Volunteer with After School!

Many of you provide support for our 1st Explorers Ministry in numerous ways, however we don’t have many congregation members that are willing to come volunteer and that is one thing I encourage each of you to consider. Consider coming to visit one afternoon and spending time in a classroom getting to know the students and staff members that make our program great!

For the past three years Betty Blanton has come on Tuesday afternoons to form relationships with our students and staff. Heres what she has to say about her Tuesday afternoons with 1st Explorers:

I have been volunteering in the program for at least the past 3 years. I am there on most Tuesday afternoons.  Folks this is one of the finest things our church has ever done when we started this back in 2013with about 6-106th graders from Fairview School.

It has been my privilege to work with many of these children but especially with my friend Joe Carnes.  Joe has been in After school ever since it became a full-time program which I think was 3 years ago.  He is a fine young man and he and I have become best friends.  We talk and laugh much of the time when I am with him and share what we have done during the day.  This is especially meaningful to me.

If you are retired and looking for something to help out with at church for one afternoon a week, contact Kelly Brown and volunteer to help with after school. I am sure Kelly would find a place for you to help. There are now about 60 kids in this program which is led by a fine staff from our church and students from WCU.

I sincerely hope this program will continue for years to come.

Please prayerfully consider volunteering with 1st Explorers on a consistent basis! Your presence will create lasting relationships with students and staff memebers! 

Christmas Program Rehearsal Schedule

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" Rehearsal Schedule:
Nov. 30: 6:00-7:30
Dec. 4: 2:30-5:30
Dec. 7: 6:00-7:30
Dec. 11: 2:30-5:30
Dec. 14: 6:00-7:30

We hope you can join us for the program on Friday, December 16th at 7:00 PM

Poinsettias

It’s time to order your Poinsettia for Christmas!

The Decorations Team is taking orders for Christmas Poinsettias.  The cost is $15.50 each.

Please fill out the information below and put it along with a check in the offering plate or bring it by the church office. Be sure to make the check payable to the First Baptist Church and put “Poinsettia” in the memo line.

Your Name _______________________________________________

In Honor of ________________________________________________ OR,

In Memory of ______________________________________________

Number of Poinsettias

______________________________________________

Thankful for Small Things

Someone wise once said: “It’s best to pay attention to the small things in life. Because one day, you may look back and discover that the big things in life were actually the small things.”
 
With that in mind, I’d like to consider the ‘small things’ in life for which I am thankful.
 
*
 
I am thankful for the taste of fresh, homemade caramel.
 
I am thankful for the delicious sound of my children’s laughter when they are tickled.
 
I am thankful for the sound of rich, congregational singing at a funeral.
 
I am thankful for the sudden chill you feel when you approach a mountain spring in the summertime. 
 
I am thankful when others say thank you. 
 
I am thankful for the sound of a steady rain on a tin roof.
 
I am thankful for a good, pun-filled joke that catches me off guard.
 
I am thankful for the way a new book smells when you open its pages.
 
I am thankful for clean sheets after a hot shower. 
 
I am thankful for clergy friends who understand the blessings and challenges of our calling.
 
I am thankful for our tradition of watching 'Rick Steve’s European Christmas' DVD while we decorate our tree. 
 
I am thankful for the feeling of satisfaction after returning home from a successful family trip.
 
I am thankful for works of fiction that distract me from the realities of daily life.
 
I am thankful for the smell of the century-old barn on our family’s land in Yancey County.
 
I am thankful for gluten free pastries. 
 
I am thankful for the way my children unconsciously swat at my kisses when I check on them before I turn in for the night.
 
I am thankful for fast, reliable WIFI when I travel.
 
I am thankful for that moment when rain turns into snow. 
 
I am thankful for the beautiful geometry and precision of the game of baseball. 
 
I am thankful for the sound of my wife’s voice when she sings hymns. 
 
*
 
Paul tells us to be thankful in all things. This Thanksgiving, don’t forget the small things. 
 
Of course, we know the truth of the matter. Life is made up of small things. 

Decorating for Christmas

We are decorating for Christmas on Sunday (Nov 27th) after the church service.  All are welcome to help. A pizza lunch will be provided for all who lend a hand. Please let Jameson or Afton Stout know if you can help ring in the Christmas season. 

A United Christian Ministries Contest

Contest report for week one - Spaghetti boxes 48, while sauce had 45.
Folks, this is just 1/10th of the need!

United Christian Ministries will provide 450 Jackson County school children with food for the long Christmas break. 70% of the children in our schools qualify for free or reduced price breakfasts and lunches.  UCM asked the question, "What do these children do over the break?" With the help of the school Social Workers, bags will be distributed before the break.  We are to provide spaghetti and spaghetti sauce for the bags.  If you sit on the piano side of the sanctuary, bring boxes of spaghetti; if you sit on the organ side of the sanctuary, bring spaghetti sauce.  Help "your side" determine which is the "better side"!

Wasting Our Time with Thanksgiving

Let’s be honest with one another. When it comes to this Sunday’s Community Thanksgiving Service, there are many other things that you could be doing with your time instead of attending our worship experience  .
 
First, you could be recovering from a full weekend and steeling yourself for the holiday juggernaut that lies ahead. This is a reasonable and good use of your time.
 
Second, you could choose to finish the work that you didn’t finish last week before you begin a new week. Again, this is a reasonable and good use of your time.
 
Third, you could spend Sunday evening with your family, enjoying football, surfing social media on your device, or taking a much-needed walk around your neighborhood. This, too, would be a reasonable and good use of your time.
 
Fourth, you could cook. Like me, you’re probably expecting company sometime next week. Preparing for them on Sunday night will allow you to maximize your time with your guests when they arrive. This is a reasonable and good use of your time.
 
Or, you could sacrifice all of that and choose to be a part of our Community Thanksgiving Service at the Presbyterian Church in Sylva on Sunday night, November 20, at 6:00 PM.
 
Why would you bother? Because our souls need it and God desires it. 
 
Ingratitude is one of the oldest songs in our hymnbook. Our wish lists in our prayers occupy far more time than our thanksgivings. Remembrances of how God has provided for us don’t have the urgency that our more immediate needs require. 
 
So yea, we’re inclined to skip the service of Thanksgiving and focus on what’s next. The immediate outweighs the past, right?
 
Speaking of urgency, the ten lepers in Luke’s Gospel had an immediate need. They suffered with an incurable disease that was both painful and isolating. They heard that Jesus was coming through town and they raced out to encounter him on the road, saying: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 
 
His response was curt and a bit confusing: “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
 
And as they did, they were made well. Cleansed from their terrible disease, these individuals made good use of their time by celebrating with family and friends. Having been healed, they then made a reasonable decision with regards to their time. 
 
Except for one man. “When he saw that he was healed, (he) turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.” 
 
Understandably, Jesus was crestfallen by the fact that only one would return to say thank you. 
 
So, of course, Jesus is familiar with our tilt toward self-absorption. And yet, we have an opportunity to surprise Jesus by ‘wasting our time’ with thanksgiving. 
 
Yes, there are many other things that you could be doing this Sunday evening at 6:00 PM. But I’d like to challenge you and your family to waste time with our broader family of faith in a service of Thanksgiving. We will be taking a radical action in our current age of disillusionment and division. We’ll be sharing communion with those in our community who are different from us.  
 
Thanksgiving is not simply a holiday, and it certainly should not be relegated to one day in our calendar year. Thanksgiving is an attitude. It is a practice, a discipline, intended to turn our willful, selfish lives back to a God who has given us all that we need. 
 
Thanksgiving is a mindset that is the anecdote to our chronic discontent. And, it’s the best waste of your time that you’ll ever engage in. 

Parents Night Out Care

1st Explorers will be having Parents Night Out Care on November 18th from 5:30-9:00 PM. This is a chance for parents to get a night off and for kids to have some fun and fellowship with friends! Click here to sign up!

Community Thanksgiving Service

We will be having our annual community Thanksgiving service on Sunday, November 20th at 6 PM at Sylva First Presbyterian Church. Come join us in worship and fellowship!

Church-wide Sewing Bee

Thank you to all the ladies who came out and helped with the church-wide sewing bee sponsored by WMU. The goal of the sewing bee was to create vests for the boys and girls in RAs and GAs to wear and proudly display the badges they earn in mission study activities.