he cost of the Baptist Heritage Tour of New England has been reduced by $200, according to an announcement made by tour host Bob Terry, editor of The Alabama Baptist.
Terry said the reduction in cost resulted from a change in airline schedules that necessitated returning from Manchester, N.H., on Friday evening, Oct. 5, rather than on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 6, as originally planned.
“The good news is that we were able to keep all but one of the items on the original itinerary,” he said. “And we were able to reduce the cost to $1,799. That is a savings of $200 off the former price of $1,999. That is a great price for the height of the New England color season.”
The tour is designed to help participants appreciate the earliest roots of Baptists in America. The trip will also visit many national historic sites. Another special feature will include visits with leaders of the Baptist Convention of New England to learn what God is doing in that part of the world through Baptists today.
Early Baptist sites to be visited include the first Baptist church in America in Providence, R.I., and the site where the first Baptist church in the South was founded in Kittery, Maine. The congregation later relocated en masse to Charleston, S.C., and became First Baptist Church, Charleston.
Historical landmarks
Baptists’ first college in America, Brown University, and the home of Baptists’ first international missionary, Adoniram Judson, will also be visited.
Terry said no trip to New England would be complete without time at national shrines such as the home of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Mass., and the Freedom Trail in Boston. Participants will spend time in each place as well as travel the road between Lexington and Concord, retracing the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Participants will also learn about Baptist work in New England today as they worship with fellow Baptists in Plymouth, visit the first modern-day Southern Baptist church in the region and get reports from convention leaders about Baptist work in each of the New England states.
A special feature will be a visit to the home of Luther Rice, a fellow missionary of Judson’s in Burma who returned to the United States to organize Baptists in support of international missions. “We are indebted to the leaders of Baptist work in New England,” Terry said.
“They are working to make sure participants will leave with an understanding of what God is doing today through Baptists in that area as well as the importance of the area in Baptist history.”
He said the group is fortunate to have been scheduled during what is considered the height of the color season — the first week of October. Terry said the group will be traveling through the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where the fall colors of the leaves should be breathtaking.
New England sites
“I’m looking forward to the gondola ride to the top of Vermont’s Killington Peak, where one can see the beautiful colors stretching out across five states,” he said.
The group will also enjoy stops at many of the traditional New England sites such as covered bridges and have a time to explore the area around Stowe, Vt.
“We have a good group of people already signed up for the trip,” Terry shared. “But we are hoping for more. Perhaps the schedule change and reduced price will encourage others to join us. There is not a better opportunity to learn about Baptists past and present, touch important places in our national history, enjoy the beauty of the New England fall and do it all in the company of fellow Alabama Baptists.”
The tour is sponsored by The Alabama Baptist state paper and will department Birmingham Sept. 29 and return Oct. 5.
Those wanting more information about the tour may contact The Alabama Baptist at 205-870-4720, Ext. 103, or Dehoney Travel at 1-800-325-6708 or info@dehoneytravel.com. (TAB)
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