  
If you came to this page by way of a web search, and would like to learn more about Bethel Presbyterian Church, click HERE.
Please contact our web site editor with any inquiries relating to information on this page.
The Open Door
| Bethel Presbyterian Church ~ a community of faith, fellowship, study and service ... Seeking God's peace, justice and love ~ |
VOL. 35 NO. 6 – June, 2007
Marc Sherrod, Minister
Pat Harvey, Stated Supply Pastor
|
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.
|
|
I and my family are deeply grateful for your prayers for healing and prayers of thanksgiving that have surrounded me during the difficult days of last year when I received my cancer diagnosis, through the more recent good news of success from chemo and radiation therapies. I have a "mountain" of supportive cards, and the weekly meals that we received month after month really made life a whole lot easier. (The kids were always especially glad when Tuesday rolled around and they got to taste a variety of dishes!) Thanks to Nelda Toon who delivered (always with a big smile!), members of session, and various others who contributed to such a generous and tangible expression of our solidarity in Christian community. There have been, of course, many other touching gestures of support, including various persons who have worked both in public and behind-the-scenes to maintain Bethel's ministries. Thanks to all! I still have a lot of joint discomfort and limited vocal capacity, but I am blessed to be able to say, with the Psalmist:
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget his benefits -- who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases . . . .who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Ps 103).
In the bonds of Christ's love,
Marc Sherrod
Dear Brothers and Sisters at Bethel,
I believe Christ empowers the church to empower and help others in many ways! We invest in the stewardship of our money, time, talents, abilities and gifts. I also believe that investing these things in mentoring a few (for the benefit of many) is our responsibility! That is why the church spends a great deal of time preaching, teaching and developing servant leaders!
Hannah Sherrod has been selected by Maryville College to be the recipient of a Lily Grant this summer. This grant provides for two students to be placed in local churches as Interns. Bethel Church has been asked if we would like to be the recipients of this wonderful blessing and have Hannah be a part of our ministry team this summer! It will be a time of learning for Hannah and she will be blessed to be a blessing!
It is our hope that she will experience the following:
- Positive intergenerational ministry
- Understand the body of Christ as a community
- Learn to function and minister as one of the team
- Have the opportunity to experience vocational and lay ministry
- Experience servant hood
- Biblical knowledge, essential skills and experience applying them
- Making learning broader than just telling
- Balance challenge with nurturing
As Hannah ministers among us (young and old) she will:
- Develop and carry out Christ-centered activities
- Develop intentional and personal relationships
- Share her faith in consistent Christian living
- Increase her abilities to share the Gospel
Hannah will not be doing this in isolation – because she will have a Intern Support Team including two members of Session (a Caring Coordinator and Prayer Partner) along with Church Staff Supervision (that will be my privilege!). The greatest support Hannah will have is from our willing and supportive congregation!
I truly believe because of Hannah’s presence among us this summer, the body of Christ will be positively affected for eternity!
Stay tuned for a blessed summer – as Hannah comes to us as a gift from God!
In Christ's Love, Pat Harvey
I shudder to think of it, but according to RN magazine an old nemesis of mankind has come back. In May’s article Bedbugs: An old menace bites back, I read that after being extinct for more than fifty years, bedbugs are back. In fact, bedbugs can be found in motels, hotels, dorms, cruise ships and nursing homes. The causative factor most to blame is that we are getting too good at killing their archenemies---cockroaches. Boy, some days you just cannot win can you?
How does one identify these pests? They are reddish brown in color and about the size of a poppy seed. The do not stay on the skin; once they have bitten: they leave. Usually they bite at night and leave 3-4 bite marks in a row or in a cluster. Bedbugs do not transmit disease. However, continued scratching of bite marks might become infected.
How do you treat these bites? First of all, wash the affected area with soap and water and apply hydrocortisone cream and take benadryl (age- appropriate doses). If a fever develops or the itching /inflammation is severe, seek medical help. Sometimes children have an asthmatic reaction to the bites that might require quick medical help or an epi-pen.
If you bring these pests home with you from vacation, prompt detection and pest control is a must. A pest control company can spray pyrethroids a synthetic chemical to treat your home. There must be several treatments over a few weeks will be required. For washable fabrics, set your water heater to 140 degrees and wash your clothes in hot water. All dry cleanable materials will, of course, have to be sent off to be dry-cleaned. All furniture and mattresses should be vacuumed every day. Insect repellent with DEET can be applied to mattresses.
Maybe next month my topic won’t make you skin crawl.
To your health ...
|
[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]
|
| • |
Recent membership changes:
- Becca Dailey Pierce requested a "Letter of Transfer" to Macland Presbyterian in Powder Springs, Georgia.
- Mary Ann Hensley requested a "Letter of Transfer" to First Presbyterian Church in Lenoir City, TN
|
|
• • • • •
|
|
|
Thanks to all of you who responded to my letter in February about the matter of care giving and how we can enhance this important dimension of our Bethel ministry. Particular appreciation is due the following individuals who offered to serve on the Care Giving Task Force: Teresa Hettrick, Duie Swicegood, Laura Thomas, and Helen Stevenson. Deb Hyder and Pat Harvey have also agreed to meet with us and share their insights and expertise. At our organizational meeting (which should occur around the time you will be reading this) we will review suggestions and ideas that many of you shared in response to my February letter; we will also establish goals for our effort and develop a plan to reach those goals. Please feel free to again offer your thoughts to any of us about what we are “doing right;” we also invite suggestions for how members of Session – and other Bethel persons committed to care giving - can do a better job to serve the varied needs of our extended flock. I anticipate that we will meet 3-5 times over the course of the summer and report the fruits of our effort to Session at its August meeting. Please keep this effort in your prayers.
Mark Banker
Chair, Bethel’s Care Giving Task Force
As part of Bethel Operation Kindergarten 2007, you are encouraged to assist the families of fourteen children with an exciting yet intimidating time. These special children will begin Kindergarten this August and have been participating in the special Mid-East Head Start small-group program held weekly at Bethel. Families could use our support as they, perhaps nervously, start this new adventure and go through this BIG, sometimes scary, transition. Could you be a Bethel Operation Kindergarten sponsor?
Sponsors are asked to make a $20 purchase of two shirts, socks, and underwear for a bright-eyed, bouncy five-year-old by July 22. Names and sizes will be available at the end of the month. Sponsors are also asked to meet the family at a festive carnival lunch on Friday, July 27, 10:00 to 12:00. Finally, sponsors are asked to make additional contact as feasible with the family within one month following the start of school. Sponsors have a unique opportunity to nurture and share God’s love.
These children also need a $17 set of school supplies as outlined by the local elementary schools plus the family is asked to pay a $23 classroom fee. If this is not the right time for you to be a sponsor, donations to the school supply fund Bethel hopes to make available would be GREATLY appreciated. We hope to give each child a “Goody Bag” with the clothes and school supplies on July 27. You could make a big difference in the life of a little child and the family.
Please contact Linda Brown, Amy Coen, or Julie Bunch with any questions.
Bethel member Ann Sides has become involved with a reconciliation ministry called Victims’ Voices, which seeks to facilitate remediation efforts between crime victims and offenders. The training and selection process are very carefully monitored, and the hope is that the efforts will help to bring closure in some very tragic situations. The program has been in the developmental stage for several years, and they are now ready to begin to train facilitators and begin to implement the program. If you would be interested in learning more about this very worthwhile effort, please contact Ann at 376-1085 or acsides@hughes.net
The Book Discussion group will meet on Thursday, June 28 at 1:30.
We will be discussing The Handmaid's Tale in June, then The Measure of A Man by Sidney Poitier in July.
The Wednesday morning prayer group meets at 9:45 in the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and then we adjourn to the sanctuary for a time of prayer. All are welcome to join us; Karen Schall or Carol Brown can provide more details.
Chelsea Richmond has taken over the job of keeping the scrapbooks of Bethel church life. If you have photos or news clippings of recent events that you’d like to share, please pass them along to Chelsea and let her work her magic!
|
Worship
Sunday Morning 11:00 AM
Christian Education Hour
(Nursery through Adult)
9:45 AM
Babies and Toddlers
Nursery: Room 1
Children
Elementary: Room 2
Youth
Junior High: Room 2
Senior High: Room 9
Adult Classes
Book Study: Mark Banker
Room 5
Women’s Old Testament:
Bettie Shenk
Classroom Behind the Sanctuary
Study of the Old & New Testament:
Billie Stooksbury in Choir Room
Contemporary Issues Class:
Dick Evans: Room 10
Fellowship Sunday Gathering
10:30 AM
Second Sunday in Fellowship Hall
Coffee, Goodies and Juice
COME JOIN US!
|
Weekly Schedule
Sunday Youth Group:
(Junior and Senior High)
Meet in Fellowship Hall 2:00 PM
Greg Murr: Youth Director
376-1376
Seniorcize Exercise
Monday-Wednesday-Friday
9:00 AM
Fellowship Hall
Boy Scout Troop 101
Monday Evenings
7:00 PM
Boy Scout Room
|
Monthly Gatherings
Women’s Circle 11
First Tuesday Afternoon 1:00 PM
Fellowship Hall
Fun Luncheons
Second Tuesday at Noon
Fellowship Hall
Fellowship Supper
Third Wednesday Night
6:30 PM
Fellowship Hall
Book Discussion Group
Last Thursday Afternoon
1:30 PM Choir Room
|
Monthly Session and Committee Meetings
Session
Third Sunday Evening
6:00 PM
Fellowship Hall
Stewardship and Finance – Carol Brown
Second Monday Night
6:00 PM
Parish Life - Nelda Toon
Second Tuesday Night
7:00 PM
Mission Outreach – Laura Dailey
Third Thursday
6:00 PM
Christian Ed – Denise Martin
First Sunday Afternoon
12:30 PM
Worship - Amber Jacks
Second Tuesday Afternoon
4:30 PM
Evangelism – Alf Rybka
Second Tuesday Evening
6:00 PM
Personnel & Property - Gary Griffith
Third Wednesday Afternoon
5:30 PM
|
| 1. |
Black cartridge for an Epson CX6400 printer. |
| Contact Jane Walsh |
|
Host/Hostess for Fellowship Sunday, June 3
- All Sunday School children
Host/Hostess for Fun Lunch on Tuesday, June 12, noon
- Ruth Ann Ludwig and Jack and Sue Muecke
Host/Hostess for Fellowship Supper on Wednesday, June 20, 6:30 PM
- Roger, Anita and Chelsea Richmond
Mark your calendars: Our annual Church picnic will be on Sunday, August 5 at the Hettricks. Please watch for details in the July Open Door.
Bethel will be co-hosting the June Presbytery meeting, which will be held June 10 at the Lenoir City Presbyterian Church. We have been asked to provide cookies and hostesses. If you can help with either one, please let Anita Richmond or Nelda Toon know.
The Design and Development Committee is still hard at work. At present, we are waiting on the architect to finish the plan drawings and for their review and evaluation by our contractor. We have done some preliminary work on interior finishes with the architect’s interior designer.
The April 30 Building Fund Summary shows that $380,639.00 in pledges have been made, with $174,348.40 received so far. An additional $12,594.55 in unpledged monies has been received, bringing the total received so far to $186,942.95. The committee would like to thank everyone for their generosity, and would encourage all to continue to give generously, so that the facility we build will be a blessing to our future ministry together.
Many thanks to the youth of Bethel for your leadership of the Worship service on May 20. Your enthusiasm was contagious and the messages you shared were inspirational. Thanks for your contributions to the life of this church!
And speaking of contributions, the youth will be seeking yours, on June 10th. Please plan to take part in the annual Youth Time and Talent Auction – join us for lunch after worship, and stay for the auction afterward. In addition to being able to bid on services that the youth will furnish, we can all identify a particular talent that we possess, and offer this talent (or other fruits of our labors) as a donation to the cause. There will be bulletin inserts each week suggesting items that you might want to donate.
Memorial gifts were received in the months of April and May for:
Joyce Law
from Vernon Law
Aline Terry
from Buddy Patton for the Terry Transportation Fund
Joan Thompson
from Ron Thompson, Denise Martin and Max LaDue
J.W. Monroe
from Gene Pierce to the “Miss Dot Hunger Fund”
Tip Rose
from Buddy Patton
Trula Rose
from Buddy Patton
Terry Robbins
from Mac Robbins
Carol Jane Rowe
from Mac Robbins
... none reported this month ...
... nothing reported this month ...
Dear Presbyterian Women
How do I thank you for your acts of kindness this past year? You shared: weekly delivered meals, hugs, tears of sadness, tears of joy, e--mails and cards of encouragement and most recently a gift a day during May! I have especially enjoyed the personal notes written by each of you. Your love and support have nurtured and up-held me through some challenging days. You are a special group of ladies and I am honored and blessed to know each one of you. I have learned so much through YOUR ministry. Thank you from the depths of my heart.
Melanie
Greetings Bethel Family,
I noticed the first lightening bugs of the season just the other day. This can mean only one thing—summer’s here and school’s over! I am looking forward to a busy and incredible summer as Bethel’s youth intern. As a recipient of the Isaac Anderson Scholarship of Maryville College, I am responsible for completing two different internships over two summers. Lily Pharmaceutical Company funds the Isaac Anderson Scholarship for college students to explore his or her vocation, particularly within ministry. Don’t fret; the internship will cost Bethel nothing (that is, except for some guidance, patience, and love). I am looking forward to exploring the traditional aspects of ministry with the encouragement and support of all of you. Thank you for all that you do. I cannot wait to begin my summer adventures!
Peace,
~Hannah Sherrod
by Elder Julie Bunch
The Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church (SHPC) has held listening sessions across Presbytery (Chattanooga, Sweetwater, and Knoxville) for the purpose of sharing an overture that they will be bringing to PET and eventually, the 218th General Assembly. I was fortunate to be able to attend the session in Sweetwater on Tuesday, May 22nd.
SHPC Session Members and pastoral leadership shared their stories of how the overture was developed and the rationale behind it. The session and congregation have been in a significant time of prayer, study, conversation and discernment. It is the response that each session and congregation in the PCUSA was challenged to pursue in the Peace, Unity and Purity Task Force Report.
Prior to the 217th General Assembly, SHPC has been engaged in conversations about the state of PCUSA. Many meetings were held within the congregation and with others in the presbytery. Following the General Assembly, SHPC entered into an eight week intensive study of the PUP report and other GA actions. Subsequently, the Session of SHPC met and approved withholding GA per capita for 2007 and GA mission giving for 2007 in an attempt to attract a dialogue with the Office of General Assembly (OGA) and leadership in the Louisville Office after initial attempts at conversation received almost no response.
Members of the General Assembly Council and Synod and Presbytery officials met with the Session in December 2006. Multiple communications followed. In March 2007, ten members of SHPC’s Session traveled to Louisville to meet with various staff members. Their meeting was open, healthy and honest. Because they were successful in having a dialogue with the Office of General Assembly the SHPC has retroactively restored their giving for 2007 to the GA.
SHPC reports that the Louisville staff listens and responds and it was the unanimous conclusion of their session that each person with whom they spoke was committed to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and that each person had deep concern for the PCUSA. All acknowledged profound pain and mistrust across the PCUSA. SHPC also reports that there is an intentional effort in the Office of General Assembly to employ staff in key positions to ensure a balanced leadership (more conservative and evangelical persons).
To this end, the session of SHPC is preparing to overture PET and ultimately the General Assembly. “Whatever our differences, when we pray together in the name of Jesus Christ, and seek to discern what the Spirit is saying to the Church, we are convinced that God is pleased. We continue together in our strong affirmation of Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of the world”. SHPC believes that there will always be a variety of perspectives, interpretations, and priorities. They are confident, however, that we have a common unity in Jesus Christ—the Church’s One Foundation is Jesus Christ, Her Lord.
Whereas, in the PCUSA, individuals professing faith are asked,
“Who is your Lord and Savior?” They respond, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.”
Whereas, persons ordained and installed as officers and ministers of the Word and Sacrament in the PCUSA affirm faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior;
Whereas, the PCUSA desperately needs an affirmation of common ground;
Whereas, our mutual affirmation of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the common ground that allows us to talk about any and all issues; and
Whereas, without this common faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
there is not an issue we can address together,
Therefore, be it resolved that we, the 218th General Assembly,
affirm as sisters and brothers in Christ our common faith in,
and allegiance to, Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and
Request the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly to say before every vote,
“As sisters and brothers in Christ, sharing our common faith and allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, let us proceed to vote on the question before us.”
SHPC has produced a 12-minute DVD for distribution across PET. The DVD presentation was of various SHPC members discussing what the overture means to them. Jill McMaster’s sister, Margo, is one of the primary speakers. We really are brothers and sisters in Christ—literally! I will leave a copy of the materials in the Church Office for any interested.
There were numerous questions and comments made. Questions were raised about the practicality of reciting an affirmation before each and every vote and what is the ultimate goal? SHPC would like for this to be a transformational change in the way the Church conducts its business. They hope that this repeated affirmation of our shared common ground in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior would help to bring all members of the Body together not just as strangers at a meeting exercising their own individual conscience but as “One in the Spirit”. Another suggestion was to start using the affirmation at PET meetings and see how it works.
The SHPC will be bringing the overture to PET at the June meeting. As the delegate to this meeting, I am so thankful that I was able to attend this listening session and learn more about the intention of SHPC in this overture. I have been deeply blessed by this opportunity grow in my own spiritual development by serving Bethel as an Elder and by attending and studying the work of presbytery. Thank you, Bethel!
IN HEALTH CARE CENTERS
|
| 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
|
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, Anneke Oonk
|
OUR SERVICEMEN
|
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)
|
If We Know, We Will Go
|
If you or a loved one is having surgery, ill or in need of pastoral care, please be sure to call or email the church office to let us know. We would like to be involved as much as you will allow us to be. But we need your help – please contact us with any needs you have so we know how we can help. If we know, we will go!
|
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)
DOLORES SANDMEL (09)
717-8783
*Carter, John
+Crooke, Brenda & *Duane
Cross, Donald & Shara
Kirby,*Leonard & Bina
+Law, Paul & Pam
Maki, Tauno & ^Marge
Parker, *Robert & Elaine
^Pickel, Louise
Ricker, Helene
^Shields, Marnie
Nelda Toon
Ulrich, *Bill & Betty
|
CAROL BROWN (09)
376-7171 (*Doug) Chris Badger
Barber, Doris
Ludwig, Ruth Ann
*Miles, Edith
*Miller, Jim & Carrie
+Patton, Buddy
+Patton, John Billings
Plummer, Bill & Jean
Sheppard, Peggy & *Sam
Trivette, Justin
Tulley, Henry & Carolyn
Vanegas,*Orlando & *Viviana
|
|
Marci Smith