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The Open DoorPublished monthly by and for the members and friends of
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Many thanks to all of you who blessed our Christmas with various gifts! I am enjoying using the laser printer at home. I do, however, need to set the record straight. You mentioned that a broken printer could now no longer serve as an excuse for “lost” sermons. Actually, the printer wasn’t the problem – it was the computer that really needed replacing (just kidding!). Thanks for everything!
Please be in prayer for the session as we have our annual retreat on Saturday, January 10 in the fellowship hall (9:00-3:00). The current session plus the elders-elect will focus on getting organized for 2004, especially in light of the six ministry initiatives that we will begin implementing in the near future. The ministry initiatives with the names of those who have indicated a commitment are:
I. An additional Sunday worship service.
Bettie W. Shenk, Dianne Griffith, Chuck Bunch, Julie Bunch, Jan Rybka, Jack Stackpole, Carolyn Matthews, Madge Benfield, Carol Brown, Cathy McDowell, Alf RybkaII. The revitalization of our ministry to youth and children.
Joan Thompson, Denise Martin, Jerry Harvey, Laura Walker, Melanie Sherrod, Rebecca Dailey, Jane Pickel, Jan Rybka, Carolyn Matthews (I have no skills her but will pray & support w/ $), Ellen Dailey, Chelsea Richmond, Amber Jacks, Carol Brown, Sue Jones, Linda Brown, Carolyn Tulley, Alf RybkaIII. A congregational gifts-discernment program to enable each member and friend of Bethel to discover and serve according to his or her special gifts, rather than exclusively according to Bethel’s needs.
Denise Martin, Ruth Ann Ludwig, Roger Richmond, Carolyn Matthews, Carol Brown, Anneke Oonk, Alf RybkaIV. A small group ministry.
Jerry Harvey, Ken Dungan, Rebecca Dailey, Bobbie Martin, Carolyn MatthewsCarol Brown, Sue Jones, Alf RybkaV. A Bethel learning center for those at risk in our community.
Celia Simon, Dick Evans, Jordan Sherrod, Eden Sherrod, Ken Dungan, Roger Richmond, Nancy King, Brenda Bunch, Jane B. Walsh, Carolyn Matthews, Ellen Dailey, Chelsea Richmond, Steve & Amber Jacks, Carol Brown, Linda Brown, Mariana Oonk, Alf Rybka, Helen RickerVI. Renewed focus on mission in ecumenical partnership.
Celia Simon, Dick Evans, Ruth Ann Ludwig, Roger Richmond, Jane Pickel, Laura Dailey, Jill McMaster, Mark Banker, Brenda Bunch, Tom Pickel, Jane B. Walsh, Carolyn Matthews, Chelsea Richmond, Carol Brown, Mariana Oonk, Carolyn Tulley, Alf Rybka
If you didn’t get signed up in December to support one or more of those initiatives, please contact the church office (and remember, the sign-up sheets collected on November 23 were inadvertently lost, so if you signed up then, we don’t have a record of what you are interested in doing, so please sign up again).
Our heartfelt thanks to these five elders rotating off the session who have labored long and faithfully over the past three years: Dianne Griffith, Scott McGill, Carolyn Matthews, Roger Richmond, and Helene Ricker. The five elders who will be installed during the worship service on January 11 are: Chris Badger, Mark Banker, Frank Harris, Chad Gaffin, and Nelda Toon. As most of you have already experienced, at Bethel there is no shortage of opportunities to be of service to God and neighbor! That is especially true as we move forward with turning our vision into the reality of God’s preferred future for our congregation. Even as the calendar has turned over into another year, may this new season in our life together be one filled with peace and all the challenges of discipleship.
In the words of a prayer from the Book of Common Worship, “Merciful God, as a potter fashions a vessel from humble clay, you form us into a new creation. Shape us, day by day, through the cross of Christ your Son, until we pray as continually as we breathe and all our acts are prayer; through Jesus Christ and in the mystery of the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.”
Marc
Happy New Year! We have made it to 2004! Who would have thought it? This year has held many trials for me and my family but I count them as a learning experience and, furthermore, a blessing to be brought closer to my church family. I am starting out this new year as a 20 hour Parish Nurse/ 10 hour a week secretary. If you call the church on Monday and Tuesday, you will hear me picking up the calls. Kathy Francis is going to babysit her new grand-daughter (Anna Katherine) on Monday and Tuesdays as her daughter, Gina, will be resuming her teaching duties. I welcome this new opportunity to learn more about computer skills and how to put together our newsletter each month. Kathy will continue putting together the weekly bulletins, but I will be organizing the Open Door articles. So...if you have any thing you want to add into the Open Door please give (or call) them to me.
On a personal note, I want to thank everyone for the many Christmas cards and baked goods and presents I received. I even got a new parish nurse tote bag with my name on it! I want to thank Bethel for the generous monetary Christmas bonus.
We have additional medical supplies in our medical equipment closet now. New to the closet are: a nebulizer for aerosol respiratory treatments, a bedside commode, two more walkers and one more wheelchair. It is a blessing that we need a larger storage area for all our durable medical equipment.
I am working on Bethel's automatic external defibrillator policy and procedure book to be reviewed by Dr. Rodney McMillen who has graciously consented to be our medical director. All of the parishioners that wish to be trained in the use of the automatic external defibrillator, please contact me and we will set up a class to teach you how to operate it. It is my personal goal to have the AED up and running (so to speak) before June of this year.
To your health ..................... Deb
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[A reminder that session meetings are open for members to attend unless the session goes into executive session; the minutes of the session are are available, by appointment, for review in the church office] |
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... non reported this month ...
CHRISTMAS 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 so that the children can have their own spending money. Please leave your Christmas and other greeting cards in the red box in the Narthex.
BOOK GROUP
Our informal book group will be meeting at the home of Kay Michener (376-6269) this month on Thursday, January 22 at 2:00 P.M. We will be discussing John Jakes On Secret Service. Anyone interested in reading and discussing books is invited to attend.
Rea Evening Circle
The Rea Evening Circle meets at the church on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month at 6 P.M. The Hebrew word, Rea (ray uh) means "a friend who is as your own soul." All women of the church are invited to the Rea Evening Circle meetings.
January 11 – 6:00 P.M.: A Sinner's Witness, Bible study of Luke 7: 36 - 40
January 25 – 6:00 P.M.: Our Foremother's Lagacy, Bible study of 1 Corinthians 1: 1-9; 11: 1-16; and 14: 34-36.
1st ANNUAL COLLEGE RETREAT
Jan. 16-18, 2004
John Knox Center
How to Survive College & Keep Your Faith
Students may register on website at www.johnknoxcenter.org or by getting a brochure from the church office.
In Rethinking Evangelism: A Theological Approach, Ben Campbell Johnson writes: "The motivation for evangelism springs from the unconditional love of God seen in God's outward movement toward us, from the command of Christ to go into all the world to bear witness to his presence and work, from compassion for fellow humans who are lost, and from the church's life. . . The church lives by incorporating a portion of each new generation into its life. The church is never more than one generation from extinction. If it fails to reach the new generation, it dies. Because of love for the church and our loyalty to its mission, we desire it to re-present Christ to each generation. Unless the church has an effective ministry of evangelism, this mission to the world will not continue . . . in the scheme of history, evangelism fulfills the church, the persons who do it, those who receive it, and, ultimately, the will and purpose of almighty God."
If you desire to be a part of an exciting New Year in the life of Bethel's evangelism program, or have creative ideas for fresh evangelistic approaches, we invite you to contact our committee.
Welcome to first time visitors Jamie & Wayne Castleberry, Brenda & Jimmy Lawrence, Ruth Brownell (new resident from Florida), Duane Crooke (husband of Brenda Law Crooke), and to all who visited on Christmas Eve. (If you have names of Christmas Eve or Lessons and Carols visitors who might like to receive our newsletter, please let us know.)
Mission Outreach Committee Report
In December our committee had a very daunting task to achieve. That task was to provide the Christmas baskets for area needy families. As I got further into planning for this, I began to see the blessing of having a very competent and willing committee. We started out with a total of $436.54 in our Christmas basket fund. After our Minute for Mission and various other contributions we ended up with $2737.25!
With the expertise of Peggy Sheppard's buying skills, the price of the Christmas baskets for our Bethel recipients was $1376.00 for thirty one families. This included staples such as flour, sugar, eggs, bread and cake mix, canned goods and let us not forget a turkey. A special note of appreciation to Vernon Law who helped Peggy haul all the food from the grocery store. To the food baskets, we added the gifts for every child in the families- a total of 72 children received gifts!
In addition, this year we sponsored a Christmas party for the Headstart kids that meet at Bethel. Much of the praise for this endeavor goes to Brenda, Julie, and Chuck Bunch. With a budget of $1200.00, they provided toys for 32 children, shoes and socks for 24 children and food baskets for 22 families. All of the families and Headstart teachers were very appreciative of this outpouring of generosity from Bethel.
All told, we spend $2577.65 for both endeavors and still ended up with $596.14 left over. Thanks to Brenda Bunch for the help with accounting for all our funds for this huge task. Thanks to all of Bethel for your gifts and never-ending enthusiasm for helping those in need.
Sincerely, Deb Hyder,
Chair for 2003 of Mission Outreach
Property and Personnel Committee
Trees are being removed from behind the Educational Building. This will be followed by regrading of the land and subsequent replanting. All this is due to some significant leaking into the first level of the building into the furnace room, Scout room and rest room. Over the years erosion coupled with large tree roots have sloped the land toward the building causing the leaking. Thanks for your patience with this project. Thanks also to Duie Swicegood who has headed up this project and to Dave Stevenson.
YOUTH GROUP will meet with Gary Lemasters after church on January 4. They will be un-trimming the Sanctuary Christmas tree, and have a time for fellowship and lunch afterward.
Joyce Law from Vernon Law toward kitchen renovation
Bill Manly from Kay Michener, Dick Evans & Celia Simon, George & Virginia Warlick, Mr & Mrs. Bob Polk, Mr. & Mrs. Michael Polk, Mr. & Mrs. Harry Goff
Charlotte Crumbliss from Dick Evans, Celia Simon, George & Virginia Warlick
Bob Ludwig from Tom & Helen Roostee, Donald, Ann & Lisa Ludwig, Stanley Keylon, Jim & Constance Rivers, Mary & John Will, Henry & Carolyn Tulley, Jean Young, David & Sandra White, Jack & Sue Muecke, Mac Robbins, Doris Ann Parkinson, Dick Evans, Celia Simon, Robert & Eileen Polk, James & Judith Divine, Helen Devine, Troy & Jenny Phillips, Bobby & Peggy Collier, Robert & Emily Clouse, J.R. Barre, Bill & Marianne Shadden, Madge Benfield, Jack & Carolyn Matthews, Lowell Malmquist, S..L. & Carole Yount, Gayle & Mel Bosma, Don & Sissie Puckett, Lilian Long, James Condon, Geraldine Wallick, Vicki Stone
Notes of Sympathy
| • | Chad & Marilyn Gaffin in the death of Chad’s mother, Christine Gaffin, Dec. 20. |
| • | Chad & Marilyn Gaffin in the death of Chad’s mother, Christine Gaffin, Dec. 20. |
| • | the family of Bob Ludwig who passed away Dec. 8. |
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the family of Mabel Bradford who passed away Jan 1, 2004 |
Dear Bethel Friends,
Thank you for your Christmas monetary gift and your individual cards & gifts. You are such a thoughtful group of people. Thank you for continuing to bless me by allowing me to work with this congregation!
Love through Christ, Kathy
To my Bethel family.
Thank you for all the holiday greetings and cards and also for the Christmas monetary gift. You all are so wonderful, and I am very blessed to be a part of Bethel church. I wish you all the very best for 2004 and look forward to serving as your organist for another year.
Much love, Mary Ann
... none this month ...
Bethel Family Prayer Calendar - January, 2004
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.
4 - BOB JONES 376-4434 Chris Badger
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18 - NANCY KING376-9951
Wanda Carter |
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11 - Doris Ann Parkinson |
25 - Jon & Vicki Loden |
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