THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9412300251
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS JOHNSON, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Dressed in gray, blue or red uniforms, row after row of Awana Club members stand in formation inside Jackson Memorial Baptist Church in Western Branch.
Like bowling pins, the children waited to be bowled over with spiritual nourishment, missions work and fun.
Awana, which stands for ``Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed,'' a reference to II Timothy 2:15, is a worldwide religious youth program. Attendance at the Western Branch chapter, which meets on Wednesday nights, has reached over 100 children.
After leader Gary Compton blows his whistle for attention, John Hall leads the club in pledges to the U.S. and Awana flags and in reciting the Lord's Prayer.
``We have a large group of young people, and as it grows, the Lord will provide a way to work with them all,'' said Hall.
At Hall's signal, the formation of club members disbands, and groups of members head to separate rooms to memorize Scripture, have counsel time, snack or play games.
Upstairs, fifth- and sixth-grade girls, called Guards, line up to recite Bible verses.
There is a lot of hair twisting and toe dragging as the words are slowly remembered.
``Ephesians two, eight through nine: For by grace you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works, lest anyone should boast,'' recited Meredith Carr to her Guard leader, Diane Large.
Down the hall, third and fourth-grade girls, called Chums, are learning about missions like the Seamen's Ministry in Portsmouth.
The group collected toiletries for distribution to the seamen.
The Guards, Chums, Pioneers (fifth and sixth grade boys), Pals (third and fourth grade boys), Sparks (kindergarten through second-grade boys and girls) and Cubbies (3- and 4-year-old boys and girls) presented the contributed items to Jesse Ramage, director of the Portsmouth Baptist Association.
While the older Awanas are gathered, Ruth Ann Taylor, a country-style singer, entertains with songs about friendship and love. As they listen, the Awanas enjoy snacks of popcorn, cookies and drinks.
Later, at game time for the older members, 50 or more children pull off their shoes and throw them into a great pile at one end of the room. Working in teams, the club members race to the pile, find their own shoes, put them on and race back.
Awanas members are awarded ``shares'' for learning Bible verses and accomplishing the other steps outlined in their Awanas handbooks.
Periodically, there is a ``store night'' at the club meeting, when the earned shares can be traded for watches, hats, necklaces and other items.
In addition, the club members are awarded patches, trophies and blue ribbons as encouragement for their accomplishments.
Antoinette Twiford, president of Jackson Memorial Baptist Church's Women's Missionary Union, said, ``I'm very excited about the number of children involved in this Awana group. I brought my husband's niece, and she loved it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Mitzi Emerson goes over the lesson with Awana Club Cubbies Bryan
Carr, left, and Alex Compton. The Western Branch chapter of the club
has over 100 members.
On ``store night'' the Awanas Club members can trade the ``shares''
they have earned for learning lessons for watches, hats, necklaces
and other items.
by CNB