January Poster

We need your help to spread the word about Smokestacks And The Sunrise! If you would like a pdf copy of the above poster, please email us at smokestacksandthesunrise@yahoo.ca. This poster looks great wherever you might want to use it; whether you email it to your friends, hang it up where you hang out, or use it as Christmas wrapping paper.

Our theme for January is MAKE POVERTY HISTORY; we will be viewing a videocast interview with Bono. Please check out the Make Poverty History website @ www.makepovertyhistory.ca.

See you on the 6th!

Come On Ring Those Bells

The Salvation Army is a great symbol of hope in our community. This December, they are in desperate need of volunteers for their well-known Christmas Kettle campaign. In a season heavy with consumeristic desire, this campaign is a simple and effective way to, as the logo says, give some hope today.

To contact the Salvation Army, please phone 564-4000, ext.4.

CAN'T BUY ME LOVE

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2nd is approaching quickly! Our theme for this month is "Can't Buy Me Love"; we will be taking a look at the role of consumerism in our culture, and how it affects our faith and our lives. As always, it will be a night of rock'n'roll, food and community. Please come and explore with us.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2006 @ 7:30pm
First Baptist Church: 5th and Gillett

Smokestacks and the Foggy Smudge: Dave’s Photography Adventure

You know how they say that everyone is good at something? Well, everyone is also bad at something. For me, that thing is photography. When you look at the banner at the top of this page, you probably think: “well, it’s nice that blind people are putting their cell-phone cameras to good use.” Except I’m not blind, I used a real camera, and it took me 3 days to get that picture.

It all started one soggy Saturday in September. I stumbled out of bed at 6:15 and drove down to Cottonwood Island Park, in the dark. Just as I parked the car, it started to rain. Luckily, I had my trusty umbrella. So I set out with the borrowed camera and tripod in one hand, and the umbrella in the other. It wouldn't have been very far, since there is a great view of the smokestacks just feet from the parking lot, except I had parked in the wrong parking lot. After 15 minutes of scrambling through mazelike trails, I got to the right place, just on time. So I set up the stuff and waited for the sun to rise, which it did, 20 minutes later, behind a giant bank of fog. Oh well, since I'm here I might as well take some pictures, I thought.

Now, I don't really know a lot about cameras. For example, when I hear the word f-stop, my usual response is: "No, you're an f-stop!" So, instead of taking a few pictures with the right settings, I just took a picture with every setting there was. 2 rolls and 10 frozen digits later, I was done. Success! Actually, not so much. All 50 pictures turned out exactly the same: a blurry, grayish blob. After that morning I went back twice more, and, believe it or not, the picture above is the best one out of almost 4 rolls. The moral of the story is: Dave is not a photographer.

David Henderson (not to be confused with drummer Dave) is an important part of our community. Besides landmark logo production, his areas of service include leadership and writing.

RockNRoller and OutOfController

Dave shows us why he is our very own Animal.

SATS 2!

The second SATS took place last Saturday! The theme was “through you and me,” which, specifically, was about how Christ works through you and me. Ben’s band wrote a new song (“Bring what you love”) on that theme, and they played it along with a lot of other good music. Happily, Cordell was healthy and he spoke on how we can reflect Christ in simple, everyday actions. To make his point, Cordell showed a jarring video about what the opposite of such action looks like. There were a few new faces, and the overall growth was positive. SATS is still being shaped, but it definitely had a tighter feel. We hope that you will join in and help us shape it further at the next SATS on December 2nd!

THROUGH YOU AND ME

Image by Jared Robinson (www.eye-catchers.ca)

NOVEMBER 4th is coming up quick... THIS SATURDAY!! We can't wait to get together for a November night of music, food and conversation. We'll be discussing how God shows up through people like you and me and especially when we get together. Your friends are welcome. SEE YOU THEN!!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2006 @ 7:30pm
First Baptist Church: 5th and Gillett

SATS #1

The first SATS happened on Saturday night! People came, met, and talked with new people; Ben’s band played great music; and cupcakes were had by all. The turnout was roughly 30 people—not bad considering it was the 1st time, Thanksgiving weekend, and advertisement was mostly word of mouth. Unfortunately, Cordell was unable to speak, so Ben and Dave Horton stepped in and led a semi-impromptu discussion. The theme of the discussion and, appropriately, of the first night in general, was “where are we going?” This related to the passage that was discussed (Joshua 1: 1-9) in that Joshua and the Israelites were at a crossroads after the death of Moses. Similarly, SATS, in its nascence, is at a jump off; it has the potential to grow into a dynamic, creative, spiritual experience. Based on the first night, it is well on its way. Thanks to all who came out. We hope to see you again next month (NOVEMBER 4TH).

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Join us for our first gathering. Ever.

COMMUNITY . MUSIC . FOOD

Joshua 1:1-9

SATURDAY, October 7, 2006 @ 7:30pm

First Baptist Church: 5th and Gillett