This is the third year for the Pen Pal Project sponsored by the Children's Ministry and WMU. Adult participants should receive their information this week and can begin corresponding with their younger pen pal friend who attends After School and/or our church.
Have fun writing your friend and sharing the gift of friendship in this special way.
On Wednesday nights in March, starting March 8, the CARE Team will be visiting shut-ins in our community. "CARE" stands for Children Caring And Reaching Elderly and is composed of children in our church who enjoy sharing God's love through visiting. Children will meet at the back door of the church at 6:00 p.m., have a visit or two, and return by 7:00 p.m. Parents will need to sign a permission slip each Wednesday night.
NOTE: This coincides with the Enneagram study that Dr. Mathis is leading at the same time. Adults can attend the study while their children are making the visits.
Click HERE to view the spring youth newsletter!
Children in grades 1-5 and their families at Sylva FBC have started a 40-day Lenten journey to be more like Jesus everyday. Families have received a RUN AND TELL! kit with family devotionals, a 40-day scratch off calendar of activities, flower seeds, and stickers. There is even a recipe for Resurrection Rolls which Lucie Moore and her mom made on Sunday afternoon.
If you haven’t received your RUN AND TELL kit yet, let Cheryl Beck know and she will get it to you. Run and Tell!
Lucie and her mom, Beth, had such a great time making these. Such a great way to start and have a meaningful conversation about Jesus and his death and his new life.
If you like to read, enjoy reading to children, and could spare 30 minutes to an hour once a week or every other week or even monthly, please contact Cheryl Beck or Melanie Stokely to let us know of your interest. A new reading with kids program is in the works for After School. Your help is appreciated!
CAKE INGREDIENTS
1 box pound cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan.
TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1 lb. powdered sugar (2 cups)
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 8 oz. cream cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Spread over cake mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and then sift powdered sugar on top.
–Provided by Amy Cook
Gooey Butter Cake
Click here to download a printable version.
Provided by Amy Cook
This past year has been a bit of a struggle spiritually as we have seen the shape of ministry change due to various reasons, including the worldwide pandemic. And it could be easy to lose hope. But prayer is our lifeline. Yet sometimes we don’t know what to pray. Somewhere over the year, I discovered St. Ignatius’ Examen. Putting my own twist on his reflection, I have found it powerfully life-giving to see where God is at work each day, in big and small ways.
In the evenings, I find a quiet moment and become aware of God’s presence in my day, but specifically in this very moment. I mentally begin to trace my day and I look for and see the work of God’s hand. I thank God for those special moments. Even in the middle of my days I begin to recognize moments and encounters as those I will be especially grateful for at the end of my day. I find myself more aware of God in this ever-changing world that would normally be anxiety-giving. Those anxious moments are changing to become God-filled minutes.
As I look back to examine my day in Christ, I also recognize those things that made me sad or those things for which I need to ask forgiveness and for not leaning into Jesus but instead leaning away from His will and way. And then I look forward to walking with Him tomorrow. And I sleep a more restful sleep.
In the mornings, I have taken a version of the Examen prayer to walk through with our daughters. After we read the Bible at the breakfast table, I ask what specifically made them happy or gave them joy yesterday. Then I ask them what made them sad or frustrated. And finally, I ask if there is something that they feel they need to apologize for. We share together and end in praying over the day.
Teaching our hearts to recognize Jesus and trust in him when the world is turbulent is life giving. It increases our trust and opens our eyes to see him where we may have otherwise missed his presence.
Pray...Give...Go.
Each week we include a recipe in the Church Chimes and we hope that you are enjoying reading and trying them. You can add your favorite recipes to the Chimes by sending them to Cheryl Beck at cabeck@ncsu.edu. This is an ongoing WMU project.
Thanks for participating!
Introducing “Head In the Clouds”
—a new feature in our Chimes publication that highlights the ministry and voice of our church leadership.
The First Baptist Church of Sylva has a long-standing tradition of robust congregational singing, which has been maintained, even after the interruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our people make a “joyful noise” from the pews each Sunday. Led by the organ and piano, we burst into songs of various reflections of praise and adoration, commitment and Christian action, and reflective expression of faith. It has been my pleasure to lead you in song for quite some time, soon to be forty years. I am inspired and lifted up by your responses in hymnody, as I see your facial expressions that assure me that you are thinking about the words you are singing.
The lyricists and composers who have left us this library of hymns have given us a rich resource of praise and worship. You likely have noticed that when I offer prayer, I often recite verses of hymns, in order to say in poetic rhyme, the thoughts which I often want to express. There are so many messages and themes of worship which are present in the words of the hymns. Each week, we have Scriptures which are read, and Pastor Jeff preaches from the Scripture presented just before the sermon. As I am planning music for the service, I try to match the “theme” of those words in the hymns which I select, in order to maintain a direction of thought for the worship experience.
As a musician and singer, I realize that one can become involved in the aspects of singing and melody, and neglect thinking about the thoughts presented by the lyrics of the hymns. We should endeavor to absorb the message of the words while we make our “joyful noise.” I hope that everyone is comfortable with participation in hymn singing at whatever level one can achieve. (Nobody is keeping score on beautiful tone or eloquent diction.) When I face you, leading to the best of my ability, and with sincerity of purpose, I truly am blessed by your contribution to this aspect of our worship.
From time to time, people in our congregation have requested hymns which they would like to sing during worship. I invite your requests, and would appreciate your writing them on something and handing them to me (rather than telling me--because I may forget). I will certainly make the effort to include them when they are appropriate to the theme for worship. Thank you for your interest in the music ministry, and for supporting me these many years.
Bob Holquist
Minister of Music