Focus on Faith

Focus on Faith: Fostering hope

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 21:22:17 -0500

Huntsville, AL -- Sean Haskell is a rising senior at Huntsville High School. He's also an aspiring Eagle Scout who decided to use his project to help the hundreds of children in Madison County's foster program. Haskell says, "essentially, when they're taken out of their homes, they're only given a trash bag to quickly put their belongings in. So, we're trying to help them out, to get hygiene kits and duffle bags to give to the children, so that this bad situation isn't necessarily made worse."

Haskell is asking the community to support the project with donations of soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, combs, brushes, wash clothes, towels and feminine hygiene products. He'll be collecting the items on Thursday, August 16th at Five Guys restaurant on Carl T. Jones Drive in Huntsville from 10am to 10pm. If those who donate also buy a meal, the restaurant has agreed to donate ten percent of its proceeds.

Haskell is also accepting financial contributions to buy the duffle bags. He says, "it's pretty lofty aspirations, because we want to be able to get duffle bags for each one of these kids, and if the community turns out, then we can get duffle bags for kids who aren't even in the system yet and kind of keep it going for a little bit." If you can't make it to the collection drive Thursday but would still like to help, you can contact Haskell at sean.haskell7@gmail.com.

Focus on Faith: Covenant House, a labor of love

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 20:57:20 -0500

Grant, AL -- In a community with few resources, Covenant House of North Alabama is helping meet the needs of at-risk children in Marshall County. Started four years ago, the non-profit and non-denominational ministry currently works with girls in second through eighth grade. Founder Phyllis Randolph says volunteers mentor the children, "showing them that they have a purpose in life, that they are not a mistake, that they have a calling on their life and that God loves them."

By September, Covenant House will have a new home at 3535 Cathedral Caverns Highway in Grant. The organization recently purchased a former church building and is turning it into a safe haven for the children. There will be a common area for group meetings, a dedicated space for the girls to decorate as their own, and a working kitchen and snack area. Randolph adds, "we will have a place for them to take a shower, a place for them to wash their clothes, because we have kids out here that have no running water."

Covenant House will also offer internet access for the students to do their homework, tutoring, a food pantry, parenting classes and Christian counseling for children and families. Plans are in the works to expand services to high-school girls. By next year, the group hopes to begin helping boys, as well. Beyond that, plans include a residential campus for at-risk or troubled youth between the ages of 10-24.

The non-profit is supported entirely by donations and fundraisers. The next scheduled fundraiser is "Back to School Blues" on August 11th. Held in conjunction with the DAR band, it will include a concert by Alabama Blues Brothers at the DAR field. Covenant House is always looking for volunteers, especially men of good character who would be willing to work with the expanded program for boys. For more information, visit www.covenanthousenorthalabama.com or call 256-631-6603.

Focus on Faith: Celebrating the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:13:53 -0500

Huntsville, AL -- Most clergy perform weddings, baptisms and funerals. A rare few also jump out of airplanes, go on patrol and serve overseas. They are U.S. Army chaplains, and their history dates back to 1775. Chaplain Leon Kircher with the Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal says, "the Army chaplaincy was brought about by General George Washington, himself, who commanded that each regiment in the American Revolution would have one chaplain."

Washington's order was that the chaplains be men of good moral standing in the community. It was up to each regiment to hire its own, at a salary of $20 a month. Since then, around 25,000 chaplains have served in the U.S. Army. Today, they provide support to soldiers representing 140 religions that are recognized by the Department of Defense. Three-hundred have been killed in the line of duty. Six have received the Medal of Honor.

On Sunday, the Army recognized the 237th anniversary of the Chaplain Corps. At Redstone Arsenal, the event was marked with a celebration in which Major General Lynn Collyar praised the chaplains, saying, "they're available 24/7, 365 days a year. The job is probably one of the most challenging jobs in the military." While it may be challenging, Kircher also calls it rewarding. He says, "you just hear things.. about how you affected me, how you touched me years ago or how you helped me in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Focus on Faith: Getting back to nature

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 21:01:08 -0500

On Sunday, July 29th, a new church was dedicated in Priceville that's unlike any other in North Alabama. From the tongue and groove lumber to the bear skin over the front door, Nature's Trail Church aims to make families who love the outdoors feel right at home. Senior Pastor Johnny Maxwell says, "a lot of people don't go to church. They go fishing, hunting or camping on Sundays, and we just felt the need to reach out to them and say, 'hey, you don't have to be all dressy. You can come here, wear camouflage if you want to. Just be decent and let us minister to you.'"

An outdoorsman himself, Maxwell was part of a group that felt called to start a church five years ago. The men and women held their first meetings at Libby's Catfish & Diner at the corner of Highway 67 and Shoal Creek Road. From there, they moved to a storefront location, and later a conference room at Maxwell's business. Along the way, their numbers continued to grow, and a conversation with a Methodist minister pointed them in their current direction. A minister told them he believed God might be leading the congregation to minister to people who enjoy nature. "And a light bulb just went off in all of our heads," Maxwell says.

Last year, the congregation began work on a permanent church building on Shoal Creek Road, behind Libby's Catfish. Six acres were bought, with an option to purchase five more, and construction began. Most of the materials were donated at cost, and church members, along with other volunteers, did the labor. Maxwell says, "we've worked probably... 20 to 30,000 hours on this building. As for the final result, Associate Pastor James Maxwell says, "the building itself is kind of like eye candy. We want people to have this experience of outdoorsy-ness when they come in." He adds, "when they come in and see it, and see that they can be at ease just as they are... they really enjoy it.

The walls of the front gathering room include several deer head mounts and a stuffed turkey, with plans to add some fish and a canoe. The sconces for the lights are edged with pine tree cut-outs and the rafters of the sanctuary are made of lumber taken from a national forest in Tennessee. While all these trappings may make Nature's Trail Church different from other Christian churches the message here is very the same. Johnny Maxwell points to a message in First Corinthians in which, "(Paul) became what he had to become to reach people, and so we are the outdoorsman's family type church. We'll hunt, fish, shoot bows out back. We've got a lot going on, but it's to reach people for Christ."

Nature's Trail Church is located at 1408 Shoal Creek Road. Services are held at 10:30am Sundays. For more information, visit naturestrailchurch.com

Focus on Faith: Conference offers help, hope to families with loved ones in prison

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:36:24 -0500

In 2003, Laure Clemons' family was forever changed when her husband was sentenced to prison. He was sent to Limestone Correctional facility. She and their daughters were left to manage on their own. Clemons says, "I went looking for any kind of family support system that could tell me how to get through the prison experience."

Unable to find such a support system, Clemons started her own. Extended Family offers monthly meetings overseen by trained program leaders, a resource database for loved ones of those incarcerated and, perhaps most important, a one-on-one networking system. "I cannot tell you the number of people who call me, and they don't really want a resource, they just want somebody to say, 'you're going to make it through this," Clemons says.

Three years ago, when Clemons met Mary Kay Beard, founder of the Angel Tree Program, the two women recognized the need for a statewide conference to help families of those in the Alabama prison system. On July 27th-28th, the first Alabama Families of Prisoners conference will be held at McElwain Baptist Church in Birmingham. There will be four general sessions, 15 workshops and a simultaneous "Kids Konference." Clemons says, "these kids are dealing with so much.. anger, frustration and financial difficulties. So, what we want to give the kids are some real solutions that they can take away from this conference back into their own lives to deal specifically with having a loved one incarcerated."

Reigning Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler will be among the presenters at the "Kids Konference." Her platform, Circles of Support, is based upon her own experience of having a father in prison. In addition to speaking to the children, she'll also speak at the closing ceremony on July 28th. The event is open to anyone seeking encouragement and support. For more information, including how to register, visit www.alabamafpc.org

Focus on Faith: From Huntsville to the Senate floor

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 20:53:50 -0500

This summer, a Huntsville native experienced an honor given to very few pastors, when he served as guest chaplain for the U.S. Senate. Rev. Ron McCrary grew up attending Big Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church, graduated from Johnson High School and attended UA-Huntsville from 1985-89, where he made a name for himself on the basketball court. All along the way, it was evident to family and friends that he was being called to be a pastor. He remembers his time as a UAH Charger, saying, "I was kind of the team chaplain. Everybody looked for me to pray."

After leaving UAH, McCrary went overseas to be part of Athletes in Action, a Campus Crusades for Christ program. Once he returned to the states, he took a job in Maryland, working for the Food and Drug Administration. Eventually, that job landed him in Atlanta. Through it all, he continued to study, pray and prepare for the ministry. His chance came in 1996, when after finishing a year-long program in church planting, he was asked to begin a church in Mableton, Georgia. The following Easter, he stood in the pulpit at New Life Missionary Baptist Church, which he still leads today. In addition, he also works as Deputy Director of Chaplain Services for the Cobb County Sheriff's Office in Marietta, Georgia.

This past January, McCrary accepted a new role, after receiving a call from the office of Republican Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia. Senator Isakson was inviting him to be a guest chaplain of the day. McCrary recalls, "when I saw the official letterhead from the Chief of Staff, then I knew, okay this serious... but then to walk into the Senate Chamber, that's when it really, really hit me." The pastor was asked to submit a prayer that would take no longer than one minute, 30 seconds to deliver.

On Thursday, June 21st, McCrary read his prayer to open the day's session. For him, the experience only underscored a long held belief, one that he's eager to share, especially with young people. He says, "anybody that's serious about God, he can take you places that will just blow your mind." Even the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Rev. Ron McCrary offers a daily Bible reading through his facebook page. Click here to access his page.

Focus on Faith: Body 4 Believers

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 20:30:39 -0500

Scottsboro, AL -- Not too long ago, Greg Locklear was a pastor with a problem. At 360 pounds, he was seriously overweight and his health was suffering. He realized he had to make some changes, not only for himself but to set an example for his congregation in Cherokee County. Change came quickly. Locklear says, "I lost 100 pounds in six months, dropped my cholesterol 100 points in the same amount of time."

Locklear not only lost the weight, he kept it off and decided to share what he'd learned about weight loss through a program he calls Body 4 Believers. The four-week series is offered through churches, businesses and municipalities around the area. On a recent Monday night, Locklear was at Calvary Baptist Church in Scottsboro, teaching about a hundred people about properly feeding their bodies, as well as their souls. He says, "our theme verse is 1 Corinthians 6:19. It says, 'what you know not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.' We recognize that it's a great responsibility for us to be the temple of the Holy Spirit."

The Body 4 Believers series is free. However, Locklear does sell food products at the classes. More information can be found at www.body4believer.com.

Focus on Faith: Living His Dream

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:44:00 -0500

Albertville, AL -- An Albertville pastor has written a book inspired by his son. Living His Dream.. and How He Helped Me Live Mine is the first book by Joey Cannady, senior pastor of Solitude Baptist Church. Cannady's son, Zac, was born with the most severe form of Spina Bifida, a congenital disorder that left him paralyzed from below mid-chest. Despite numerous surgeries and some serious illnesses, Zac is an eternal optimist, always looking for the silver lining. He's also an incredibly driven young man, who turned a passion for law enforcement into a job as an Albertville police dispatcher. The 26-year-old says, "I started having the scanner, I think when I was seven, so I've been at it a while... I take it everywhere."

Watching Zac make his dream a reality, helped his father overcome his own fears. Joey Cannady says, "just seeing him struggle, especially in the early days, when there were times we thought he might not live, and to see him overcome that again, and again and again, just helped me realize there's a lot more I can do." For Cannady, "more" meant following a calling he'd felt on his heart for some time. Although he enjoyed his work as an accountant, he believed God wanted him to serve in the church. Eventually, he left his job for the pulpit. "It was a substantial cut in pay, and I walked away from an awesome set of benefits from a corporation to a church that had zero," he says.

Now, Cannady hopes to encourage others to live out their dreams, by sharing his family's story. Living His Dream.. and How He Helped Me Live Mine is available at Lambert's Bibles and Gifts in Boaz, Solitude Baptist Church in Albertville, the Albertville Public Library and the Marshall Baptist Association Office. It can also be ordered in paperback or as an e-book through Amazon.

Focus on Faith: A special kind of camp

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:49:46 -0500

Winston County, AL -- More than a dozen Huntsville teens had a life-changing experience this summer, when they volunteered at a special needs camp, run by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. For one week each year, Camp McDowell in Winston County hosts children and adults with physical and mental disabilities. Each camper is assigned a counselor.

Emily Collette had so much fun volunteering last year, she returned this year as a lead counselor, in charge of a cabin. She says, "at the beginning of the week, you're nervous because you think, 'I've got to take care of this person, and I've got to be there for them,' and by the end of the week, you realize that they were really the ones taking care of you."

Walt Williams just wrapped up his first year as a counselor at the camp and says he can't wait to go back, adding, "I think I took as much away from it as they did." During the week, campers enjoy swimming, canoeing, hiking, hayrides and games. There is also a two-night talent show, and morning and evening prayers each day. For more information about the camp, click here.

Focus on Faith: Praising God in Kandahar

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 22:04:00 -0500

Decatur, AL -- Dan Glenn is just a few months away from wrapping up a year-long deployment to Afghanistan. A warrant officer with the Alabama Army National Guard's 115th Expeditionary Signal Battalion out of Florence, Glenn and the rest of his unit deployed to Kandahar in October 2011. "It's tough leaving the family and my wife... but you know, it's what I signed up to do, and so now, I'm doing it," he says.

Glenn works about 12 hours a day at the Kandahar Air Field, often with the sound of rockets exploding overhead. According to Glenn, "being in that environment, you can really see God working on hearts a lot easier then here in the United States. Nobody knows if a rocket is going to hit.. them the next day or the next hour."

Glenn does his part to minister to the troop's spiritual needs as a member of the chapel's praise team. The men and women meet under a 10-year-old tent at the air field. It's dusty and filled with holes, but Glenn says it works, adding, "they just keep sewing up the old one and God's providing."

While Dan Glenn plays guitar in the Afghanistan praise team, thousands of miles away, in Decatur, AL, his brother, Steven plays drums for the team at St. Luke United Methodist Church. Recently, Steven got the idea to form a partnership between the two groups, with the Decatur team praying for the Afghanistan group on a regular basis.

The church supported the idea whole-heartedly, and now pictures of the men in Afghanistan - along with their names and instruments - adorn all the music stands at St. Luke. Steven Glenn says, "I'm very happy to see how supportive the praise team and the church has been in remembering these guys and all the sacrifices they have made for us."

Thanks to a recent leave, Dan Glenn was able to visit with his brother and play alongside the Decatur group one Sunday. As he prepares to go back to Afghanistan, both men just ask that the community continue to surround the troops overseas with prayer.

St. Luke UMC is located on Danville Road in Decatur. For more information, including details about an upcoming free concert series, click here.