Jackson County has lost an outstanding musical ambassador, whose career and community involvement have touched the lives of many residents. The event will take place at 2 PM on Saturday, March 2, in the sanctuary of Sylva First Baptist Church. Several ensembles will present music in honor of Mike’s memory, representing some of his interests. The tributes will include the Sylva Bells, the Carolina Consort, the Christian Harmony Singers, a solo by life-long friend, Diana Fisher, and a choir drawn from the memberships of the Sylva FBC Sanctuary Choir, and the Western Carolina Community Chorus. The public is cordially invited to attend. A reception will follow in the Mission and Fellowship Center, where the family will greet friends.
Joy Sunday School - UCM Challenge
Joy Sunday School Class is providing 30+ lbs. of potatoes for UCM this month to help celebrate the 30 years UCM has offered assistance within our community. They challenge other classes to provide 30 of something that can be used by UCM.
Making a difference across the border
Our work on the border is all about collaboration and partnership! Students at the BSM at University of Houston put these food packets together for us. We delivered to Cynthia Aulds with our partner the Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking in Texas. She included information about human trafficking in each bag and delivered them to Laredo. Our friends at Pastor Lorenzo’s church will deliver to displaced peoples on the other side of the border.
Later, Cynthia wrote us to tell us how the food packets were making a difference!
She received a text from one of Pastor Lorenzo's helpers: "We took some snack bags to the children and families on the bridge of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. There are families from Uzbekistan, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Thank you and everyone for these snack bags. The children were so hungry. Thank you again. We truly appreciate these bags."
Displaced people are vulnerable to human traffickers. Each food packet has a list of questions that recipients can read and perhaps self identify as a victim. Later this month, we will be meeting with first responders in San Antonio to talk about tools that can help them identify victims. We also are working on a video that can be played on a loop in areas where displaced people may be, such as homeless shelters, care facilities and detention centers. And all of this is in partnership with others.
Butch and Nell Green, CBF field personnel in Houston, Texas
When the Way Forward Demands a Look Back
To get there, I will first have to take the Caledonian sleeper train from London to Crianlarich in Scotland. From there, I’ll take another train to the town of Oban. A short walk to the ferry terminal will prepare me to board a boat to the Isle of Mull. From the port at Craignure, I will then board a bus that will transport me from one side of the island to the other. Upon arriving there, I will board another ferry that will take me to the island of Iona.
Why in the world would I go to such lengths to visit a small island off the western coast of Scotland this spring? The short answer is because the island’s history and place in the Celtic Christian tradition is profound.
Founded in the 6th century by St. Columba of Ireland, the monastery that developed on the small spit of land among the Inner Hebrides of Scotland became the center of an expression of Christianity that helped to reintroduce the faith to a people that was descending into a dark age.
Iona is what they call a ‘thin place’ in the Celtic Christian tradition. That is, it is a location that is set-apart, sacred and holy because the membrane between this world and heaven is thin. For centuries, faithful followers of Christ have visited this island to connect with its rich history and to be in a space that is powerfully transcendent.
I will be spending a few days at Iona later this spring walking the coastline and visiting the ancient monastic ruins and the modern-day, intentional Christian community.
My doctoral work this spring focuses on the power and significance that place occupies in the Celtic tradition. My research will involve learning more about how the ancient Christians in Ireland believed that particular places were intimately connected to their experience of the faith. My trip to Iona will be the capstone to my work this spring as I’ll have the chance to experience firsthand what I’ve been learning.
My studies will then shift this summer as I prepare for the project phase of my program. This fall, I will be testing an idea that I have been developing these last months. I’ll need your help to execute it. Just as the early church in Ireland incorporated in their Christian communities, and just as we see in the disciples who experienced the resurrected Christ on the way to Emmaus, I believe that the practice of spiritual friendship strengthens our faith. Rest assured, brothers and sisters, you will hear more about this in the weeks to come. I hope that you will consider being a part of this journey of discovery with me.
In the spring of 2020, I will write about my findings with the project and will share what I have learned with you and the fine people at Campbell University Divinity School. I’m curious as to what we might learn together.
In the meantime, I will continue to learn how our ancient brothers and sisters in the faith lived out their call to be followers of Jesus. We are not the first to walk down the roads that we are traveling. We are not the first to experience the hardships, challenges and difficulties that a life of faith frequently presents. As such, I am energized by the prospect that the faithful from a different age might be our most helpful guides as we walk deeper into the 21st Century.
I’m grateful for your support, your encouragement, and your presence as we walk and learn together.
A Note from Blue Ridge Health
Dear Faithful Friends:
Pat, a recent widow; Kenna, a bouncing baby girl; Pamela, a cancer survivor… and many others… live, work, attend school and have brighter smiles because of your thoughtful donation to Blue Ridge Health. Thank you so much for your kindness and this special Christmas Offering!
On behalf of all our patients, we thank you.
Most sincerely,
Richard Hudspeth
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Medical Officer
CBFNC Workshop Titles
Don’t miss out on this year’s workshop titles. Learn about pressing issues facing ministry today, learn strategies and share resources.
Check out these highlights, and click here for a full list of workshops!
Don’t miss out – register today! For full event details, visit www.cbfncag.com
Ministry in the Age of Polarization
Moderated by Pastor Lee Canipe. Panelists include NC Ministers J. Daniel Day, Jeff Mathis, Emily Hull-McGee and Timothy Peoples.
Beyond Prayers: Practical Methods for Supporting Mental Health in your Congregation
Jenny Lee, Director of Youth and Christian Education, First Presbyterian, Sanford; Daniel Maurer, Health Psychologist, Army Medical Command Health Psychology, Fayetteville
Church Safety and Security: Planning that Springs from Faith
Paul Raybon, Partner, Barnabas Partnership, Asheville and Associate Pastor, Hominy, Candler
#churchtoo: Resourcing Your Congregation on the Issue of Clergy Sexual Abuse
Pam Durso, Executive Director, Baptist Women in Ministry, Atlanta, GA
The Amazing (and Sometimes Shocking) Story of Baptists in North Carolina
Lydia Hoyle, Associate Professor of Church History and Baptist Heritage, Campbell University Divinity School, Buies Creek
Remain in Love with the Letters of John
Alicia Myers, Associate Professor of New Testament Greek, Campbell University Divinity School, Buies Creek
Eco-Theology in the New Testament
Jim McConnell, Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity, Boiling Springs
True Life
Sonat had been a 13 year old boy when CBF field personnel came to his village to learn his language. Later, a Korean CBF partner church provided scholarship funds for Sonat and some of his friends to become some of the first college graduates from the “B" people group.
While in college, Sonat and those friends helped with the Bible translation, although he did not fully trust Christ until after the New Testament was printed in 2015. The New Testament, pictured above, is titled "True Life," since there are no words for "Bible" or "New Testament" in the B language.
More recently, the tiny B church decided to dub the Jesus Film into their language. Sonat was very excited. In a recent text to CBF field personnel, he wrote:
“Over the past few days I’ve helped with the Jesus Film recording. I’ve been amazed, feeling the power of God at work during the recording. God has helped us to read our lines with emotion, like real actors. That’s hard for us, since none of us have done anything like this before. But God has been with us all the way.”
Please pray for Sonat and the other B people, both Christians and pre-Christians, as they finish the Jesus Film recording.
- Field personnel serving in Southeast Asia
Raising the Roof Campaign
We only need about 55 more squares of shingles if it takes 60 squares of shingles for our roof!
Our fundraising goal is $50,000 which includes $30,000 for a new roof, $8,000 to repair wall and $12,000 for Buildings and Grounds to use for windows or boiler repair.
Upcoming fundraising projects planned are:
Talent Show in April. Please pickup an entry form in office.
Selling plants, bakery goods and handcraft items at Greening of the Mountains April 27. So, please divide your plants and make some items to sell.
Etiquette classes for 12 years and up in May.
Yard Sale in May. Start saving your items. All good clean items accepted except clothes. We will take only jeans in all sizes and children’s clothes and shoes size twelve and under.
Guardian Ad Litem Volunteers
Guardian ad Litem is recruiting volunteers in Jackson County! Guardian ad Litems (GALS) are court-appointed volunteers who serve abused and neglected children in the NC court system. GALs conduct independent investigations and advocate for the best interests of the child. A Guardian ad Litem serves as a child’s voice in court. If you have interest in becoming a volunteer and advocating for children, please visit volunteerforgal.org for additional information or contact Shannon Cowan at (828) 587-2087.
‘Loving Kindness’ Online
Increasingly, we find ourselves spending more and more time online. That is, much of our day to day life is spent in text message conversations, on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or on apps that connect us with news, sports stories, and pop culture gossip.
The rules of engagement are different when we are online as opposed to the ‘real world’ that we eat, sleep, and breathe in. This is a curious distinction, but we’ve all come to acquiesce to it. We’ve all heard the story of the individual who was confronted because of her caustic posts and mean-spirited comments on social media. When asked if she would say those things publicly, she replied, “Heavens no! I’d never say that to someone. That would be terribly rude.”
There is a sense that our behavior online somehow doesn’t count and that we are invisible and immune from the accountability we might have in our more direct experience with friends, family, or co-workers. Not only is this patently untrue—our online habits do count and can be especially costly—but the stakes of our online presence may be even higher than our physical encounters with others.
We know that loving kindness means that we shouldn’t punch someone on the sidewalk. Why would we think it’s okay to do that in a text, or on Facebook, or in a reply to someone’s post?
Here are a few rules for how we can ‘Love Kindness’ when we’re online:
1.) If you wouldn’t say something from the pulpit to our congregation then you’d best not say it online.
Regardless of what platform you’re on, recognize that your ‘likes,’ your ‘hearts,’ and your ‘thumbs ups’ carry the same power and influence than if you said them with a bullhorn on the street corner during Sylva’s downtown festival, ‘Greening Up the Mountains.’
2.) If you find yourself choosing your words carefully in a text or an email, consider erasing the message and arrange to have a conversation.
Yes, I know how hard this feels. But without question, face-to-face dialogue is preferred to a late-night, monster-long text message. We were built and wired to see one another, to feel the effects of one’s words on another, to read one another’s body language, and to commit to being present rather than giving in to temptation and ‘ghosting’ someone with our silence and avoidance.
3.) Recognize that social media is a poor vehicle to discuss and to debate politics and hot-button issues.
Simply don’t do it. Although it can be delightfully entertaining, that doctored photo or cleverly constructed meme does not do justice to someone’s personal experience or the power and effectiveness of one’s argument. The problems and challenges we face cannot be accurately addressed in a 5-word catch-phrase, or highlighted graph that seeks to shame or demonize the opposition. Can you imagine if the early church has tried to grapple with their significant differences online? Church leaders met for days, weeks, months, and yes, even years to come to places of understanding and consensus. Your re-posted image that feels deliciously spot-on will not create any breakthroughs on the major issues of the day.
4.) Consider the fact that some of your friends and followers on social media may have muted or unfollowed you.
If you haven’t heard from someone online in some time, be reflective of the fact that your online behavior may have damaged trust in your relationship. Take stock of your online activity and consider the effect it has on other people.
5.) Be wary of the addictive power that our devices and their content can have on us.
As one online source suggested, “If an online space makes more money the more time you spend on it, use it sparingly.” Be aware that our near-universal access to content can have tremendous impacts on ourselves and the people we love. Likewise, choose very carefully that which you will choose to follow and that to which you will choose to be exposed.
6.) Use your mind.
Bring your critical thinking skills to your online engagement. Recognize that there are almost certainly two sides to every comment, every story, every image, and every perspective. If a solution or verdict is too easily reached, be suspicious. And certainly, be wary of re-posting or recirculating something online that will inflame rather than soothe.
7.) Give people the benefit of the doubt.
In the silence of your social media binging it can be easy to judge and to criticize others. We see but a glimpse—typically carefully crafted, at that—into people’s lives and it’s tempting to create false narratives and to render a judgement that is unwarranted and unkind.
8.) Never respond in anger.
As the Bible makes clear, feeling anger is not a sin. Ephesians 4:26, however, reads: “Be angry but do not sin.” No good will ever come from texting, emailing, or posting when we are angry about someone or something. Recognize when you are angry and what you are angry about. Then, respond in a kind, merciful, and loving way.
9.) Be reflective.
Many of the people we encounter online are hurting. Many of the sources we consult are broken and are seeking to tear down others. One of the most Christ-like things we can do is to show kindness to those who are unkind and to love the unlovable. We do this by showing restraint and by not allowing ourselves to be baited or hooked into responding hastily in a shaming or bullying manner. As followers of Christ, we are called to be a blessing to this world and to one another.
And finally, consider this. Having mercy in an online world may mean choosing not to respond or even to participate at all. God’s command that we have mercy may mean striving to strengthen our relationships with others by spending more of our physical time with them. God showed us mercy by drawing close to us in Christ Jesus. The technology we enjoy today can be a great gift to us in any number of circumstances. But it can also create space for us to be our worst selves. Being aware of this reality is a good first step in having mercy…online, or otherwise.