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The Open DoorPublished monthly by and for the members and friends of
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NO. 2
| • | Had a day long retreat on Saturday, January 18, that included January’s stated session meeting. (Thanks to outgoing, current, and new elders who attended) Heard about faith journeys of elders-elect Marianne Shadden, Jane Walsh, Jack Stackpole, Bob Jones, and Jim Condon (they participated in the elder training program at John Knox Center on January 24-25, sponsored by East Tennessee Presbytery) |
| • | Elected Cathy McDowell clerk of session for 2003 and voiced appreciation for her “professional, organized, and detailed work.” |
| • | Approved the pastor and his wife attending a clergy/spouse retreat April 25-27 sponsored by the presbytery. |
| • | Average worship attendance for December was 132 and for the 52 Sundays of 2002 it was 123
Heard a report from the parish nurse that she now serves on the emergency response corps for Roane County (i.e. to help with mass immunization for small pox if necessary). The roll count for 2002 was Active 212, Inactive 53, Baptized 31 |
| • | Elected Jim Condon and Dianne Griffith to serve on the Congregation’s Nominating Committee (congregation members Jane Pickel, Mark Banker and Sue Jones were subsequently added to this committee at the congregational meeting on January 26.) |
| • | Elected Jim Condon to serve on the Visioning Task Force to augment session’s representation since task force member Ken Dungan has rotated off the session. |
| • | Approved the annual statistical report to be submitted to General Assembly. |
| NOTE Session reminds the congregation that all meetings are open to your attendance; the minutes of session meetings are available in the church office for your perusal. |
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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.
PARISH NURSE
Hello! For this month’s entry, I would like to educate on food and drug interaction. Did you know that wine, beer, nuts, fava beans, varieties of processed cheeses (excluding cream and cottage cheeses), sauerkraut, avocados, chocolate, coffee, and aged, pickled, or smoked fishes and meats could cause a serious drug-food interaction? Well, it can, if you are taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). These are antidepressant drugs with the names of : Nardil, Marplan, and Parnate. Some symptoms of this dangerous interaction are elevations in diastolic (top number) and systolic (bottom number) blood pressure, headache, sweating, dilated pupils, palpitations, and, on rare occasions, arrhythmia (stopping of the heart) and intracerebral (brain) hemorrhage. If you are taking one of these MAOI drugs, it is important that you tell any health care professional (especially ones who are not as familiar with you) that you are taking a MAOI. Some drugs should not be taken while you are taking MAOI”s:
Drixoral, Novahistex DM, Sucrets Cough drops, Dexadrine, Ritalin, Provigil, Cylert, or Demerol.
As always, if you have any questions about your health or medications please call me at 376-6340. I am in my office Monday - Friday from 9A.M.- l:30 P.M. Have a great February!
Love, Deb
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION COMMITTEE
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION COMMITTEE is planning a couple of activities for the near future. Watch your Sunday bulletins, and next month’s Open Door, for announcements on Fat Tuesday/Ash Wednesday activities, and also an upcoming Lenten Bible Study.
YOUTH GROUP NEWS
Thanks to the Coen family for hosting a New Year’s Eve “backwards” party for the senior high and middle school youth. Thanks to Pat and Jerry Harvey for hosting several youth group meetings to plan this year’s mission trip, to Laura Dailey for organizing a Sunday afternoon ice skating outing for all the children and youth of Bethel (about 20 participants), and to Frederick and Joni Morgan for organizing Bethel’s first participation in the national “Souper Bowl” offering last Sunday with $227.44 being sent to the local food pantry. Special thanks to Nelda Toon and the youth group for preparing lunch before the annual congregation meeting. Donations made go to the mission trip. Plans are now underway for Youth Summit in Gatlinburg February 28 - March 2 (see Melanie Sherrod for details). Coming up for the month of February will be Valentine visits to several assisted living facilities on February 9 with preparations for that visit being made this Sunday, February 2 at the usual meeting time of 6 - 7:30. Both senior high and middle school youth are invited to participate February 2 and 9 in this Valentine project.
GOD BLESS YOU
Dear Friends,
It is amazing how your written messages have been a source of comfort to us. We have gone through agonizing and anxious moments as we went to the polls to elect a new government as well as burying my Cousin and his dead children. The election were wonderful and we have now a new government which we believe will address itself to the Kenyans needs. The new president is very competent and an honest gentleman. There was relative peace compared with past elections. My cousins tragedy was the only savage act of such a magnitude although there were isolated acts of lawlessness. Kenyans are praising God for it was only through His intervention that an African president for 24 years could be removed out of office through a fair election.
God bless you and may His face shine upon in the year 2003.
Samuel and Monica Wambugu
WRITE OUR SHUT-INS
Barbara Baird called for those interested to send a card to her mom at the following address:
Betty Baird Brown
Ivy Hall @ St Ives Rm 221
5035 Medlock Bridge Pkwy
Alpharetta, Ga 30022 (770) 476-1777
VOCATION AND THE CENTERED LIFE
Presented by Maryville College &
New Providence Presbyterian Church
February 9 - 11, 2003
February Meetings held annually offer the college and the local community opportunities to reflect on the relationship between spirituality, faith and outreach. Featured Speaker - Rev. Beth Luton Cook, director of the Office of Church Ministries Education at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA. For more information, contact Anne McKee at (865) 981-8298 or visit www.maryvillecollege.edu.
OLDER ADULT MINISTRY
The Older Adult Ministry Committee of our Presbytery is sponsoring their Annual Event on Wednesday, April 30, 2003, at Mars Hill Presbyterian Church in Athens, TN, 9:30 a.m. Registration, concluding at 2 p.m. Registration forms will be forthcoming, cost (for lunch is $7.00). Millie Sieber, Storyteller, will be our keynote speaker.
Please put this on your calendar to join in the fun.
FEBRUARY FUN LUNCH
Marge & Dick Hettrick will be hosts for Fun Lunch on February 11, celebrating Valentine’s Day.
DONT' THROW AWAY THOSE CARDS
Dianne Griffith collects used greeting cards all year and takes them to ORNL where an employee group collects and ships them to St. Judes Ranch for Children, a home for abused, abandoned, and neglected children of all ethnic groups and faiths (http://www.stjudesranch.org/) where The cards are recycled by the children and sold. Please leave your Christmas and other greeting cards in the red box in the Narthex.
NEWS FROM PROPERTY AND PERSONNEL
Thanks so much to everyone who assisted in the office renovation projects. Many were involved in every step from ordering and designing the new office layouts, shelf and book removal, painting, and cleaning. Cathy McDowell, Bill Shenk, Karen & Jim Schall, Dan Hyder, John & Sue Carter, George McGill, and Jim Hines all contributed greatly. There are probably many more — thanks to you all for a job well done. One other note — in these days of high power usage and accompanying utility bills, let’s all try to make sure lights are off and doors are closed and locked when we leave the buildings. Thanks again and bless you all.
SPOON FOUND
Rogers “Heritage” Sterling Silver Spoon found at Bethel. Check in the office If you have lost It.
MEMORIAL FUNDS
Gifts were received during the month of December '02 & January '03
in memory of:
Jinny Smith from Melanie Sherrod, Dolores Sandmel, & Ruth Ann Ludwig
toward Christmas baskets
Jinny Smith from from Circle II toward study Bible books for Middle School
Mary Frances Evans from Helene Ricker
Joyce Law from Vernon Law toward kitchen renovation
Janeen Woody from Richard & Celia Evans
George Hunt. Terry Robbins. Sr.. Ruth Ferguson and Coach & Bess Derryberry
from Charity & Terry Robbins
Dot Pierce to the Hunger Fund from Chester & Ruth Pickel
Dot Pierce to the Hunger Fund from Janice, Don, Kathy, & Larry Pierce
Dot Pierce to the Hunger Fund to honor Dick & Marge Hettrick from Gene Pierce
Willard Davis from Ruth & Bob Ludwig
Ina Jane Murr from Ruth & Bob Ludwig
WEDDING BELLS
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THANK YOU!
I would like to thank my Bethel family for two things. First, thank you all for the nice monetary gift that I received for Christmas; and second, thanks to those who sent birthday cards and wishes (I was hoping to slide by on that one, but it seems to show up every year!).
I am truly blessed being a part of this wonderful church. Mary Ann Hensley
Greetings from Sunset Gap:
We wish to thank you for the soup labels you recently donated. Please never forget that our mission exists because of folks like you.
We had a great time over the Holidays here at Sunset Gap. Our staff collected gifts for approximately 200 area children and they were distributed before Christmas Eve. All year long we tend to the needs of your community. At Christmas, we get to supply some of their wants and wishes.
We look forward to another great year at Sunset Gap and pray you have a happy new year too.
Thanks again for your loving support of our mission. We couldn’t do it without you. God bless you!
Gratefully, Jonathan Pilug, Director
Dear Bethel Family,
We would like to thank everyone for their prayers during the recent loss of both my mother, Ina Murr, and Margaret’s cousin, Mandy Smith. Both deaths were very difficult on us, but the love and compassion shown to our family during the past few months have brought us much comfort. The food, flowers, cards, memorial gifts, visits, hugs, and especially prayers have meant more to us than words can every say. Thank you for sharing your love, friendship, and faith with us. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful church family.
With love, Greg, Margaret, Justin, & Jacob Murr
The family of Willard Davis acknowledges with grateful appreciation your kind expression of sympathy. Thank you for the beautiful plant, delicious food, cards and all your support. Our Bethel family has always been there for us in the good times and the bad.
Sincerely, Jill, Jeff, and families
FROM YOUR VALENTINE
St. Valentine was a priest who was executed around 270 AD. There are many things we don’t know about this martyr, but there are numerous, sometimes conflicting, stories about his life and death. One says that he was slain for performing weddings in secret after the Roman Emperor, Claudius II, had outlawed them. Another legend says it was because he helped Christians escape from brutal Roman prisons.
In 498 A.D., ,just over 200 years after Valentine’s execution, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s love for God and humanity has made him “the patron of love” in the Roman Catholic Church and for people around the world.
By the mid-1700s it was common practice for friends and sweethearts to exchange trinkets made in the shape of hearts or to send handwritten notes of affection on February 14. It’s believed that Valentine himself sent the first “valentine” while imprisoned. He is said to have written a letter to a young girl who visited him in prison just before his death. He signed the letter, “From your Valentine,” a sentiment still used today.
AWE-INSPIRED WISDOM
George Washington Carver, late in life, was asked by a writer what he thought was the most indispensable thing for science in the modern age. Carver replied, “The capacity for awe.”
The capacity for awe. What a strange thing for a scientist to say! Awe is what opens our finite minds to the infinite intelligence of God. Awe is what connects our limited hearts to the limitless love of the Lord. Awe is what helps us to see God’s glory in the sea and the land and the moon and the sun.
– Homiletics
WHEN LOVE IS A VERB
As it happens, every Sunday when I attend worship, I enjoy a sense of peace. An inner validation that God loves me, and that I love God. In this weekly activity of going to church, I affirm my belief. Many times I have wondered why it takes going into church, sitting down and participating in the service to get that inner serenity.
The Sunday after Valentine’s Day the light bulb went on. I knew why this act of worship was so meaningful to me. It is one of the few times that my love for Christ is a verb. I am actively participating. Even more enlightening was the understanding that my feelings of calmness and wholeness are the result of God’s active love of me.
Understanding that love is something I can actively do, not just something I feel, is a realization. Accepting that God’s love for me is just as dynamic is a revelation. Acting on these principles is the reward.
– Beth Dyer in “To Love or Be in Love,” Desert Southwest Journal
BETHEL SYMPATHY
is extended to
| • | Greg Murr in the death of his mother Ina Murr on Wednesday |
| • | The family and friends of Mandy Smith who passed away January 12 |
BETHEL PARISH CARE GROUPS – 2003
Click HERE to see this year's list.
IN HEALTH CARE CENTERS |
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| NAME | FACITLTY |
| Delvenia Beasley | Marshall Voss |
| Ruby Hunter | Royal Health Care |
| Ruby Nell Skinner | Doctors Lake - Florida |
| Micki Shields | Woodbine, Alexandra, VA |
| Frances McPheeters | Baptist Healthcare Center |
| Betty Brown | Alpharetta Healthcare Center |
| Geneva Cowie | Loudon Health Care |
| Erma King | NHC (Farragut) |
ASSISTED LIVING |
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| NAME | FACITLTY |
| Harvalee Preston | JAMESTOWNE |
| Evelyn Waldrup | JAMESTOWNE |
| Roberta Cash | WELLINGTON PLACE – KINGSTON |
| Chris Dunlap | WELLINGTON PLACE – KINGSTON |
| Joan Pemberton | WELLINGTON PLACE – KINGSTON |
| Mary Woodall | WELLINGTON PLACE – MARYVILLE |
AT HOME |
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| Justin Trivette, Lil Walton, Addie Wreath Hunt, Christine Woods, Al & Dot Davis, Margie Gulley, Florence Simmons, Lavergne West, Ruth Moutoux, Beverly Oliver, Elizabeth Muecke | |
MILITARY |
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| Josh Brown, Jason Brown, Clay Badger | |
| 2 - MARIANNE SHADDEN 354-3609 Chuck & Cathy (Cantrell) Allen 9 - Tom & Jan Pickel |
16 - JACK STACKPOLE 376-6466 Ken & Maggie Dungan 23 - Jill McMaster |
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