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Children light up first night of meeting
Dianna L. Cagle, BR Assistant Managing Editor
November 09, 2010
3 MIN READ TIME

Children light up first night of meeting

Children light up first night of meeting
Dianna L. Cagle, BR Assistant Managing Editor
November 09, 2010

GREENSBORO — More than 250

children and staff from Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina (BCH)

impressed messengers at the Baptist State Convention annual meeting with a

colorful presentation about “growing hope.”

Their presentation Nov. 8

started with a video thanking North Carolina Baptists “for keeping the love

story alive.”

Baptists rose to their feet and applauded as children and adults

streamed into the meeting room from the back and front. Dressed in varying

shades of green, children and staff entered the meeting room carrying flowers

and butterflies.

BR photo by Norman Jameson

Young ladies at the Baptist Children’s Home of North Carolina enter the meeting hall Nov. 8 for the BCH report to messengers of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

A young lady began singing and everyone joined in the chorus.

“I would like to thank Dr.

Blackwell and all North Carolina Baptists for plenty of food and my own

bedroom,” said a 15-year-old young man who lives at Broyhill. He came to BCH at

age 12 weighing 32 pounds. He had never been in school.

Paulina, who was featured

this year in a BCH article in the Biblical Recorder, talked of her abusive

father. “At BCH, I have a refuge where I am safe and loved,” she said.

Michelle, 10, shared that

she was failing school before she came to live at the BCH. Now, she’s on the

honor roll.

Jim Dyer, placed at Kennedy

Home at age 8, left at age 16 shared that “Kennedy Home will always be my

earthly home.”

He told messengers, “You

made an eternal difference in my life.”

Ed Yount, Baptist State

Convention president, introduced the BCH presentation, highlighting the “helping

hurting children, healing broken homes” theme.

Yount introduced Michael

Blackwell, BCH president since 1983.

Blackwell met Dyer, the Thanksgiving

offering poster child in 1955, the first week he was at BCH.

He held up the youngest

resident, Alex, who lives at Care House with his mother.

“We have been around for a

long time,” said Blackwell, referring to BCH’s 125-year anniversary which will

be celebrated Thursday in Thomasville.

He called the Thanksgiving

offering the “umbilical cord of support.”

Blackwell predicted another

tough financial year next year and encouraged churches to pray and receive an

offering to support BCH’s ministries in 18 North Carolina communities.

Cloth squares painted and

sewn with messages of hope from individuals and churches were sewn into three

tapestries and lined the walls of the meeting hall and exhibit hall. About 6,200

one-foot-square cloths decorated the halls.

Other BSC news

Music for the first night

was provided by North Carolina Baptist singers and orchestra.

Milton Hollifield, BSC

executive director-treasurer, declared his commitment to moving the convention

to a 50-50 Cooperative Program split if churches increase giving (story to

come).

Messengers voted to hold a

two-day annual meeting next year and to limit debate on all matters by

requiring that each speech be no more than three minutes.