March, 2023 —
Volume 20, Issue No. 3
(My first letter in the Open Door appeared in March 2022. My first day in the office was March 14, and
...)
February, 2023 —
Volume 20, Issue No. 2
(As we move into the month of February, the Transition Team is back at work. Together...)
January, 2023 —
Volume 20, Issue No. 1
(You’re receiving this newsletter as we enter into the year 2023. The busyness... )
December, 2022 —
Volume 19, Issue No. 12
(Dear Friends, This is one of those years when Advent comes early, so by the time...)
October, 2022 —
Volume 19, Issue No. 10
(The last Kingston Farmer’s Market Day of the season was a very rainy one. Some...)
August, 2022 —
Volume 19, Issue No. 8
(Our family friend Eric Minton has recently published a book with the title It’s Not You,...)
July, 2022 —
Volume 19, Issue No. 7
(I write this on day 5 with Covid 19; my mom and my husband are a couple... )
June, 2022 —
Volume 19, Issue No. 6
(During the season of Easter
we have been looking each Sunday at a passage...)
April, 2022 —
Volume 19, Issue No. 4
(Dear Friends, Let me first of all tell you how much I appreciate the warm welcome... )
March, 2022 —
Volume 19, Issue No. 3
(It is with great joy that I anticipate beginning my time as your pastor on March 14... )
February, 2022 —
Volume 19, Issue No. 2
(The Interim Search Committee (ISC) - Jake Horton Chair - has been...)
December, 2021 —
Volume 18, Issue No. 7
(On November 11 Bethel started sheltering our first family since the pandemic began. We...)
November, 2021 —
Volume 18, Issue No. 6
(Family Promise will accept our first family for overnight shelter as soon as
...)
October, 2021 —
Volume 18, Issue No. 5
(During our regular monthly Session meeting on September 19, 2021, Wendy told us that she felt the "call to go," and...)
September, 2021 —
Volume 18, Issue No. 4
(Kingston Lakeside Farmer’s Market – A great big thanks to Elaine and Kirk Steele and all the Bethel folks...)
July, 2021 —
Volume 18, Issue No. 2
(We are in the heart of summer: travel, lake days, summer movies, and cool treats.)
June, 2021 —
Volume 18, Issue No. 1
(This newsletter, the first in over year, is a sign that we are moving into our new normal. )
April, 2020 —
Volume 17, Issue No. 4
(I hope you are doing well in these unusual days. This edition of the Open Door... )
February, 2020 —
Volume 17, Issue No. 2
(The Session had a great retreat on Jan 18, 2020. I want to share a few things that came out of that retreat...)
January, 2020 —
Volume 17, Issue No. 1
(After seven long years and lots of hard work and dedication, Bethel finally hosted families...)
November, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 11
(The Church Year is nearly over. In fact, Sunday, November 24 is the last year...)
October, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 10
(This month we are privileged to have PCUSA mission co-workers Jeff and Christi Boyd...)
September, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 9
(I am sitting at my desk after a three-month sabbatical overwhelmed with gratitude...)
August, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 8
(It’s important, as Christians, to know that we are obligated in love and faith to treat one another with utmost respect and honor...)
June, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 6
(As you may know, Rev. Wendy Neff will be out of the office from May 28 – Aug. 26 on her three-month sabbatical. While she is gone...)
May, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 5
(It is hard to believe that we are already into the third week of Easter, the first...)
April, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 4
(We are halfway through our Lenten Journeys. The Lenten wilderness can be...)
March, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 3
(March brings Spring, hopefully a break from the rain of February and most importantly the season of Lent... )
February, 2019 —
Volume 16, Issue No. 2
(At the annual session retreat, we read Micah 6:1-8 and discussed particularly what it means to “do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.” We will continue )
January, 2019 —
Volume 15, Issue No. 2
(A new year has begun, and as with many new year’s, it comes with changes. After 21 years of faithful service to this congregation ...)
December, 2018 —
Volume 15, Issue No. 12
(Advent begins on December 2. I know "Christmas" is all around us. Stores began putting out Christmas items... )
November, 2018 —
Volume 15, Issue No. 11
(Thank you all so very much for the wonderful pastor appreciation gift. I look forward to spending my gift card...)
October, 2018 —
Volume 15, Issue No. 10
(Bethel’s portion of the Peacemaking and Global Witness Offering will go to support hurricane, typhoon, and tsunami relief efforts through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. )
September, 2018 —
Volume 15, Issue No. 9
(As we begin to approach the stewardship season in October and November, I invite you to begin to think about the gifts, ideas and skills you have to share in service to God in the world. )
August, 2018 —
Volume 15, Issue No. 8
(After a brief sabbatical of sorts following our Birthday Celebrations, church programs are resuming full force this week. )
March, 2018 —
Volume 15, Issue No. 3
(Beginning Wed, Mar 7 children aged kindergarten through 5th grade will meet with Becky Price for a ...)
February, 2018 —
Volume 15, Issue No. 2
(Ann Weems is one of my favorite poets. Before she died she published several books of poetry around the church year. Her books ...)
October, 2017 —
Volume 14, Issue No. 10
(The last month has seen three major hurricanes come through the Caribbean and USA as well as a...)
June, 2017 —
Volume 14, Issue No. 6
(I am so excited to begin our year-long celebration of Bethel Presbyterian Church. On June 4 ...)
May, 2017 —
Volume 14, Issue No. 5
( May is a full month with celebrations, end of year activities and plans for summer vacation. The weather is warmer and ...)
March, 2017 —
Volume 14, Issue No. 3
(Lent is upon us. The following description of the season has been excerpted from ...)
February, 2017 —
Volume 14, Issue No. 2
( I am just back from two weeks at Columbia Theological Seminary where I took a class on the Gospel of Matthew...)
January, 2017 —
Volume 14, Issue No. 1
(Dear Friends, The newsletter staff is taking a break during the month of )
October, 2016 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 10
(October is a month full of opportunities to learn more about what the church is doing in the world. The ...)
September, 2016 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 9
(Dear Friends, It doesn’t feel like it yet, but the seasons will soon change. We will exchange the ...)
August, 2016 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 8
( This summer has been filled with travel for many of us, lots of time outside and... )
July, 2016 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 7
(Half the year is behind us – and what a half it has been. Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and now Ordinary Time have filled ...)
June, 2016 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 6
(We have entered Ordinary Time in the cycle of our church year. The color for Ordinary Time is green – the color of life and ...)
May, 2016 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 5
(Thank you for your generous gifts to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering we...)
February, 2016 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 2
(The first week of February brings Lent this year. We kick off the Season with ...)
January, 2016 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 1
(Arise and let your light shine – Epiphany is here! In these dark days of January, we can ...)
November, 2015 —
Volume 12, Issue No. 11
(November is a time of Thanksgiving. As the Fall colors give way to Winter landscapes, we are reminded of ...)
October, 2015 —
Volume 12, Issue No. 10
(I love this time of year – the air is cooler, the landscape brightens with colors of red, yellow and orange, and our building is filled with ..)
September, 2015 —
Volume 12, Issue No. 9
(As many of you know, Will Purushotham, our Director of Christian Formation for nearly two years ...)
August, 2015 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 12
(Thank you for your support and prayers for the 10 of us who went to Guatemala in June. I think I can speak for all of us when I say it was a transformative experience. )
May, 2015 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 5
(The Presbyterian Church USA has a rich history of missionary activity around the world...)
April, 2015 —
Volume 13, Issue No. 4
(The Easter Season is upon us which means it is also time to receive ...)
March, 2015 —
Volume 12, Issue No. 3
(What a couple of weeks it has been in East Tennessee! We are into the second week of Lent ...)
January, 2015 —
Volume 11, Issue No. 1
(Maybe if we celebrated the Twelve Days of Christmas and feasted on Epiphany, we might then be ...)
August, 2014 —
Volume 11, Issue No. 8
(There is so much pain and strife, so much uncertainty and sadness in the world right now...)
June, 2014 —
Volume 11, Issue No. 6
( Summer is nearly here and with it comes vacations and travel and time away. For many of ...)
May, 2014 —
Volume 11, Issue No. 5
(May is a month of celebrations and milestones. There are graduations, end of ...)
April, 2014 —
Volume 11, Issue No. 4
(We have nearly completed our Lenten journey. I pray it has been a time of ...)
March, 2014 —
Volume 11, Issue No. 3
(We are leaving the season of light in Epiphany and moving into the season of Lent. )
December, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 12
(It doesn't seem possible that it is already Advent! My goodness, didn't we just celebrate ...)
October, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 10
(We are privileged to host Rev. Butros Zaour, Syrian Christian Pastor on Thursday, Oct. 3 ...)
September, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 9
(At Big Tent in early August, I learned of the three Critical Global Initiatives (CGI) recently launched by ...)
August, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 8
(There has been much talk in the media and around dinner tables to be sure about ...)
July, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 7
( It is the time for vacations, sandy beaches, mountain hikes, week-long church camps, youth mission trips, extended ...)
June, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 6
(As we approach Bethel's 195th Birthday Celebration on Sunday, June 9, we have ...)
April, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 4
(I don’t know about you, but I am not only thrilled to welcome Spring and Easter...)
February, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 2
(The seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany are behind us, and Lent is ahead of us...)
January, 2013 —
Volume 10, Issue No. 1
(Amid the darkness of winter, the sadness of shootings and death of children, the...)
October, 2012 —
Volume 9, Issue No. 10
(Fall is one of my favorite times of the year – cool, crisp days filled with...)
September, 2012 —
Volume 9, Issue No. 9
(As I prepare for Isaac to begin Kindergarten every day this week and ... )
May, 2012 —
Volume 9, Issue No. 5
(We have been talking about our story in worship this Easter Season. Our story is ...)
April, 2012 —
Volume 9, Issue No. 4
( Spring has sprung and the weather has been warm enough to be thinking about... )
March, 2012 —
Volume 9, Issue No. 3
(At our Ash Wednesday Service, Sue Lynn read Isaiah 58. A friend of mine had also posted...)
February, 2012 —
Volume 9, Issue No. 2
(Ready or not, Lent is upon us. “Though the earliest traditions are unclear, Lent apparently ...)
December, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 12
(I have been preparing worship for Advent and so I am already singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” in my... )
November, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 11
(In my family we have a tradition of offering our “thankfuls” after we have eaten Thanksgiving dinner. Our “thankfuls” are those things... )
October, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 10
(This is one of my favorite months of the year. I love the cooler temperatures, the... )
September, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 9
(If you are older than 10, then you probably remember where you were and what you were doing on... )
August, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 8
(We have been affirming our faith in worship during the season of Pentecost using a portion of ... )
July, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 7
( There are a lot of things going on this summer and so my letter to you this month is about bits and pieces... )
June, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 6
(Pentecost comes late this year, just like Easter did. Normally it comes near the end of May but... )
May, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 5
(It is the season of Easter - these 50 days between Easter Sunday and Pentecost...)
March, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 4
( How exciting it is for me to write to you as your pastor. I am looking forward to getting to know each of you and to serving with you in Kingston... )
February, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 2
(So...here we are cruisint into February. It's one of those transition...)
January, 2011 —
Volume 8, Issue No. 1
(After the busy-ness of Christmas week, Rev. Craig Hendrix and his family are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. In place of his usual letter to the congregation, we include a sampling of the activities coming up in the month of January:)
December, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 12
(...Above all, we pray that you will be filled with the awe, and blessing, and peace, that God extends to us now and always...)
November, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 11
(It's hard to believe we have been together for almost a year! A lot has transpired...)
October, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 10
( This church has a wonderful history and an open-to-possibility manner that helps define its ministry. It has also been led by visionary and loving pastors. And one of the things... )
June, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 6
( As we look forward to Memorial Day and the beginning of summer, I am reminded of how important the day is because of the sacrifices made for all of us. When thinking about all those who have served and given that most sacred sacrifice, I am reminded of John 15:13, “Greater love has no one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” )
May, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 5
(As Christians, we are called to make a difference. This past Sunday's service was all about how an individual's witness can impact the lives of countless people.)
April, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 4
(April, beginning with Holy Week, will be filled with exciting events.)
March, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 3
(Lent is a 40 day period before Easter that commemorates the time Jesus spent in the wilderness. In the early church...)
February, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 2
(This month is going to be busy. We are engaging our Confirmation process for six young people. They will be studying church history...)
January, 2010 —
Volume 7, Issue No. 1
(Increasingly in my life, I am aware of the passage of time and how important relationships are to me. My relationship with God...)
December, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 12
(The beginning of Advent is a time for the hanging of the greens; the decoration of the church with evergreen wreaths, boughs, or trees that help to symbolize the new...)
November, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 11
(Dear Bethel Family, I do not have the ability or words to express my gratitude for all you have done for our family. I have never seen a church...)
October, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 10
( A beautiful labyrinth is being designed and constructed between Bethel Presbyterian Church and the shore of Watts Bar Lake, to honor our Pastor Rev. Marc Sherrod. )
September, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 9
(When you take a Polaroid picture, the longer you look at it, the clearer it gets. The longer we look at the vision God has given us, the more defined it becomes!)
August, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 8
(Dear Bethel, I have just had the most amazing conversation with someone I consider One of the Saints of Bethel. She helped me see what I need to write in this article...)
July, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 7
(The Landsape Committee is still hard at work. This month we would like to bring you up yo date on the labyrinth and Memorial Garden as well as the rocks. A labyrinth...)
June, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 6
(This is mostly just catch-up on personal news, since it feels like so much has happened just in the last week, much less since the last newsletter! Each of you...)
May, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 5
(Dear Bethel, After a very busy Lent and Easter, I was supposed to be on vacation this past Sunday. Our grandchildren were coming to visit...)
April, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 4
(The pastor, session and members of Bethel Presbyterian Church (USA) invite you to share our joy as we celebrate at a special service of worship the re-rededication of Bethel Presbyterian Church (USA)...)
March, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 3
(I'm so excited about re-entering our new building I can hardly stand it! The carpet will go down early this week, with the pews soon to follow. If all goes...)
February, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 2
(In a sermon several weeks ago, I mentioned meditating on the gospel story of the lame man whose friends couldn't get him inside the door...)
January, 2009 —
Volume 6, Issue No. 1
(The arrival of Epiphany on January 6, 2009 - the holy day commemorating the visitation of the non-Jewish magi...)
December, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 12
(Several days ago, on a cold Friday afternoon, looking out from my new office window, the air filled...)
November, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 11
(We all know that Bethel stands at a unique moment in our collective history, poised as we are near the completion of our building project. We have...)
September, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 9
(If you haven't done so already, I hope you will take an opportunity to tour Bethel's new building project after church on...)
August, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 8
(Monday morning. Sunday of Sorrow. Time was, I might have said, "who would have thought...)
July, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 7
(The invitation was given to Bethel members and friends to be a part of the Historic Second Move and Celebration...)
June, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 6
(It's hard for me to believe that we are already about half way through our time with the Kingston United Methodist Church, as...)
May, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 5
(This letter is an attempt to update you on what has been going on at the Bethel Church site in 2008! First of all...)
April, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 4
(I had to keep reminding myself of that verse, seven years or so ago, when we had just moved to Kingston, and...)
March, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 3
(Dear Beloved Saints of Bethel, As I look out on my frozen yard this morning I am looking anxiously...)
February, 2008 —
Volume 5, Issue No. 2
(This year, the vagaries of calendar and lunar cycle bring in an early Easter (March 23) and, thus, an even earlier Ash Wednesday...)