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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Louisiana College, Christus St. Frances Cabrini establish Cabrini Scholars program

By LCNews Staff PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews) - CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital and Louisiana College have partnered to establish the Cabrini Scholars program to provide economic support for nursing students. LC President Rick Brewer and CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital CEO, Chris Karam announced July 20 that the Cabrini Scholars program will provide grant money to eligible students enrolled in the college’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. “Unprecedented times forced upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the significant need for nurses,” Brewer said. “And not just for any nurses, but those who possess a skillset borne out of tenacity and discipline—the essence of LC’s ABSN program— and for adult students seeking a second degree and a new career.” Brewer said the missions of Louisiana College and CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini are similar. Both are built on the foundation of applying the Heart of Christ to the hurting of humanity. “We know the financial burdens of advanced specialty fields like nursing can sometime be overwhelming for students, especially in light of the national pandemic we are experiencing,” said Karam. “That’s why we are privileged to partner with Louisiana College to … [Read more...]

Children’s Home seeks applicants for ministry openings

By Louisiana Baptist Children's Home & Family Ministries MONROE, La. (LBCHFM) - The Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home has announced an opportunity for a married couple to bless the lives of children on its campus in Monroe as cottage parents. Interested applicants may contact Susan Nolan at snolan@lbch.org. Qualifications are listed in the embedded ad below. … [Read more...]

A radical proposal to eliminate the harms of COVID-19

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Our state and our nation needs to pinpoint its COVID-19 mitigation efforts to focus laser-like on those vulnerable to its serious effects in order to end the crushing impact of this pandemic on our families, our economy, our education system and our future. A few days ago, I signed a joint letter with other Louisiana Baptist leaders to commit to wearing a mask as a measure for fighting back against the surging disease and to ask other Louisiana Baptists to join us in this simple thing. I truly believe in this initiative as part of the answer to prevent spreading COVID-19 to others. Research shows that wearing masks, socially distancing and sanitizing frequently are good general measures to make a difference in reducing the spread of this disease within the general population. But, I am also convinced by the data from the Louisiana Department of Health that a more aggressive approach is needed to end the hospitalizations, ventilations and deaths in the state – which should be the primary concerns driving public policy in response to the pandemic (and not just the number of cases). In fact, I would argue that the number of cases is only relevant to this … [Read more...]

Federal appeals court allows McRaney lawsuit against SBC’s NAMB to proceed

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – On July 16, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave Will McRaney, former executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, a procedural victory in his lawsuit against the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention “for intentional interference with business relationships, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.” The BCMD is an independent state organization of Baptist churches and the NAMB is a ministry arm of the SBC, an independent national organization of Baptist churches. The BCMD and SBC are considered in good fellowship with one another, but each is an autonomous organization. A federal district judge in Mississippi had dismissed McRaney’s lawsuit in 2019 based on NAMB’s position that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine (also known as the religious autonomy doctrine, which prevents courts from deciding matters of faith such as religious doctrine) protected them from legal action. But a 5th Circuit panel of three judges ruled against this argument for now, stating that McRaney’s lawsuit was ended prematurely by that judge, because it was not clear that this legal principle was indeed … [Read more...]