El Paso Churches Continue Ministry, Ukraine Women Crochet Ministry & “Celebrate Life!” Musical

Many Christians are helping to respond to large numbers of migrants crossing at the El Paso border it what is being called by a some a humanitarian crisis.

The recent crowds at the border can be linked to the upcoming Dec. 21 deadline of Title 42. Originally enacted as part of the Public Health Service Act of 1944, Title 42 regards the “suspension of entries and imports … to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.”

The situation is an unprecedented one for Larry Floyd, executive director of the El Paso Baptist Association, and an El Paso native.

Floyd and others braced for a flood of immigrants last year as Title 42’s deadline neared, but the Biden administration ultimately decided to continue the policy.
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Light is scarce during scheduled electrical outages as Ukraine suffers a bombed-out power grid, yet women there are using their light this Christmas to crochet angel ornaments to send churches and other supporters in the U.S.

As many as 20 women near Odessa, in Lviv and a few other Ukrainian cities are paid a small fee to make the ornaments through a partnership between the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary and the Ukrainian Partnership Foundation (UPF) in Chesterfield, Mo.

The small fee supplements the income of women in Ukraine struggling to provide for their families during the war’s high inflation rate.
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Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs

Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
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Leslie Anne Tarabella was in elementary school when her father, Cordell Harrison, minister of music at Myrtle Grove Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, began to make plans to produce “Celebrate Life!”

“Celebrate Life!” was an early Baptist expression of what was happening in the Jesus music movement on the West Coast. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the musical.

The late Buryl Red — a prolific New York-based composer, member of Manhattan Baptist Church— wrote the music for lyrics penned by Ragan Courtney, who turned 81 this year.

The musical is told from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in a contemporary way said Clint Kimmel, worship and arts pastor at Sugar Land Baptist Church in the Houston area.

On June 24, 2023, a 50th anniversary performance will be hosted at New York’s Carnegie Hall under the leadership of Hayes, who is now president and artistic director of True North Presents. The organization focuses on enhancing the ministry of Christian artists and of church choirs.

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