Baptists

Baptists of the South District Baptist Association will hold a Baptismal Rally 5 p.m. Sunday in Millennium Park. The rally will include the public baptism of several new converts. There will be special music by a group of ministers of music from churches within the association, testimonies and an explanation of baptism. Sharing a meal together will follow. The Rev. Dan Hunt, pastor of Perryville Baptist Church, is team leader for the event. For additional information, call Hunt at (859)

Baptists came with the earliest immigrants across the Allegheny Mountains. As early as 1785 the first Baptist association west of the mountains was formed. Although a church of this denomination was not organized in Danville for almost 40 years from that time, there had been Baptists in the vicinity for many years. They had worshipped at Providence Church, a well-built brick structure about three or four miles from Danville, on Lancaster Road. In 1823, there were nine Baptists living in Danville.

Dear Editor: On behalf of the Kentucky Baptist Convention's Committee on Public Affairs, we want to express our great concern over the current discussion in our commonwealth regarding the expansion of gambling. Our committee has the responsibility for keeping the more than 780,000 Kentucky Baptists in more than 2,400 churches in our state informed regarding public policy issues. Yes, as Baptists we have concerns about gambling from a moral and Biblical perspective. We feel God encourages us to help each other rather than seeking to benefit from others' losses, that gambling encourages us to reduce our dependence upon God, and that it discourages a proper work ethic.

Dear Editor: In response to Rich Lowry's article on Harvard scholar Samuel Huntington's new book "Who Are We?", I would like to say I am totally shocked and dismayed that someone of such a prestigious institution as Harvard could write something which is such a distortion of historical fact and obvious ignorance of basic American history. I am from a white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant upbringing, which I am proud of, but in my courses of study at the University of Kentucky for 31/2 years, American History at Danville High School and eighth-grade American History and ninth-grade Civics at Burgin Independent, I learned that we are a bilingual nation in historical fact and actuality.

Richmond author Anne Crabb will discuss "Captured by the Indians" at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bluegrass Heritage Museum's monthly Second Thursday program. Crabb, who grew up in western Kentucky hearing stories about Daniel Boone, studied piano and organ at the University of Evansville during high school and graduated from Rhodes College with a major in piano. She received her master's degree in piano performance from Eastern Kentucky University, with additional study in piano, organ and choral conducting at Colorado University.

Gloria Samuels Bishop, 79, of Elizabethtown, formerly of Winchester, died Thursday, Nov. 10, at Hardin Memorial Hospital. She was a graduate of Sarah Thomas School of Cosmetology, former third vice president of Women's Missionary Convention of the General Association of Baptists in Kentucky, member of the National Baptist USA Convention Inc., member of Rising Star Chapter 102, member of Cecilia Dunlap Chapter O.E.S., member of the Jolly Matrons Improvement...

For the Bluegrass Heritage Museum Harris Branch is a tributary of Fourmile Creek. This small stream is just over two miles long. It rises about five miles south of Winchester and flows in a southerly direction, emptying into Fourmile not far from the Kentucky River. For over one hundred years, a road ran up Harris Branch and ended at present-day Bybee-Twomile Road. The road was first mentioned in county court records in 1801 and is shown on Clark County maps through 1908. Harris Branch School was located on it, near the mouth of the branch.

Nicholasville Baptist to celebrate 159th anniversary On Feb. 10, Nicholasville Baptist Church observed its 159th anniversary at its South Main and Chestnut streets location, but Baptists had a place to worship since 1825 at the corner of West Maple and Second streets. In 1820 they sold that property to the Christian Church. Members have helped to establish missions at Camp Nelson, Edgewood, and Brookside which became churches. Dr. Allen Harrod is Nicholasville Baptist's 35th Pastor.

J. Ross Baughman came to Central Kentucky in search of the Baughman side of his family, who settled in the wilderness of Kentucky soon after the Revolutionary War. On the recent visit, he found Baughmans in Boyle, Lincoln and Mercer counties who could be relations. Baughman lives in Washington, D.C., where he is director of photography at The Washington Times. The Michigan native is accustomed to traveling the globe. He moved 18 times before he was 18 years old because his father worked for The Ford Co. in the United States and abroad.

The antics of the parishioners of the Firs tBaptist Church of Ivy Gap continue in “Showtime at First Baptist,” which opens Friday at West T. Hill Community Theatre. Director Crystal Nichols said “Showtime at First Baptist” begins where “First Baptist of Ivy Gap” ended. “After the smashing success of the church's 100th anniversary picnic - except for the bolt of lightning that strikes the church's steeple, which ignites a fire that destroys the sanctuary - Edith, the pastor's wife, gathers with the rest of the women to try and put things back together,” Nichols explained.

A telephone call from my oncology department made me very happy this week. At first, I answered the phone with a little trepidation just simply because of the origin of the call. After the caller informed me I was indeed who she wanted on the phone, she let me know that the nurse I had nominated for the Daisy Award had won. She went on to tell me she was anxious to meet me and that I was being invited to the awards ceremony for the recipient of the Daisy Award, Barbara Self. I should explain a little about what the Daisy Award entails.

Dr. Travis Drake, 33, has accepted the pastorate of Central Baptist church and preached his first sermon as pastor Nov. 25. The church voted overwhelmingly to call Drake as its senior pastor on Nov. 11, concluding a nearly two-year search. Drake most recently served as a church planter and senior pastor of The Baptist Worship Center in Mount Sterling, where he had been for the last five years. He also served as associate pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Monroe, Ga. He is a graduate of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Va., where he received his doctor of ministry, masters of divinity, masters of arts in religion, and bachelor of science degrees.

Members of Mount Freedom Baptist Church in Wilmore took a trip back in history after they unearthed a time capsule that had been buried in front of their church on in 1959. The church had been undergoing serveral interior and exterior improvements when one of its members, Tim Morris, came upon the cornerstone. “Several members (of the church) were part of the church when the time capsule was placed in the cornerstone 52 years ago,” pastor Nathan Elliott said. Elliott said when church members removed several overgrown shrubs from the front, they discovered some damaged bricks on the front of the corner of the building near the cornerstone.

Joe Robinson discovered the impact of an outreach ministry when he became a volunteer at the annual Wild Game Dinner at Grace Baptist Church more than three years ago. Robinson was back for a third time when more than 150 volunteers from the church helped feed more than 1,000 attendees during the eighth annual event Monday at the church. Despite a steady rain that hovered over the region, visitors flocked to the church to enjoy a menu that featured wild game selections from dove bites to burgoo and deer chili.

Fairview Baptist Church reigned as champion in the 2nd Annual HOPE 53 Softball Tournament by defeating Stanford Baptist Church 6-5 in the title game at Harmon Heights fields Saturday.  The single-elimination co-ed tournament was the culmination of a five-week season. Eight area churches competed in this year's league, which is sponsored by HOPE 53 Ministries to help raise funds for an orphanage in Port au Prince, Haiti. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the tournament go to the orphans, and this year's tournament raised around $4,500.

Tabernacle Baptist Church, located at  2420 Lexington Road, held its annual Vacation Bible School July 9-12. The VBS's theme was “Rescued from the Flames.” More than 50 volunteer workers helped make the VBS possible as 150 children, ages 4 through teenagers, attended. Twelve children accepted Christ as their savior during the VBS. During the VBS, children experienced music, games and food, along with candy, prizes and certificates of recognition. On the final night, members of the Nicholasville Fire Department made an appearance with their ladder truck.

HARRODSBURG - A group of parishoners at Pioneer Baptist Church spent much of Saturday changing oil, checking tires and sharing fellowship with single women. As part of the church's third annual “Single Women's Oil Change” event, a group of male volunteers led by church member and mechanic Luke Cook changed the oil and filters of women's cars at no charge. The volunteers also checked the level of other fluids in cars and noted other issues such as nails in tires and drain plug problems.

A window was broken and a plastic jug containing change was reported stolen Tuesday from Unity Baptist Church, 1300 Hustonville Road, according to Danville police. The report of the burglary came in shortly after noon Tuesday. Chief  Tony Gray said the window was broken by what was likely a screwdriver-type tool. No estimates were available for the value of the jug or the cost of repairing the window.

First Baptist Church, 349 W. Broadway, Harrodsburg, has been around since 1840, according to a church history compiled when the church celebrated its 125th anniversary. The church was first named African Baptist Church after it was organized by the white Baptists in the South District. The new congregation worshipped in a small brick building on the site where the current church stands. The Rev. Charles Clark, one of the first to lead the church, was pastor of the church when the name was changed to Centennial Baptist Church.