Alabama Baptist Covers Collinsville Baptists 175th

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.ethicsdaily.com/excuse-makin ... -cms-20714

Particularky the oft cited question in my experience, Well what are they doing in Crossville, Geraldine and Rainsville. We dont want to get outside our raisin and make a show of ourselves.

[Stephen Fox]

He is buried in Collinsville

http://foxofbama.blogspot.com/2013/05/s ... ly-91.html

[Stephen Fox]

see blog of May 11 at www.foxofbama.blogspot.com

And watch this video

http://highschoolsports.al.com/news/art ... tos-video/

[Stephen Fox]

NBC Latino; holatino.com and telemundo have picked up this story. Telemundo should be in town this coming week. President Kennedy's great nephew US Rep Joe is reading my blog and Nick Saban's priest at St. Francis in Tuscaloosa is following the story.

My birthday party is tomorrow. I turn 60. I have expressly given notice to some members of Collinsville Baptist they are not invited. Jesus didn't invite everyone to the Upper Room.

[Stephen Fox]

Was the day I was voted off the property of Collinville Baptist Church by a vote of 32-20. Coming up on 7th year anniversary.

A few days ago while gathering material for my 60th Birthday celebration May 16 I came across a presentatiton mark ray formerly of this board said was grand. I had a peper copy but cannot find it in my email files; two pages single spaced, a September 2002 challenge to the Collinsville Budget to leave the Cooperative Program. That was a about 6 months after David Currie, Kat Allen and Mark Bagget's presentation one Sunday evening in February to the church.

Had a brief conversation with Baggett this morning. We mostly talked about Ron Rash, and the movie 42 which I saw last night.

Tonight, the Collinsville City Council formerly honors the Collinsville Soccer team which won the state championship Saturday week ago.

Telemundo comes to town tomorrow; and Lucas Black who plays Pee Wee Reese in 42 has been invited to Commencement Thursday night.

[Haruo]

Belated happy birthday, Stephen!

[Stephen Fox]

Check the Public Policy forum of this site and the Lottie Moon and immigration thread for may 22 post about Collinsville Soccer team and the lastes. Telemundo is rumored to be in Collinsville Sometime this week. Monday Night the Collinsville City Council formally honored the Soccer Team.

It also gave platform to a Mary Beth who I understand to be the daughter of a public school principal in Decatur, Gov Brewer's Hometown.

Gov Brewer knows me and I doubt he woulda been party to voting me out of the Collinsville Baptist church were he a member here.

MBeth is an Auburn Freshman, intown doing work among the Hispanic community, living in the home of the Church of Christ minister to Hispanics on South Valley Avenue. I am not clear what her relationship to the local Library is, but Monday it appeared the Librarian, also influential in the local Baptist church, was her Handler.

Several papers over the years have been written about Collinsville. One by a woman who I think continues to teach at Warren Wilson college. She wrote a paper in the late 90's while in Master's Program at UBama in Social Work.

[Stephen Fox]

In time we may become FAcebook friends though I cannot take on the entire bl.com board. I would like to befriend Lamar, William Thornton and yourself if you facebook. I have entertaining pix on my facebook wall of my Party. Three cakes!

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.warren-wilson.edu/includes/s ... =llawrence

Lucy did a paper on Collinsville while pursuing her Masters at UBama.

She is a colleague at Warren Wilson of Ron Rash's fellow WNC novelist, Furman grad Tommy Hayes. Hayes wife Connie Crowe of the Wieuca Rd BC in ATlanta did field work in Baltimore with my sister Marsha as an undergrad at Mars Hill in 77 or so.

[Stephen Fox]

I did get word Pastor John MOrgan called on School Principal Donny Jones to commend the Soccer TEam in Services last Sunday Morning.

http://foxofbama.blogspot.com/2013/05/j ... ptist.html

[TrudyU]

[Stephen Fox]

The pastor's wife of the last 35 plus years in Collinsville has roots in Mississippi.

I doubt Eudora Welty woulda voted me out of the Baptist church as Ms. Morgan had a lot of hubris in her pronouncement from the pulpit late September of 2003. She later said the two women who approached the two deacons to deliver the statement to me that fall were speaking for others, one which turned out to be herself.

Sad moment in the history of the Collinsville Baptist Church.

All that kinda free associated when I heard this piece on NPR Sunday morning. Best if you listen online.

Eudora was a strong Woman. If the Bible had been written in Mississippi in 1960's following Esther woulda been followed by the book of Eudora followed by the book of Fannie Lou Hamer.

Amen.

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/02/188022939 ... dgar-evers

[Stephen Fox]

Stopped in at Jacks this morning and struck up a conversation with a church van of ladies. First group I told about the new issue of the Furman magazine I had in my hand. While I was disappointed they did not publish my letter re the December issue on Furman's break with SCSBC 20 years later, there was a great piece on Ben Bernanke, Fed Chair, who turns out was raised in Dillon S.C. and star student of a Furman alum in High School. Ben's first cousin Jaime was a year behind me at Gaffney High and we are in same pic of the Beta Club. Jaime now, like Cousin Ben, is in NYC, Jaime high up with National Geographic.

Second group of ladies told me they were from Vestavia Hills Baptist in Bham on the way to Chattanooga to have lunch with former Sunday School member and see her new home. I said Gary Furr, CBF, bluegrass afficianado and performer and they said yes on all three counts.

I told them I had been voted out of the local congregation even though the pastor had four sons of exceptional academic achievement but the envelope didn't extend as far as I thought it should be pushed.

They seemed to understand.

[TrudyU]

Ed: Did either group of ladies buy your breakfast?

[Stephen Fox]

Campbell met with a Pacers group in Montgomery in late 90s. That seems to be the latest matter of provincial misunderstanding in my Mother's hometown. A work in progress, maybe to be taken up in the Adult study sessions of Vacation Bible School at Liberty Hill Baptist Church just outside town this week, where an Appleton descendant, 5th cousin of the longtime pastor of FBC Athens, Ga administrates one of the best trains runnin on time schools in the region.

[Stephen Fox]

I was just passing though that morning and walked across 68 after getting proper PSI air in my tires. Nice ladies....As for Will Campbell, Pacers is an anacronym for a rural schools emphasis in conjunction with the U of Bama. Jack Shelton, the founder was a devotee of Will and a driving force in a documentary on same that got shown nationally on PBS a few years ago.

[Stephen Fox]

1395 One of the sad things about my dismissal from the church which at one time proudly had a children's choir program quite remarkable is that it has likely missed out on the great tours of my nephews choir of Easley FBC.

It is sad My Mother's presence could not be felt because of the shortsighted vision of Gloria Morgan who has put so much time in the children's program. I enjoyed the tour of her son Matthew's group Jubilate of UVA, even kept folks in my house, maybe on two occasions.

Last week my nephews choir toured Georgia and got their picture taken with President Carter in Americus. Some folks connected with Collinsville in the area now said the 45 member choir was "fabulous and awesome". My bro in law adapted a large part of the script this year on Water. Last year they did the Cotton Patch Gospels and the bus went within 30 miles of Collinsville.

Sad for Collinsville but very proud of my sister and nephew and Bro in law to boot!

Lots of pictures including photo Day four with President Carter and a Cake Presenter in Americus:

http://efbc.org/hisloveflowingtour

Apparently my bro in law wrote the entire script!

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.wbhm.org/News/2013/schoolhousedoor.html

I am thinking about referencing Wayne Flynt's analysis in the piece above for a submission to the FPayne Times-Journal re my recent history with the Collinsville Historical Association Facebook wall and the passing of Will Campbell.

[Stephen Fox]

June 2, the pastor of Collinsville Baptist, two sons and their families attended Sunday School with President Carter in Plains. Randall Balmer himself who is working a soon to be published political anaylsis of Carter infused heavily with the mistreatment of the President by late 70s fundamentalists at the center of the SBC Takeover was likely present that morning.

Balmer was a visiting proff for Morgan son Matthew at Yale.

Balmer will be lecturing at Samford in October. I would be surprised if many folks from the Collinsville Baptist Church attend that lecture, though it is their loss. Worse will be surprising if many leaders in the church read Balmer's book. It will likely have the same fate as the four copies of STand With Christ which I got to the church library in 2002 or so. Three copies were never returned for others to read, and the Pastor casually never took up the subject of the book after Currie, Kat Allen, Associate Editor of the 'Alabama Baptist Mark Baggett and others made a presentation.

There is a picture of Pastor Morgan and his wife expressing their disdain for a segment of the presentation, about Lottie Moon and her legacy.

How an appreciaton for Carter while lack of pursuit, examination of his witness in the Baptist struggle, can be part of the same family whose academic achievements are celebrated locally is one of the great mysteries of my involvement in the community and my ten year stay as a member of the church.

[Stephen Fox]

Was in Bham over the weekend to conference about the redistricting in Collinsville that gives us fundamentalist Phil Williams as our New State Senator. Could be a raucous fall as Jones talks to Pastor Morgan and his son Joseph about the implications of it all; especially as it registers with the 11 couples who hosted a function for Judge Rains last October 9 at the Collinsville Lybury.

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.vnews.com/opinion/columns/69 ... mmy-carter

Pastor John Morgan, wife two sons and their family were in Sunday School with Dartmouth's Randall Balmer June 2 in Plains. Balmer taught a third son, Matthew as a visiting proff at Yale a few years ago, and in addition to being my friend is an acquaintance of Collinsville Screenwriter Russ Beene. Beene and I had an hour conversation with Balmer at Samford in 2002 as Balmer was kind enough to read a script we had collaborated on entwining the legendary sawdust trail evangelist Billy Sunday as a nuance of the story; in addition to Cane Ridge.

Balmer's bio of Carter should be out this coming April, and for the third time, this coming October he will be guest lecturer at Samford.

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archi ... an_faculty

[Stephen Fox]

Student Mary's report should be interesting

http://www.cla.auburn.edu/cla/cce/initi ... democracy/

And Mark Wilson. Most likely a candidate to read Randall Balmer's upcoming bio of President Carter. May be more receptive to the insights of Ron Rash than Roger Dutton and Rebecca Clayton for the Collinsville community. Doubt Mark is averse to Oxford American Magazine

http://www.auburn.edu/main/take5/mwilson.html

[Stephen Fox]

This morning I had a civil conversation with the Pastor's youngest son, Joseph, staffer for US Rep Aderholt. We found some common ground toward the end of the conversation but it got dicey in places. I'm challenging Joseph to begin an earnest conversation with his family and their church leadership on Immigration reform. Also left a message on Joe Yale Div Brother Matthew about immigration reform and the overwhelming need for his family to show some leadership.

Today I had a long piece published in the Ft Payne Times-Journal. Will be interesting to see the aftereffects of it, and whether the conversation continues on the public facebook wall of the times-journal.

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.journeyhomect.org/about.html