• 

  Water company cites reconnections

  The May 22 tornado has caused a dramatic drop in water usage for the Missouri American Water Co., but things are starting to turn around — one reconnection at a time.

Worship

Search Results

Close Previous Now showing: of Next

Previous Next Close

Related Photos

• 

Discussion

January 1, 2010

Rich Brown: Journey to Jerusalem awes Joplin couple

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Fri Jan 01, 2010, 05:40 PM CST

If Dennie and Loretta Lynch had one word to describe their 10-day tour of the Holy Land last month, the Joplin couple would likely go with “awesome.”

“There were so many things to see and so many places to go and even though we knew there were a lot of things for tourists, we really didn’t feel it was a tourist trap,” said Loretta Lynch, who visited the sacred sites with her husband, Dennie; the Rev. Phillip McClendon, pastor of Calvary Baptist; and other area residents. “I used to think what in the world did our grandkids mean when they said ‘awesome’ but since we came back and people have been asking about the trip, I have caught myself so many times saying it was awesome. It was marvelous.”

Another factor, besides seeing the sights, had to do with the spiritual experience.

“Just like us, everybody who had gone to the Holy Land said when they got back that they were actually drawn closer to Christ,” Loretta Lynch said. “The Garden of Gethsemane (a peaceful garden among a grove of ancient olive trees, looking back at the eastern wall of the City of Jerusalem) was so incredibly beautiful. When I read about it, I never thought it would be like it was. Somebody said, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful as we were sitting looking out over the garden if Jesus would come walking through the gate?’”

Her husband agreed that the whole trip was an uplifting spiritual experience.

“You have to be emotional if you are a Christian and standing in the tomb of Jesus,” he said.

It was difficult for the couple to pinpoint a highlight, but both concurred that their baptisms in the Jordan River ranked among the highest.

“It was awesome,” said Dennie Lynch, repeating his wife’s earlier reference.

Loretta Lynch agreed with the word choice.

“Yes, awesome suits it quite well,” she said. “It was such a tremendous feeling.”

Asked what he felt after the baptism, which was presided over by McClendon, Dennie Lynch without hesitation said that he felt “a new calmness.”

Although there were an estimated 300 people on the Lynches’ flight going to the Holy Land, Dennie Lynch said there were 29 in their group from Calvary Baptist, Joplin and surrounding areas.

Language was not a barrier, the couple said — almost everyone spoke English. The couple also noticed a great variety of churches, particularly in Jerusalem, from Baptist to Russian Orthodox.

One sight not commonly seen in the United States was a military presence in everyday life.

“Whether they were in uniform or not, any people in the military would have their guns with them as they walked down the streets,” Dennie Lynch said. “Also, when driving down the road, you would come to checkpoints where soldiers jumped on our bus with their machine guns and went up and down the aisle to make sure we were all tourists. We just had to hold up our passports and they were on the bus maybe 30 seconds. That was usually going in and out of Jerusalem and on the way to the airport.”

Although the Lynches said the food was tolerable, it would probably not be what you would write home about. A typical native lunch might consist of a fried chick pea sandwich on pita bread, which likely was a little difficult to dress up to the point of being mouth-watering.

But, behold, a king came to the rescue — at least on one occasion.

“One night a group of us took a taxi into downtown Jerusalem and went to a Burger King,” Loretta Lynch said.

Aside from the sacred, historical landmarks, the couple will likely never forget their trip to a Holocaust museum. They observed a children’s memorial with a black interior and tiny points of light representing children killed in World War II.

“There were apparently a million and a half Jewish children killed during the war,” Loretta Lynch said. “And when you go into this memorial, it is just one name right after another that comes out on a recording, which plays constantly with the names and ages of all the children. That was really something.”

Address correspondence to Rich Brown, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802 or e-mail rbrown@joplinglobe.com.

Text Only

Worship

• 85-year-old pastor stepping down after 40 years in ministry

  When Harry Givens draws the curtain on four decades as a pastor Sunday, he can rest assured that, with God’s help, he made a difference in people‘s lives.

  February 6, 2012 1 Photo

• Superstar T.D. Jakes makes a confession

  Now, this legendary preacher -- often listed as one of America’s most powerful evangelicals -- has taken a big step toward convincing critics that he is, in fact, an evangelical. Jakes has, after years of rumors about private assurances, publicly affirmed that he believes in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

  February 6, 2012

• Craig Tally, columnist: 'Proof texting' the Bible a common practice

  Upon entering the home of a friend, I discovered some friendly sparring in process about America’s space program.  My friend was in the midst of his “the Bible says so” argument just as I entered the room.

  January 30, 2012

• Crosslines holding 17th annual Souper Bowl of Caring

  Crosslines Churches of the Joplin Area marks its 30th anniversary in March, and more than half of those years have been devoted to the Souper Bowl of Caring.

  January 30, 2012 1 Photo

• Terry Mattingly: Change happens slowly within church

  In the fall of 1979, a cluster of Episcopalians made another trip to Rome seeking a haven for Anglo-Catholic believers anxious to exit their increasingly divided church.

  January 23, 2012

• Stephen ministers helping people get back on track

  The fury of last year’s Joplin tornado may have subsided and the stress of the holidays passed, but demands on the Stephen Ministry are stronger than ever.

  January 23, 2012 1 Photo

• Craig Tally: End zone not the best place for prayer

  Some say that the kneeling/prayer in the end zone is about honoring God and being grateful for one’s talent and opportunity, not about God helping the score. If so, then why do we not see a receiver bow in prayer following a dropped pass? Or, why do we not see a running back point heavenward following a fumble?

  January 16, 2012

• Forest Park’s Mission Joplin getting big boost from Carthage campus

  Since last May, Forest Park Baptist Church has provided relief to tornado victims through Mission Joplin, an outreach that continues to provide help to needy families today and will get an added boost later this year when the church’s remote campus in Carthage relocates to a much larger building.

  January 16, 2012 1 Photo

• Terry Mattingly: Significant assassinations didn’t make group’s list

  In terms of giant headlines and spilled ink, there is no question that the lightning strike by U.S. special forces that killed Osama bin Laden was the year’s most spectacular news event featuring a deadly brew of religion, politics and violence.

  January 9, 2012

• Banner year: New addition gives boost to country church near Goodman

  Deep in the southwest corner of Missouri, about an hour from Joplin, a pastor and his congregation are giving new meaning to country church.

  January 9, 2012 1 Photo

• More Worship Headlines

© 2012 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. · CNHI Classified Advertising Network · CNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2012. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope. Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
Privacy Policy | AP News Registry privacy policy
Terms and Conditions
Advertiser Index

Events by eviesays.com

The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO 117 E. Fourth Street Joplin, Missouri 64801