By Stephanie Johns
staff writer

The damp weather may have kept some from attending the annual National Day of Prayer service held in front of the Morgan County Courthouse last Thursday but you couldn’t prove it by the numbers: about 30 people showed up and took part in the event.
The Ministerial Association, which also puts on the annual Palm Sunday Processional and a Thanksgiving worship service, sponsored the event locally.
Father Dann Brown, the priest in charge at Episcopal Church of the Advent, said the prayers at this event would coincide with prayers across the nation.
He read a proclamation from President Barack Obama before leading those present through a “Prayer for the Nation.”
Jim NeSmith, church administrator at Madison Baptist Church, read Philippians 4:4-9 in which Paul urged the Philippians to be glad, give thanks, and focus on all that is true, holy, just, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy.
Brown then read “A Prayer for Heroic Service” and gave those present a chance to share the name of a person in the military.
Together, the whole group then recited “The Lord’s Prayer.”
Brown concluded the event by reading “A Prayer for Peace” and urged those present to greet one another.

photos by rick crown

Parades and palms Madison churchgoers participated in the city’s annual Palm Sunday Processional through town last Sunday, March 24

Picking up the faithful as we move along

Clockwise from top left: Wayne Coleman, playing the bagpipes, leads the procession. Lightning, the donkey, owned by Ellen Warren, pauses in front of Calvary Baptist Church. Madison Baptist Church members join the procession. The procession continues up Academy Street, complete with palms, umbrella and smiles. The procession’s first stop is Madison Presbyterian Church, where the faithful are waiting. Lightning, tuckered, rests after the day’s events are over. Episcopal vestry members distribute palm fronds in front of Madison First United Methodist Church. Allison and Opal Lehman welcome the procession.

Printed in the March 28, 2013 edition

Printed in the Aril 5th, 2012 edition.

Printed in the September 29 edition.

With her heels dug deep in faith, it’s hard to drag Ms. Jani out of Africa.
Feasting on candy canes in June is no surprise to a girl who follows her husband to Ethiopia. Just ask Janice Connelly who has lived and worked in Africa beside husband John for the last 21 years.

At Christmas a few years ago, some local women prepared a care package bound for Ethiopia. The box contained scented soap, exercise clothes, Jelly Belly Sport Beans and candy canes. Janice had mentioned missing the red-and-white swirled candy in an e-mail. Once in the post to Africa, the box travelled around the world and made it to Janice just in time for her birthday – the following June.

No stranger to lost candy or living far from the comforts of home, Janice first traveled to Liberia with John in 1989. They left as missionaries along with their first child, Josiah, who was one year old. Back then, it took two weeks to correspond to the United States by letter. In the last 21 years, they have lived in Liberia, the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. Evacuations, life events and career changes have offered opportunity to travel back to Madison and see Janice parents, Fran and Gil Busenitz, family and friends.

Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with her in Madison. She was home on an eight-week visit from Africa where John is Country Director for Food for the Hungry Ethiopia, a Christian non-government organization (NGO). They live in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital and largest city with their two youngest boys, Kit, a high school senor and Nic, a freshman. The rest of the family is spread around the globe with their oldest son, Josiah, in the Navy on the USS Washington based in Japan. Son Jacob is starting his junior year at Young Harris.