friday Services – Six Roads Youth Fish Fry - April 22
Easter Services - April 24
Sports Day – April 25
Six Roads Work Day April 28 –Heroes Day
Combined Youth Retreat – April 29- May 2

MARCH UPDATE

We had a good month of March. It started out with hectic practices for our combined church choir and also with the youth for a play for the occasion. Our Harvest-Thanksgiving program at Six Roads came off on March 21 and we had a good crowd out for the occasion of over 150 persons. The program contained recitation of poems by the children of the All Stars program and they all did a good job. Then the youth did a modern adaptation of the parable of the talents and that was also well received. The choir did well also and presented 5 songs around the theme of the harvest “Blessed to Bless”

Throughout the program leaders of the various cell groups pointed out areas where we have been blessed over the past year and then indicated how we can also be a blessing to others. We had a enlightening challenge at the end by Bro. Cyril Grosvenor from the Enterprise congregation. After the harvest in the fellowship hall there were snacks and produce which the people contributed to the harvest which we sold to help the congregation. During the service we also collected an offering for one of our Christian Brothers who is serving in the country of Haiti.

The harvest at Grazettes is scheduled for April 25.

EASTER ACTIVITIES

We normally have a long Easter weekend here in Barbados seeing that Good Friday is a public holiday here. On the Thursday night of April 1 we held a “Forum on Issues Confronting the Church” and we had a stimulating discussion looking at the Challenges that the Church faces, the challenges that our young people face and the future of the Church. Even though we did not have as large a crowd as we would like we were happy to have members from the congregations at Oistin, Enterprise and Ruby to share in the event.

On Good Friday we had services at 10.00 a.m. at Six Roads and 11.00 a.m. at Grazettes. The Anglican churches on the island have a three hour service, but we have about an hour and a half service and we have about seven scripture readings recounting the crucifixion and this year we looked at it from the perspective of John the apostle. Then we gave a message looking at the reactions of the various people around to the death of Christ. At Six Roads we had around 100 out while at Grazettes it was somewhere between 35 and 40 in attendance. In the evening the Six Roads youth group had a fund raising Fish Fry and we had a great time of fellowship and the fish was delicious.

On Easter morning both congregations had sunrise services followed by breakfast. We had a moderate crowd out at Six Roads and a fairly good one at Grazettes. I think that the young people seem to have a hard time making it out to the early morning service, especially at Six Roads. In the evening we had an Upper Room service at 7.00 p.m. at Six Roads and we had over 35 out to this special candlelight event that re-enacted in large part the last night before Jesus went to the cross. Apart from the sharing of songs and exhortations we took time out to wash each other’s feet and then partook of the Lord’s Supper using realistic unleavened bread at it would be done in Christ’s time. It was inspiring and enjoyed by all who attended.

On Easter Monday which is another holiday here we had our annual sports between the two congregations. Four teams were chosen and they had a very packed day and a competitive spirit as each house had a color and blue house won for the third consecutive year. Young and old had a great time of fellowship and fun and the Grazettes Youth provided catering services for the day.

UPDATE LATE 2009-EARLY 2010

START ON GRAZETTES BUILDING
In July 2009 work started in earnest on the building project at Grazettes. Since then we have had two teams from the United States that came and helped us. The first was from the Bright Christian Church in Bright, Indiana who came in the end of July. They helped to lay out the batter boards and did a lot of steel bending.
In October a team also came from the Brazil Christian Church in Brazil, Indiana. They helped with the pouring of the floor in the Sunday School area and the building of the walls in that area.

Since that time we have poured the first floor for half of the building. Our aim is to complete the Sunday school area which will also have bathrooms and a kitchenette so that we can use that area for worship. We have to dismantle the old building which we will sell to help with funds. This will allow the excavating contractors to complete their work in the foundation area.

GOOD CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS..
We had two lovely and well attended Christmas programs at Six Roads and Grazettes. The combined adult choirs did a musical entitled “Christmas Mosaic” while the children had separate choirs and they did signs of Christmas. Along with our Christmas morning services at 5.00 and 6.30 a.m. it made for a busy but enjoyable Christmas.
GRAZETTES RETREAT
The Grazettes church had their annual Church Retreat at the Six Roads Fellowship Hall on January 21 which is a holiday here in Barbados. The theme of the retreat was “I am Available-Use Me!” and we had over 30 out for the occasion.
We had three main workshops which were conducted by the Sunday School, the Youth Group and the Women’s Fellowship. The Topics were “This is my Church”, “These are my People” and “I’ll do what it Takes”.
We also had another short workshop called “How Does it Look?” addressing some of the annoying distractions that impact negatively on the visitors who come to church.
It was a good day and everyone had a good time.
UNITED SERVICE
Our first United Service for the year came off on February 7 at Six Roads. We had a good crowd (near 140) out for morning service. The afternoon activies took the form of a Bible Bowl competition on Acts chapters 1-20. It was keenly contested but the Six Roads team emerged winners.
FRACTURED SHOULDER
The afternoon before the United service I was coming up an incline from the new church construction area to the old church building at Grazettes when I fell and went down quite hard on my shoulder and immediately I realized that I had done some damage. After coming home and going to a medical clinic my worst fears were realized. The X-ray revealed that I had a fractured shoulder. It was shattered in 4 places but it was still in place. So after I visited the orthopedist on the Tuesday they said that it would not be beneficial to put on a cast but just to keep it in a sling for a few weeks and hope it heals properly. I am to go back to the orthopedist next week(early March) and get another X-ray to see if it is healing properly.

It has really changed my lifestyle. Now Wendy has to drive me around and I now realize how difficult it is to have only one hand functional. It was very painful at first but the pain is decreasing as the healing progresses.

FEBRUARY MARCH ACTIVITIES

UNITED SERVICE

Our first United Service of the year was held at Six Roads on February 8. We had between 120 and 140 out for the Morning Worship service. Bro. Andrew Shepherd from Grazettes was the Worship Leader and he did a fine job. The message was brought by Bro. Leaton Wharton also from Grazettes while special music came from the Grazettes congregation also.

After the service we had a Potluck Luncheon provided by the two congregations and it was enjoyed by all.

The afternoon session as usual was dedicated to the young people and it featured Bible quizzes. The first quiz was a General Bible Quiz for the children of All Star age (3-11) it took the form of “Bible Rounders” which is our adaptation of “Bible Baseball”. Rounders is a game played mostly by girls and they have bases similar to Baseball however, they use a tennis ball and they hit it with their hands and then run on to the bases instead of a bat. The Six Roads group came out winners there. The second quiz was a Book Challenge for those of High School age. This was a preparatory measure to get back to Bible Bowl. We studied the book of James and had buzzer type questions. In the end, after a keen competition the Grazettes youth came out victorious.

ETHICS CLASS

A couple years ago an old classmate of mine approached me to teach a course on Ethics in the Barbados Community College. BCC is our lone Junior College here offering Advanced level certificates and Associate of Science Degrees. Then I politely declined to take it up because of the level of responsibility I had. In early February she asked me first to fill in for her because she had a back injury and was on sick leave for a couple of weeks. She also persuaded me at the time to teach one 3 hour course in Ethics. I decided to give it at try. The class I am teaching consists of about 25 Computer Science students. I took it up because it gives me a wonderful opportunity to shape the character of some of our bright young people, none of whom have ever had a class on ethics before. I thought it was a good opportunity to use my Christian witness to make some structural changes in the life of these young people many of whom have not yet sorted out a worldview. It has been fun and challenging seeing that it was an area that I have never taught before. Seeing my specialty has been more in the area of public speaking, church history and theology.

FOCCC LAUNCH

In February we also launched a new group called The Friends of the Churches of Christ Camp (FOCCC). This group was formed to help with the maintaining and developing of the Camp facility we have here on the island. They will be setting up a regular system of maintenance and will be helping to get the camp property ready for the summer.

TEA PARTY

On February 28 the Ladies Fellowship of the Six Roads church held their annual tea party. This year the format was different, it was held on the lawns instead of inside the church building. The crowds however, were a bit down from previous years but those who attended had a good time.

HARVEST TIME

March here is the center of our harvest season. It is the dry season and the time when the sugar cane is harvested. That also means time for the holding of Harvest Thanksgiving Programs at the churches. We had two good harvests at Six Roads (22^nd) and Grazettes (29^th). At Six Roads we had about 100 in attendance. The highlight of the program was the play by the drama group an interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. The young people that played the Devil and his demons did a great job and it was well appreciated by the audience. At Grazettes we had around 80 and the program went quite well also with the recitations and a play by the youth Group on the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. The Combined Choir, at times augmented with some of the youth, did a great job in special music. After the harvest people bring prepared items and produce which people are then allowed to take for a small donation to help the congregations.

GOOD NEW YEAR START

FIRST BAPTISMS AT GRAZETTES

On Saturday 17th we had our first two baptisms at Grazettes. Two young ladies Chelsea Shepherd, daughter of one of our leaders and Janeva Miller were baptized into Christ on Enterprise Beach in Christ Church. Also baptized was a lady who is a member of the Anglican (Episcopal) Church, who is the organist for one of the leading churches on the island who believed that the proper scriptural mode of baptism was immersion. She asked and I was happy to baptize her.

COMBINED CHURCH DINNER

That same evening we had our annual Church Dinner which was a combined on this year in the Six Roads Fellowship Hall. We had over 120 out for the occasion and all who attended had a great time. We had Christian Karaoke and a lovely meal followed by Sunday School Awards from the Six Roads Congregation and the presentation of Bibles and Certificates for those baptized during the year.

GRAZETTES RETREAT

On January 21 which is a holiday here we had the Grazettes Annual Church Retreat. We had 32 who attended the event. We had a good day around the theme "Better Together". We started with a short worship session and then we had three workshops on the topics "The reasons for Togetherness", "Misconceptions about Togetherness", and "Benefits of Togetherness". These were all taken from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. After lunch we had a time of evaluation followed by planning and goal setting by the various auxiliary groups and the Ministry teams of the congregation.

During the past few weeks since the new year we have been having good attendances in the congregations and we have started the Cell Group Ministry at Grazettes and restarted it for the year at Six Roads.

ERNEST GRIGSBY TAKES UP FORWARDING AGENT DUTIES

As of January 1, 2008 Ernest (Ernie) Grigsby took up the post of Financial Forwarding Agent for the Lower Caribbean Christian Mission. He takes over from Loyd Smith who has served with distinction over the past five (5) years but was forced to retire because of health concerns. Loyd will still continue to assist Bro. Ernie in whatever way he can in the future and has been busy making sure that there is a smooth transition. The Leacocks and the Lower Caribbean Christian Mission team says "heartfelt thanks" to Loyd for his faithful and diligent service. Ernie's address is:

Ernest G. Grigsby

1181 Seldom Seen Drive

Lawrenceburg,

Indiana 47025

Home Phone: 812-637-0845

Cell Phone: 513-310-9498

Email: grigsby.eg@fuse.net