Watching the Sunday worship services has become much easier to stream for remote viewers who have smart TV devices. Rather than navigating to the First Baptist Church website or to YouTube on a computer, iPad, or phone, you can now download the “Boxcast” app on the following smart TV devices: Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or any smart television having direct Internet connectivity. Using your device, go to the “App” icon and search for “Boxcast.” Once the “Boxcast” app is downloaded, search for First Baptist Church of Sylva. For future viewing of the service, simply click on the “Boxcast” app and click on our church’s service for that particular Sunday. Viewing the worship service on a TV screen instead of a computer device will hopefully provide a more meaningful worship experience for the remote viewer.
Join Us for Worship!
JOIN US FOR WORSHIP ON SUNDAY MORNING AT 10:30 A.M.
IN THE SANCTUARY! ALSO JOIN US FOR
SUNDAY SCHOOL AT 9:30 A.M. FOR ALL AGES!
Our worship service will be streamed online at firstbaptistsylva.com.
Flowers for Sanctuary
If you would like to provide flowers in the sanctuary for Sunday morning services, please contact Gwen Messer at 828-506-8370, or Janice in the church office to be placed on the calendar.
New Church Safety Team
The Deacons of our Church support the idea of establishing a safety team to address any emergencies that we may be faced with in the future. I have been in touch with our local Sheriff’s Department and they are willing to help establish and train a Safety Team for our church. The first step is to see who would be interested in being part of this team. There are many different needs to be filled to establish such a team. Thus many different skill sets will be needed. If you are interested in being part of the very first Safety Team established at Sylva First and are willing to participate in the required training please contact me at jddills1@gmail.com or by phone at 828-506-3815.
Thank you,
John Dills
Hurray for Our Nursery Workers of the Week!
A special “thank you” to Sarah Davis who helped out in the nursery on Sunday until
Cheryl Beck could get there to relieve her. We appreciate your willingness to serve, Sarah.
On July 28, the mother-daughter duo of Beth and Lucie Moore have charge of the nursery.
It will be a fun day!
We are in need of an additional person to be placed in the nursery rotation schedule.
This person would work a couple of Sundays in a six-month period.
If you would like to do this, please contact Cheryl Beck.
Sunday School and Childcare is Available!
Mission Moment 7.24.24
Pilar Castrillo
CEO of Migrant Journey, Florida
This is a mercy’s history.
What I have I give you.
Peter gave healing.
What could I give as a migrant, with a small organization, to help other migrants? That was the question after Hurricane Ian devastated parts of Florida. It affected migrants like me who, with their deft hands and light feet, get food produced on the ground to the supermarket shelves.
A week after Ian, we made it through flooded carts. The first contact, a mother with her son. My skin still prickles and my heart bleeds as I relive her low-volume words asking for water. It was the first day she was able to leave her house. She was incommunicado, with no access roads. Her pleading face, her low voice and trembling hands asking for water, where she could find it for her family. The hurricane had devastated her mobile home.
She asked for water and I had none. She asked for help in mute language with sad eyes, and what I had I gave her: hope that I would return in two days to help her and others with resources and to remedy their need. There were thousands in the same conditions; there was no work as the hurricane took away the crops; no money; no hope of help.
I am a migrant like her; this is not her final place of life just as it is neither mine nor yours. We are all migrants in this land increasingly hit by greed and destruction that cause chaos in the natural forces. Peter gave what he had. And we, a team of volunteers united by a passion for service, provided what we had as immediate help for basic needs. We are giving help that represents dignity, mercy and whatever we have for that neighbor who is helpless and in need.
As I write this near the city of Arcadia, Fla., the wagons are again full of supplies to assist. We will again give what we have, which is neither gold nor silver. We have love and hope.
And you? What do you have to give to others?
Family Mission Ideas for the Rest of the Summer
Along with vacations, pool time, visits to relatives, and lots of “down time,” consider adding some ways to reach out to others and share Christ’s love in meaningful ways. Try one or more of these Family Missions Ideas:
Gather some of the items listed in the Church Chimes that are needed at United Christian Ministries and deliver them to UCM.
Support the local animal shelter. Visit and find out what they need, then gather supplies to assist them.
Pray as a family for the missionaries featured each week in the Church Chimes.
Look at the Prayer List each week and make cards to send to people on the list.
Honor first responders by making cards and taking some snacks to the fire or police station. Pray for first responders.
Have a yard sale for missions. Decide where the money will go. Invite other families to sort through old toys, clothes, and household items to sell.
Think of a family needing help right now. Pack a box with groceries from your pantry. Write a note to let them know they are on God’s mind. Shhhh.....don’t sign your name. Secretly deliver the groceries.
Leave a package of peanut butter crackers, bag of cookies, or other prepackaged food item with a thank you note for your mail carrier. Include Psalm 139:14.
Go for a walk or bike ride with your family. Pray for families as you pass each home.
Pick up trash or help clean an area in your community.
LIVE A MISSIONAL LIFESTYLE AS A FAMILY!
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Was Fun!
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was great! Seventeen people attended from Sylva FBC. Thanks to Andrew Beck for driving the van.
1st Explorers After School Ministry Right Around the Corner
With school just a few short weeks away, the 1st Explorers Ministry is gearing up to serve children during after school hours. This important outreach of the church can benefit from your involvement. How?
Pray for the staff, the children, and their families.
Provide healthy snacks throughout the year for those hungry children.
Volunteer to lead an activity—something that you would like to share. Are you good at making things, do you like to bake, have you traveled to interesting places, are you good at playing games? Think about ways to connect your skills with the children.
Be a part of our "Backdoor Brigade." Folks are needed from 2:50 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. to greet the children when they arrive, to greet parents when they pick up the children, and to say "Bye" when it is time for the children to go home. These people put a face to Sylva First Baptist Church.
We try to keep tuition costs at a reasonable price but sometimes families struggle to make their payments. There are supplies that need to be replenished throughout the year. Sometimes special needs arise. If you would like to know how you can help in contributing monetarily, contact Marina Graham-Hunley for more information.
Thank you, First Baptist, for being a beacon of light to these children and their families!
