As May rolls in we are well into spring enjoying a true blessing of God in this beautiful mountain spot we call home. Be very careful not to take all of this glory for granted as you drive to and from, with busy schedules and appointments. Look off to those blue mountains and listen to the myriad of sounds from the fields and trees that surround us.

May is also that time of year we turn our thoughts toward Association Missions Week. A couple of years ago we adopted a simple theme that helps us better understand the value of a dollar. It is "One Dollar per Day per Member for Seven Days." Just seven hundred pennies collected by each one of our members, applied to the ministry of Strawberry Baptist Association, and managed in the Spirit of Christ will do more than we can imagine.

Though the "official" time designated for this special week of prayer and giving is May 21-28, we encourage our churches to promote the emphasis as best fits their local ministries. Some churches will move the dates around to more fully encourage congregation participation while others may choose to stretch it out a bit longer than a week so groups or classes have more time to do a special project.
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Excerpt from the report of the Temporary Location & Property Committee: Following last fall's recommendation by the Association, the Temporary Location & Property Committee hired a lawyer to research our financial liability should the other condominium owners decide to undertake an expansion in their own interests. His determination is that should we be taken to court over this issue we would most likely win the case. The temporary committee's job is completed per last fall's meeting recommendation. (A complete copy of the report is being included in each church's newsletter packet.)

After some preliminary statements, Rev. Mike Jones, pastor of Sedalia, recommended that an ad hoc committee be appointed to study the possibility of Strawberry Baptist Association providing religious cover for Bedford Christian Academy and report back at the next meeting of the Association. Rev. Larry Ross seconded the motion. There was considerable discussion after which a vote was taken and carried. Rev. Dennis Moore, moderator, will confer with Steve Manuel regarding appointment of this committee.

Attendance of 35, including 20 lay representatives, 7 pastors, and 8 visitors, with 15 churches represented.

Call the association office if you are willing to lead a class or if you are willing to accompany the children as they rotate through the various music opportunities that week. More details will follow at our website and in upcoming issues of The Spirit newsletter.

We offer the same clinic on Thursday night and Saturday morning, so you can easily fit it into your schedule.

This clinic is designed to help you understand how a Website can be a valuable ministry tool for your local church and how you can go about setting up a site. We will discuss many basics including Benefits of a Website, Definition of Common Terms, Registering a Site Name, Hosting, Steps in Creating a Site, Costs Involved, and Design Tips. The clinic will not teach how to design your own site, but will give knowledge you need to get started. The mechanics, ideas, and tips you learn at this two hour clinic will be enough for you to begin to develop an effective Web presence.

These conferences are dependent upon how many participants get their registration fee of $20 in to our office by May 11. (If two or more from the same church attend, the fee will be reduced to $15 each.) Make checks payable to Strawberry Baptist Association. The fee serves two purposes. We have conducted too many activities with little or no participation to risk another no show, and we will be preparing some resources and asking a couple from outside the Association to come help us do the clinic. Steve Manuel will be the principal instructor. If you or others from your church are interested in attending, let us know right away! If we do not have a sufficient number of folks signed up by May 11, we will cancel the clinic and refund all registration money. If there is a large response we will also cut off registration as a way to manage class size. This is another good reason to sign up early! The clinic is open to everyone, so if you know of friends (even outside of Strawberry) who are interested in developing their own Website, please feel free to invite them. We will take every opportunity to answer your questions and keep the presentation simple enough for everyone to understand. Call our office at 540-586-8345 or e-mail us at sba@sbava.org.

Women on Mission: Sedalia is leading devotionals at Oakwood Manor in May; Palestine will lead them in June. Flint Hill will host the May birthday party for residents of Bedford County Nursing Home; Beaverdam will host it in June.
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Featured Speakers: "A Look Back" by Dr. Fred Anderson, Executive Director, Virginia Baptist Historical Society; "A Look Forward" by Dr. John Upton, Executive Director, Virginia Baptist Mission Board.

Special Music: Clifford Baptist Church Young Ladies Ensemble; Mt. Hermon Baptist Church Youth Choir; Virginia Baptist Male Chorale. Virginia Baptist Women's Chorale

Lunch and Dinner available in the Dining Hall at $5.00 per meal. Overnight accommodations available upon request at $20.00 per person. Join us in Celebrating 50 years of Ministry Together!

The quarterly Treasurer's Report is ready. To view it in PDF format, please click here. Thanks to all of you who have contrinuted to the support of our Association.

On Friday, May 19, at 7 p.m., Trinity will host Ergun Caner (see www.erguncaner.com) and Pantana (see www.pantana.com). This will be an incredible opportunity for the students of our area. Let's begin now to pray and invite as many as possible to this exciting evening. We also encourage our pastors and youth leaders to be an active part in making this event a success. For more info, contact Robbie McLaughlin at rlmclaughlin@liberty.edu.