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June 2007Head Usher... Not Available Nursery Volunteers
NOTE: If the Sunday assigned to you is not convenient, please exchange Sundays with someone else. If you notice any supplies needing to be replaced, please let me know. Thank you for your assistance and suggestions. Donna TePoel, Nursery Volunteer Coordinator
From the Pastor...Dr. James H. Grant, Jr. A friend from Lexington, NC, sent me the following which I think is worth sharing. “A Christian baroness, living in the highlands of Nairobi, Kenya, employed a young national as her houseboy. After three months, he asked the baroness to give him a letter of reference to a friendly sheik some miles away. The baroness, not wishing the houseboy to leave, just when he had learned the routine of her household, offered to increase his pay. The lad replied that he was not leaving for higher wages. He had decided that he would become either a Christian or a Muslim. This is why he had come to work for the baroness for three months. He had wished to see how Christians acted. Now, he wanted to work for three months for the sheik to observe the ways of the Muslims. Then he would decide. The baroness was ashamed as she recalled the many shortcomings, in her dealings with the houseboy. She could only exclaim, ‘Why didn’t you tell me at the beginning!’ As Christians, people are constantly watching everything that we do, say, and how we react. Many times, it is our witness that determines what others will think about our faith.” Let us remember that we may be the only Bible that someone ever reads!
Congratulations Graduates!
Leslie Mitchell and Jarrod Thomas will be honored during the Worship Service on June 3rd. June, 2007
Upcoming Events: 1. May 20th: The Worship Service at Black’s Chapel and the Town Church will be led by the Presbyterian Women, honoring the Birthday Celebration. Lunch to follow. Please bring covered-dish to share. Desserts provided. 2. May 27th: Union Pentecost Worship Service with Thompson Valley, Mary’s, Black’s Chapel, and the Tazewell Church at the Tazewell Church. 3. June 3rd: Graduation Sunday and the beginning of Summer Sunday School. 4. June 24th: Special Choir Program, followed by a reception, honoring the Grants. 5. June 25th-29th: Vacation Bible School.
Forms are available for anyone interested in Abingdon Presbytery’s Mission Trip to Mississippi: October 27th - November 10th, 2007. Needed: Experienced, healthy, hard-working men/women from Abingdon Presbytery. What? To build a house for a lady, whose house was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. June 21st: Deadline for Applications. 10 people max for first week and 10 for the second week. Applications available. Young people and older people needed to work in Bristol, VA, for a multitude of pre-construction jobs. If you know of a room or small office that I might rent, following my retirement, please let me know. I need somewhere to put all of the things (junk) that I have collected over the many years of being a minister, and I need a place to go, so I won’t get in Charlotte’s hair, and vice-versa. Matthew Irvin has allowed me to put a lot of books in the church library. Please help yourself to any that you would like to read.
SESSION DIGEST...MEETING May 15th, 2007 1. The Session met on May 15th, 2007, in the Fellowship Hall at 7:30 P.M. Melissa Thompson opened the meeting with prayer and a devotion about Jarrod Lane, a Virginia Tech student from Narrows, who was killed at Virginia Tech. 2. The April 17th Session minutes and the May 6th Congregational meeting were approved. The Treasurer’s reports were received as information. 3. Betty McClanahan was thanked for serving as Clerk for the Session meeting in the absence of Anne Sergent. Anne Sergent, Howie Mitchell, and Molly Thompson were excused. 4. A letter from Kevin Campbell was circulated requesting names for the presbytery’s nominating committee. Donna TePoel was elected to be the commissioner for the June 21st meeting of Abingdon Presbytery. 5. Michael Thomas asked the session to approve an Eagle Scout project for the playground equipment. The Session approved Michael’s request. David Pruitt was thanked for representing our church at the National Day of Prayer Service. Oakie and Phyllis O’Quin were thanked for fixing the tiles on the cloister. Roger Weaver was thanked for the many things that he does at the church. 6. Forms were circulated about Abingdon Presbytery’s Mission Trip to Mississippi October 28th - November 10th. Deadline for applications will be June 21st. The Presbyterian Women will lead in Worship on May 20th, followed by the annual Birthday Lunch (please bring a covered-dish). 7. Vacation Bible School will be held June 25th - 29th. 8. Danny Whitt met with Jim Grant concerning the Pentecost Worship Service to be held in our church on Pentecost Sunday, May 27th. Thompson Valley, Mary’s, Black’s Chapel, and the Tazewell Church will join together for this special service. 9. Karen O’Quin Lallande was restored to the active roll and then transferred to the Lake Witten Worship Center. 10. Jim Grant requested that visiting ministers, especially from out of town, be invited for lunch by a church member. When Nancy Norman preached, she did not have anyone to invite her and she lives in Bristol and is a former missionary from our church. This was referred to the Worship Committee to be covered when guest preachers come, along with securing a Worship Leader. 11. Jim Grant reported that Kevin Campbell and Tim Bird would meet with the Session at the end of June concerning future plans for the church. Members of the Session want this to happen much quicker and Jim will contact Kevin immediately. 12. Donna TePoel reported for the Christian Education Committee. The Teacher Appreciation Day will be on May 20th as will the perfect attendance gifts. 13. Curtis Dunnivan requested that the Session approve having an outside audit done. The Session approved the motion. 14. Jerry Cromer reported that the Property Committee had met and new windows will be installed in the back part of the church building. A discussion followed concerning what to do about the front steps and columns. It was strongly suggested to hire an architect before proceeding. The Session approved a joint meeting of the Finance and Property Committees to discuss how to proceed. 15. The following were lifted in prayer: Jeff Lowrance, Kelly Necessary, Curtis Dunnivan, Sam Adkins, Gary Sergent’s family, Bryan Flynn, Bill Osborne, Susan Altizer, Carol Fournier (gall bladder surgery), Sarah Bowen, Carey Davis, Mary Thompson, Michael Rinehart, Brad Yacenda, Leslie Mitchell, and Jarrod Thomas. 16. The meeting was closed with prayer by Melissa Thompson.
When God Reaches Out...Through Other People “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.” - John 15:1 (NIV) A mile from our house is a roadside restaurant in a spectacular garden setting. For years, on my morning walk, I’ve stopped to gaze over the hedge at beds of roses, peonies, asters, an acre and more of color changing with the seasons. Who couldn’t have a beautiful garden, I’ve thought, with the gardening staff they must have here! I’d always gone by too early to see any of them at work. Then one day, when I had to handle a big mailing project single-handedly, I didn’t get out to walk till afternoon. As I passed the garden, a stocky middle-aged man came from the restaurant basement carrying a tray of begonias. Seeing me stop, he waved me inside the hedge. He had to spell his last name before I caught it: Joseph Csomor. “Are you the gardener?” I asked. Mr. Csomor shook his head. “Just the assistant.” He’d come here from Hungary twenty-seven years ago, he went on. The restaurant had hired him as a cleaning man, but when he was through sweeping and scrubbing, he’d spend his free time digging around the roots of the potted geraniums that were the only flowers on the place. Seeing the geraniums thrive, the owner had let him plant some rosebushes out back. My puzzlement grew as Mr. Csomor told how year after year he’d planted a lilac bush here, a marigold border there, until the garden became the showplace it is today. If he’d done all this...“Then what does the head gardener do?” Mr. Csomor pointed a stubby finger skyward. “He makes the flowers grow. ”When the job is a big one, Lord, remind me again that I’m “just the assistant.” Elizabeth Sherrill
Congratulations to Michael Thomas for placing second in the county in the Brain Games that took place at Tazewell Middle School May 10th, 2007.
From the American Cancer Society: “On behalf of the South Atlantic Division staff and volunteers of the American Cancer Society, I graciously thank you for your continued contributions. We truly appreciate your most recent gift of $1,000.00 through Relay for Life...Thanks to continuing support from caring donors like you, we are working to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.” G. Fred Worsham, M.D.
From Young Life: We received your gift of $2,200.00. Thank you for supporting our efforts to introduce kids to Jesus Christ. Abandoned! That one word sums up life for a tragic number of teenagers today. Too often kids are raising themselves and one another, although “raising” is probably not the right word. Too often kids are fending for themselves in a badly broken world. Yet not all adults are stepping out of kids’ lives today. Many adults, like Amy, are stepping up and stepping in. Amy is a Young Life leader who stepped into the life of a girl named Rachel with the love of Jesus Christ. Rachel’s father had fled the family years ago, so Rachel’s mother was overwhelmed and overworked. It’s not easy providing for two kids as single mom, and it’s not always just the kids who feel abandoned. So Amy’s love was welcomed in Rachel’s family. And the love of Jesus was soon welcomed in Rachel’s heart. But here’s the big question. What did Amy do once Rachel decided to trust Jesus? Did she say, “Congratulations, Rachel! Now it’s time for me to move on.” Did she leave Rachel to find for herself as a newborn in God’s family? Last I heard, Amy was at Rachel’s house helping her with her homework and helping her with her chores. Last I heard, Amy was driving Rachel’s little brother, Eric, to a program at church for kids his age. Last I heard, Amy was making extra stops to pick up Eric’s friends along the way... Thank you for supporting this mission. Thanks to friends like you, there is a new word to sum up the lives of countless kids like Rachel. Make it two. Thank you for helping us introduce kids to Jesus Christ. Denny Rydberg,
Choral Celebration Sunday, June 24th In honor of the ministry of our pastor and in recognition of his love of sacred music, the Sanctuary Choir is planning a Choral Celebration for Sunday, June 24th, 2007, at 4:00 P.M. Jimmy Grant, a valued and appreciated member of the choir, will be singing with us as we present some of our favorite anthems, building on the theme, “When In Our Music God Is Glorified.” Congregational hymns will also be included, so everyone gets to participate! We hope to have several past members of the choir returning to sing with us for this event. The SwVCC Ensemble, as well as Daniel McPherson on trumpet and Joseph Trivette at the piano, will add to our music accompaniment. Please join us to honor Dr. Grant and celebrate with him through the music that he loves. Pat McPherson, |
