on Sunday, May 16, 2010
Bristol, Rhode Island
401.253.6131
Pastor's Page
February 1, 2010
During the past few years I have had the privilege of traveling to Haiti with Partners in Development (PID) along with students from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth), where I work. Since the powerful earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, many students and administrators on campus felt compelled to organize events to raise awareness of this terrible event. Because of my connection to past mission teams I was asked to coordinate a Candlelight Vigil that would include various religious leaders who would represent the many different faiths on campus. As a result, on Wednesday, January 27 I hosted the event on campus which included Rabbi Jacqueline Rom Satlow, Director of the Center for Jewish Life, Father Michael Fitzgerald, a University chaplain, and Oson Mahmoud, President of the Muslim Center of Southeastern Massachusetts. There were also representatives from various student groups who shared their thoughts and feelings through words and song. The vigil was well received and we all felt blessed to share the time together and to extend our prayers to the Haitian people.
A second event was held the next day for the entire campus to raise funds for PID and future mission teams that wish to travel to Haiti. There were some amazing performances and also a powerful speech from a Haitian American graduate student who was in Haiti during the earthquake. His stories made a deep impact upon all those in attendance. My role was to speak on behalf of PID and their twenty year ministry in Haiti. I spoke of the lives that had been saved and transformed, and the message that the mission teams bring to the Haitian people. The message is simply that we, here in America, have not and will not forget them.
There are many people mobilizing to help the people of Haiti, but it can never be enough. The fight for the Haitian people must continue. There is a great need for medical supplies for the medical teams traveling to Haiti through PID. All donations can be made directly to PID on their website at www.pidonline.org. Anyone interested in donating basic medical supplies may come to the First Baptist Church for Sunday service which begins at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday, or you may contact me at nmanderson@umassed.edu. , or call 508-965-4613. More information on church services is located elsewhere on this website.
Thank you and God bless you,
Reverend Nathaniel Manderson
********************************* 6Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 8" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' " Only a few of us use our gifts from God. Every day we should pray and ask God "why am I here?" We should use our God given gifts and talents to make our family a better family and make our community a better community. Don't let this be your last chance! We don't know what will happen in the future so we should be ready now to use our our special gifts to help others.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Morning Message, Only A Few
Scripture, Luke 13:1-9 (New International Version)
Please feel free to contact Pastor Nate at this email: nmanderson@umassed.edu.
Please feel free to contact Pastor Nate at this email:The following is a declaration of the faith and practice of the First Baptist Church of Christ in Bristol, RI adopted at its constitution, and can be found in its entirety in the Manual of the First Baptist Church, Bristol, RI.
Articles of general doctrines (in part):
We believe that there is but one only living and true God, who is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his Being, Wisdom, Power, Holiness, Justice, Goodness and Truth.
That there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are but one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
That God, who is infinite in knowledge, and perfectly views all things from the beginning to the end, hath foreordained that whatever comes to pass, either by his order or permission, shall work for the eternal glory of his great name.
We believe that a visible Church of Christ is a number of his saints and people, by mutual acquaintance and communion voluntarily and understandingly covenanting and embodying together for upholding and promoting the worship and service of God, to show forth his declarative glory, and for their own edification.
That Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances of Christ, to be continued until his second coming; and that the former is requisite to the latter; that is to say, that those are to be admitted into the communion of the Church, and to partake of all its ordinances and privileges, who upon confession of their faith have been baptized by immersion, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Having been led by the Holy Spirit to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and having acknowledged in baptism our obligations to live a new and a holy life, we do now, relying on God our Father, our Savior, and our Leader, solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another. We engage, therefore, God helping us, to work together in Christian love; to encourage each other in the work God has given us to do, to promote a spirit of understanding and forbearance; to abstain from all bitterness and anger and evil speaking and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. To study the Scriptures, and apply them to our lives, and defend them before men. We will oppose anything that would weaken the Christian influence among us, and study to show ourselves approved unto God; so that through life, amidst evil report and good report, we shall glorify Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
The Church Covenant of the First Baptist Church of Bristol, Rhode Island
We will, so far as we are able, exercise a Christian care over each other and will faithfully help one another as the need may be. We will rejoice in each other’s good, and with sympathy and tenderness bear each other’s burdens. We also engage to support the work of our church; to protect the integrity of any office entrusted to our care.