Expansion of the Franklin Ministerium and Franklin Central Help Fund

In order to increase the fellowship and cooperation among Christian churches and to better help those in need, the Franklin Ministerium is seeking to expand its reach by encouraging churches within the Franklin Area School District and the Valley Grove School District to join the Franklin Ministerium. In addition, we are expanding the reach of our Central Help Fund beyond its current 16323 zip code limitations to now cover both of those school districts as well.

The Ministerium will be mailing letters explaining how churches can join us at the ministerium, with the Central Help Fund, or both. There may be some churches that have evaded our mailing list, or who need encouragement from their congregations to join this ecumenical effort. In light of that, the link below contains the document that we're mailing, please feel free to share it with churches and church leaders.

(Note: We are not currently looking at churches in the Oil City or Cranberry School Districts, those would fall under their own respective ministeriums, with which we cooperate already through the Venango County Joint Ministerium.)

Franklin Ministerium and Franklin Central Help Fund documents

Let there be light: Working on our 132 bulb chandelier

As we prepare to lower our chandelier and replace burned out bulbs, we took the preliminary step today of having our local electrician from Drayer Electrical Services climb up through the bell tower into the roof substructure to take a look at the sockets where the 12 strands of lights are plugged in.

The roof substructure above the sanctuary.

Wiring for 11 dozen bulbs in the chandelier

A serious crank for lower the chandelier

Upcoming Event: A Fairy Enchanted Evening - Tickets available through April 27th.

2nd Annual Franklin's Choirs Sing - April 21st

The Franklin Christian Ministerium presents:

The 2^nd Annual

 Franklin’s Choirs Sing

Saturday, April 21^st   7 PM

At 1^st United Methodist Church 1102 Liberty St.

An evening of worship featuring the choirs of:

Christ United Methodist Church

Saint Patrick Roman Catholic Church

First United Methodist Church

First Baptist Church

First Presbyterian Church

New Life Family Worship Center

The event is free, no tickets necessary

A freewill offering will be taken to benefit Emmaus Haven

Upcoming sermons during Lent

Throughout the Lenten season, including Easter Sunday, we will be looking at moments from the Gospel of Matthew between chapter 26 and chapter 28. We encourage the people of First Baptist, and those who watch the sermon videos online, to spend time in those two chapters, looking deeply at the portions covered in the sermons, and those passages surrounding them. May our devotion to the Word of God bear fruit in our lives.

Upcoming Fundraiser sponsored by 1st Baptist

Upcoming Lenten services sponsored by the Joint Ministerium

All are welcome, please join us for these services of prayer and re-commitment as we journey together as a Christian community toward the Cross and the Empty Tomb.

What Every Christian Should Know About: World Religions - class to resume 1/31

The second, of three, lectures on World Religions from the Christian perspective will resume this Wednesday from 7:15-8:45 PM at Seneca United Methodist Church.  For those who missed the first class, the final two will still be informative and useful; to catch up, watch the Youtube video covering 7th Day Adventism, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormonism.  This week's focus will be Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism, with the class finishing up on 2/7 with Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, and Scientology.

Below is the link to Pastor's page with the Youtube video, PowerPoint, and other related materials:

What Every Christian Should Know About: World Religions

Below is the link to the video from the 1st presentation at Seneca UMC.

                                          World Religions video, no PowerPoint on screen

                                                                         Part 1 of 3                                       

                                                                      Part 2 of 3

Charity for children with cancer supported by First Baptist, the Magic Yarn Project, is featured on CNN

This is the charity that the church supports through Nicole Brzezinski Powell's fundraiser from last year, the Fairy Enchanted Evening which was a mother-daughter (or father-daughter, grandma-granddaughter, etc.) event which raised $1,500 for the Magic Yarn Project. This year's event, Fairy Enchanted Evening's Princess Ball will be May 5th. Fairy Enchanted Evening website  Those interested in attending the ball should go to the website for ticket information, those willing to volunteer to help put on the Ball should also contact Nicole through the Fairy Enchanted website, or call the church at 814-432-8061.

Those who live in the Venango County area who wish to attend, please get your tickets early, last year's event sold out.

The Magic Yarn Project story on CNN

Upcoming Meeting in January regarding assistance to those in need.

What Every Christian Should Know About: World Religions - to be offered again

The presentation/seminar by Pastor Powell on the topic, What Every Christian Should Know About: World Religions, will be offered for a second time in three parts at Seneca United Methodist Church on Wednesday, January 17th, 31st (not on the 24th), and finishing on Wednesday, February 7th.  Each night will begin at 7:15 PM and last until 8:45.  Seneca UMC is located at: 196 E State Rd, Seneca, PA 16346.  If you have any questions about the class or its content, contact Pastor Powell at 432-8061 or by email at: pastorpowell@hotmail.com

Google map to Seneca UMC

Christmas Eve at the Parsonage

The church family of 1st Baptist, as well as our local family and friends in the Franklin area, are invited to join the Powell family (Pastor, Nicole, Clara, not to mention doggies Winnie and Linus) on Christmas Eve from 5:00-6:30 for coffee, hot chocolate, cookies, and Christmas cheer at the church parsonage (connected to the church building, use the church parking lot and enter through the church).

The parsonage will be decorated (by Nicole) to highlight its 125+ year old Victorian charm, but lights and trees need people to enjoy them, please join us if you can.

The Christmas Eve church candlelight service will begin at 7 PM, if you don't have another church service to attend that evening, you are more than welcome to stay and join us in a service full of singing Christmas carols and punctuated with Lois Ann's rendition of "O Holy Night", as we celebrate the arrival of the child of Bethlehem.

Teacher Support Cancelled, Bible Study returns to Wednesday

Due to lack of participation, the Teacher Support Group is being cancelled, after Bible Study this Sunday night (10/8), Bible Study will return to its original place on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM starting on 10/11.  The evening group is currently working its way, verse by verse, through the Gospel of Matthew.  All are welcome.

What Every Christian Should Know About: World Religions

In this 3 part series, Pastor Powell seeks to give a brief but accurate explanation of the basic beliefs of 11 of the world's religions viewed through the perspective of their commonalities and differences with apostolic/traditional/Biblical Christianity.

In the first part, the Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormons are discussed following a brief general introduction to the topic.  In the second part, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism are discussed.  In the third part, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, and Scientology are examined.

                                                       World Religions - Part 1 of 3

                                                        World Religions - Part 2 of 3

                                                           World Religions - Part 3 of 3

Parents' Night Out returns to save the day once again.

1st Baptist will host the first Parents' Night Out of this year on Friday, November 10th from 5:00-7:30 PM.  This is an opportunity for parents' to have a "date night" and spend some quality time with each other and/or with friends, as well as a chance for the young people to enjoy a whole lot of fun at the church.

This year Parents' Night Out will be a cooperative effort that includes First UMC and Christ UMC as well.

Additional dates have also been chosen: Saturday, December 2nd (10 AM -3 PM) for Christmas shopping, and Friday, February 16th (5-7:30 PM) for Valentine's Day.

Please RSVP, 432-8061, starting two weeks prior to each night so that we can asses how many volunteers we need to work with the kids and how much food they'll need (parents, you don't need to feed them before you go, we'll take care of it).

Teacher Support/Fellowship Group to begin 9/20

As a former teacher, I know that teaching is both a rewarding and a stressful career, one requiring support from friends and family.  With that in mind, a support/fellowship group is beginning on September 20th at the First Baptist Church of Franklin (1041 Liberty St.).

 The group will meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month during the school year from 7-8 PM.

This will be a lightly structured event, focusing on allowing teachers to connect with each other and find help for the challenges they face through dialogue.

Refreshments will be provided, all teachers, public and private, current and former are invited, along with classroom support staff.  No registration necessary, come when you can, and thank you for your service to our community.

If you have any questions, please call 432-8061 or email Pastor Powell at: pastorpowell@hotmail.com

1st Baptist 150th Anniversary recognized by the State of Pennsylvania.

Knowledge is the enemy of Hatred

150th Anniversary Worship service video

Our recent 150th anniversary of the founding of the church was celebrated with a special worship service on July 30th.  The video of the service is divided into 3 parts due to length, click the links below to watch.

                                          150th Worship Celebration - Part 1

                                          150th Worship Celebration - Part 2

                                          150th Worship Celebration - Part 3

Still standing on the Promises of God

The family and friends of 1st Baptist on the 150th anniversary.

Some of our senior saints and their family members, along with Pastor jumping into the shot.