The End of Summer Camp Celebration will be on Thursday, August 10 @ 5:00 PM in the Mission and Fellowship Center. Dinner will be provided. Donations to offset the cost are appreciated. Meal begins at 5:00, Program begins at 5:30.
Mission Moment
"Recently we hosted the youth group from a local church partner to work at Welcome House, an apartment setup for arriving refugees awaiting long-term affordable housing. After we shared briefly with the youth we sent them out into the apartment community to meet other youth and children. The youth were all over the place playing and making friends with their international neighbors. It was an amazing scene. The next morning I got an email saying some of the youth had been asking when they would be going back. This is what mission engagement looks like sometimes in North Raleigh."
Kim and Marc Wyatt, CBF field personnel in the Research Triangle of North Carolina
BALL Club Breakfast Trip
BALL Club is going to Fryemont Inn for breakfast August 14, leaving church at 8:15 am. Breakfast is family style and total cost including tip is $12. Please sign up on board in church hall, or call church office. No excuses! No, it is not too early! Jennie Hunter 399-0623.
Nursery Director
Please welcome our new Nursery Director, Meredith Keskula to our church family!
Meredith started at First Baptist with the church nursery in December of 2015. She is excited to be back in Sylva full time and in a more permanent role with the church. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion. Meredith hopes to attend a graduate program in physical therapy in the future. She grew up in Augusta, GA and was an active member of Wesley United Methodist Church. She then joined the Wesley campus ministry while at UGA and was a part of several small groups. Meredith also went on a mission trip to Port Maria in Jamaica with Wesley. Some of her interests include traveling, cooking/baking, and spending time with family and friends.
Mission Moment
A member of the church in Nesvady told me that he had begun bearing witness to Jesus Christ with the Roma family next door. Along the way, the two households began a transformative relationship. People who lived next door to each other for decades slowly became neighbors. And that is when, and how, his attempts at bearing witness bore fruit. Concluding his story of how wonderful it was to see his neighbor become part of the church, he held back tears and said, "After she was baptized, she asked me 'Why didn't you tell me sooner?'"
- Dianne and Shane McNary, CBF field personnel in Slovakia
Summer's Final Checklist
As we head into the last few weeks of summer, be sure that you don’t miss out on the following opportunities as the days begin to get shorter.
-Drop by and hear the laughter of children and their leaders at our Summer Explorers Camp each day of the week. You are also invited to our End of Camp Celebration in our Mission and Fellowship Center on Thursday, August 10th beginning with dinner at 5:00 PM.
-Drive up on the Blue Ridge Parkway above 4500’ in elevation and pick blueberries. And watch out for bears.
-Attend our final Enneagram seminar this Sunday, August 6th at 4:30 PM in our Gathering Place room and learn more about the complex and dynamic person God created you to be.
-Stroll through campus at Western Carolina University and pray for the incoming students and returning faculty. Also, linger by the stadium and put in a few extra prayers for the football team and their coaching staff.
-Attend ‘Unto These Hills’ in Cherokee before their summer season ends and enjoy their new/old take on a powerful story.
-Go to Wal-Mart for no particular reason and spend an hour catching up with old friends in the aisles. One suggestion, though: Don’t make mental notes of what brand of toothpaste they have in their carts.
-Put Wednesday, August 23rd on your calendar and make plans for your family to be a part of our ‘Sylva First Wednesday’ offerings for children, youth and adults. Dinner will begin at 5:15 PM, followed by activities for all ages beginning at 6:00 PM. Lastly, Bob would love to have you join the choir at 7:15 PM.
-Find a hammock and dig out that book you intended to read this summer. Then get cracking on it!
-Eat some ice cream. See a movie at the Quinn. Eat a couple of hotdogs from B & Al’s Grill and wash them down with a milkshake.
-Make plans to develop one new spiritual discipline for the fall. Look at your daily rhythms and find a time to pray, read, listen and reflect.
-Commit to printing out a copy of each week’s prayer list and lift-up our church family each day.
-Find someone to watch the eclipse with on Monday, August 21st.
-Can some beans. Make some freezer jam.
-Plan a Sunday School gathering before fall starts in earnest. It can be grand like a day-trip, or simple like an after-worship picnic.
-Visit our ‘Loving Kindness Center’ and make plans to be generous.
-Surprise a loved one with a squirt from a water gun. (Extra points for those who attempt this during the ‘Passing of the Peace’ segment in worship)
-Stop and give your attention to a summer thunderstorm and be mindful of the work of our awesome God.
There are only a few weeks left in what’s been a glorious summer. Make the most of the time we have been given and savor it.
Backpack Blessing
We will have a backpack blessing on Sunday, August 13th. We invite children and youth to bring their backpacks to church and place them around the communion table prior to the start of worship (Worship starts at 10:30). During the service we will have a time of prayer and encouragement for our children and youth. We are collecting various school supplies for students who are in need.
Circles of Hope Update
The long term goal of Circles of Hope Jackson County is to move 10% of the county’s population out of poverty. We have 9000 people in the county living below the poverty level making our goal 900 people. Our goal each year is to move 20 families out of poverty.
We work to help them get a living wage job or an education that will lead to a living wage job. The Circle Leaders (those living in poverty who must take a leadership role in their journey out of poverty) attend 16 weeks of training after which they are assigned an Ally who serves as a friend, cheer leader, and resource person. The Circle Leaders continue to come each week for the next year or two. We provide a healthy meal each week and child care.
We have been in operation only 3 years and are now ranked in the top 30% of the national Circles organizations. The first year we spent 6 months getting organized and then worked with only 5 Circle Leaders while we learned the program.The second year we worked with 2 groups of six each and this year we have 7 in each class. Only 2 of the 31 clients we have had in the program did not graduate from the 16 weeks of classes. 50% of our graduates have gotten better paying jobs. 30% now have stable housing, and 30% have gone back to school. One has started her own business.
First Baptist Church has been an integral part of this effort by allowing Circles to use our facility for meetings and childcare. We are very thankful for your continued support.
Ginger Fullbright
Ann Melton
Circles of Hope Volunteers
Enneagram Group Meeting
Join us on Sunday, August 6th at 4:30 PM in the Gathering Place for our Enneagram group meeting. The Enneagram (which means nine-sided figure) is an ancient Christian tool that can help us to better know ourselves and to be gracious with others.
All are welcome to join, even if you missed our other meetings! The book that we will be using, while helpful, is optional. We will be offering childcare for our 90 minute experience.
Community Prayer on Tuesday
Join our community churches for the FCA Prayer at the Stadium on Tuesday, August 1 at 6:30 PM.