NEWELL—The Back to School Bash brought families together at the Newell City Park on August 22 to celebrate the end of summer and the start of a new school year. Perfect end-of-the-season weather made for a beautiful day to enjoy the festivities.
Open to all in the area, the bash was hosted by the Newell Community Baptist Church. “We just wanted to do something in the community, something to share Christ’s love with the folks of the Newell area. School’s getting ready to start up again and seemed like a good time to do something that brings children and families together,” explained Pastor Fred MacDonald.
A variety of activities were available for everyone to participate in, including three large inflatables. Two different bouncy houses and an obstacle course gave the kids a way to use up some of their energy. When they were not taking advantage of the huge blowup obstacles, the youngsters could spend time drawing with chalk on the sidewalks, playing with puppies, having their faces painted, playing a game of cornhole or blowing bubbles.
No Back to School Bash would be complete without some fun fair food, and this one had plenty of tasty treats for everyone to savor. Snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn and hot dogs were available for both kids and adults. The selection of free treats brought plenty of smiles to the faces of the younger guests, with a line forming for the icy treats.
At the top of each hour, MacDonald would address the partygoers and tell a story to everyone who gathered around him. “One of the things we’re doing is at the top of each hour we do a brown bag Bible story. It’s called Pastor Fred’s Brown Bag and we’ll get all the kids and adults together and share a story from the Bible,” said MacDonald.
His brown bag had different items in it. The pastor usually lets the kids in his congregation add any items they want to the bag. He then pulls an item out of the bag and turns it into a story. He shared his stories several times throughout the Back to School Bash, and usually he tells a brown bag story every Sunday. “When it’s time for the brown bag, we open it together and whatever they brought, we turn that into a story,” he explained.
Pastor MacDonald is fairly new to the Newell community, so he enjoys getting out and meeting people in the area. “Turnout has been good. I’ve just been pastor here since November, so this first chance we’ve had to do this…but it’s been great! Kids are having fun,” he shared.
He may be newer to the area, but he isn’t new to preaching. He has been leading services for half a century. “I’ve been a pastor since I was in my mid 20s and… September 14 will be 50 years since I preached my first sermon,” said MacDonald.
If you didn’t make it to the end-of-summer and start-of-the-school-year gathering at the Newell City Park, Pastor Fred invites everyone to stop by and meet him. He said, “Well, if folks don’t have a church home, Newell Community Baptist Church is a family for families.”
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