The traditional “Living Flag” performances at Mahomet (Ill.) Christian Church will be presented again this year, paying tribute not only to our nation’s service members and veterans, but also to David Johnson, the senior minister who founded the patriotic concerts 18 years ago. Johnson oversaw the productions until passing away in February of this year at age 69.
“He was beloved by everybody,” Cathy Menacher told the News-Gazette for a feature story this week. Menacher is in her first year of running the production, which features 30 singers on a 16-by-24-foot flag built from scaffolding. The hour-plus program includes a narrator and songs from five military branches. This weekend’s free performances—5 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 5 p.m. Sunday—will likely attract 300 to 400 folks each (with room for more).
Menacher described the program as “fun,” but also “very spiritual, moving, [and] patriotic.”
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News Briefs
“It’s not too late to join us onsite or online,” according to the International Conference On Missions. “Register for the online conference . . . through the conference weekend,” which runs Thursday to Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. “You can even purchase a virtual pass that will extend your ICOM experience! Passes [are] available now and after the conference.” Onsite attendees also can register at the door when the conference officially opens at 1 p.m. Thursday
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Jared Wilkins, 40, who had served as lead pastor with Parkcrest Christian Church, Long Beach, Calif., died unexpectedly Oct. 20 from complications following back surgery.
“We are all devastated by Jared’s passing,” said Eric Marsh, executive pastor of PCC, in an article in the Press-Telegram. “There has been an overwhelming outpouring of love for him and his family. He was larger than life, joyful, outgoing, a bridge builder. He made such a positive impact in a relatively short time.”
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Eastview Christian Church—with campuses in Bloomington and Normal, Ill.—has purchased a former YMCA facility and plans to expand its social services to the Twin Cities and McLean County as a whole, according to an article in the Pantagraph,
“The main attraction for us is the location and being in the community, among the people that we call family and that we’ve loved and served for many years,” Eastview senior pastor Mike Baker told the newspaper.
“We’ve done so many things already in terms of the food pantry, after-school programs and backpacks for kids, single mom care and recovery groups, that we’re going to have to have a bigger facility that is dedicated to all these services we want for the community,” Baker told the newspaper. Other possibilities include youth ministry, after-school programs, and recreational opportunities for children and families, he said.
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On Saturday, Mike Gillespie, minister with Marengo (Ind.) Christian Church, announced his 4,200th athletic event, a sprint football game in Frankfort, Ky., featuring Midway (Ky.) University as the home team. On Sept. 15, he announced the first-ever sprint football game played in “the South” as Midway hosted Bellarmine University (from Louisville). Sprint football has been played for more than 100 years, mostly by schools in the Northeast, and only by players who by rule weigh less than 178 pounds. (We wrote about Gillespie’s PA announcing “hobby” in February 2021, shortly after he announced his 4,000th sporting event.)
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