Around the State: HPU BSM prayer group prays weekly, sees fruit

A group of Baptist Student Ministry students gathered on the Howard Payne University campus to pray every Thursday for the past year. Nicole de la Houssaye, a senior from Cleveland, is one of the students who initiated the prayer meetings on campus. God increased her focus on prayer after she served with Go Now Missions last summer. She felt a burden for those who didn’t know Jesus and realized there was something she could do about it. So, she discussed the idea of a weekly prayer meeting with Bryan Pate, HPU’s BSM director. From student baptisms in local churches to on-campus gatherings of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, students have been transformed by the Holy Spirit, and God is answering their prayers, she said. Nate Penland, HPU’s vice president for student experience, has seen the change on campus, noting: “Howard Payne’s Chapel theme this year was ‘He is Good.’ Our students have experienced this in a real way, and I am praying for it to continue.” Trevor Bowers, a senior from Bangs, said seeing his HPU friends live out the gospel played a big role in his decision to get baptized. Gospel conversations have been at the center of many interactions between students, faculty, staff and alumni on HPU’s campus. What might have seemed like a random conversation at a football barbecue one afternoon turned into a student accepting Christ. What looked like a student struggling with attendance turned into a meaningful conversation about who God is. What started on a mission trip to Uganda continued with HPU students sharing at a local church how God moved in their lives during their trip.

Nonprofit senior living provider Buckner Retirement Services completed the acquisition of Fort Worth senior living community, The Stayton at Museum Way, from Lifespace Communities on June 1. Renamed “The Stayton at Museum Way by Buckner,” it becomes the seventh senior living community in Texas owned and operated by Buckner, including Ventana by Buckner in Dallas. The transaction provides for Buckner to assume fully all resident agreements and entrance fee refund obligations and a significant reduction in the Stayton’s bond indebtedness. The Stayton will remain a class one continuing care retirement community, offering levels of living and care as residents’ needs change. Including a rehabilitation center, 188 independent living units, 42 assisted living units, 20 memory care units and 46 nursing units, the Stayton is an 11-story Life Care senior living community located in Fort Worth’s West 7th Cultural District. “We have worked long and hard in preparation for this acquisition,” said Charlie Wilson, president of Buckner Retirement Services. “Our top priority is building relationships with the Stayton’s employees and residents, welcoming them to Buckner, and helping ensure the transition is a smooth and positive experience.”

“Sibling SUCCESS: Supporting Unique Collaborative Care to Encourage Shared Success” is a service model in which siblings of children with autism are included within the behavioral interventions delivered to their brother or sister with autism. The Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities team is offering two opportunities related to siblings of people with autism this summer, in multiple locations: Sibling Workshop: Jessica Akers, associate professor of Educational Psychology and Center affiliate, and her team are offering a one-day, six-hour course for siblings. The workshop will target behavioral strategies to enhance the quality of interactions with their sibling with autism. Participants must live in Texas and have a sibling with autism between the ages of 5 and 17, and the participant must be between the ages of 5 and 17. For their full participation, a participant’s family can earn up to $75 in Amazon gift cards. This course will be held: June 5 in Waco, June 6 in Lubbock, June 10 in Amarillo, June 13 in Rio Grande Valley and June 20 in El Paso. Practitioner Training: This three-hour workshop will equip practitioners to include siblingseffectively in the services they deliver to children with autism. Board Certified Behavior Analysts will receive three free continuing education units. Upon completion, practitioners also will receive a $50 Amazon gift card. This workshop will be held: June 7 in Lubbock, June 11 in Amarillo, June 12 in Dallas, June 14 in Rio Grande Valley, June17 in Austin, June 18 in Waco, June 21 in El Paso and June 28 in Houston. For more information email siblingsuccess@baylor.edu or call 254-710-4444.

Retirement

Ed Young Sr., pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, announced his retirement in a letter shared with the congregation May 26. Young, 87, has been pastor of Second Baptist Church since 1978. He previously served churches in South Carolina and as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1992 and 1993.