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St. Paul Sponsors Annual Men’s Day Weekend Celebration
Sojourner’s
Truth Staff
St. Paul
Missionary Baptist Church (Pastor James Willis, Sr.) held
its annual Men’s Day Celebration this past weekend, March
12-13, with a Prayer Breakfast on Saturday morning and a
Worship Service on Sunday.
The
Saturday Prayer Breakfast brought together about 70 people
to feast on eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, grits, fruit
and yogurt and to hear the guest speaker, Rev. Floyd Smith
of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, bring the word and
address the weekend’s theme: “Steadfast Men of God.”
“The men
ought to be the leaders,” Smith said. “Real men go to church
and you get more strength, you are more of a leader when you
go to church.”
Smith, a
Toledo native, assumed pastor’s duties at Calvary (his
childhood church) in 1989 and is celebrating his 27th
pastoral anniversary this month.
On Sunday, the guest preacher
was Lawrence Swain, D.Min, a native of Glendale, CA and
former executive minister of the American Baptist Churches
of Ohio (to which St. Paul MBC is affiliated).
Murray received the call to the
gospel ministry during his senior year in high school and
began his seminary education after graduation from
California State University. He received a master of
divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1975 and his
doctor of ministry from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in
1993. He first served the American Baptist Churches of Ohio
from 1995-1998 as the South Area Minister and became
executive minister in 2004. |
Aaron Cooper, Lawrence Swain, First Lady Linnie Willis,
Pastor James Willis, Sr.
Lawrence Swain, D.Min_ Rev. Floyd Smith_ Rev. James Willis,
Sr.
Men's Day Choir. |
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Rev. Vernon Simpson presided over Sunday’s service and Bobby
McDale offered the welcome. Aaron Cooper served as chairman
of this year’s Men’s Day Committee.
Sunday’s
worshippers were welcomed by Reed and enjoyed musical
selections by the St. Paul Men’ Day Choir.
“As your
pastor, I challenge each of you to keep in mind that this
day is a special day and as you celebrate, remember that
only what you do for Christ will last, wrote Rev. Willis to
the men in his congregation. Enjoy the day and continue
being ‘Steadfast Men of God.’”
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