New Baby

Pastor and Bettie Croyle, from Sylacauga, are new grandparents. Brother Croyle had the honor to dedicate Abigail Lauren Marshall on April 19, 2009. She was born March 1, 2009 to proud parents are Janean and Justin Marshall. Grandparents are, E. L. and Bettie Croyle, Delora Rayfield and great grandmother Janette Davis.

New Deacon

Alexander City has a new deacon. Clint Knowles, Sr. was presented his Deacon's License on Easter Sunday, April 12th. Congratulations to Brother Knowles and the local church.

Camps and Retreats Information

Good Day everyone. Just wanted to send out a reminder and encouragement to be mindful of the Retreats and Summer Camps Pre-Registration deadlines. The Pre-Registration deadline for Men's and Ladies Retreat is April 20. The price is $40.00 to all applicants post marked by this date. After April 20 it will be $50.00. Summer Camps Pre-Registration deadline is May 20. Please encourage all who would like to receive a discount to observe and respect these deadlines. The Camp Board was sensitive to the overall economy and decided not to increase our Tuition's for 2009 even though our general expenses continue to increase. You can down load and print Retreat Applications on Camp Boothe's web site at CampBoothe.org . At the Pastor's Intensive you can pick up some Summer Camp applications but a general mail out will be mailed with an application to last years Summer Camp applicants. If you have any questions concerning Retreats or Summer Camps please call our Camp Coordinators Dan and Vicky Pierce at 256-762-2133. Please continue to Pray for Camp Boothe and all staff as God leads us again this year in His Harvest.
Blessings, Joey Mojica
State Presbyter Camp Boothe Ministries

Pastors Intensive

April 17th and 18th, the Camp Boothe grounds were alive with pastors coming from all over the state. There were around 100 that assembled together to get instructions and to hear our State Overseer, L. V. Jones and General Overseer, Bishop Randall Howard speak. The theme was "Dialogues With Our General Overseer". The Ministerial Development Committee did a superb job with devotions, and carrying out their program. Bishop Howard shared his heart Friday night and again Saturday morning. We were honored to have him in the state with us and were able to get better acquainted.

Go to Direct Link http://cogop.org/401174.ihtml to download Bishop Howard's lessons that he presented this weekend.

Hackleburg's Dedication

Before
It was a great day for the Hackleburg church and community. Around 200 people surrounded the new facilities to see what God has done and all were giving Him the praise and glory. Bishop Randall Howard, General Overseer for the Church of God of Prophecy, and his wife Beth were there from Cleveland, Tennessee along with Overseer L. V. Jones of Alabama. There were guests from South Carolina, Tennessee, California, Illinois, all parts of Alabama, along with special town officials from the City of Hackleburg.

Overseer L. V. Jones, former pastor Brian Sutton and current pastor Clint Knowles related the history of how this began and details of how they got to this point in time.(dedication) A special donor was present to speak and express his joy at what had been accomplished. He only asked the congregation to go out and win souls to the church and that would be their "thanks" to him. Bishop Howard prayed the dedication prayer and challenged the church to go forward.

Hackleburg has the excitement and facilities to move into the next realm of ministry and that is their goal. Go Hackeburg..... we are watching and praying with you! You and God together can do it!

Easter Greetings From General Overseer

Earlier this week I was so blessed by the realization that we had entered one of the most special seasons of the year, the Easter week. Of course this is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter when all around the world people think about the work of our Savior as he moved toward the cross and then His resurrection. At times in western culture this week flies by us and we land on Easter Sunday morning scurrying to get into our special Easter dress. So I felt like sending a note to remind us all that this is our week as believers.

Commercialism has not completely overwhelmed this event and it still really belongs to us, the children of God. For the remaining days of this holy week, let's reflect on the meaning of this week and enjoy savoring the thoughts of our glorious Savior and what He has done for us in the Easter passion. Here are a few leading thoughts to draw us all along in this spiritual celebration:

Condescension
Christ chose to leave the eternal glory to come and be with us on earth, Emmanuel.

Incarnation
Christ not only came to us but He became one of us, so that He could be, at all points, tempted like we are.

Humiliation
Christ did not come as royalty, but to a low state of life. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Propitiation (Sacrifice and Payment)
Christ was further humiliated by hanging on the cross, a curse to the Jew. Yet John said, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." He is our sacrificial Lamb.

Resurrection
Christ rose, overcoming death, hell, and the grave as no other has ever done before to win our victory over the enemy and sin.

Ascension

Christ was seen of witnesses often, and then He ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He lives to make intercession for us now and for ever.

As we think of this week, give thought to the triumphant entry and shout your "Hosannas" with all the saints this week. Hosanna holds the two part prayer:

1. Praise as we mean 'Hail to the King'
2. Petition, as our burdened hearts cry out 'save now.'

The Last Supper was the fore taste of how He would share his body and blood for the sins of all mankind, those that believe. Consider the fellowship we have with Christ now, like that of the disciples that night.

Gethsemane is the model of victory won before facing the foe, through prayer. Appreciate the struggle of Christ in the garden for us and His total dependence on time spent in the Father's presence as His solution.

The Betrayal, Trial, Mocking, Denial, and Scourging were all part of Christ' separation from all support to stand alone as the 'sin bearer.' You might want to read Isaiah 53 to reflect and honor the 'aloneness' our Lord endured for us.

Crucifixion was the bitter cup that brought victory. There He took the final step or separation from the Father as Isaiah wrote, 'for a moment have I forsaken thee.' God who could not look on sin as Christ took our sin on that cross to be the Lamb that was slain. Enjoy the Psalm 103 list of the blessings won for us in a pre-Christ praise for His work on the cross.

And Resurrection was the public announcement of the victory won at Calvary. He arose victorious, winning back what was lost at the other garden in Eden, never to release that dominion again. Looking toward Pentecost and His ascension also as praise points in this journey.
So as we continue to walk toward Easter Sunday morning, perhaps we could take these reflection points and meditate on them; making this the most special week of the year for we who fully believe that what happened on Calvary's cross that day truly did change the world and all the course of history.

Blessings!
Bishop Randall E. Howard
General Overseer

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