Dear Friends:

I hope you are relishing the beauty of these lovely fall days. We were fortunate to have a magnificent weekend of weather that really highlighted the many gifts our congregation currently enjoys. Here are a few recent accomplishments we can be thankful for.

The Decatur Book Festival: As most of you know, we had the glad pleasure of being the sole venue host for the Decatur Book Festival. Our campus was full to overflowing this past Saturday with hundreds of adults, youth and children. Authors, journalists, illustrators, artists, and book sellers treated us to a broad smorgasbord of literary options, as well as some helpful hints for our own writing hopes and needs. We also had a host of talented musicians and some delicious food!

We had to turn cars away from our parking lot it was so crowded. Thankfully, we could send them to the parking deck, which also quickly became full to overflowing. What a day! And thanks to our incredible volunteers and terrific planning, what a fine witness to our Decatur community. Those we need to thank among our sound folks, hospitality teams, parking attendants, venue coordinators, and many others are too numerous to name individually (I’m afraid I’ll leave someone out!!). But four names need to be shared: Mickey Goodson and Debra Pyron, along with Randall Hampton and Shelley Woodruff from our staff, were working, planning and preparing for this past Saturday since last year at this time. We are more than grateful for their excellent contributions to our faith community!

Community Softball and Indoor Soccer: Simultaneous to the Book Festival, we were also hosting outdoor softball events on our ballfield and indoor soccer games in our gym. This was a delicate balancing act, since we also had children and youth authors leading seminars and signing books in our Activity’s Room and Small Games Room in the same building. You could feel the excitement and sense the positive energy coming from every corner of that special space. This, too, was a vital community connection and continues to be a valued partnership.

The Decatur Avondale Children’s Choir: This past Sunday, the very next day after the Book Festival and Athletic Events, our sanctuary was once again full. Our own church folks along, with parents, children and youth from our Decatur Avondale Children’s Choir gathered expectantly. And we were not disappointed. 

Eighty-four singers from kindergarten all the way up to seniors in high school shared outstanding music with our congregation. What a blessing to hear them and to experience the hope and energy they exuded as they sang. This, too, was a very special day. And a heartfelt thanks goes to our own Mark Green for his exceptional work with these children, youth and parents. The music they produce and that he directs is truly extraordinary. 

So for the many of you who helped in any of these remarkable events, THANK YOU! We are more than blessed to be part of a community that considers First Baptist Decatur an essential partner. Whether the intellectual pursuits of literature, the physical rigors and teamwork of athletics, or the physical, emotional and spiritual gift of singing, our congregation received far more than we gave in sharing our space and people over this past weekend. 

Thanks be to God!

This Wednesday for Bible Study: I’m excited to share our Wednesday night teaching duties this Wednesday with Rev. Shelley Woodruff. (Beth and I will be on our way to Los Angeles to visit our son, Christopher and his fiancé, Jory, for his birthday. We will miss you!) Most of you know Shelley as one of our truly gifted preachers on staff. She is also a talented teacher, passionate about faith and what the Bible has to teach us. As we continue on our “Journey through The Bible,” Shelley will be offering her thoughts and wisdom on relevant passages for our study. 

Series on Mental Health, Beginning October 12 and continuing each Wednesday through November 2: I hope you will join us for this four week series beginning in two weeks. Nicki Salcedo and Beth Jackson-Jordan, both highly trained in this important topic, will be our guest facilitators. The post-pandemic world has revealed a number of needs in our society. One of the most vital is the very clear mental health crisis we are in the midst of. Anxiety, depression, marital stress, childhood trauma, addiction and a whole host of other struggles among us continue to reveal the widespread pain our community faces. Join us as we seek to address this vital topic honestly, courageously and with hope. 

Bless you all and thanks for your role in making First Baptist Decatur the kind of place our community wants to be part of!

Love, 

David