Pastor's Weekly Message - 10/30/11

October 30, 2011

Another week has gone by and the cleanup and recovery is going on as you can see on the website. It is a slow process and time-consuming but things are happening. All the carpet has been removed and the youth room has been taken apart: walls, ceiling and furniture. The nursery has been cleaned up: beds, rocking chairs, and other things. We are hoping to have some buildings here in the next few days for the Sunday School classes and for the Wednesday night classes. The baking soda blasting is cleaning up the charred boards in the old fellowship building. See pictures on website. The committees are doing a great job getting things in order.

We are planning to have a Thanksgiving meal on Sunday the 18th. You will be hearing more about it in the days ahead and we will be posting it on the website also. Tim Moore is heading this up for us this year. We also are having “Can and Quarter” project for Thanksgiving families. We have changed it to “Can and a Dollar since things are costly now. There will be a box for you to put things in here in the Fellowship Building. Our food banks are low on canned goods and other things this year, so we need to help out all we can.

I want to say again Thank You to each one who reached out to me this month. Everything was appreciated, the kids, notes, the meals, the cards, the gifts, the desserts, the visits, and the love. My heart has been overwhelmed with all the kindness. The timing could not have been any better. Thanks Church. Sometimes it is hard to be on the receiving end, but I do thank you so much.

Much Love, Pastor Tommy

Quick Update (with two photos)

Greetings all!  As soon as we receive new photos or information from the folks at Paul Davis Restoration we post it for you here.  We also link to this information on Facebook and in the e-mail newsletter.  If you would like to sign up for the email list to be notified when new information is posted, please CLICK HERE.

Below are two photos of the rafters in the education wing of the building.  They are in the process of soda blasting the soot.  Soda blasting is basically (as this writer understands it) a highly pressurized baking soda cannon that helps to remove the soot.  The clean wood is not new wood...it was as dark as the black wood prior to the soda blasting.

The folks at Paul Davis are providing updates as they can.  They hope to have another update for us by the end of the week.

Pastor's Weekly Message - 10/23/11

October 21, 2011

What a great service we had last Sunday. I am still rejoicing. I do believe that people are looking at us to see what we are doing since the fire. I am not talking about where we are meeting and who is singing and preaching, but what we are doing as serving the Lord and what our spirit is like. Look around, things are looking up and God is getting the glory that He desires. Does not the Bible say in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you? Yes, even from this fire we can grow if we keep our eyes on the Lord and not on what was lost.  The fire has caused many people who have never before mentioned our church to ask about the Church and what we are doing.

Today would have been our Homecoming special service.  We can still make today special if we just open our hearts to the Lord. Who has a praise to give? Who has a testimony to share? Who has a song to sing? Who holds the key to today’s service? Somebody needs to let go and share with the Church what God is doing.

This is Pastor Appreciation month and I want to say Thank You for all that you are doing for me. Every day has been a blessed surprise for me. The Calls, the Cards, the Gifts, the Meals, the Desserts (pies, cakes, and cookies) have all been appreciated. With all that is going on will the Church, for you to reach out to me I am truly grateful.  I am putting on weight but that’s the fruits of enjoying eating. 

Pastor Tommy

Letter from Paul Davis Restoration with pictures

October 14, 2011

Dear members of New Bethel Baptist Church:

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and share a few things with all of you.  First, let us begin by saying “Thank You”.  Thank you for allowing Paul Davis Restoration of Northeast Georgia to help you in this time of need.

We will work very hard to keep you informed as to the progress of the mitigation and the restoration of the Church.  We understand that this is a difficult time and we will do everything we can to make the process as seamless as possible.  There will be lots happening and we will keep you posted as to the progress.

We will work very closely with Pastor Tommy and your building committee during this process.  We would encourage you to direct your questions to one of the members of this committee.  For many questions, they may already have the answer.  If not, we will be more than happy to answer any question you may have.

We understand that there has been great concern over the contents of the buildings.  We promise we are taking great care to restore everything we can.  However, there have been many items that are not restorable due to extensive damage.  We are making every effort to be very thorough in evaluating every item and treating your contents with the respect they deserve.  We plan to provide pictures and a brief update weekly to be posted to your website.  This will enable all of you to see the progress. 

We know that a church is like a home to many.  Because of the dangerous nature of the construction, we ask that you do not “drop by” to walk in or around the building.  Your safety is a priority and we would not want to risk anyone being hurt.  While we know it is a place of comfort to you, please treat the area as a construction zone.  Keep an eye on your website for updates!

Again, please let us reassure you that we are taking the greatest care of your church.  We appreciate the confidence you have shown in us.  It has been a pleasure meeting many of you and we look forward to meeting many more.

Sincerely,

Kelley N. Padgitt                      Larry M. Gill, CPA                   Kevin L. Padgitt

Client Advocate                                    President                                  Vice President

These first three photos are from Thursday, October 6th.

These last three photos are from Wednesday, October 12th to show the progress.

Sydney Grace is here and other updates

Congrats to Jeremy and Courtney long!  Sydney Grace Long was born at 4:25 AM today.  She is 4 lbs 12 oz and 17.5 inches long.  She is in the NICU at St. Mary's Hospital in Athens right now.  The doctors are not sure how long she will be in NICU, but she is healthy.  Praise the Lord!

Other Updates
Anne Horton's mother passed away this week.  The church will be taking a bus down to Gwinnett this afternoon for the viewing.  The bus leaves from the church at 5:30 PM.  If you would like to go, make sure you are there on time.

There will be one large Sunday School class in the New Fellowship Hall at 9:45.  This week it will be led by Sammy Elrod.

Homecoming is postponed.  If you know anyone who was planning to come sing or participate, please let them know.

If you are willing to serve as a Deacon, please sign up in the back of the New Fellowship Hall.  Nominations will take place soon.

There is a bridal shower this Sunday at the church in the New Fellowship Hall for Lauren Smith.  It will take place from 2-4pm.

News from New Bethel

Everyone should be proud of Pastor Tommy.  I asked him for an update on the situation at the church and he sent a loooooong text message.  He's getting out of his comfort zone here!  In any event, some of the information was presented at church on Sunday.  Other parts are new.  There are a lot of different items so I will provide them in a list format.  -Anthony

• The Homecoming service has been postponed to a later date.  More details will follow in the coming months and weeks.
• Paul Davis Restoration is hoping to have the entire facility ready for us to use by Christmas.  
• Today they began working on cleaning the offices and labeling each item inside the church.  
• They will analyze each item to see what can be cleaned/restored or if it needs to be replaced.  
• A lot of things are being taken off the premises in order to be cleaned.
• Insurance will cover any items that need to be replaced.
• We are still not permitted to be in the building.  
• They are taking off the paneling in the preschool rooms.  
• The engineer said the concrete block walls and bricks are in good shape (A crack had been spotted in the bricks on the outside end of the old fellowship hall wing above the fire escape.). 
• The upstairs hallway is now reinforced so it is safe to walk on.
• Everything is out of the old fellowship building that was on the floor.  All that is left at this point is the floor, wall studs and support structure.
• Church staff is in the process of purchasing new office equipment, such as a computer, copier and printer. This will be temporarily set up in the New Fellowship Hall.
• Please be patient with the restoration process.
• If you have any problems, please call Pastor Tommy.
• If you have any questions for the church or Paul Davis Restoration company, you can email them to newbethelbaptistga@gmail.com.  

Preschool Update and Restoration Committee

New Bethel Christian Preschool will resume on Monday, October 17th. They will have school at the normal time from 7:45 until 11:30 as usual. It will be held at Hunters Creek Baptist Church. They have been gracious enough to allow us to use their facility for the preschool. The preschool did get together Wednesday this week at Hunters Creek to allow the children to have a play day and see that everyone was okay and that God took care of everything.

The Restoration Committee has been created for the cleanup process. The committee will work with the restoration company to make sure everything is taken care of. If you would like to contact any of the committee members, listed below are their names and phone numbers.

Donald Reese (Chairman) 706-335-9521
Calvin Culpepper 706-886-4152
Billy Hallford 706-384-4495

Update From Pastor Tommy

Wednesday, October 5th

There is no clean up tonight. We are meeting at 7:00. Pastor Tommy will give update of everything to date. The insurance company has asked us not to clean anything. We have contacted a company, Paul Davis Restoration, to do our clean up and recovery. A committee has been appointed to oversee the restoration. Billy Hallford Calvin Culpepper, Donald Reese-chairman.

A phone will be installed today in the fellowship building.

Pre-school will be operating at Hunters Creek Baptist Church starting on Monday the 17th until our church is cleaned and ready for them to come back.

Sunday Services
No early services, no Sunday School, 11:00 AM service only in new fellowship building. We don't have bath rooms so there will be temporary "facilities" set up for services.

Homecoming will be October 23rd at 10:30-12:30. Plans are incomplete at this time.

Update: How the Fire Started and Opportunity to Help

Greetings All! We have some updates on the situation at the church.

How the Fire Started
The fire marshal and ATF stated that the fire started in the refrigerator. That's right, in the refrigerator. To be more specific, the automatic defrost unit in the freezer shorted out, which cause the wiring to overheat and catch the refrigerator on fire. Once the fire started, it apparently spread upward to the ceiling and into the second floor where it began to spread down the hallway. We praise the Lord once again that everyone is safe and that there were no injuries.

Opportunity to Help

The new fellowship hall will be cleaned starting Wednesday, October 5. Anyone willing to help in the cleanup process can meet at 1:00 PM at the church. For those who can come at a later time that afternoon, come 6:00 - 8:00 PM. We have a storage trailer to put items in after they have been cleaned. Also, there will be a short devotion time on Wednesday night.

Other News

Hart EMC is being contacted today in order to get the power situation squared away.

Of course we want to remind everyone that there is no Wednesday night service other than the short devotion that will take place along with the clean up. In addition, there will be no services held in the sanctuary in the near future. It will need to be thoroughly cleaned by professionals before it can be used in any capacity. In the meantime services will be held in the new fellowship hall.


Remember, if you haven't already signed up for the email newsletter to receive updates, you can do so by clicking HERE.

Latest on New Bethel

Just a quick update on the situation at the church.  The fire marshal was on the scene this morning to assess the damage.  He has completed his work.  The insurance appraiser will be at the church sometime tomorrow to assess the damage from an insurance perspective.  After he has completed his duties we will be permitted to go in the building to begin cleanup.


Remember that we will be posting updates here as well as we will be calling with updates and schedules.  Also, please take time to sign up for the e-mail newsletter.  Here is a simple form to complete in order to sign up to receive e-mails:

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Update on the Fire

As most already know, New Bethel Baptist Church had a portion of the building catch fire on Saturday night. There are many questions right now and not very many answers. However, the church will make an effort to post any new information here on the website. What we know right now is that significant damage has been done to the old fellowship hall wing of the building. From the stairs toward the kitchen, most of that area will need to be totally replaced as the damage was major. It appears that most of the damage to the sanctuary and church offices is limited to smoke related issues.

The area is taped off as of right now and no one is allowed into the building until the fire marshal has had enough time to complete his work as it relates to the investigation. Hopefully that will take place early this week. After we are granted permission to enter the building, an assessment of the damage will be made and we can begin the clean up process. We will then have a better idea of plans moving forward.

The deacons and church staff will do everything in their power to make sure all members are updated on the situation via telephone call. In the meantime, there are a couple of announcements: 

• The New Bethel Christian Preschool will be closed this week. The deacons, church staff and preschool staff will be evaluating options for location of the preschool in the short term.
• There will be no Wednesday night service this week. Again, we will be contacting everyone as soon as information is available about upcoming services.
• The Homecoming service will still take place. Further details will be announced soon.

If you would like to be signed up to receive updates and information via e-mail, please send an e-mail to info@newbethelbaptistga.org with your Name and E-mail Address. This will sign you up for the e-mail list to receive alerts as soon as possible. If you would prefer, you may leave a comment below with your Name and E-mail Address to sign up instead.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can certainly call Pastor Tommy or the deacons. In addition, you may also e-mail info@newbethelbaptistga.org. Remember that we will all need to be patient as this will be a long process of restoration.

Be sure to check here for updated information.