Fellowship of Believers

The Book Group will be reading Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God during the month of November. Copies have been ordered and will be available for $5.

Written in 1937, this book is included in TIME Magazine's list of "100 Best English-language Novels." It depicts the African-American culture, particularly for women, in the early 20th century.

Hurston's novel is one that stays with you long after you finish it. I hope you'll consider joining us for the discussion of this book on Tuesday, November 30th.

Read on, Friends!
Tracy

One of our far-away friends had a birthday this week. Jo Hamrick turned 93 this past Tuesday!

Lajean and I had lunch today with Jo and enjoyed catching up. She's doing really well, and can remember more things than I usually forget. She caught us up on the gossip at Park Place Towers and we shared the gossip of Hereford.

It's hard to believe that Jo has been in Amarillo for seven years now. She's always home she says (in fact, she treated US to her birthday dinner in the dining room instead of going out), and she'd love to hear from you.

Jo Hamrick
1300 S. Harrison St., #809
Amarillo, TX 79101

She misses us and misses Hereford. Why don't you drop her a line . . . or better yet, stop by for a visit!

Tracy

Be in prayer for Chubby Black who has been in BSA since Saturday with a fever. The doctors are giving him antibiotics and expect to send him home as soon as his fever remains down for 24 hours.

If you go to visit, remember his given name is Lyndon!

Thanks,
Tracy

We are praying for Cara Dearing and her family as they mourn the loss of her brother Landol Frazier. Landol passed away Saturday night of ALS.

The service is tentatively set for Thursday at 10 a.m. at Colonial Funeral Home in Dimmitt.

Please pray for Cara and her family,
Tracy

Let us continue to be in prayer for Harold and Ellen Manning in the loss of his brother Glenn.

Wendel and I had a wonderful time serving communion at the Hereford Care Center. We visited with Anna Solomon's mom and Jerry Ripley's mother. Pray for our friends next door; the life lived within those walls is difficult and often lonely. Make time to visit - you'll be glad you did.

Our Harvest Dinner is fast approaching! On Sunday, October 17 we will share a meal immediately following worship. Bring a dessert and enjoy this wonderful time of fellowship.

We're having a Halloween Bowling Party on Saturday, October 23, 6-8 p.m. at the Hereford Bowling Alley. Mark your calendars - this will be lots of fun for everyone!

I return to school next week for another class at Brite Divinity School (TCU.) If all goes as planned, I will graduate in May of 2012 with my Doctorate of Ministry. Thank you for your continuing support in this endeavor; I believe that study is vital to the ongoing growth and development of the minister, and I feel strengthened and challenged each time I am asked to expand my ideas of the church's task and the pastor's role.

This semester's class is on "Pastoral Identity" and my particular focus is on the Spiritual Disciplines such as prayer,fasting, meditation, and so forth. As one author puts it,

We are saved by grace, of course . . . But grace does not mean that sufficient strength and insight will be automatically "infused" into our being in the moment of need. . . . A baseball player who expects to excel in the game without adequate exercise of his body is no more ridiculous than the Christian who hopes to be able to act in the manner of Christ when put to the test without the appropriate exercise in godly living.

We can call ourselves Christians, but if we want that name to mean anything in the day-to-day reality of how we live in our world, we must WORK at BEING a Christian. We must read the Scripture, pray, and WORSHIP with one another. So . . .

I'll see you Sunday!
Tracy

Harold Manning's brother Glenn has passed away. His service will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Lincoln Street Baptist Church in Dalhart. You can read Glenn's obituary here.

Please be in prayer for Harold and Ellen and all their family
Tracy