By Baptist Message staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Louisiana officially has headed into the next phase of reopening the state’s economy -- with the exception of New Orleans. Gov. John Bel Edwards, during a news conference Friday, said while the mask mandate will remain in place in Phase 3, businesses and churches will be allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity, an increase from 50 percent under Phase 2 that expired earlier in the day. The new order will remain in effect until it expires Oct. 9. Under the new guidance issued jointly from the Governor's office with the state fire marshal and the Department of Health, indoor social gatherings like weddings and birthday parties can operate at 50 percent capacity, up to 250 people, and sporting event venues can open at 25 percent capacity. Nursing home visits still are not allowed in Phase 3, although the LDH soon will start a pilot program for some nursing homes in parishes which experience no new cases of COVID-19 for two weeks. Parishes without high case numbers also will be included in the trial run. “We have seen some improvement in decreased COVID-like illness, new COVID cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, as our strong mitigation measures are working,” Edwards … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff HAMMOND, La. (LBM) – Lonnie Wascom, director of missions from Northshore Baptist Association from 2011-2018, died Thursday, Sept. 10. He was 72. Born in Baton Rouge, Wascom was baptized at New Bethlehem Baptist Church near Live Oak when he was nine years old. When he turned 15, he began his service in vocational ministry as the assistant music director at Judson Baptist Church in Walker. During the years that followed, Wascom served churches in California and Louisiana, and earned degrees from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, California State University in San Francisco, California, and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, California (now Gateway Seminary in Fremont, California). After 40 years of serving churches, he was called as the director of missions for Chappapeela, LaTangi and St. Tammany Baptist Associations in 2004. Seven years later, the three associations voted to merge. Two months after his Oct. 1, 2018, retirement, Wascom became pastor of Walker Baptist Church. Wascom said in a Sept. 7, 2018, article in the Baptist Message he wanted to finish strong in his faith journey after his retirement. “If God favors me, He’ll let me go out like … [Read more...]