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The Open Door
| Bethel Presbyterian Church ~ a community of faith, fellowship, study and service ... Seeking God's peace, justice and love ~ |
VOL. 35 NO. 8 – August, 2007
Marc Sherrod, Minister
Pat Harvey, Stated Supply Pastor
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E-Mail & On-Line Newsletter
A number of the members have responded regarding saving postage and mailing by reading the newsletter online. If you wish to add your name to that list, call (865-376-6340) or e-mail the church office.
We also maintain a master list of e-mail addresses. Please include yours if you wish.
ALINE TERRY TRANSPORTATION FUND
This service is free for friends and members of Bethel. If you have a transportation need, please call the church office at 376-6340. Please be ready to tell us the date and time of your appointment and what time you want to be picked up. Some of the places we transport to are: doctor’s office, hairdresser, library, post office, grocery store, and shopping. We drive as far as Knoxville. We are open to other suggestions, also.
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Dear Family and Friends of Bethel,
On behalf of the Pastoral Care Staff at Bethel Presbyterian Church, we want to know how deeply called each of us feel to care for your personally. We are always endeavoring to offer those who worship here the hospitality of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Pastor(s) and Staff of Bethel strive to do our best to care for the needs of this church and community. Part of our commitment to pastoral care to those in need is our availability for hospital calls, counseling, home visits, and other pastoral requests. We are committed to responding to those needs and offering pastoral support, compassion and guidance and we count on the congregation to let us know of needs as they arise.
We meet regularly to counsel in the planning of worship, weddings, baptisms, memorial services and many Pastoral Care needs. Whatever the circumstances, we are, each one of us, deeply committed to the love and pastoral care of the people of God.
Because we are a Reformed congregation, and the “Priesthood of All Believers”…we are reminded that each and every one of us are called by God to care for one another. This is God’s gift and God’s challenge. Pastoral Care as our Lord Jesus Christ has taught us, is the way we minister to and with each other in daily living; sharing joys and sorrows, supporting in times of stress and need, offering mutual forgiveness and reconciliation.
Our Lord also taught us to love people in all of life’s transitions which bring joy and sorrow in human life: children are born, grow up, become independent; people begin work, change jobs, retire; households are established, many move to new locations, churches say hello and goodbye to many new friends; people are empowered, restored, and make new commitments.
The Ministries of Pastoral Care at Bethel support people in recognizing, accepting, and celebrating these and other such times of adjustment, affirming their identity through joyfulness and trouble, transition and the ever-changing cycles of human life.
Because our individual Caring Ministries are shared with all, the Session (in the January 2007 meeting) created a Special Care Giving Task Force to bring a proposal for additional ways to come alongside our Pastor(s), Parish Nurse, and Care Elders. Please keep this Task Force (chaired by Mark Banker) in your prayers as we strive to make Bethel Church even more caring than we are today!
If you would like to speak to us, please be in touch through the church office at 865-376-6340.
Peace and Love in Christ,
Pat, Bill, Deb, and Bethel Elders
As many of you know, I am a member of the Roane County Health Council. On August 11th and 12th we are partnering with the health department and many of this area area’s health professionals for the Remote Area Medical clinic to be held at Roane State Community College. This clinic is for the uninsured and the underinsured. In March 2005, a Remote Area Medical clinic (RAM) was held in the Rockwood High School where 564 patients were seen and $101,575 worth of free medical care was given. 231 patients were handled in dentistry and 332 were seen in the eye clinic.
Danny and I will be coordinating between RAM and Roane State to make sure everything goes smoothly. The health council has asked area dentists, optometrist, dental hygienists, and nurses to volunteer their time on Saturday and Sunday so that more patients can be seen. We expect the patient count to be at least 500 and maybe as many as 1000. Many people gather at the RAM sites the night before and camp outside the door to make sure they are seen the next day. They know, by RAM’s reputation, they will have a good dental check-up, restorations, cleanings and fluoride treatments. The Optometrist’s Office and the traveling glasses’ lab are fully stocked. Glasses are even made on-site! For the last six months we have been trying to find 240 volunteers to work these two days. The days are long…..from 6 A.M.(set-up) until the last patient leaves…….??????? However, we feel truly Blessed to be able to bring this service to Roane County.
Parish Life has graciously agreed to coordinate food for 120 volunteer workers on Saturday night, August 11th at Roane State. They will be telephoning Bethel folks to help prepare the Lasagna Dinner, complete with salad, French bread and cookies.
My sincere thanks to all, and to all good health ...
P.S. Thank you all for the DVD's you have donated. I just sent the second box overseas to the service men and women.
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[A reminder: session meetings are always open for members to attend unless the session votes to go into executive session per Robert’s Rules of Order; the minutes of the session are available, by appointment, for review in the church office]
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... not reported this month ...
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... none reported this month ...
There will be a reception for Dick Hettrick at Redeemer Lutheran on Sunday, August 26 from 3 - 5 pm. All Roane County Cooperative Ministry volunteers, all clergy, and the congregations of our partner churches are urged to attend. Rev. Hettrick “got the ball rolling” to establish RCCM: in March of 1990 churches from all of Roane County were invited to a meeting to discuss “coming together” to assist Roane County residents in need. After many meetings over the next 15 months, RCCM opened on June 3, 1991. Rev. Hettrick was the driving force in RCCM and has been with RCCM since its beginning. A volunteer stated that we would probably not have an RCCM if it had not been for Rev. Hettrick. Rev. Hettrick has decided for health reasons to no longer be a RCCM volunteer.
The Tellico Tappers are coming to Roane State Community College Theater on Tuesday, August 21. The free program will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will last about an hour. The Tellico Tappers are a fun, lively group of women ranging in age from 40 to 80 years old that have so much energy and enthusiasm that you'll want to get up and tap your feet along with them. For more information call Susie Pela at (865) 376-9848.
The design and development committee has sent its final comments on the renovation plans to the architect. We expect the architect to get the final plans to our Contractor, Rick Cox, any day now. Once Rick gets the final plans, he will ask subcontractors to give him a price on various parts of the project. After he gets prices from his subcontractors, he will give us a guaranteed maximum price for the project. We hope to have this number by the middle of September. The two remaining steps before breaking ground are our congregation’s approval to borrow money and the approval of Presbytery.
A committee headed by Nelda Toon continues to fine tune the design of the kitchen and work is continuing on choosing the interior finishes.
Two complete sets of the plans are available in the church office. The committee will be glad to answer your questions and hear any comments you may have.
The Nominating Committee (Frank Harris, Julie Bunch, Denise Martin, Dick Evans and Phil Walsh) seeks your input for nominations for the office of Elder for the class of 2008. Elders serve the church in various and meaningful ways such as parish life, worship, education, stewardship and finance and property and personnel and mission outreach. The Sessions meets monthly plus monthly committee meetings (usually one). Each class serves for three years. Please give members of the committee the benefit of your input on folks in the church who you admire and think would be good elders. We will follow-up your suggestions with individual contacts. Thank you.
Summer is always a little slow for the youth group. Vacations, summer camps and a touch of just wanting to lie around and do nothing seem to take control of our lives during the month of July. But August is almost here and it will be an important month for us. We have lots to plan for, including new members to welcome.
But before I tell you about that, I would like to say that I know there were quite a few of you who wondered why we didn’t have our 4th of July concert again this year. It takes a long time to plan an event like that. Coordinating the bands, the stage, the lights, sound, stage hands, permits, etc. all have to be taken care of months in advance. In January, when I needed to start putting the show together, it really looked like we were going to be in our first phase of building by June or July. That was a problem! I felt it was best if we didn’t have a bunch of kids wandering around in the dark on our construction site! So, I played it safe and canceled for this year. Maybe we’ll do it again next year. I hope so. Last year was a blast!
Our first Sunday in August will be spent enjoying our own church family at the annual picnic, which will be held at the Hettrick’s house again this year on August 5th. It is always lots of fun, so I encourage EVERYONE to attend this outing and bring the whole family!
The next weekend there will be an end of summer get-away for Jr. and Sr. High kids at Camp John Knox on Aug. 11th & 12th. While there, the kids from the whole East TN Presbytery will be swimming (please bring appropriate attire), playing games, enjoying live bands playing Christian rock music, and just taking time to chill out and have some fun together. Check in time will be from 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. on August 11th. A giant cookout will begin at 5:00 p.m. and the music is scheduled to start around 7:00 p.m. that evening. Our group plans to leave a little early on Sunday, the 12th, so that they will be back to our church in time for Sunday school and our worship service at 11:00 a.m.
On Sunday, August 19th, we will welcome our new 6th graders into the youth group. I will be meeting with the new members from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. with the “old” members. This will give everyone a little time to get to know each other before we all start meeting together. Snacks and drinks will be provided.
We are going to be doing lots of things in the coming months. We are planning activities such as going to the Drive-In one night, having a fall lock-in together, holding a cook-out fundraiser, and preparing for our annual Christmas pageant in December. We will also be studying the mysteries of the Old Testament and trying to enhance our own personal relationship with Jesus, together.
I would like to thank everyone for his or her continued support of Bethel’s youth. So easily the young lose their way when no one shows the love and understanding that they so desperately need. I’ve never felt alone in my leadership role with the young people of Bethel and I pray God will bless each of your lives for the love and support you’ve shown both to the wonderful youth group of Bethel Presbyterian Church and to me. In Exodus 33:17, the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” I tell the kids to pray and talk to God all of the time, so that He knows who you are! You do the same!
May God guide and protect you,
Memorial gifts were received in the months of June and July for:
Joyce Law
from Vernon Law for kitchen restoration
Hugh Wyatt
from Buddy Patton
Julia Wyatt
from Buddy Patton
Dot Pierce
from Gene Pierce to the “Miss Dot Hunger Fund”
Meyer Pettyjohn
from Marc Sherrod for the Meyer Pettyjohn Scholarship Fund
... none reported this month ...
... nothing reported this month ...
From Operation Kindergarden:
Bouncy bright-eyed five-year-olds and their families enjoyed festive games and coloring followed by a fun-filled pizza and piñata lunch on Friday, July 27. Gifts from Bethel Church were greatly appreciated which included a set of Kindergarten school supplies and a check covering the $25 classroom fee for each child plus several bright books for everyone. Clothing gifts from Bethel sponsors were wonderful accompanied by special moments to start new friendships with them. Thank you for helping with this BIG transition from the Head-Start Program to the Kindergarten Experience. Thank you for the party and making us feel special!
With smiling faces,
Gracey, Elesionna, Luke, Samuel, La Donna, Gage, Devon, Jacob, and Austin
From the family of Bob Clouse:
"The family of Robert Clouse thanks you for your kind expression of sympathy. Our thanks to the ladies who prepared food for us on Sunday. Thanks to Pat for her visits & prayers."
Emily
Bethel, you are amazing. In June, Phil and I took another truck load to Sunset Gap. We also took a container full of Campbell Soup labels. Keep up the good work and we will keep making trips to Sunset Gap.
When you “retire” you find programs on TV that you never watched before. The early morning shows are among these. Good Morning America (GMA) has been running items about the “greening of America” on a regular basis. One that particularly caught my attention, because we do have plastic recycling in Roane County, involved America’s fascination with bottled water. People who purchase bottled water do so for a variety of reasons. Some interesting bottled water facts gleaned from the GMA web site include:
- The Poland Springs plant in Hollis, Maine produces 5 million bottles of water per day.
- In 1976, the average American drank 1.6 gallons of bottled water. In 2006, each of us, on average, drank over 28 gallons of bottled water.
- The typical 99 cent bottle of water (costing approximately 2 cents to produce) costs 1000 times more than the same amount of water coming from your tap.
- Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coke’s Dasani are actually tap water that has been ultra-purified. Now, check the ingredient label and see how many minerals have been added and in what form these minerals have been added.
- Last year, 2006, Americans tossed over 1 billion plastic water bottles into landfills. Most places, including Roane County, have easily accessible recycling centers. Many places even pick up recycling at curbside. All you have to do is put it out.
- A previous Environmental Stewardship report mentioned some of the ways these recycled plastics are used.
- It is more than likely that some of the bottled water is nothing more than someone’s tap water. In fact, at Pelllissippi State Community College, we had a newly opened bottle of water that had debris floating in it. When cultured, it turned out to be a fungus. Interesting.
- As you are enjoying tap or bottled water, keep in mind that over 1 billion people worldwide have no access to clean water.
What can you do? There are times when bottled water is necessary or convenient or maybe you just like the availability. RECYCLE the bottles. Or, as some people do, refill the bottles from taps and keep reusing them. Keep in mind that, in most cases tap water is just as pure as the bottled water.
IN HEALTH CARE CENTERS
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| NAME |
FACILITY |
Ruby Hunter,
Christine Wood |
Harriman Health Care |
Muriel McKonley
(sister of Jean Young) |
Rae-Ann Nursing Home
(Geneva, Ohio) |
| Betty Baird Brown |
Alpharetta Healthcare Center |
Mac Robbins,
Anne Smith,
Louise Pickel |
Jamestowne |
| Evelyn Waldrup |
Baptist Healthcare (Lenoir City) |
Margaret True
Roberta Cash |
Rockwood Healthcare |
| Joan Pemberton |
Wellington Place – Kingston |
| Wanda Carter |
NHC in Oak Ridge |
Barbara Schilling
(wife of retired pastor Fritz Schilling) |
UT Hospital |
AT HOME
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Doris Barber, Madge Mounger, Al & Dot Davis, Tom & Helen Roostee, Marc Sherrod, Jordan Sherrod, Hugh Webb, Justin Trivette, Marci Smith, Madge Benfield, Marnie Shields, Reid Hutchison
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OUR SERVICEMEN
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Jason Brown
Geoff Winsbro
Robert Howard (son-in-law of Bill and Bobbie Martin)
Tommy Sandmel
T.R. Morgan
Kyle Foote (son-in-law of Alicia Webb)
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The members and regularly attending friends of Bethel are assigned to elder care groups. Each month in the newsletter for your prayers, we publish the list of one or more elder care groups. The elder’s name and phone at the top of the list are listed as a reminder of their role in nurturing and supporting those who belong to Bethel. You should feel free to contact your elder or the pastor if you have a particular spiritual need or other matter that needs to be brought to our attention.
(*Non-member ^Shut-in +Inactive)
JOE COEN (09)
376-9033
(Amy, Julie, Charlie, Henry)
Barrett, Simon
Cantrell, Charlie
Harris, Frank & Marilyn
*Jackson, April
McGill, Scott & Julie
Mounger, Charlie & Madge
Oonk, Mariana & Anneke
Poland, *Ben & Veronica
+Thornton, Russell
Walton, Lil
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LAURA DAILEY (07)
376-0759
(Ted, Rebecca, Rachel, Ellen)
*Banker, Tollie
*Conner, Steve & Karen
+Gaffin, Chad
Gaffin, Marilyn
+Heidinger, Judy
Martin, Bill & Bobbie
*Miles, Buddy & Mary
Miller, Sabrina
Miller, Tabitha
Murr, Greg & Margaret
Murr, Jacob
Murr, Justin
+Pickel, Gilbert
Pickel, Tom & Lisa
Shenk, Bettie & *Bill
Sides, Bill & Ann
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Margaret Murr