"How Christian Nationalism Threatens Democracy and Christianity"
Sunday, April 23rd | First Baptist, Asheville
Meal: 5:00 p.m. | Program: 6:00 p.m.
Conversation led by:
Amanda Tyler J.D.
Executive Director, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
Dr. Jay Augustine
Mission Strategist, Duke University Center for Reconciliation,
Senior Pastor, St. Joseph AME Church, Durham, NC
Vacation Bible School will be here before you know it! The date for our community VBS is June 12-16. First Baptist is in charge of the set-up and take-down each day, the daily Bible story, and youth activities. Be thinking about how you can help with this very important summer event!
The Spring Church Conference will be on Wednesday, April 26 at 6:00 PM. Bring a potluck meal to share and we’ll have dinner together beginning at 5:30 PM in the Mission and Fellowship Center.
Dense fog is not uncommon on the mountain where I live. (Actually, it’s not a mountain; it’s a plateau. But those who live in Sewanee, Tennessee affectionately call it The Mountain.) The thickest fog I have ever seen rolled into Sewanee a few minutes before a meeting of Grief Circle (a grief support group I facilitate on the campus of the University of the South) was to begin. I pivoted from the material I had prepared for the day and, instead, led the group outside to experience the fog.
I guided the group in a walking meditation in which we practiced putting one foot in front of the other—even when we could not see the path ahead. We went slowly, but kept going. We named our feelings of disorientation and fear. We came to appreciate what we could see—the dulled outline of a tree, the green hues of the moss that somehow seemed brighter on the stones at our feet—even while acknowledging what we could not. We talked about what we could not see but knew was there. We paid attention to the sounds—or lack thereof—and the way our bodies, minds and spirits felt as we made our way through the fog. It was the perfect metaphor for grief. Experiencing the fog in this way enabled the participants to talk about the dense and heavy grief through which they were walking.
Recently, I’ve found myself in a time of uncertainty as I moved with my family from rural middle Tennessee to the Boston area. I imagine many of you can relate to the unknowing and resulting fear that come with a major life transition. Where will we live? What shape will my calling take in this new place? What is best for our children?
I am surrounded by a thick cloud of “I-don’t-knows.” It’s much easier and certainly more comfortable to stay put, safe from the discomfort of limited visibility and uncertainty. In this season of uncertainty, prayer has not kept me out of the fog. Prayer has helped me experience the fog more fully and, in doing so, given me the space to process it. Stepping into the fog, into the unknowing, has been an act of prayer. Putting one foot in front of the other, moving forward despite not being able to see, is prayer. Allowing myself to simply be in the thick of it—in whatever spiritual or emotional fog that has rolled in—is prayer. It’s acknowledging that which I cannot see, but know is there just beyond my line of vision.
PRAY . . . GIVE . . . GO . . .
I am thankful for the transformed and flowered cross that proclaimed, "Christ is Risen!" from our front steps to our community this week.
I am grateful for the children and college students who play and laugh together on our church's front lawn each weekday afternoon.
I am thankful for our church family who plays in the dirt and helps make our campus beautiful with flowers too many to name.
I am thankful for efforts to support the United Christian Ministries, Homebase at WCU, and literacy among the children in our After School Ministry.
I am thankful for our church sanctuary's simple beauty and rich history.
I am grateful for men who build ramps for those who would otherwise have difficulty getting in and out of their homes.
I am thankful for the long-distance views of forested mountainsides and tucked-away coves.
I am grateful for the wisdom of parents, grandparents, seniors, and elders as they have seen and experienced more life than I have.
I am grateful for those who want to share their lives and are willing to be on the path of transformation.
I am thankful for those who manage the technical elements involved in our church worship offerings.
I am thankful for the Pastoral Care Team and their countless notes, text messages, phone calls, and visits to our church and community.
I am grateful for our recent trip to Holguin, Cuba, and our partnership with Pastor Ernesto and Kerygma Baptist Church.
I am thankful for church leaders who serve and volunteer in unseen ways to improve and strengthen our church and community.
I am grateful for the friendly faces and the warmth of familiar strangers on Main Street and Bridge Park.
I am thankful for growing Sunday School Classes.
I am grateful for the men who will host our upcoming Men's Breakfast.
I am thankful for the rain, tumbling creeks, and waterfalls in our mountains.
I am thankful for the melody of fellowship when we pass the peace of Christ in our worship service.
I am thankful for individuals who are generous with their time, energy, and resources.
I am grateful for a church that gives others the benefit of the doubt.
I am thankful for the warmth of holding the hand of someone experiencing a season of grief in their life.
I am grateful for a church that practices forgiveness, patience, mercy, and grace.
I am thankful for coffee.
I am grateful for youth retreats, egg hunts, and children who visit our church's homebound families.
I am thankful to learn how our church members are forming new friendships with one another over lunch, at the movies, and local conferences.
I am grateful when guests report how they experienced hospitality, kindness, and love when worshipping with us.
I am thankful for technology that has enabled us to broaden our reach.
I am thankful for our servant leaders who work tirelessly behind the scenes to fix commodes, manage finances, decorate the church sanctuary, hold weighty questions, prepare meals for baseball teams, and ask: "How can I help?"
I am grateful for the passion and energy I see among our church family to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God daily.
I am thankful for the old courthouse--now a library, presiding on a hill set against a glorious blue sky.
I am grateful for a church staff who serves and leads with faithfulness and good cheer.
These are but a few of the things I am grateful for today. What does your list look like?
United Christian Ministries is in need of pasta sauce, ramen, pancake syrup, applesauce (6-pack individual cups), and laundry detergent. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Our executive director, Karen Johnson, is retiring (again) at the end of May. We are so thankful for the time, energy, and love that she has poured into UCM in her years here. Her departure means that we are interviewing for a new executive director. If you know of anyone seeking work with a heart for ministry, please refer them to us!
The executive director position is permanent, part-time (30 hours per week). The director oversees all aspects of the food pantry, financial assistance programs, operational procedures, budgeting, etc., and supervises paid staff and our wonderful group of volunteers (about 40!). Applicants may submit a resume to chairucm1@gmail.com.
Acteens, RA’s and GA’s are getting ready to do a mission for Cuba on Saturday, April 22 at the Greening of the Mountains festival at the front of our church. They are selling flower pots that they painted themselves, jewelry they have made, and there will be a large bake sale. All proceeds will go to our sister church in Cuba. Please help us by making bake sale items and bringing them by the church on Friday, April 21. You can leave them in the small kitchen across from the gathering room. Not only is this important for our sister church, but it is important that our children know what missions means to our congregation and that you support our children’s mission programs. For questions, call Gaye Buchanan at 828-506-3270. Thank you!
The mother-daughter team of Melanie and Izzy Joiner shared this photo of snack time in the nursery on Easter Sunday. We thank them for serving in this special ministry to our little ones.
On April 16, Dana Ayers will be in charge of the nursery.
Thank you, Dana, for your help.
There is still room on the schedule to serve “the least of these”
on Sunday mornings. It is a blessing to see their smiles and enthusiasm as you spend
time with our infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Please contact Cheryl Beck (cabeck@ncsu.edu) if you would like to help.