Member Spotlight - March
Good News
Newsletter
Rev. Dr. K. Scott Robertson
Senior Pastor
pastor@fbcmiddletown.org
Weekly Live Stream from our website:
www.fbcmiddletown.org
and from our Facebook page and YouTube Channel
Sunday School
9:15 AM
Sunday Morning Worship
10:30 am
Wednesday Bible Study at 2 pm
Office Hours M-Th 9 am to 2 pm
First Baptist Church
4500 Riverview Avenue
Middletown, OH 45042 513-423-5721
www.fbcmiddletown.org
Liz Looney
Q: What childhood memory makes you smile?
A. We lived in the country. If it snowed in winter and the school buses couldn’t run, my four older brothers and I and neighborhood kids would play outside all day. There were never enough sleds, so we would double up. First kid on their stomach and the second one flat on top of the first! That was fun, especially riding with a boy you had a crush on!
Q: WHAT DRIVES YOU TO GET UP EVERY MORNING?
A. I’ve always been a morning person and like getting up early.
Q: WHAT GOAL ARE YOU WORKING TOWARD NOW?
A. Maintaining my health as best as I can and aging gracefully!
Q: WHAT SUBJECTS, CURRENT EVENTS, OR CAUSES ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?
A. I have supported the National Association for the Advancement of Preborn Children (NAAPC) and the Vasculitis Foundation for many years, both causes near and dear to my heart. Vasculitis was the cause of my husband Jerry’s kidney disease.
More from Liz Looney ……
Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO UNWIND AFTER A HECTIC DAY?
A. In spring and summer, I like to sit on our covered patio, watch the birds at the feeders, and talk or read.
Q: WHAT BOOK OR MOVIE LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION ON YOU?
A. When I was a young girl, I saw the movie “So Proudly We Hail!,” about the courageous nurses sent to the Philippines early in World War II. It had a profound effect on my desire for a nursing career.
Q: WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO AND WHY?
A. At present, I especially look up to the many selfless, dedicated, and humble people at First Baptist who minister every day in our church and to their families, friends, and community. Thank you all!
Who will be the next FBC Member in the spotlight?
Have a suggestion, let me know.
secretary@fbcmiddletown.org
People @ First
March 2025
Kelsie Cox will be having surgery for Crohn’s and a removal of an ovarian cyst on March 31st
As always, please keep Jackson Redding in prayer.
Upcoming events
Easter flower sale ends April 4th. Get your orders into the Church office.
The next Women’s breakfast is Wednesday April 9, 2025, at the Triple Moon Café at 10 am, 1100 Central Avenue, Middletown.
Friendship Circle mtg will be Saturday, April 12, 2025, here at the church at 10:30 am.
Easter Egg Hunt is Saturday, April 12 at 11 am.
Bible Study through the Book of Romans will begin, Wednesday, April 16th at 2 pm in the Parlor.
The next Men's Breakfast on will be Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 8:30 am at Carver’s in Monroe.
Community Good Friday and Maundy Thursday Services will be here at First Baptist and both services will begin at 6 pm.
April 1 Kathy Adkins
April 1 Adrian Worbis
April 3 Kingston Worbis
April 4 Chuck Montgomery
April 5 Joni Jones
April 8 Melissa Worbis
April 9 Amy Barner
April 17 Joni Janny
April 18 Marilyn Mulligan
April 18 Scotty Robertson
April 23 Karlee Robertson
Chuck and Celeste Scheibert – April 23
37 Years
Richard and Kathy Adkins – April 29
58 Years
Lost and found:
A pair of glasses was turned into the office.
The Forge Bible Study
Bible Study Schedule:
March: 30th- 5pm: 4th lesson- “Investing like Jesus”
April: 6th- No bible study, (Military obligation) 13th- 5pm: 5th lesson- “Spending like Jesus”
First Baptist Church 4500 Riverview Drive
(DATE) Saturday, April 12th 11:00 a.m.
There will be separate areas for different age groups.
Dress for weather and wet grass. If weather is “ify” for an outside event, check for a message on the church answering machine (513-423-5721) that morning.
Spring and Easter are soon! Hope is eternal!
It’s time to prepare for our annual Easter Egg Hunt by stuffing eggs with wonderful treats for the children. Please take a bag or two of eggs from the “to go” bin, stuff them with small wrapped candies, stickers or something fun and return to the “stuffed “bin by Sunday, April 6th. The hunt is Saturday, April 12th at 11 am. Invite a child you know to come.
Community Good Friday and Maundy Thursday Services will be here at First Baptist and both services will begin at 6 pm.
Lenten Lunch
Starting at 12 pm each week
April 2 at St. Paul’s UCC
April 9 at First Baptist Church
Given to the
Glory of God
And to the
Memory / Honor of
Loved Ones …
Tulips and Daffodils can now be ordered. Each plant is $16. The deadline for placing orders is Friday, April 4, 2025.
Please note: Due to so many being allergic to lilies, we are not ordering lilies this year.
They may be ordered by filling out the form at the bottom and placing in the offering plate, leaving in the church office or by calling the church office, 513-423-5721. You will be able to pick them up after Easter Sunday Worship Service.
**** ****** ****
I would like to order __________ Tulips at $16 each.
I would like to order __________ Daffodils at $16 each
In memory/honor of ______________________________________ ______________________________________
Instead of flowers, I would like to donate $ ______ to ________fund. (Special Projects, Creech Scholarship, etc.) _______________________________________
Given by_______________________________
Amount: ____________ Payment required at time of order.
Church Finances &the Building Celeste Scheibert Administration Ministry Focus Area
Congregational Care & Worship Tim Willis Community Ministry Focus Area Coordinator
Christian Education & Missions Beth Daly & Susan Singer Co Chair of the Discipleship Ministry Focus Area Coordinator
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP REPORT TO CONGREGATION
It’s been a long cold winter for everyone (our heating bills are evidence) but the signs of spring are everywhere. The month of March brings the start of Lenten season and Community hosted the first of six Lenten luncheons on March 12. Many thanks to all those who helped. First United Methodist hosted the second one. Other churches participating include First Christian and St. Paul Church of Christ. First Baptist will host a second soup and sandwich luncheon on April 9.
This all leads up to Holy Week. Maundy Thursday services will be here at First Baptist this year and will be open to the public. Community leaders are planning Easter morning breakfast the same as last year. Yes, we’ll have eggs!
Looking ahead, we are planning to do a new family photo directory. Paula has started distributing signup sheets. Signups will begin in earnest in April. Photos will be taken in the month of May by Paula Cox. Hopefully, we can get this directory compiled and printed for distribution this summer. Our last photo directory was published in 2018.
Community leadership is also planning to restart home communion for those who request it. By the way, you might have noticed a small change in communion. We now use a real loaf of bread at the altar.
Your Community leadership team: Tim Willis, Jean Back, Bob Allen, Jeannine Taylor and Jo Johnston.
Church Directory Information Form
Please fill out the form below, giving us the contact information that you would like us to have. The information you provide will only be used for church purposes and will allow us to contact you as needed. Please mark yes or no below on whether or not you would like to have your information in the church directory.
Name_____________________________________________
Spouse’s Name __________________________________________
Mailing Address ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Phone Number ________________________
Cell Phone ___________________________
E-mail __________________________________________________
Your Birthday __________________________________
Spouse’s Birthday ___________________________________
Your Wedding Anniversary ___________________________________
Baptism Date _______________________________________
Member since _______________________________________
Children’s Name(s) Birthday _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
May we put your information in the public church directory?
Yes ______ No _____ Yes, but only a portion of my information ________________________________________________________
If we acquire any photographs from church events with you or your family members, may we have your permission to publish them to our Web site or our social media sites?
Yes________ No _______
Comments: _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________
FBC Daycare
Classroom News
Toddlers I and II: Reviewed shapes and finishing up the colors with yellow and green. They also worked on St. Patrick’s Day projects.
Busy Bees: They worked on name recognition. Continued to work on sharing, getting along with each other, table manners, and cutting skills.
Jelly Beans: The Jellies reviewed letters A thru S. Continued to work on writing names and letters. They will also worked on St. Patrick’s Day projects and learned about spring.
Pre-K: Worked on the letters S, T, U, and V. The sight words this month are, have here, are, and up. Numbers were 13, 14, and 15.
Cyndi Sparks, FBC Daycare Director
Classroom News
Toddlers – Toddler I and II was busy making holiday projects and learning the story of Christmas this month.
Busy Bees – The Bees have been working hard on Christmas crafts and learning the true meaning of Christmas.
Jelly Beans – The Jellies had fun working on Christmas activities and art projects.
Pre-K – Christmas projects kept the Pre-K class busy this month. They also reviewed the letters they had been working on.
Cyndi Sparks, FBC Daycare Director
Starts of the month
Attendance Offering
| Attendance | Offering | |
|---|---|---|
| 02/02/2025 | 69 | 5,092.00 |
| 03/09/2025 | 64 | 7,063.35 |
| 03/16/2025 | 63 | 8,683.00 |
| 03/23/2025 | 61 | 1,770.90 |
Paula Cox, FBC Secretary
The next Newsletter will be published April 30, 2025. If you want anything added to the newsletter, you can email it to me at secretary@fbcmiddletown.org by April 28, 2025.
*Any FBC Family pics you would like to share in the newsletter, please email them to me.
I found a hymnal believed to be one of our earliest mass print hymnals used here at First Baptist Church around the late 1800's. We have had several hymnals over the years, but this is the earliest one I could find. It is in very delicate condition. I'm sure well used on Sunday mornings.
Check out the blog on our website: www.fbcmiddletown.org for more pictures and history of First Baptist Church of Middletown.
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More from Joanne and Chris ……
Q: What’s your favorite way to unwind after a hectic day?
Joanna- Cuddling on the couch with my Hubby and our 2 dogs, Charlie and Poppy.
Q: If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be and why?
Chris- Scotland or Ireland
Q: Who do you look up to, and why?
Joanna- My faith was shaped by all of you at FBC!! From JoAnn Borland and Judy Beasley as a child, Rev. Marty Carney as a teenager through Pastor Scotty now! I look up to you, First Baptist. You are my church home and family!
Chris- I look up to my Great Grandfather Carpenter for his kindness and his work ethic and ability to take things apart and fix them.
Who will be the next FBC Member in the spotlight?
Have a suggestion, let me know.
People @ First
Kay Fugate had a fall and broke some ribs.
Sue Ann Hale had a fall and broke her arm.
John Daly also broke his arm.
Please pray for complete healing for Kay, Sue Ann and John.
Long time member Nancy Reams passed away over the weekend. Please keep her family in prayer as they navigate this difficult time.
Please remember the Casey Family on the tragic passing of Taeler.
Also, heartfelt condolences go out to Esther Arnold and family on the passing of her sister.
As always, please keep Jackson Redding in prayer.
Dick and Reba Casey
4560 Weybridge St.
Sarasota, FL 34235
Upcoming events
The next Men's Breakfast on will be Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 8:30 am at Garver’s in Monroe.
May 1 Troy Deuth
May 2 Charles Scheibert Sr.
May 2 Chuck Scheibert
May 5 Lucy Griffith
May 5 Nicholas Janney
May 12 Esther Arnold
May 14 Cami Scheibert
May 15 Chris Boggs
May 19 Doug Rose
May 21 Declan Daly
May 26 Joanna Stitt
May 27 Bill Rogers
May 27 Leanne Taylor
May 31 Renee Beasley
Doug & Teri Boggs
May 10 – 45 years
Tim & Ruth Willis
May 22 – 54 years
Charles & Stephanie Nicely
May 24 – 34 years
Lost and found:
We now have two pairs of glasses that have been turned into the office.
Thanks to everyone who sent prayers, cards and well wishes! I’m doing good and recovering well. Love, Kelsie
