Homecoming Parade

We are setting up refreshments and fun activities for community members watching the WCU homecoming parade on October 27 at 6:30.  We would like to have volunteers who can help give out food, drinks, stickers, etc starting between 5 and 5:30 and lasting until about 7:00.  

Please contact Tom Graham at tsgraham1@gmail.com or text at 304-228-2547 if you can help.  We can take help setting up and/or taking down tables, serving food and drinks, and any ideas on WCU related activities or goodies to have at the church that day.

Thank you so much and hope to see several of our church family members at the parade!

Your Home Church

home /hōm/
Noun
the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.

Homecoming
Home Going
Home Improvement
Home Plate
Homemade
Home Phone
Home Room
Homefront
Homegrown
Home Alone
Homemaker
Homeward Bound
Home Church

I have two, maybe three, home churches. I think.

There’s the church that I was dedicated in shortly after I was born. So, certainly the First Baptist Church in Winchester, KY should be on this list. But then, there’s Smoke Rise Baptist Church outside of Atlanta where we lived for 12 years and where I was baptized. Perhaps that should be considered my home church. Then again, the First Baptist Church of Asheville is the church that knows me best as they ordained me to the Gospel Ministry when I was a young man. Surely, they should be my home church. Maybe?

Alas, there are no hard and fast rules on this. Not to be confused with a house church—or church that meets in someone’s home—one’s home church suggests one’s starting place. Let’s try this this definition on and see if it fits: A home church is the congregation where we had our beginning, and where we frequently choose to return.

Meh.

The reality of a home church implies that we don’t always stay at one church. For the overwhelming majority of us, we don’t spend the entirety of our lives in one church. We grow up. We move away. We move on. Most of us find ourselves at a church for a season in our lives—some seasons longer than others.

As much as it pains me to acknowledge this, people leave church. Sometimes we leave because we relocate geographically. This tends to be the most understandable, though nonetheless difficult. Sometimes we leave a church when we are called to another church. As one who has felt ‘called away’ and ‘called to’ a church in my ministerial career, I know how hard that can feel. At other times, we leave a church because something has changed—either the church, or the individual. In any case, moving from one church to another, or to nothing, can land an emotional punch to all involved.

Let’s not beat around the bush. Being church is hard. It always has been and probably always will be. There aregood (excellent, really) examples of the difficulty of community life throughout the Bible. Moses routinely cried out to God because of his rancorous congregation. Jesus called his disciples together and they were a fractious bunch. The early church was a movement of people who gathered together despite their many differences.

And my oh my, did the early church have their challenges! These churches were especially diverse in their makeup. Early Christians were representative of every social strata and demographic group. Societal groups that never encountered one another were now gathering together in the name of Jesus. The differences between rich and poor, free and slave, male and female, Jew and Greek, obvious sinner and evident saint, all created challenges that cannot be overstated. Don’t believe me? Read Paul’s correspondence to the church in Corinth. Spoiler alert: The church was having a hard time being church.

So why should our churches be any different?

As a pastor, I want everyone to want to be church. But I also know that is an unreasonable expectation. Like any other element in our lives, our participation in any one thing waxes and wanes in time. And naturally, we know this to be true among those who call our church their home. For a variety of reasons, church folk will engage, disengage, and then hopefully reengage.

Whether we like it or not, the church is not a static community. The church is a dynamic collection of individuals who are constantly changing, evolving, retreating and pressing on. Although I am never pleased when people no longer want to be church with us, I also genuinely want them to feel at home in their church. And if they do not feel at home in our church, then I pray that God’s grace will provide us all a way to continue to be church together even if that means that we belong to different congregations.

Church works best when we bear fruit together. The sweetest fruits, of course, are the fruits of the spirit as they are what nourishes our faith community when we are hungry for God’s presence. “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” all work together to build up God’s church. Indeed, a sweet spirit begets a sweet spirit.  

I love calling First Baptist Church home, and I pray that you do, too. Later this month, on Sunday, October 22, we will celebrate our church’s past, present and future, with old friends and with new ones. I pray that our time of Homecoming will call us to a place of gratitude for the church we have been, celebration of who our church is today, and hope for who God is calling us to be tomorrow.  

And if you’re still wondering where your home church is, it’s the place where you sense God’s movement in the people that you love and want to call home.

WMU SEWING BEE TO BENEFIT AWM

Anyone who can help iron, cut, or sew is invited to an apron workshop on Monday, October 16th, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m, in the Mission and Fellowship Center.  The Jackson County Extension and Community Association group (ECA) will join us to make aprons for the Appalachian Women's Museum. You can stay for an hour or two or three and help with this project that will benefit the museum housed in the Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro. If you have fabric suitable for making aprons, bring it along with basic sewing supplies, a portable sewing machine (if you have one), and your lunch. Come for a fun afternoon of fellowship with other church members and women from the community.  Please call Cheryl Beck at 421-3820 if you have questions.

Blue Ridge Health

The Good Samaritan Clinic is now Blue Ridge Health!
We are a nonprofit community health center with a mission to provide healthcare that is accessible and affordable for ALL.
 
How is Blue Ridge Health different from the Good Samaritan Clinic?
·         We now serve patients of any age, including children.

·         We now serve patients regardless of where they live.

·         We now serve patients regardless of insurance status.

·         We accept Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, etc.

·         We have a sliding fee scale for those who are uninsured or are under-insured.

·         No one is turned away for inability to pay.

 
How is Blue Ridge Health similar to the Good Samaritan Clinic?
·         We continue to provide a tremendous amount of charity care for those who cannot afford the high cost of healthcare.

·         We continue to provide nurse case management, connections with community resources, access to low-cost or free medications, and referrals to community partners and healthcare specialists.

·         We continue to serve as a clinical learning site for WCU and SCC students.

·         We continue to rely on the support of community partners, faith communities, individual donors, and volunteers to provide care to our neighbors.

 
What healthcare services are provided onsite?
·         Primary Care for Adults and Children

·         Behavioral Health Counseling for Adults and Children

·         Medication Assistance Program

·         Providers include:

o   Judy Seago, MD

o   Mary Puckett, PA-C

o   Chelsea Batten, PA-C

o   Jessica Prior, MD

o   Ali Campbell, LCSW-A, LCAS

 
What new resources are available?
·         Newly renovated clinical space  (Suite C of former Sylva Medical Center)

·         New exam tables and exam room furnishings/equipment

·         Electronic Health Record System

·         Spanish-language translation services available Monday-Friday

God of Vengeance, Rise Up: A Prayer of Lament for the 59 Souls Murdered in Las Vegas

When words escape us and we feel paralyzed by shock, fatigue, anger and grief, we turn to the ancient prayers of God’s people.

Let us pray.

Psalm 94

O Lord, you God of vengeance,
you God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
give to the proud what they deserve!
O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?

They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the stranger,
they murder the orphan,
and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

Understand, O dullest of the people;
fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
does he not chastise?
The Lord knows our thoughts,
that they are but an empty breath.

Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
giving them respite from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who contrive mischief by statute?
They band together against the life of the righteous,
and condemn the innocent to death.
But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
He will repay them for their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Let us be clear. The wicked are the ones who are saturated in hate, and who are consumed with a selfish indifference toward the sanctity of life.

God of love and justice, we pray: "Rise up! God of vengeance, shine forth!"

Rise up for us against the wicked, oh God. And may we have the strength of heart to rise up with you. Amen.

Introducing Carol Cloer

We are happy to welcome Rev. Carol Cloer to our church family as she begins her service as our part-time Youth Minister.
Carol, a graduate of Charleston Southern University and of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1988, lives in Franklin, NC. Carol is an adjunct instructor at Southwestern Community College in Sylva and teaches classes in music appreciation, jazz and college student success.
Carol has served in a variety of ministerial capacities including service as a youth minister and as a music director. More recently, Carol served as a youth minister at the First Baptist Church of Franklin for nine years, and then as the Associate Pastor at Centerpoint Community Fellowship in Franklin for the last eight years.
Carol will continue her work at Southwestern Community College while she works to develop our youth ministry at First Baptist--particularly on Sunday mornings and on Wednesday evenings. Both the 1st Explorers Ministry Board and the Personnel Committee are excited about Carol’s wealth of experience in youth ministry, and her commitment to developing long-term relationships with our youth and their families. These church committees are enthusiastic in their recommendation of Carol to us and in their approval of her part-time employment.
Welcome to First Baptist Church, Carol! We look forward to serving alongside you!

A Note From Carol: 

"My name is Carol Cloer. I have spent much of my career working with youth and feel a definite call in that capacity. Most of my positions have been either a combination of Music/Youth or, most recently, Associate Pastor. I began my journey as a Counselor in Training at the WMU State camp in South Carolina. I spent 6 Summers serving there in positions ranging from Counselor in Training to Cabin Counselor to Music Director, Lifeguard and Waterfront Director!  Acteen camps were always my favorite part of the Summer, partly because it was during an Acteen camp, when I was 14, that I experienced a call to ministry.
My degrees include a BA in Music from Charleston Southern University, a Master in Church Music, with additional studies in Youth Ministry, from Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY and post-graduate work in Spiritual Formation at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. The study in spiritual formation made a strong impact on my thoughts about spiritual community, which has been an important aspect of my ministry in recent years.
Currently I teach Music Appreciation, Introduction to Jazz and College Student Success courses at Southwestern Community College.  I see my work there as a ministry and have had many opportunities to work directly with students, assisting with issues they have encountered. In searching for a church position that would be compatible with my work at SCC, I became aware of the position here.  I am excited about the possibilities here at FBC Sylva and I am looking forward to getting to know all of you as we begin this journey together!”

Sundays in October

Informational Meeting on Insurance

The Ruby Daniel WMU Circle invites you to learn more about long-term care insurance at a special meeting on Tuesday, October 10th, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., in the Gathering Place.  Diane Parker, Medicare Specialist, at the Jackson County Department on Aging, will cover some of the basics of this type of insurance and answer questions you may have.  Diane is a wealth of information about insurance in general so you will find her talk very helpful.  Come and learn!

Supplies Needed for Texas Mission Trip

If you are interested in supporting the disaster relief mission trip to Texas by donating supplies, here is a list of food and drinks our team will need during the trip:

Cases of bottled water
Cases of Propel/Gatorade
Individually packaged peanuts
Individually packaged variety of chips
Cases of soft drinks
Variety of packaged snacks

Please bring items to the Loving Kindness Center, or to the Church Office.

1st Explorers Staff Spotlight

Get to know our 1st Explorers staff as we highlight a different staff member every week!

Meet Sarah Krueger

Where are you from?
I’m originally from Pendleton, South Carolina but my family recently moved to Cleveland, Tennessee.

Where are you in school? What year are you? What’s your major?
I am a junior at Western Carolina University double majoring in Criminal Justice and Political Science with a minor in Religion.

When you were in Kindergarten, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was in Kindergarten, I wanted to be a horse-riding instructor when I grew up or an olympic level horse-jumper

Now, today, what kind of career do you want to have?
I have no idea what career I want to have! I think I’d like to work in the area of social justice, perhaps for a Non-Governmental Organisation, but the possibilities are endless!

Favorite Bible verse or story? Why?
My favourite Bible story is the story of Job. I love it because Job’s struggle is so authentic and it resonates with some of my own struggles with being a Christian.

“I spend a lot of my free time doing…”
I spend a lot of my free time outside, I love most outdoor activities including hiking, camping, riding horses, and canoeing

One thing I love about living in Western North Carolina is…
One thing I love about living in Western North Carolina is the wealth of outdoor opportunities and the small town atmosphere

One thing I want to do before graduating is…
One thing I want to do before graduating is to go sky diving