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200th Anniversary Committee

Our 200 th Anniversary Committee would like to have any old photographs, newspaper clippings or anything pertaining to olden times 200 years ago. Please see Ken Gettle with these items.

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Special Thanks

Dear Church Family,

We can hardly believe that six weeks have passed since our arrival at Word of Life Bible Institute. In only four weeks, our first quarter ends and we will be coming home for the month of December. We look forward to seeing all of you and joining the choir for the Christmas Cantata.

Our studies are going well and we thank God daily for the opportunity He has given us to take a year to focus on His Word. Two classes we have throughout the year are Bible Survey and Theology. In addition, each week we have a guest instructor who teaches a particular book of the Bible. So far we have studied James, Genesis 1-11, Matthew, Leviticus and Ezra. This coming week we will study Hebrews. Also, we had a full week on Personal Evangelism.

There are 350 students in our class and yes, we are the senior members! The kids are great to be around and have been and encouragement to us. Our cabin in the campground is wonderful. Most of the married students live here and we have neighbors that came from Australia, Korea, Denmark, Brazil and Canada (which isn’t that far from here).

We are required to work one afternoon a week as a service assignment and this is something we look forward to. Debbie works in the campus bookstore and I work here in the campground doing tasks that take me back to my early days as a Park Ranger.

We attend a local church in Schroon Lake called Mountainside Bible Chapel and will be getting involved in ministry there for the school year. Most of the Word of Life staff attend there so we know quite a few people already.

We want to thank all of you who have called, emailed, sent cards and are praying for us. It’s tough to be away from family and you ARE family. Thank you very much; it’s a blessing to know you are praying. Rest assured we are praying for you too.

The Lord tells us through Paul in Ephesians 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

Learning for His Glory,

Earl & Debbie Copenhaver

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Calling All Cooks

We are getting ready for our 200 th Anniversary next year in June. A cookbook will be available on Friend Day, June 4, 2006.

We have not received very many recipes. Please get out those favorite recipes as soon as possible and put them in my mailbox or email them to Iris Singleton so we can get started now and have this done by our Friend Day. Please put your name on your recipe so we can add your name in the recipe book.

Thank you,

Michelle Singleton

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Activity in the Music Department at GBC

What’s New, Interesting & Exciting

Adult Choir

As the GBC Choir energetically works away on the Christmas Program, we have all been blessed each week with their excellently performed choral pieces. The 2005-6 Gunpowder Baptist Church Choir members are:

Sopranos: Judy Bull, Mary Scheuerman, Joan Krebs, Diane Ivey, Heather Rebstad, Ruth Taylor, Fran Rebstad and Debbie Copenhaver

Altos: Diane McCarty, Dana Newton, Anita Sands, Harriet Hoffman, Dottie Hughes, Barbara Covington and Mary Hamrick

Tenors: Doug Walker, Paul Botzler, Bruce Wisnom

Basses: Don Couch, Paul Jensen, Earl Copenhaver

Narrator: Steve McCarty (bass)

Director: Carol Haaverson

Not only do these musically gifted performers work hard, play hard, and sound good, they will also be looking great in their new blue, white and gold choir robes scheduled to roll out around Thanksgiving. This is a group of which we can all be proud!

Technical Department

Check out the new bi-lateral computerized projection system just completed in the sanctuary. Not only will you see the call-to-worship songs on both sides, you’ll be seeing announcements, the Pastor’s sermon notes and other creative power point graphics intended to enhance the worship service and the learning experience. Many thanks to our resident tech-wiz, Karl Devos.

Song and Worship “A” Team

We all know the Lord smiles when we lift our voices to him in song and now that you’ve seen the first rotation of this prodigiously talented group of men that lead us each week in song and worship, we can be quite sure He’s grinning ear-to-ear. S.W.A.T. members are Steve McCarty, Bruce Wisnom, George Rebstad and Doug Walker. Look for a new S.W.A.T. team member (Sam Newton) to handle the job on those “fifth Sundays” in the month.

Special Events

Pastor Phil Bena and Bill Itzel ministered to us through their music and message in the past few weeks. Between their songs, their messages and Phil’s guitar pyrotechnics, we all had a great time and the Lord smiled. More to come.

Call to Worship Ensemble

Lots of raised voices and smiling faces as we move ahead with the CTW philosophy. It IS fun to sing to the Lord in a spirit of unity and togetherness. New faces include the kinetic Diane Ivey as a regular member. Look for Mary Hamrick and Anita Sands in the near future.

G.B.C. Website

Well, if you haven’t visited www.gunpowderbaptist.org and been jaw-dropping, eye-popping astounded at the wealth of information on the site, you’re in for a huge treat. Our website would make most Fortune 500 companies quake with envy. Information, audio and visual is available to you and anyone who wants to be ministered to in the electronic age. A truly spectacular accomplishment by Webmaster Andy Hamrick.

Children’s Choir

Director Mary Scheuerman and Joan Krebs continue to teach our youngsters excellence in music and song as a way of worshipping the Lord. Uplifting performances at our 11:00 service have been truly praiseworthy. And the best is yet to come. The annual Children’s Christmas cantata preparation is in full swing.

From the Choir Directors Handbook:

Ten Ways to tell a Prospective Choir Member They Can’t Sing

• I’m sorry, we’ve run out of robes
• We need strong singers like you in the congregation to help them sing the hymns
• I wouldn’t want you to strain your voice
• Did you know singing can aggravate sinus problems?
• We still need good people for the handbell choir
• Here’s a book on spiritual gifts. Why don’t you look through it and we can find another place in church for you to effectively minister.
• It’s a shame composers don’t write more songs in your style
• You have a unique range – you hit both notes well
• Did you know there is a new bible study starting the same night as choir practice? I think you’d get a lot from it.
• You have excellent posture.

In HIS Service, Representing the GBC Music Department,

Rick Sands

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Social Committee

On October 2 nd, our annual FALL FESTIVAL was held. There was a great turnout and the weather was beautiful. We had quite a few of our friends from the Helping Up Mission in attendance. I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

The prize winners were as follows:

PUMPKINS:

Youngest through Kindergarten:

1 st place – Gabi Singleton

2 nd place – Shannon Harris

3 rd place – Chase Parker

Grades 1-2:

1 st place – Michael Ivey

2 nd place – Chris Franco

3 rd place – Keaton Harris

Grades 3-5:

1 st place – Christy Ivey

2 nd place – Caleb Bryant

3 rd place – Taylor Singleton

Runners up: Brandon & Kristen Newman

Chili:

Grand Champion: Mary Hamrick

1st place: Dori Morrell

2 nd place: Michelle Singleton

3 rd place: Myrtle Gettle

Soups:

Grand Champion: Ruth Taylor – Cream of Crab

1st place: Donna Franco – Italian Wedding Soup

2 nd place: Bill Keimig – Shrimp Bisque

3 rd place: Patrick Hamrick – Corn Chowder

Desserts:

Children:

1 st place: Caleb Bryant – hot fudge cake

2 nd place: Christy Ivey – apple affair

3 rd place: Michael Ivey – Halloween brownines

Youth:

1 st place: Jenna McLaughlin – candy corn cookies

2 nd place: Chelsey Bryant – oreos and cream

3 rd place – Patrick Hamrick – lemon bars

Adults:

Grand Champion: Frances Rebstad – caramel pear pie

1 st place: Barbara Bobbitt – blueberry cream cheese cake

2 nd place: Carol Haaversen – lady Baltimore cake

3 rd place: Josh Beers – honey bun cake

There were many other delicious soups, chili’s and desserts there and also hot dogs and s’mores so I’m sure everyone got enough to eat. The men played themselves out playing ball. Everyone seemed to enjoy the hay rides. I am now looking forward to our Christmas dinner on December 4 th. What better way to begin this beautiful and holy season than with your church family, so mark your calendar and invite all your family to come and join us.

Working for Him,

Ruth Taylor

Social Chairman

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Keenagers

I hope you all had a wonderful summer. Now it is time to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage. We will have had our trip to Harpers Ferry by the time you read this. The leaves in that area are beautiful during this time of year. We would like to invite anyone that would like to go with us on our trips to come out on those dates and join us. Our next trip will not be until January 26 th because of the holidays. At this time we will go to the Wilton Armadella Factory if the weather is good.

We have changed our luncheon meeting day to the second Tuesday of the month so others will be able to join with us. We have a great time of fun, fellowship and good food. Tuesday, November 8 th we will have our covered dish luncheon at the church. We will be honored by having Judy Bull sing for us. We invite you to join us at 10:00 a.m.

Your Keenager in Christ,

Myrtle Gettle

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Children's Sunday School Department

The time is sure moving quickly. It is hard to believe that November is here already. We have been studying “How to live a Christian Life”. The four ways we have learned already are: Put Christ first in your life, Care for others, Be Honest, and Control your anger. Are you living a Christian example for your children to follow? With the way the world around us is today we need to have Christ in our lives. Remember He will never leave you nor forsake you. Christ will help you though e very situation that you must handle. Just please, ask Christ for His help.

The children have had excellent attendance. We were honored to hear them sing “Cast Your Burdens” on October 23 rd during the 11:00 a.m. service. Mary Keyes and Zack Morrell played the tambourines. Wow! They all did an outstanding job!

I’m sorry we had to cancel the corn maze and hayride on October 14 th and 21 st because of all the rain. We will go hopefully next year.

On November 5, there will be 15 of us traveling to see the Hershey Bears Ice Hockey game in Hershey, PA.

Starting November 27 th, we will start our little secret elves. So senior adults, keep an eye open your mailboxes for special surprises every week. On Sunday, December 18 th, we will hold our secret elf breakfast. The children are really excited to surprise their big elves.

Please keep the children’s department in your prayers. Pray for good health, protection and growth.

Thank you for allowing me to serve the Lord in this area of our church. I love all the children and especially our awesome God.

His servant,

Joan Krebs

Children’s Director

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Children's Church Schedule

Nursery Worker Schedule

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FAITH Ministry

Some of the wonderful people who have really helped tremendously in the Prayer Vigil have shared their feelings about the work of FAITH. They believe that witnessing to the lost should be at the top of the list of things we must do as children of God. We agree with them.

Hopefully, some of the above people will be able to join FAITH next semester. We need some more men in order to have additional teams to go out on Sunday. Please be in prayer and ask the Lord to touch the hearts of more people to join FAITH. If they have never been in FAITH, then they are in for a great experience, a real treat, and blessings from God.

FAITH members are so very thankful to God for leading them into this ministry. Every Sunday they are excited to be going out to witness to the lost but also to visit those who are sick, lonely, depressed, etc. Just to visit someone who is lonely or sad and then see how their spirit “perks up” is worth its weight in gold, to coin an old expression. Pray for this ministry and ask God if He desires for you to join.

Some people have shared they would like to join FAITH but can’t spend all Sunday afternoon away from their homes and then return at 7:00 for the evening service. We understand this and are presently working on different ways this can be remedied without losing the effectiveness of the program.

Remember there is no greater joy in the world than telling someone about what Jesus Christ can do in their lives.

In His Service,

Carolyn C. Foster - Director

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Prayer Ministry

Watchman Prayer Ministry - “Intercessors”

Dear Church Family,

The number of “emergency prayers” has reached 63. I feel our prayer wall has some serious problems which will have to be addressed after the prayer vigil is complete. I know the Lord is going to touch many lives as a result of this praising and glorifying our Lord. It is always time to pray, but even more as we complete our Prayer Vigil.

I believe as a result of our church praying in one accord (minus a few), great things are going to happen (2 Thes. 1:3-4). Our faith will grow as we love one another. We will be able to handle all situations and trials.

There has been much talk about praying at home. For lack of a better word I would have to say that the prayer room is majestic. When we pray at home there are many interruptions. The phone rings, dogs bark to go out, you think of something that must be done, someone is at the door, even the traffic can be an interrupter. I realize these conditions are mute since the vigil is over as you read this. Please keep this in mind the next time you need to pray. If you have never prayed in the Prayer Room, it’s a wonderful experience to be alone with your Lord.

We must continue to pray for the people who have been affected by these latest hurricanes and earthquakes. We should be proud of our SBC for their quick response to to help those hit by these terrible storms. They were the first ones on the scene. We have donated over $950,000 and have helped the Red Cross and Salvation Army to serve over two million meals. Many state conventions have disaster relief vehicles, including ours. There is special training to be a part of one of these teams.

As it pertains to prayer: the devil accuses you of sin to drive you from Christ. The Spirit convicts you to drive you to Christ. If you don’t repent, the devil wants to get you under a load of guilt. He wants your sin to pile up so your prayer will not be heard. The Holy Spirit draws you to Christ so that you may confess your sins and be blessed.

For those who may not know Gunpowder has a website, go there and see the wonderful work that has been done. We are blessed to have many talented and caring people who give of themselves. Thank you, Lord.

Bob Scheuerman

Prayer Coordinator

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Prayer Vigil

All Christians are familiar with the miracle when Jesus fed the 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. The Bible records that Jesus took the loaves of bread and fishes, looked up to Heaven, gave thanks to God and broke the loaves. Everyone ate until satisfied, and the disciples filled twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand, besides women and children.

A recent miracle took place at Gunpowder Baptist Church. This small church felt there was great need for prayer for our country, their church, their family and themselves. The church went to the Lord in prayer and signed slips covenanting to pray for God’s will in the matter. After much prayer and believing this was God’s will, the church then undertook the tremendous task of setting up a Prayer Vigil for the entire month of October 2005.

However, there was a problem. A total of 168 hourly prayer slots and 28 six hour security slots would have to be filled each week for a total of nearly 1500 hours in prayer/security at the church. This did not include the many hundred hours required for planning and administrative tasks. Our church congregation appeared to be too small for this task. Experience from other churches told us that we needed many more church members for such an ambitious task. It just couldn’t be done!

It was suggested to the Pastor that a neighbor church be asked to participate in the vigil. He meditated upon that possibility but decided that Gunpowder would hold this prayer vigil by themselves, letting everyone know that Gunpowder could not possibly do this alone but with God it could be accomplished. He knew there would have to be sacrifices on the part of the participants and that God would see that not one time during the 31 days of October would the chain be broken. As of this writing, the chain is intact!

From within the entire population of our church family, 114 very dedicated prayer warriors have stepped forward to meet this challenge. Yes, the hours are many, the days were not shortened, but there was never a time that the prayer room was unoccupied. Did Gunpowder accomplish the impossible? Oh no, Gunpowder didn’t accomplish the impossible. God once again performed a miracle. The time was the present. The miracle was for 114 people who stepped out in faith to do God’s Will, and from this miracle, people’s lives have been changed. Almost every person can tell you of some extra-ordinary thing that has happened to them or to someone for whom they were praying. They can tell you of the many answers to their prayers. They will tell you of people in the church who have become very close to them or of many kind deeds rendered due to the Prayer Vigil. To God be the glory, great things He has done.

This indeed was a miracle and with this miracle has showered the church with countless blessings.

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Women's Ministry

Our women’s group is excited about growing more and more in love with Christ and learning how to better minister to one another and become a closer knit church family. On Friday night, October 14 th, the GBC ladies met together with a theme of “Women Mentoring Women”. Our guest speaker was Debbie Miller from White Hall, who encouraged us to reach out to other women, whether younger or older, whether in our church family or in our community. Debbie pointed out that since we are women of God, our destiny is to mentor younger women. In order to mentor other women, we need to develop the characteristics of Christ which include:

1. Be real, don’t put on airs of being perfect, just be who God has created us to be.
2. Have a heart that desires to walk with Christ and that loves God.
3. Devote time to prayer, Bible study and develop an attitude of prayer throughout our days.
4. Be available to God; be available for an adventure. God doesn’t need us to be perfect; He needs us to be available.
5. Develop friendships. We mentor with thought and we mentor on purpose, for the glory of God, so that the effects are lasting.
6. If advice is given to younger women, it must be true to the Word of God and the Biblical principles.

Debbie closed the session by encouraging us to seek out women that we can mentor, whether it’s by sharing Bible scripture or teaching someone to bake an apple pie; we will be more fulfilled when we give of ourselves to others.

STARS for CHRIST  

Click to see "Untalent Show" pictures

Click to see "Crazy Hat Party" pictures

UPCOMING LADIES’ EVENT

Saturday Evening

December 10 th, 2005 -- 6:00 p.m.

Gunpowder Baptist Church

"GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER"

Mark your calendars for this evening of mystery, fun, fellowship and worship

What do I bring?

Where do I go?

What will be served for dinner?

Who will my dinner companions be?

All of these questions will be addressed, one by one, as the time for the big event approaches.

Sign-up sheet will be in the church lobby.

Come with an expectant heart

Invite your friends

All women of the church and community are welcome!

We need 6 hostesses for this event.

If you will open your home to a group of 6-8 women for an hour, please call Mary Hamrick

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Women’s Fall Retreat

November 18-19, 2005

SPINNERS INN

HERSHEY, PA

THEME: Courageous Christian Contender

Please mark your calendar now and plan to join us for a refreshing, renewing, fulfilling, spiritual relationship with our awesome Savior, Jesus Christ.

Share a bed: $60.00

Your own bed: $80.00

For more information, contact Joan Krebs.

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November Birthdays & Anniversaries

ANNIVERSARIES 2 Jim & Shirley Deel 6 Bruce & Cathy Wisnom 11 Dan & Pat Elligson 22 Wilber & Mae Fry 22 Charles & Audrey Quick 23 Ray & Gloria DiPaola 23 Steve & Carol Porcher 29 Marvin & Carol Robertson

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Congratulations to Bert & Judy Dausinger on the birth of their 8 th grandchild. K aden Warren was born on September 25, 2005 and weighed in at 9-1/2 pounds and was 22 inches long. He is the son of Jeremy & Nicole Strassman. Kaden has a proud big brother, Blake.

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Belfry Archive

February, 2005

March, 2005

April, 2005

May, 2005

June, 2005

July & August, 2005

September, 2005

October, 2005