Jackson County Youth Chorus
Sign up now to sing in the Jackson County Youth Chorus! This is for singers in grades 3–8. Rehearsals begin on Monday, March 10 and run from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. each Monday. The end-of-semester concert will be on Friday, May 23. Rehearsals will be held at FBC Sylva. For more information or to register, contact Director Sarah Hall at sfhall3@gmail.com or 704.245.2302. Click here to view an event flyer.
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of: canned soup, canned chicken and Boost. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Jackson Neighbors in Need
Midweek Meal & Activities Cancelled TONIGHT
Our midweek meal and ministry activities will be canceled TONIGHT due to expected inclement weather conditions for TODAY, Wednesday, February 19. Please pray for everyone’s health and warmth.
Stay home and stay safe. We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday, February 26. Please note that choir practice has also been canceled for tonight (Feb. 19).
Mission Moment 2.19.25
Jessica Prophitt
Chaplain Major, United States Air Force
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”
– Hebrews 10:24-25
When I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to live on a street where we became surrogate family with a handful of neighbors on our block. In the summers, we kids would house-hop throughout the day. The mom who was “lucky” enough to get the crew around lunch would set out sandwiches and juice boxes for the hungry mob. During the school year, there were many Friday nights when my own mom would fill her wine glass and we would walk to the house across the street to catch up on the latest gossip in the “hood.” After my parents divorced, my mom kept us in that neighborhood because of the closeknit community supporting us. This meant she would commute an hour a day to and from work, but she had peace of mind knowing we had “surrogate parents” to look out for my brother if needed.
Now, as an Air Force chaplain, my husband and I have moved with our two boys about every two to four years. We say goodbye to friends and neighbors and do our best to reestablish community in our new location as quickly as possible. This lifestyle has often left me yearning for the long-established community where I grew up. I long for my kids to have adults in their lives who love them and claim them. I long for my husband and me to have friends who invite themselves over with wine glasses in hand. I long for community that blurs the boundaries between friends and family.
For anyone who’s ever served in the military, you know a departure is rarely a “goodbye” but a “see you later.” As my husband and I prepare to uproot and move yet again, I’ve connected with several friends and colleagues currently stationed at the location for which we are bound. The move has also sparked conversations with others from both my military and CBF circles that will likely lead to connections in our new home. I will always long for an established community of neighbors whose physical presence is accessible. But during this season of life, the communities I’ve become a part of, communities that reach across the country and, in some cases, the world, are saving my life.
I’m reminded that I’ve been called to engage with a community that’s much bigger than a block or a neighborhood, but which spans states and nations. This “community” has broadened my sense of who my neighbor is and has deepened my understanding of the vastness of God’s Kingdom. While I pray that one day I’ll have that closeknit community in which I grew up, I’ll be forever grateful to have been part of so many friend circles, families and neighborhoods.
Pray, Practice, Ponder
O Gracious God,
For adventures and moves that beckon us out of our comfort zones and into new lands, we give thanks.
For the opportunity to widen our circles and lengthen our tables, we give thanks.
For acquaintances who become friends, we give thanks.
For friends who become family, we give thanks.
For phone calls that fill us and for arms we fill, we give thanks.
For the vastness of your kingdom, and the depth and breadth of your people, we are in awe.
In Christ name we pray, Amen.
Pray...Give...Go.
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of: canned soup, canned chicken and Boost. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Mission Moment 2.12.25
Alicia and Jeff Lee
CBF Field Personnel, Skopje, North Macedonia
“Around the table we offer friendship and celebrate life. Our meals offer a divine moment, an opportunity for people to be seduced by grace into a better life, a truer life, and a more human existence.” —Tim Chester, A Meal with Jesus
What is saving my life right now? That question is one of intrigue. There is a plethora of different things that we cherish in life at this moment. Family, friends, work, school, nature. All these things are integral to our life now. Living in Macedonia, these are foundational to culture and relationships. Specifically, we would like to mention the time we spend with our friends.
In Macedonia, we have a cultural event that is called Kafana. This event revolves around good company and good food. In Macedonia, meals are an event, and Kafana is the biggest of mealtimes. Kafana is a group of friends coming together in a traditional restaurant for about five hours. There is music, food and conversations. The culture of Macedonia is based on connecting with friends over a good meal.
Relationships are essential for survival here in Macedonia. We have been truly blessed over our 12 years in Skopje to have made several close friends. These friends have become part of our family. It is difficult to live away from our biological family. But because we have built great relationships here, we are able to survive through the joys and sorrows that this life brings. Life is a journey of ups and downs, and it is better to have a friend to journey with. One of our favorite movies is “Cool Runnings” in which the lead, Derice Bannock, gives the bobsled the name “Cool Runnings.” When asked what it meant, Derice says, “Peace be the journey.” We must have peace on our journeys.
One of our great friends exposed us to the great 13th century poet Rumi. And we would like to leave you with one of his poems.
Choose Love
Because of the beloved
My heart is happy,
My soul illuminated.
From the beloved’s greenery
Hundreds of blessed rivers
Are flowing to the rose gardens.
In order to enter into your rose garden,
The soul makes peace with the thorns.
Choose love, choose love.
Without this beautiful love,
Life is nothing but a burden.
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Jesus was always inviting people around the table for food and fellowship. Even on the night before his crucifixion, he gathered his disciples, his friends, around a time for what we refer to as “The Last Supper,” the basis of our ritual of Communion or Lord’s Supper. Gathering around the table can be a deeply holy, relational and spiritual experience. When is the last time you gathered with friends or family for an extended and leisurely meal? What was is like for you? Today, ponder the mystery of sacred time around the table, and how it connects us to God and others in new and surprising ways.
Jackson County Youth Chorus
Sign up now to sing in the Jackson County Youth Chorus! This is for singers in grades 3–8. Rehearsals begin on Monday, March 10 and run from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. each Monday. The end-of-semester concert will be on Friday, May 23. Rehearsals will be held at FBC Sylva. For more information or to register, contact Director Sarah Hall at sfhall3@gmail.com or 704.245.2302. Click here to view an event flyer.
Midweek Meal & Activities
We had the most extraordinary beginning to our midweek meal with 70 feasting together. Let’s keep the momentum going, inviting others to join us and enjoying the deepening of our fellowship.
Please spread the word. And remember, preschoolers and college students’ meals are free, grades 1 to 12 are $7, and adults are $11. The menu this Wednesday is fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a roll. Join us!
REMINDER: Reservations must be made before noon on Mondays.
Below is the schedule for our Wednesday evening activities:
The meal begins at 5:30 p.m. each Wednesday. Group time begins approximately 6:10 p.m. and goes to 6:45 p.m. This group time is for college students and adults.
Our youth will meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m. in the youth room.
Our children also meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m, and they will be in the children’s department for a devotional, activity and play time.
Choir rehearsal follows at 7:00 p.m.
We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday evening!