Check out this Friday round-up of news and stories from our own CBF blog and also from a handful of CBF friends and partner organizations!

• Karen Easter Celebration—Lita Sample, one of CBF’s field personnel, writes about celebrating Easter Sunday with Karen refugees in the San Francisco area. [CBFBlog.com]

• CBF field personnel Nell Green offers Boston-takeaways—Green shares her feelings and thoughts in the aftermath of the Boston bombing and  gives some sage advice. [CBFBlog.com]

• Something New Under the Sun—Clarissa Strickland announces that CBF’s reference and referral system is about to change with a new version of CBF-LeaderConnect set to launch May 16.

• New Cooperative Baptist Fellowship executive shares vision on five-city tour of Virginia—Read this news report from CBF communications manager Aaron Weaver on Suzii Paynter’s recent five-day five-city tour of CBF churches in Virginia. [Religious Herald]

• Paynter, ‘CBF 2.0’ visit Fla. gathering—Jeff Brumley of Associated Baptist Press reports on Suzii Paynter’s visit to the Sunshine State to attend the spring meeting of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida. [Associated Baptist Press]

• “Duck Dynasty” Offers Good, Clean Television Fun—As the FCC considers relaxing TV standards for profanity, etc., Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for Ethics plugs this popular, fascinating and family-friendly TV reality show. [EthicsDaily.com]

• Baptists, Muslims Seek Common Ground, Peace—Molly Marshall, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kansas, shares about a recent conversation between Baptists and Muslims. [EthicsDaily.com]

• 12 Sources to Help Your Church Plan for Mother’s Day—EthicsDaily.com managing editor Zach Dawes offers helpful resources to aid churches as they plan to honor moms on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12. [EthicsDaily.com]

• Evaluation without self-preservation—John Pierce, executive editor of Baptists Today, reflects on a 2001 conversation he had with Bob Edgar, the former general secretary of the National Council of Churches who recently passed away.
  [Baptists Today]