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The Open Door
VOL. 33 NO. 9 Marc Sherrod, Minister September, 2005 
E-Mail & On-Line Newsletter
The session of our church has called a meeting of the congregation for Sunday, September 18, 2005 following the 11:00 am worship service in the church sanctuary. The purpose of this meeting is to hear and act on a recommendation from the Building Proposal Committee regarding a building renovation, restoration, and expansion project for Bethel. Two recommendations will be placed before the congregation for a vote at this meeting.
As of this writing, our total amount of money on hand and pledges is about $500,000, an incredible accomplishment given that the Third Century Campaign began only several weeks ago! This amount represents about 30 pledges totaling $300,000 and $200,000 that includes savings from previous years, the Manley and Lillie Mae Mansell Bequests, and other accumulated funds being managed by our Board of Trustees. As moderator of the congregation, I remind you of the following from the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church USA: “The congregation is made up of all members on the active roll of a particular church. All such members who are present at a congregational meeting are entitled to vote” (G-7.0300). The voting on motion #2 will proceed by secret ballot. I anticipate a worship service of about 30 minutes on September 18. The congregational meeting should begin around 11:30 am. Transportation assistance will be available for any members who have special needs. If you have any questions about our process regarding this meeting, please feel free to contact me. I sincerely hope that we can surpass, by a very healthy margin, the 48% of our Active Roll members who gathered for the previous vote on June 19. I urge everyone to remember that whether or not you are in a position to help pay for this building program, that each person represents an important piece of this action to be undertaken by the whole body of Christ – your gifts of prayer and encouragement and an open mind are vital as we respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Please come to this meeting prepared to voice your feelings and to follow the Lord’s leading. In Christian Fellowship,
Glorious autumn greetings to all! I’m ready for some cooler temperatures. Cooler temperatures, however, doesn’t mean Bethel will be slowing down. Quite to the contrary! For this fall we have a new exercise program: Exercise with Bill that will be led by our own Bill Shenk. Bill states that he will not be doing any “hopping around” and that much of the exercise will take place in a chair- so he says, “ If you can sit in a chair without falling out; join us!” The exercise program will be Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9-10 A.M. There will be no charge as we will try this program for 6 weeks to see if people attend and if they like it. In addition, we will have a free memory screening on Wednesday, September 28th here at Bethel. The memory screening will begin at 10 A.M.-12 noon and resume at 1-4 P.M. The screening will consist of answering about 10 questions and will last about 10 minutes. I will be taking appointments in 15 minute increments - so ... If you would like to participate, please call me at 376-6340 to sign up. As with all our programs, everyone is welcome! The mobile Lifeline Screening unit will be at Bethel on October 17th from 10 A.M.-3 P.M. These folks will be performing stroke prevention screening tests. Please call me at 376-6340 to schedule your appointment. And, last, but not least ... Bethel will be walking for the cure for Alzheimer’s disease at the Memory Walk at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Saturday, October 22nd. I have stretchy, purple elastic wrist bands for sale for $2.00 that read “a reason to hope ... end Alzheimer’s.” Also for sale, for $3.00, are magnetized purple and white ribbons that read, “end Alzheimer’s.” Please see me for purchase of these items. And ... we need walkers and sponsors. Finding a cure for Alzheimer’s is personal for me, my mother had it as well as some of our beloved parishioners. So let’s celebrate autumn with joining in these activities at Bethel. As always, to your health ............... Deb
... none reported this month ... Limuru, Kenya's Grace School has a talented and caring staff of administrators, teachers, and caretakers who see to the day-to-day education and needs of the school's children. Now you can meet them by going to the new "staff profiles and photographs" page on the Grace Ministries' web site. Just type "http://www.graceministries-limuru.org/schooL3.html" into your web browser and get to know the people who make Grace School work. While you're at the site, don't forget to take a look at the Grace School Journal (just click on "Through the Grace Journal" at the top of any Grace web site page) - you'll get a weekly glimpse into the things happening at Grace School. UPCOMING OPPORTUNITY Tennessee Valley Presbyterian Cursillo announces its upcoming Fall Retreat, to be held October 13-16 at the Maranatha Camp & Conference Center in Scottsboro, AL. Cursillo (cur-see-yo) is a 3-day retreat designed to renew and refresh our faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. It is a time of fun, fellowship, music, learning and worship…Any adult member (age 18+) of the PC(USA) is eligible to attend. If you would like an application or have questions, contact Pete Leslie, Registrar, at 256-252-4188, or email llesjama@aol.com.
Fellowship Sunday, September 11 - Senior Highs
Our new directory is coming along great. Life Touch has taken pictures of many Bethel members and friends on Tuesday, August 16, Wednesday, August 17 and Thursday, August 18. The Church Directory Committee is now working on phase II, “The Assembly”, meaning the layout, e.g. lead-in page, staff page, college page, activity pages, etc. If everything goes according to plan, we should have our new pictorial directory by the end of the year. Thanks to all the many volunteers who helped with signing in folks for the picture taking and thanks to all of you who came in to be photographed.
We will depart from Bethel shortly after the conclusion of the morning service, so bring appropriate clothing and shoes to change into before leaving Kingston. We will drive to Metcalf Bottoms in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where we will picnic together before taking the hike. The drive will be a little more than an hour, so you may want to bring a snack – along with your own picnic and perhaps also a “post-hike” snack.
Mission Outreach Committee Many of you responded to the earlier Minute for Missions on Living Waters for the World and the Clean Water initiative. In the August 2005 "Presbyterian Voice", Steve Young, the administrator for LWW, announced that the 2003 LWW "...set an all-time record of four systems installed in two countries within that 12-month span. This year, directly as a result of the Clean Water U program, 25 systems will be installed in seven countries." Working together, we can make a difference in other parts of the world in spite of the many difficulties. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
The Christian Education Committee is on a quest to find teachers for the Kindergarten through 5th grade level. We are starting an exciting rotation program which will be downloadable come this Advent season. We also have curriculum to be taught until Advent; either way, each rotation is ONLY 4 to 6 weeks. It is rewarding to start at this level, getting to know the children and be able to watch them grow. Haven't taught before? No problem! We are more than willing to give you all the help you need!!!! Please!!! Consider teaching the next generation of Presbyterians!!!!
Contact Denise Martin or Amber Jacks with any question or response. Thank you so much for prayerfully considering this very real need!!!
Stewardship & Finance Committee Report
Memorials received in the month of August for:
 ... none reported this month ... Dear Bethel Family, My family and I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your thoughts, prayers, calls, food, cards, memorial donations, visits and tears during the recent death of my mother Joan Thompson, and my grandfather George Thompson. We have not yet been able to thank each of you personally, but please know you sustained us....you held us when we could not hold ourselves, and we are so blessed to call you our family. May God bless each of you as He has blessed us with your presence in our lives. My Father's love and blessings to all,
Dearest Folks, The director and staff at the Roane County Animal Shelter want to thank you for your generous donation. It makes all of us feel so special because you too think of God’s four-legged creatures. Sincerely,
Bethel Family Prayer Calendar - September, 2005 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)
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Marilyn Gaffin