This spring we have an opportunity for renewal and reflection at the Senior Adult Retreat hosted by Virginia Baptists at Eagle Eyrie.  We will travel by church bus May 17-19 to the beautiful Lynchburg area for this time of retreat.  The keynote speaker for the weekend is our own, Dr. Browning.  The total cost of the weekend is $125.  A $15 deposit is due by April 15.  The theme for the retreat is "People of God:  Past  Present  Future."  In addition to worship and discipleship time together, they will also have an old-fashioned ice cream social and hymn sing as well as a comedy night.  Please see Melissa Fallen for more details.

Join HRBC older adults as we travel on April 15-16 to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for fun and fellowship. After we arrive on Thursday, we will shop at the villages of Kitchen Kettle before enjoying the play, "Joseph" at Sight & Sound Millennium Theatre. After a good night’s rest, we will depart for Bird in Hand Farmers Market and an Amish Country tour before making our way back to HRBC. Prices range from $270-$350 per person and payment is due by March 12th. Please see Tom Wyatt (378-7864) for details.

Update from the International Mission Board

"Southern Baptists are moving quickly to assess relief needs in the aftermath of an 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile at 3:34 a.m. Saturday, killing at least 82 people, collapsing buildings and setting off a tsunami.

Disaster relief specialists from South Carolina and California are on standby to respond, said Jim Brown, director of the U.S. office for the International Mission Board’s primary partner in disaster relief, Baptist Global Response. A decision about what initial response is needed will be made within the next 12 hours.

The epicenter was located just 70 miles from Concepcion, a city of more than 200,000 people, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. A tsunami wave struck the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles off the Chilean coast and tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Chile’s president, Michele Bachelet, declared a "state of catastrophe" in three central regions of the country. Several hospitals were evacuated and communications with Concepcion were knocked out.

In the capital city of Santiago, which is about 200 miles from the earthquake, IMB field personnel reported in a 5:00 a.m. e-mail that they had experienced “very scary shaking” and that electrical, telephone and water services were cut off.

IMB and BGR leadership began consulting immediately during the early morning hours after the earthquake, said Scott Holste, associate vice president for the IMB’s Office of Global Strategy.

“We are evaluating damage reports as they come in and preparing initial response plans, if it is determined that a significant response is needed,” Holste said. “Southern Baptists have ministry partners in Chile who will be able to help respond immediately with basic necessities.”

“We know that immediate needs usually include things like food, water, shelter and medical needs,” Brown said. “We have emergency response funds available to help with the crisis response. Southern Baptists always respond quickly when a disaster like this strikes. They pray and give from the heart. We’re glad to know so many people who care are ready to spring into action to help people in need.”

Word has been received from IMB leaders in Chile that all field personnel have been accounted for and are safe; information about the impact on the Chilean Baptist community is being sought. IMB will be monitoring developments and will issue further announcements about needs and response as more information becomes available.

Updates

-  www.imb.org
-  Twitter -- Use #QuakeResponse

How you can help

Pray -- Prayer is urgently needed for thousands of people in Chile whose lives have been upturned by a massive earthquake that struck in the early morning hours of Feb. 27, says an International Mission Board strategist closely tied to the area.

“We want to ask Christians everywhere to lift up people in need after this huge disaster,” said Terry Lassiter, strategist for the American Peoples affinity group. “We thank the Lord that all of our missionaries are well but there has been a very significant loss of life that is going to affect both our church community and the non-Christian community in Chile.” Read more.  

For future prayer requests, also visit CompassionNet.

Donate -- Donations may be directed to the Disaster Response Fund at www.gobgr.org."

As we approach Easter, we have an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and prepare our hearts and minds during this time of Lent.  Here are a few suggestions to help you "BE" in the presence of God:

• 40 Days of listening to the entire New Testament in our "Faith Comes By Hearing" opportunity.  The MP3 cds of the New Testament are available through the church.  You can also click here to be redirected to the site with the free MP3 download available.
• Journey to the Cross daily devotional
• Reading the Bible through during 2010

Mark your calendars now for the following:

• Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010: Worship at 8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Bible study at 10:00 a.m.
• Maundy Thursday, April 1, 2010:  Covered Dish Dinner at 6:00 p.m. followed by worship at 6:45 p.m.
• Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010:  Worship at 8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Bible study at 10:00 a.m.

The HRBC staff and several congregation members began their mission at the African Christian Community Church (ACCC) on Monday, February 22. The tasks for the three days include:

• painting two rooms
• removing very old hardware and installing new door knobs
• unpacking and organizing a LOT of donated children's books
• organizing, rewiring, and revamping the computer lab
• installing a water cooler
• removing several unwanted pieces of furniture from the site

Click here to view pictures from the fun!

The ACCC is a relatively new partnership of the Richmond Baptist Association (RBA).  Pastor Calvin Birch and his congregation primarily reach out to African immigrants who have settled in the area.  In addition to their regular worship time, they also provide very needed ministry within the community, particularly for children through an after-school program.

Our annual venture to the St. Paul’s Lenten lunch and worship series is on Wednesday, March 3.  This event is open to anyone and is designed to provide us with a time for personal self-examination and renewal of our faith as we anticipate Easter.  We will meet at HRBC at 11:00 a.m. and travel downtown for lunch followed by the worship service led by Rev. Amy Butler of Calvary Baptist Church in D.C.  The cost of lunch is $7.00 per person plus an additional $2 if you wish to have dessert.  Please make reservations with Melissa Fallen by Sunday, February 28.  Please let Melissa know if you plan to drive.

We begin our journey to Easter Wednesday evening, February 17.  Join us for a covered-dish dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the gym.  The Ash Wednesday service takes place in the sanctuary at 6:45 p.m.  This service includes silence, time for confession and repentance, special music, and Dr. Browning will share a message.  Come begin this time of preparation for Easter with your faith community.

Regular Wednesday evening activities and ministries will not take place on Ash Wednesday.  Child care is available during the service.

The deacons and the Jerusalem Team are sponsoring a FREE pancake supper and fellowship opportunity at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 7.  Every member of the family is invited.  Entertainment is provided by the talented members of HRBC.

This time of fellowship is the celebration of relationships built during the Winter Warm-Ups sponsored by the deacons, and we want all members and friends to participate.  Mark your calendars now for a night of food, fun, fellowship and much laughter.  Reservations are not required!

Due to the inclement weather, the church office is closed and all activities canceled for Wed, Feb 10th.

We kick-off a five-week series called Reflections on the Lord's Prayer on Wednesday, February 24, at 6:15 p.m.  Many of us have memorized the words of the Lord's Prayer, but how many of us really know what the words mean.  Our goal for this five-week journey is to know this prayer so we are caused to think as we speak the words.  Dr. Browning will lead this study, and then we will move to small groups to discuss what is learned.  If desired, you can stay and discuss in Dr. Browning's group.  Join us!

The HRBC Annual Meeting is rescheduled for Sunday, February 21, at 7:00 p.m. in the MPR.  Reports will be shared by staff and ministry leaders, and several items will be brought for prayer discernment:  allocating funds for additional architectural drawings, purchasing another Ashburn Road house, and others.  We encourage your participation so you can stay aware of all that is happening in the life of HRBC.

Last spring Huffman Architects created a Master Site Plan four HRBC. They created a powerpoint presentation which can now be found here.

A New Opportunity to Offer Your Time to Help in Haiti Relief

Virginia Baptists will join with Richmond-area Methodists to package 142,000 meals on April 6 and 7, through Stop Hunger Now (SHN).  SHN is the organization that Virginia Baptists have partnered with on many occasions, including our recent annual meeting in November.   They have a reliable partner on the ground in Haiti and have sent over 6 million meals there over the past several years.

Virginia Baptists have been asked to provide 40 – 50 volunteers for each of the packaging time periods.  All volunteers must register in advance for a scheduled time period.  You may do so by emailing Jeannette Hildebrand or by calling 800.255.2428, ext. 7260. 

The church will ONLY be holding service at 11:15 tomorrow morning. We will not be having the 8:45 am service or Sunday School.  If you can make it we would love to have you, but be safe when making that decision.

The Children’s Ministry is providing a bonding opportunity for children and their grandparents (biological or functional!) to get to know each other a little better and share some fun and sweet treats in the process!  Join us Sunday, February 14 (please note the date change from the original church calendar) from 2-4 p.m., as children and their grandparents gather in the gym to create an art project, help with a service project, and just have fun!  If you are a grandparent with grandchildren in another church, please bring them.  We want to get to know them, too!

Due to inclement weather, the church office will be closed on February 1, 2010. The office will reopen at 10 am on Tuesday, February 2nd. At which point we will pray that the Groundhog does not see his shadow and spring will come soon!

Due to inclement weather all services are canceled for Sunday, January 31st. The Annual Congregational meeting will be rescheduled and announced at a later date. Stay tuned for more information.

Click here to read about how HRBC responded with medical supplies for our missionary contacts in Haiti.

Listed below are many of our ministry partners who are at work caring for the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus Christ.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Response - How You Can Help

In the aftermath of the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has launched its response, which will be largely coordinated through CBF field personnel Nancy and Steve James, who serve in the country and are traveling to Port-au-Prince to assess how CBF can respond.  

Both medical professionals, the Jameses are bringing emergency medical supplies with them and plan to establish a staging area from which the Fellowship’s response will be channeled.  Daniel Vestal, CBF Coordinator, encourages individuals to respond in four ways where you can help:

• First you can pray: Prayer requests will be updated regularly.  CBF is updating prayer requests from Haiti at:  http://www.thefellowship.info/Pray

• Second you can give: Your gift will go to earthquake relief. Give to CBF online at http://www.thefellowship.info. You can also give through HRBC, and we will send along your offering directly to the disaster relief efforts of both the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the International Mission Board unless otherwise directed.

• Third, you can get involved: If you want to help directly with response efforts, please let CBF know your skills and experience.  CBF is building a disaster response team and an application is available at http://www.thefellowship.info/Disaster-Response-Application

• Fourth, you can stay connected: Read the latest news release, updates on the CBF blog, and connect through CBF's Haiti ministry network's Ning site: http://fellowshipportal.ning.com/group/haitipartnersforchrist.

You can also click here to view CBF Coordinator, Daniel Vestal's, message about the crisis in Haiti.

International Mission Board Response - How You Can Help

The International Mission Board is also very involved in the disaster relief efforts in Haiti.  You can follow the IMB link to see and read more about the IMB's response and ways you can personally be involved:  www.imb.org

Video message from IMB missionary in Haiti
Watch a video message from Mark Rutledge, IMB missionary to the Haitians, who traveled with a media team into Haiti following last week’s quake.  

IMB missionaries, Dominican Baptists provide aid, counseling to quake survivors
As Southern Baptist disaster relief officials were heading to Haiti Jan. 19 to assess needs, IMB missionaries in neighboring Dominican Republic were providing immediate relief supplies, medical aid and spiritual counseling to survivors of the earthquake that rocked Haiti the week before. “We have asked almost all of our IMB missionaries in the Dominican Republic to set the majority of their other work aside and focus on the Haiti response,” said Adam Hammond, the IMB’s strategy leader for Central America and the Caribbean.

Haitian congregation perseveres after loss of four church leaders
A few dozen families from Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, are living under a tarp attached to what’s left of their church building. They lost their pastor and three other leaders in the Jan. 12 earthquake. Out of 2,000 members, they can account for only about 100 so far. “We don’t know where our future leaders will come from,” said one member. But those gathered under the tarp are holding services every day.

Read more on the death of a leading Haitian Baptist pastor in Port-au-Prince. 

Give to Haiti relief
Financial contributions for the Haiti relief efforts can be sent through the IMB’s Haiti Response Fund or through gobgr.org. As mentioned above, all contributions to HRBC will divide evenly between CBF and IMB.

Contributions to the IMB will go 100 percent toward relief efforts. Baptist Global Response (BGR) is a Southern Baptist relief and development organization working with other Southern Baptist entities to coordinate disaster relief efforts.

GO
Vast need for short-term volunteers helping Haiti
Southern Baptists interested in volunteering in the Haiti relief effort — in medical care or other ways — are urged to send an e-mail to haitiresponse@imb.org. Indicate your name and contact information, what skills you have and when you are available. Southern Baptists interested in donating supplies or offering other assistance also can send an e-mail to this address.

Pray
Ways to pray for Haiti
Find ways to pray for the people of Haiti and those who are helping provide relief and counseling:

• CompassionNet: Watch for daily prayer updates.

• Twitter: To watch for latest updates from Haiti follow @IMBconnecting.Use #haitiprayer for your updates and prayers.

Blog: Join those adding their prayers to the IMB Prayer Director blog.

Baptist World Alliance Response

Click on the following link to learn more about what Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance is doing in Haiti: www.bwanet.org

Virginia Baptist Mission Board Response

Click on the following link to learn more about what Virginia Baptists are doing to support disaster relief efforts:  www.vbmb.org

You can also assist in packaging meals for Haiti through the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.  Please click here for more details.

Over the last few days, HRBC responded to the request from Haitian missionaries for medical supplies.  From Thursday to Sunday, many medical supplies were delivered to the church.  On Monday, January 25, children and families gathered in the gym to sort, pack, and pray over these items.  After everything was assembled, ten large boxes were shipped off to Florida for delivery to Haiti. Thanks to the individuals and Sunday School classes who stepped up to meet tangible needs for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.  Thanks also to our children and families for offering their day off from school to assemble these items and forward them to their destination. Click here to view the pictures from the day.

We continue to pray now for God to use and multiply these supplies to provide the care needed in this devastated community.

The HRBC ministerial staff seeks ways individually, professionally, and collectively to live out our theme this year:  Be. Love. Serve. Repeat.  On February 22-24, the staff will SERVE at the Richmond Baptist Association (RBA)—African Christian Community Church “Liberian Partnership.”  This newly formed partnership of the RBA is a ministry to many African immigrants living in the Richmond area, and it is housed on the Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church campus on Dumbarton Road.  Our tasks for the three days include organizing their children’s library, getting their computer lab up and running, light handyman work, and painting.  If you would like to join the staff on any or all days of this mission, please contact Melissa Fallen for more details.  If you are able to donate bookshelves, computers, or printers to help with this mission, please also contact Melissa.