Our congregation participated in the All Faiths Festival GALA, held at the Malden Senior Center in May.  This interfaith event provided an opportunity for the houses of worship in Malden to have displays and greet visitors in one common location.  Several groups also provided entertainment during the afternoon.  We formed a hand bell choir, under the direction of Richard Freeman, and played during the GALA.

While the congregation provided numerous programs, services and outreach opportunities, perhaps one of the most significant aspects I noticed during the year was our dedication and devotion to prayer.  Each Sunday morning during worship and at the Tuesday Bible study, those in attendance offered concerns and celebrations to be lifted to the Lord.

This is in addition to those who spoke with me privately to request prayers.  As I review my list of prayer requests made during the year, I notice several significant and prominent topics - serious health concerns fro numerous members of our extended church family, the bereavement of several in our church and community, disasters both locally and around the world, the birth of children, and transitions - graduations, job searches, relocations, etc.  While members of our congregation take seriously the part of our church's purpose statement that says "as a faithful body of Christ we will ... Unite in study and prayer," they are also active in praying individually and privately. They follow the instructions of the Apostle Paul to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17).

Issues concerning the maintenance and repairs to the buildings, as well as our relationship with various tenants, continued to require much of my attention during 2011.  The hiring  of Kevin Quinn for maintenance and Sharon Jacobson for cleaning lessened some of this burden.

The Church Use Committee met with representatives from the Global Ark Baptist Church in the fall and negotiated terms to permit this new Southern Baptist Korean church plan to share our facilities for  worship on Sunday afternoons.  This will begin in January 22, 2012.

Our congregation is now 208 years old with buildings approaching or surpassing the century point, yet we continue to share the love of Jesus Christ by aiding others, inviting all to participate in our activities, and welcoming a new congregation to share our facilities.  We also continue to be cautious in our financial planning and budgeting, attempting to be good stewards of all that has been entrusted to us.

Thank you to all  the volunteers who contributed in large and small ways to the ministry and mission of First Baptist Church of Malden during 2011.  Thank you also to our church staff for their work in enhancing our worship with music and printed materials, keeping the offices running smoothly, and the facilities clean and secure.

Rev. Martha Dominy has been serving the church for 22 years and became Senior Pastor in 1997 to the present.