I used my column last month to reflect on my 60th birthday and I’m very grateful for the cards and well wishes that I have received. This month, however, marks another important milestone in my life and perhaps in the life of our church. On August 20, 2006 I preached my first sermon as your new pastor here at Grace Baptist.

When I arrived ten years ago, our church was still called The Baptist Temple, a name we brought with us from our Philadelphia days. We still had orange carpet on the floors, although the yellow paint on the walls had just been covered with light blue. Soon the carpet would also be changed and we would revert to our church’s original name, Grace Baptist. These were positive changes, in my view, although orange is my favorite color, and our church doesn’t look quite as “70s” as it used to!

When I arrived, Barbara Green was our church’s music director. We are so blessed that she continues on staff! Trish Simpson was and still is our exceptional Office Manager. However, we’ve seen changes in our staffing, too. After 13 years as our youth director, David Winner left to pursue other opportunities and challenges. Kristin Paluszka picked up where he left off with great enthusiasm and insight. Vee Fry was our custodian, a job now filled very well by Steve Choyce. And Bob Foell left his position as Office Assistant after many years of faithful service and passed away in 2015 at the age of 103!

Our church family has changed in other ways as well. We’ve had the joy of watching many of our children grow up and go off to college and new careers. We’ve added many new people to our church family and I’ve been privileged to dedicate many infants and baptize a number of believers. At the same time, we’ve lost quite a few people who have left the Blue Bell area while others have become homebound or passed away to be with God.

Through all the changes, some things have remained constant here at Grace. We continue to be an outward-focused church that seeks to make a difference in our community and our world. We may not be building a hospital and college as did the Baptist Temple of Philadelphia but our youth group’s recent mission trip to West Virginia is just the latest example of our desire to make a difference for Christ.

In addition, our church continues to be a very grace-filled and caring congregation. I have experienced that caring first hand over the past ten years as I’ve encountered a number of health challenges. I am so grateful to be in a church with the spirit of Grace Baptist and I’m not alone. One of our newer members, Melissa Joy Flack, wrote this on our church’s Facebook page not long ago: “From the first time we walked into Grace Baptist Church of Blue Bell, it felt like a warm hug and we knew we were home…This is such a friendly, involved and giving church…There are always opportunities to serve and share your faith in Him. This is truly what fellowship in Him is all about!” Thank you, Melissa, for your kind words!

It’s nice to know that amid all the changes, some things never change! Thank you for continuing to be an outward focused and caring congregation! Thank you for the past ten years! I believe that the best is yet to come for Grace Baptist and I look forward to sharing it with you!

Pastor George Hawthorne