Greetings from
Florida and the Caribbean Islands
March 6, 2024
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Here's a quick look midweek to strengthen your faith and connect with your CBF family. | |
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La Poza del Obispo, Puerto Rico
prayer from Daily Feast, Meditations from Feasting on the Word
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During my short visit to be a part of FIBAC's (FRATERNITY OF BAPTIST CHURCHES OF CUBA) annual conference, I was able to experience the colorful streets of Havana and Matanza, grand and eclectic architecture, but my favorite part was engaging with the beautiful, hospitable and warm people. There's such a strong sense of community in Cuba- even as our close neighbors face some of the worst economic challenges ever! And while their stories were filled with struggles, both, their outlooks and worship are filled with hope.
More Cuba stories coming. TU, Xiomara Reyboras.
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Women from Cuba, Florida, Washington DC, Canada and Puerto Rico serving communion. | |
Serving communion with Jennifer Lau, Executive Director of Canadian Baptist Ministries. | |
Xiomara serving communion with Marsha Scipio, Director of Baptist World Aid. | |
Joy-filled worship in Matanzas! | |
Soul Care
Cultivating an Awareness of Divine Presence
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Left: Ruben Ortiz, Xiomara Reboyras, Tammy Snyder, Pilar Castrillo, Brenda Cohen and Diane Adams, a CBF Cohort attending a week long session on balancing daily activities to prioritize personal soul care and cultivating the presence of God in others.
Middle: Brenda Cohen leading us in worship
Right: Pilar Castrillo contributing to the session, with Brenda seated on her right.
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CBF FL/CI Spring Missions Offering | |
As Easter draws near, CBF FL/CI is hosting a special offering campaign to support our 9 designated mission partners (listed below), who play a crucial role in transforming lives. This initiative goes above and beyond our regular giving and aims to provide additional money for these selfless partners. Together we can make Easter 2024 a truly transformative time for our partners and the communities they serve. Click on visit our website and go to the GIVE tab. | |
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The Season of Lent continues...
How will you empty yourself in order to make room for
self-reflection and examination during this season?
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2024 Emmanuel McCall Lenten Devotional series
The 2024 Emmanuel McCall Lenten Devotional series has been prepared by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship family and friends. It is a project of love that is designed to be read during the season of Lent.
Available in both English and Spanish.
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Hey FL and Caribbean Family...
I know you are a part of ... or know people who ... are transforming lives and communities. Below are 3 opportunities to share your ideas, receive money to help your ministry grow, or spread the word!
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CBF Mission Excellence Award
Are you a member of a church excelling in missions? Is there a church doing wonderful work beyond their walls?
The CBF Missions Council will recognize three congregations with the Mission Excellence Award at the upcoming 2024 General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C., and is seeking nominations for congregations that exemplify one or more of CBF’s mission distinctives.
Learn more and submit your nominations before the March 22 deadline here.
SUBMIT NOMINATIONS
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CBF Ministries Council invites applications for ministry grants on theme of transformation
The CBF Ministries Council invites applications for the 2024 granting year. Proposals are encouraged for ministries that are (or will be) working within the framework of transformation.
The Ministries Council is especially interested in resources that can be developed, shared and/or replicated across the Fellowship. Awards range from $500 to $8,750.
The deadline to submit your application is March 22, 2024.
Learn more and apply now here.
Find the article in Spanish here.
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Submit Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer Award nominees
The CBF Pan African Koinonia Steering Committee seeks nominations for the 2024 Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer Award, which provides recognition to individuals and ministries that have trailblazed in the area of racial justice. The deadline for nominations is April 8. 2024.
Learn more and submit a nomination here.
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Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
How do we season our food with salt? Do we dump it on a pile somewhere between the roasted pork and potatoes? No. We shake it, we sprinkle it, we distribute it... Similar to what a group of over 80 people from CBF South Carolina, CBF Florida and the Caribbean Islands and Together For Hope Black Belt did last weekend in the South Carolina Low Country. Together with local partners, we built 6 ramps, tidied up several yards, and shared lots of laughs and love. While we were sprinkling a bit of salt here and there throughout several counties, we, too, were being salted, shaken, and seasoned by the people we were meeting and helping - the gift of mutuality is beautiful. Enjoy a few pics below.
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CBF names Lynn Brinkley as Field Ministry Coordinator of Pan African Koinonia
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2024 CBF Florida and Caribbean Islands Spring Celebration
May 4, 2024 at First Baptist
St Petersburg (Thank you
Pastor Ben Winder for hosting us)
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Summer Opportunity in Uganda
8-9 volunteers are needed to assist with music camp for the refugee community in Kampala, Uganda, part of the work of CBF Field Personnel Missy Ward-Angalla. Volunteers needed include skilled musicians, worship leaders, photographers, and visual artists to teach alongside the Amani Sasa staff during the camp. Dates of the camp are July 8-19 (volunteers would need to arrive in Uganda by July 5). Cost is $2400 plus airfare.
| BSK is now accepting applications for the Master of Arts in Ministry Studies program, launching in Fall 2024! The program, completed online through live Zoom sessions, is designed for people who want to grow in their calling while remaining in their full-time ministry or professional positions. The 36 hour degree program is centered around the selection of a specialty area by the student in consultation with faculty. Students may select from traditional fields of study or choose an area that is interdisciplinary. The program concludes with a Capstone project or thesis relating to the student’s area of specialization. | |
A new way to give... Giving just got easier through our Classy account using:
Venmo
Credit Card
Bank Account
Paypal
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"As you explore this report, do so with gratitude for the collective impact we've made and with anticipation of the transformative possibilities that lie ahead." Paul Baxley | |
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CBF March Book Club
Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day by Kaitlin Curtice, 2023
In an era in which "resistance" has become tokenized, popular Indigenous author Kaitlin Curtice reclaims it as a basic human calling. Resistance is for every human who longs to see their neighbors' holistic flourishing. We each have a role to play in the world right where we are, and our everyday acts of resistance hold us all together.
Curtice shows that we can learn to practice embodied ways of belonging and connection to ourselves and one another through everyday practices, such as getting more in touch with our bodies, resting, and remembering our ancestors. She explores four "realms of resistance"--the personal, the communal, the ancestral, and the integral--and shows how these realms overlap and why all are needed for our liberation. Readers will be empowered to seek wholeness in whatever spheres of influence they inhabit.
Learn more about CBF Book Club.
Find the study guide here.
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This year’s theme, “Equipping With Every Good Thing,” is based on Hebrews 13:20-21: "Now may the God of peace … equip you with every good thing to do his will, by developing in us what pleases him through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory forever and always.” The Offering for Global Missions equips the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship with the gifts and passions of 46 Field Personnel in 17 different countries and the United States, spreading the hope of Jesus Christ. When you give to the Offering for Global Missions, you also participate in this mission of Jesus Christ around the world.
This year we have a goal of $4 million. Every gift helps us reach this goal to support the presence of Field Personnel.
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Get your copy of the
OGM Prayer Guide below
| "Writers were invited to share about someone who has made a significant impact on their lives, a spiritual guide so to speak - one who has shaped their faith, their theology or their prayer life." Thanks Meg Lacy Vega for compiling these beautiful Spiritual Guides. | |
On the road...
Mar 3-8 Five Day Academy for Spiritual Formation, Fruitland Park, FL
Mar 9-12 Charlotte, NC
April 14, First Baptist Church, Vero Beach
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Visit CBF FL and Caribbean Islands website for job opportunities throughout CBF. CBF FL and CI Website
We just received this notice last week. Senior Pastor Opportunity, Village Baptist Church, Bowie, Maryland. Here's the link to apply.
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Stay connected with a quick click. | |
[813.810.7499] [tsnyder@floridacbf.org] [www.floridacbf.org] | |
A direct and compelling headline | | | | |
