A Letter of gratitude to the cornerstone baptist church family

Cornerstone Family,

I hope all of you reading this were able to be at Cornerstone Sunday.  It was a memorable moment in the history of our church.  Seventy-four people were in attendance!  Two former pastors attended with their wives; young moms who had attended Cornerstone when they were teenagers came with their children; former members and deacons returned.  Our current congregation turned out in force!  It was a blessed time of worship, praise, and fellowship!  My favorite moment was when the sanctuary filled with voices singing “In Christ Alone, Our Cornerstone.”  My heart was filled with joy, and I felt the presence of the Lord right there with us! I thought of all those believers who came before us, who did God’s work of building His Kingdom from this little church on the corner.  Many of them are with the Lord now; but, somehow, I believe that they were with us, too.  It is our turn now to continue with God’s work.  “May all who come behind us find us faithful.”

Clearly, the Lord deserves all the glory and honor for this day of celebration.  I want to thank so many people who helped with the planning and execution of those plans.  At the top of that list is Nan.  She did a massive amount of typing and editing for the cookbook, helped me with the layout of the display, and assisted with signing in attendees.  Anytime I asked for her help, she was always ready to jump in!  Thank you to all who submitted recipes for the “60^th Anniversary Cookbook.” I pray that it will be a reminder of our Christian fellowship and our need to serve the Lord.

Laurie suggested the “Farm” theme for the potluck, made all the flower arrangements for the tables, and provided other decor.  Her sister made the “stones” for the tables.  Linda W. worked with Laurie to provide table runners and helped with decorating the tables.  Karen M. set up and arranged all the tables downstairs.  She and her family had the church looking “spic and span”!  Mary Ann and Sue had the kitchen running smoothly.  Pam and Mary Jo made the tasty mints. Thanks to all who brought in the delicious dishes.  Thanks to Alice, Mary Jo, and everyone who helped clean up after the potluck.

We appreciated Pastor Evan’s sermon on I Peter 2: 4-10 explaining how Jesus is the Cornerstone and believers are the Living Stones to build His Kingdom.  The worship team led us beautifully in praising God through music.  A special thanks to Joni and Terry Wilkinson for providing the accompaniment. Thank you to Pastor Dennis and Pastor Ron for giving prayers during the service. Thanks to Blake for running the AV and to Patrick and Sue for greeting everyone so warmly.  Thank you to Karen V. and Jess who served in the nursery.  A big thank you to Wes for being our photographer for the day and for his work in getting the gardens looking beautiful.  Thanks to those who collected offering and to Bryan for counting. Thanks to Cloud for getting the message about our celebration on the church sign.  I am also grateful to the local papers, magazines, radio stations, Ben Bradley at BCI, and Martha Church in her weekly prayer email for helping us spread the word about our celebration.

Pam designed and made all the Cornerstone T-shirts. They are beautiful!  Wearing them is a good way to reach out to those who need the Lord. Linda H. helped me decide on the metal wall hanging, “Be still, and know that I am God,” that Marty and I provided for the front hall.  Thanks to Pierce and Pastor Evan for hanging it!  I’m so thankful to all our living former pastors who took time to send messages of encouragement and congratulations. I enjoyed reading memories of their time at Cornerstone.  I had the privilege of speaking to most of them; it was a real blessing!  Thanks to the Barretts for providing some contact information.   Thanks to Pastor Evan and Lloyd for finding church artifacts in the attic and getting them down to be used. Thank you to Lew Doubleday for providing some of the early history of when the Bible Study Group began to meet in his parents’ farmhouse.  Lloyd was also a good resource for names and history.  Thank you to Martin H. for setting up his video presentation in the display.  Thank you to all who prayed for this event and to all who made our guests feel welcomed.  Every effort made by everyone is so deeply appreciated!

Sunday wasn’t just the end of the last 60 years; it was the beginning of the next 60 years.  Continue to hold up Cornerstone in your prayers before God and ask, “What can the church do…What can I do to further God’s Kingdom?”

In His Hands,

Judy Vogel