By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS – Four months after an EF-3 tornado heavily damaged Suburban Baptist Church, the congregation assembled Sunday, June 11, for the first gathering on its campus since the storm. The message to the community during this block party was strong – the members have not given up and plan to return to full ministry in the neighborhood when their facilities are rebuilt. REUNITING & RENEWING Many of the congregants who showed up shared moments of laughter and a few thankful tears about how far God had taken them since the tornado destroyed the worship center and damaged two other buildings, Feb. 7. Myiah Scott, who joined the church a year after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the facilities in August 2005, said at first it was discouraging when she saw news footage of the damage. But, like other members, Scott knew giving up was not an option. “When a lot of the church seemed to be gone, we felt at first that we had nowhere to go and a piece of us was gone,” she said. “This is the place we go to pray, to praise God with our songs and to have a good time. But God reminded me that our church is more than a building. “I feel like God wants us to rebuild,” she … [Read more...]

Funeral services for Rev. Oda Wayne “Tuck” Roberts, age 78, are scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, July 6, at New Chapel Hill Baptist Church, West Monroe with Bro. Tim Post, Bro. Cal Adams, Dr. Alan Miller, Dr. Mickey Hawkins, and Bro. Werner Aswell officiating. Interment will follow in Hasley Cemetery under the direction of Golden Funeral Home of Bastrop.  Visitation will precede the service beginning at 1 p.m.. Roberts of West Monroe was born on May 22, 1939, in Okaloosa, LA. He passed away on July 4, 2017, in Monroe. “Brother Tuck” pastored Louisiana Baptist churches from 1958 until 1979. He then served in the ministry of evangelism from 1979, until the time of his death. Sept. 1, 2017, would have made sixty years of faithful service in the ministry by Roberts. He is survived by his wife of almost 56 years, Barbara Bates Roberts (his “Little Darling”); sisters, Dorothy Roberts Head(Oscar) of West Monroe, Betty Roberts Jeffress (Raymond) of Jonesboro, Sandra Kay Roberts Williams (Jerry) of Pineville; brother, Marshall Lee Roberts (LuWana) of Rexburg, Idaho. Other survivors include his “like” daughters, Mona Farley (Craig), Cindy Jeansonne (Lyle) and son Joseph Donad; and his “like” sons, Tim Post (Carmen), Cal Adams … [Read more...]