A huge thank you to Harold Messer, Arlin Middleton, John Dills and Guy Hall for their work cleaning the carpet in the Mission and Fellowship Center!
Back to School Supplies
Dorothy Edwards Circle is again collecting school supplies for children whose parents can't supply them. We need:
paper
pens
crayons
pencils
pencil sharpeners
small packs of tissues
composition books
regular sized backpacks
colored pencils
glue sticks
small staplers and staples
We will be concentrating on 1st Explorers students this year so it will be a younger group of students. Please place items in the box in the Loving Kindness room across from the choir room by August 11th. Thank you!
A Note from Circles of Hope
Dear Friends,
As always, your most generous donation to Jackson County Circles of Hope is greatly appreciated! You totally went up and beyond generosity! Our latest class is about to graduate from our in-depth program and that will be followed up with a community person to be their mentor for the next two years or so.
Through these classes and being matched with mentors of our community with past graduates has helped our endeavor to address underlying causes of poverty and helping people attain economic stability. Circles of Hope is completely funded by personal donations like yours and from small special grants.
Let us share with you a special message from one of our Circle Leaders in training:
"I am so excited that our lives are already changing in positive ways. Circles has given me back 'hope' that I had almost lost sight of for me and my son."
Truly, all of you are demonstrating your compassion for others. We thank you immensely and encourage all of you to stay involved with Circles of Hope; our community needs enthusiastic and caring people like you!
God Bless!
Sincerely,
Laura Wallace
Children's Hope Alliance
Children’s Hope Alliance, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, provided services to more than 3,600 children, families and individuals in 2015.
The NC Department of Health and Human Services reports that over 200,000 children needed the type of services we provide but only half of those children received help. Our goal at Children’s Hope Alliance is to work toward closing this gap so that ALL children and families in North Carolina will receive the help they need.
Children's Hope Alliance provides services in 77+ NC counties and have 16 different office locations.
Items received from this list will benefit the children of Hawthorne Heights in Bryson City.
Children’s Hope Alliance Needs List
Paper Towels
Paper Napkins
Toilet Paper
Hand Soap Refills
Laundry Detergent (preferably liquid)
Dish Soap
Dish Washer Detergent
Fabric Softener
Toothpaste (preferable regular tubes, not travel size)
Sheet Sets (for boys and girls, full-size beds)
Non-Perishable Food Items (peanut butter, soups, spaghetti sauce, beans, apple sauce, Hamburger Helper, etc.)
A box is in the FBC Loving Kindness Room. Thank you!
FCA Yard Sale Fundraiser
A yard sale fundraiser to benefit the Jackson County Fellowship of Christian Athletes beginning Thursday, July 6 and continuing through Saturday, July 8 will be held at the Balsam Fire Department. The yard sale will begin Thursday at 3:00 pm until 6:30 pm and continue Friday and Saturday from 8:00 am through 6:30 pm. The public is invited to come and shop a huge inventory of furniture, home decor, collectibles, and much more. All proceeds will benefit FCA and Heritage Christian Academy. Much appreciation to Tammy Fuller, owner of Sassy Frass Consignment of Sylva, for donating all the merchandise to benefit these local ministries.
Building and Grounds Work
Sending out a huge thank you to Harold Messer and his team for their hard work at replacing bricks on our steps out front that had become chipped and broken
First Baptist Church Ministry at Rest Homes
Our church has provided worship experiences for many years at Skyland, Blue Ridge on the Mountain, Morning Star, and The Hermitage. On the first Wednesday of each month, we visit Morning Star at 10 a.m., and go to Skyland following that. Usually, Jeff offers the message, and I lead the hymn singing, with Barbara Vance serving as pianist. Of course we have to call on others to help out from time to time, when one of us can not be present. We are very fortunate to have several wonderful church members who can fill in, and they do it with joy. A number of our choir members and other church members come to help lead in the music, and we usually sing the hymns in harmony, with a pleasant and full quality. The residents greatly appreciate our visit each month. Several other churches participate in this ministry.
In addition to this monthly ministry, we are part of a large group of churches which offer worship services on Sunday afternoons for all four of the care facilities. For these five or six annual services, the WMU and the Baptist Men share the responsibility, again tapping the resources of our talented and gifted membership for music and devotions. We try to use lay people for leadership of these services.
This Sunday afternoon, June 25, the men are in charge of a 3 p.m. worship at Morning Star. Charles Proctor will give the devotion, and I will be leading music and offering a solo. Linda Stewart will accompany the music. We would love to see others join us for this service. Extra voices always help to make the music more joyful, and the residents love to see people, and to receive a hand shake and a smile.
I would guess that none of us would "choose" to live in a care facility, if the choice was ours to make. I know that if I were a resident at a rest home, I would greatly appreciate and look forward to church services that were offered. I'm glad that FBC Sylva is providing this significant ministry, and that I can be a participant.
Bob Holquist
The Gathering Place
The Gathering Place is the new name of our renovated chapel space. Thank you all for all of your generosity and hard work in transitioning our old chapel into a room that can be used in a variety of ways. The finishing touches will be put in place during the next few weeks, then there will be a room dedication soon to follow.
Vacation Bible School
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all those who have volunteered at VBS this past week! Our volunteers have come out to set-up/ tear down each day, to help with registration, to lead the groups and to help make our week the success that it’s been thus far.
If you are interested, come out and see what we’ve been up to this week during Friday’s closing event in our Mission and Fellowship Center at 11:30 AM! Campers will sing songs & share what they learned this week. There will be a FREE pizza lunch for campers, parents, & volunteers to follow!
East LaPorte Church Picnic
Our Church Picnic at East LaPorte was a smashing success!! Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed some fun in the sun with us! Join us for our next Church Picnic on Sunday afternoon, July 16 up on Waterrock Knob.