JONESBORO, Ark. – The Arkansas State University Red Wolves beat the Texas State University Bobcats on Allison Field at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. The Red Wolves won 77-31 making them bowl eligible.
A-State running back Red Wolves Ja’Quez Cross runs the ball against Texas State Bobcats on Allison Field at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, Ark., Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.
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Atsuki Ohbuchi | 大渕 純暉 is a junior in the Neil Griffin College of Business at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He can be reached at: atsuki.ohbuchi@smail.astate.edu
JONESBORO, Ark. – Two churches have recently begun meeting on the Arkansas State University campus for their weekly services. First Methodist Church and Word Baptist Church have had to move out of their original buildings, but for different reasons.
First Methodist Church, formerly a part of the First United Methodist Church, now meets at the Fowler Center every Sunday morning. The children’s Sunday school service is held in the Cooper Alumni Center. Their regular Wednesday night service is resumed on September 13th in the Cooper Alumni Center.
Lead Pastor Jamar Andrews of Word Baptist Church preaches. The church meets on the campus of Arkansas State University.
Additionally, their Wednesday night youth group meetings are now held in the Wildflower Event Venue in town. Breaking Bonds Ministry also meets in town at the Southwest Church of Christ on Tuesday nights.
They were forced to leave their original building as a result of the current nationwide schism in the United Methodist Church. The Church is split over the theological issue of the legitimacy of LGBTQ+ marriage and ordination.
In July 2022, 900 members of FUMC Jonesboro voted to leave the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church, almost 70% of the church. However, the conference denied their disaffiliation request.
As a result, the conference took control of the original building on 801 S. Main, and the group who wanted to disaffiliate filed a lawsuit against them. However, the Craighead County Circuit Court determined that the loyalists should get the building while the disaffiliates need to leave.
The members in favor of disaffiliation were told to leave by August 1. They’re currently still in legal dispute over the building and will continue to use the Fowler Center until further notice. Pastor John Miles has anticipated that the dispute could potentially go on for years.
“I was seventeen years at the church,” Miles said. “When that judge threw us out weeks ago, I thought we were done for. It’s just worked out so great.”
Miles had his ordination removed by the Conference and is officially no longer a part of it, even though he’s still leading the church at the Fowler Center. Even before they left, they had teams of people calling around and searching for a new temporary home. They were very happy when A-State agreed to let them use their building.
They’re currently paying $3,000 per week to rent it. However, for a large church such as theirs that receives a lot of donations, that’s much cheaper than maintaining an entire city block like the building on 801 S. Main St.
“Riceland Hall has worked out really well for us…we’re having a good time there,” Miles said. “We’re not in any hurry to rebuild. We can hold out to see what the courts decide.”
“Riceland Hall has worked out really well for us…we’re having a good time there,” Miles said. “We’re not in any hurry to rebuild. We can hold out to see what the courts decide.”
– Pastor John Miles,
Word Baptist had to move into the Student Union because they’re outgrowing their original building at 416 Calion St. They have been in that building since 2013, but felt that they needed a bigger building to continue growing.
They needed a space that was close to their original home and was big enough to house everybody, with the right facilities for children as well. They already had an established relationship with the university, too.
“We felt like in order to continue to grow in a healthy way that the Union would be a good place to help us with that,” Jamar Andrews, the pastor, stated. “And then also we just felt like not only the space would be great, it would also give us an opportunity to make connections, be in proximity for students to be able to walk over…”
They’re currently building a new church near their former one. During the construction, they’re planning to remain at the Union until they’re finished. However, if things continue to go well, they might continue meeting on the campus in some capacity.
They’re also planning to keep their original building. During construction, they’re using the building for their food pantry, children’s space, women’s worship night, counseling center, and tutoring for which they partner with Jonesboro public schools.
They also want to help start a Spanish and English bilingual church in the original building. When the construction on their new building is over, they hope to keep the original building and continue to use it.
“We want to use this facility to be a help to the community,” Andrews said. “We would love to see this become a place where students can come and be together. We’d love to use it to help train up the next generation of missionaries.”
“We want to use this facility to be a help to the community.” “We would love to see this become a place where students can come and be together. We’d love to use it to help train up the next generation of missionaries.”
– Lead Pastor Jamar Andrews, Word Baptist Church
According to Andrews, the move has been relatively smooth. They hold two services in order to fit everyone. They’ve been able to get a storage unit in the garage to hold all of the things they need for the children.
They have to get there usually around 6:30 in the morning in order to set up. The worship, media, and sound team need to set up the instruments and speakers. Additionally, unlike the Methodist church, it costs more for them to rent that space than it does to maintain their current building.
However, as Andrews said, it’s not uncommon for churches to meet in unconventional places. The space is needed and has been working out great for them. They’re not eager to move out anytime soon.
“We’ve already had an opportunity to see just the impact of being on campus. We have students and individuals from South America, North America, Asia, Africa, and Europe,” Andrews. “Out of the seven continents, five of them in one room…was really special. That’s a big part of why we decided to be there.”
Avery Jonesis a sophomore in the Department of English and Philosophy at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. She can be reached at: avery.jones@smail.astate.edu
Note: Feature photo shows members of of First Methodist Church worshipping on the campus of Arkansas State University.
JONESBORO, Ark. – Caraway Market Days, a new farmers’ market arranged and hosted by South Caraway Baptist Church in Jonesboro, opened for the first time last Saturday. The event which lasted from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. featured many local vendors and food trucks.
Caraway Market Days at the new farmers’ market.
According to Caraway Market Days Administrator Anna Powell who is a member of the church, the idea for the event begin developing in mid-September. According to Powell, the church has an extra fellowship building that wasn’t being used much which prompted congregants to brainstorming ways to utilize the space.
Several church members craft their own goods and have small businesses and decided a farmers’ market would be a good way to help sell their goods and connect with the community.
“We thought hey, let’s invite people in, provide this safe space and this regular environment where we could have events on the weekends, and allow local small businesses to sell their items here,” Powell said.
“We thought hey, let’s invite people in, provide this safe space and this regular environment where we could have events on the weekends, and allow local small businesses to sell their items here,”
– Caraway Market Days Administrator Anna Powell
Additionally, the group wanted to provide a way for people to “shop small” during the season in which other farmers’ markets are usually closed. The church plans to continue hosting the market every Saturday through April, excepting holidays.
“As a small business myself, I know that it’s really difficult in between market seasons when the local markets end in the fall, and they don’t start back up until May or June,” Powell said. “We really wanted this to be an opportunity to serve our community in between and allow a space for people to sell because so many of us know what that’s like to be kind of stuck through the winter season.”
In early October, Powell expected at least 30 vendors to show up; however the group unexpectedly was still receiving applications by that time and eventually became confident the space would be filled.
Only three or four vendors were from the church. Most of the expected vendors came from the outside community. In addition to handcrafted goods like clothes, some vendors were selling baked goods and candy; there was also availability offered for fresh produce and flowers.
All of the vendors’ tables were set up inside the Family Life Center. The food trucks were outside in the parking lot. Powell said that there may be some overflow of vendors outside on days of nice weather.
“It’s just going to be a really relaxed atmosphere,” Powell said. “We encourage families, friends, and groups of people to come just check it out, interact with all of our vendors and all of us that are going to be volunteering there. We’re just hoping for a really fun day.”
A large variety of homemade goods such as jewelry, clothes, art, embroidery, charcuterie boards, were featured, along with baked goods and candy.
Candace Brailsford owner of Charis Cottage Bakery in Jonesboro sells artisan sourdough, such as loaves, buns, rolls, and sandwich bread baked from her home daily. She also makes sweet treats like cinnamon rolls, scones, and cookies.
Brailsford started selling her bread in January of this year after receiving feedback that people loved eating it and were interested in buying it. Along with farmers’ markets, she sells from home and takes requests online.
One of the younger vendors at the market, a 19-year-old Abigail Sanchez, who sells a variety of handmade crafts like jewelry, keychains, and more. Sanchez started her business, Nightmareclaw’s Creatives, a little over a year ago.
Sanchez is mostly self-taught, while picking tips from her grandmother. She usually sells online and recently started selling at the Judd Hill Farmers’ Market before she heard about Caraway Market Days.
Coming from a family of seven, Sanchez uses the money from the business to help support them as well as her pet pig.
Stephanie Gibson of Momma G’s Embroidery was there to sell her handmade embroidered crafts. Gibson has been in business for about a year and doing embroidery for three years.
She primarily embroiders shirts, bags, blankets, and baby items, and sells them either at markets or online. She does it on the side along with her full-time job. She taught herself to embroider from YouTube.
“I’ve sewn since I was a kid when my grandmother taught me, so it was just a shift,” Gibson said.
Trisha Gooch, a watercolor artist, was selling her artwork. Her table displayed several originals as well as prints. Gooch paints mostly nature, including animals and landscapes.
She’s been painting for 25 years and selling her work for 20 years. She primarily sells on the Fine Art America website as well as her own website. She also does commissions.
In 2021, she moved from Hawaii where she was retired. She’s been selling at fairs in addition the Judd Hill Farmers’ Market, the Delta Arts Festival in Newport, and festivals at the Craighead County Jonesboro Library.
Doula Kara Pifer was there to advertise her services. Her business is called Cultivating Arrows Doula Services. She’s studied to be a doula for 2 years and got her certification at the end of 2022.
Originally from West Virginia, Pifer moved to Jonesboro last June and started her business in October. She has 6 children of her own and birthed the last 2 at home with the help of a midwife and another doula.
“I’ve seen how much of a big difference that it made, and I have such a passion for children and babies and pregnancy,” Pifer said. “When I saw that I could easily do a certification program myself, I immediately started after the birth of my second child at home.”
Along with delivering emotional and physical support during labor and delivery, she provides postpartum support, which means she assists with the baby after birth. Pifer gives encouragement and and provides education to new mothers while teaching pain management and relaxation techniques.
Avery Jones is a junior in the department of English and Philosophy at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. She can be reached at: avery.jones@smail.astate.edu
JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro on Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Red Wolves’ Izzy Higginbottom (23), left, drives the ball through Huskies’ Tara Stauffacher (21) during the game at First National Bank Arena. Higginbottom piled up 31 points and eight rebounds – both career highs – and handed out six assists to one turnover with four steals. A-State (1-1) outscored the Huskies (0-1) 44-29 in the second half after being behind 33-31 at intermission.
PHOTO GALLERY
JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.Red Wolves’ Izzy Higginbottom (23), left, drives the ball through Huskies’ Tara Stauffacher (21) during the game at First National Bank Arena. Higginbottom piled up 31 points and eight rebounds – both career highs – and handed out six assists to one turnover with four steals. A-State (1-1) outscored the Huskies (0-1) 44-29 in the second half after being behind 33-31 at intermission.JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.JONESBORO, Ark. – The Red Wolves women’s basketball team play against Northern Illinois University at First National Bank Arena Thursday, November 9, 2023. The Red Wolves beat the Huskies 75-62 during the MAC-SBC Challenge.
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Ibuki Hinohara | 日野原 伊吹
Ibuki Hinohara | 日野原 伊吹 is sophomore in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Arkansas State University. He can be reached at ibuki.hinohara@smail.astate.edu
Delta Digital News Service 