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.
Dawnings Continues Wednesday, November 1
The second of our of four congregational meetings will be Wednesday, November 1 beginning at 6:00 PM in the Mission and Fellowship Center. A blessing for our potluck meal together will be at 5:30 PM.
Childcare will be provided for children up through the fifth grade in our nursery. Youth are encouraged to be a part of our congregational meeting in the MFC alongside adults.
Dawnings is a narrative-based approach for personal and congregational visioning and discernment. Our four congregational meetings this fall will help us determine together who God is calling us to be and what God is calling us to do. Our entire church's participation in this process is critical to our determining what our future will look like.
"This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can’t get up;
they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
“Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?" Isaiah 43:16-19
Brian Foreman, the Coordinator of Congregational Ministries for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, comments that "These last two lines of scripture are both encouragement and command. The former encourages us to remember that God is still in control. The latter reminds us of our responsibility to notice and join God in doing something brand new."
"Dawnings is a congregational resource that helps you accomplish both of these things. By leaning into a spiritual discernment process through listening and responding to stories, your congregation will open itself to its place in God's sacred story for the community."
"Congregational postures of prayer and curiosity cultivate a sense of calling, not just for the congregation, before individuals as well. What better way to "be alert, be present," and to be a part of the "something brand new" God is doing!"
An Afternoon on the Farm – Sunday, October 29
The next Family Fun Event will be held at Cheryl Beck's family farm in Graham County, near Stecoah, on Sunday afternoon, October 29. Families with children and teens are invited to visit the farm, enjoy a cookout, see the cattle, ride horses, and maybe have a hayride! We will carpool from the church right after worship service. Please let Cheryl know if your family will be participating.
The Hospitality Table After Worship Is Back!
Sign up here to provide goodies and beverages on Sunday mornings after worship.
When we are hospitable, our congregation can become a church on the sidewalk after worship while munching on a cookie or sipping fruit punch. Click here and find a Sunday to host our Hospitality Table!
Mission Friends – October 18
A new group of preschoolers will begin Mission Friends on Wednesday, October 18 at 3:30 p.m., in the preschool room of the Nursery. This group is made up of after school kindergarten students and FBC children.
Head in the Clouds
My head really is in the clouds this week!! The outpouring of love and support I’ve experienced from current Sanctuary Choir members, and former singers is most heartwarming. During the thirty-two years I served as choral director and voice teacher at WCU, there were many students who were faithful members of our church choir. They were solid voices and trained in music, and certainly, significant contributors to the offerings of our music ministry. Typically, there were four to seven singers from WCU each year. Our choir members made them feel welcome, as did the congregation. Several served in leadership roles as children’s or youth choir directors, and also as pianist. It won’t surprise you to know that these former students are still active in their churches--some are choir directors, several are pastors, and many others are the people who continue to serve as singers and musicians. First Baptist of Sylva, you were their church home during their university years, and for that, I am most grateful.
Music ensembles, like athletic teams and other groups which work together toward a common goal, form a special bond. Leaders and members must all work together if success is to be realized. A great leader without talented and committed members, can do nothing. A group of highly talented members needs leadership to provide direction toward the goal. Because of this dependency on one another, a close relationship develops. Joy and satisfaction is manifest in a job well done, and team members take pride in the results that are achieved. And. . .we want to do it again, and again, and again. . .
That is why some sixty-five singers (plus our eighteen current choir members) have decided to come together this Saturday and Sunday, for a few precious hours of fellowship and making music. I can’t wait to have my eyes make contact with their eyes as I conduct them. Once again, God has richly blessed me.
Bob Holquist
Send Us Your Prayer List Updates
Add this email address to your contacts list on your devices so that our staff and Pastoral Care Team can learn of your prayer requests as quickly as possible. And yes, you may still contact the church office directly at 828-586-2095 to share your prayer concerns, as well.
Adult Book Study Continues TONIGHT, October 11
Join us TONIGHT, October 11 at 6:00 PM as we continue our discussion of Phyllis Tickle's book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing & Why.
"Rooted in the observation that massive transitions in the church happen about every 500 years, Phyllis Tickle shows readers that we live in such a time right now. She compares the Great Emergence to other "Greats" in the history of Christianity, including the Great Transformation (when God walked among us), the time of Gregory the Great, the Great Schism, and the Great Reformation.
Combining history, a look at the causes of social upheaval, and current events, The Great Emergence shows readers what the Great Emergence in church and culture is, how it came to be, and where it is going. Anyone who is interested in the future of the church in America, no matter what their personal affiliation, will find this book a fascinating exploration."
If you are a student of history and have a heart for the future of our church, obtain a copy of this thoughtful and faithful book and dive in! You can order it on Amazon here.
Wednesday, October 11 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the Gathering Place Room
-Please come to our discussion having read Part 2.
Wednesday, November 15 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the Gathering Place Room
-Please come to our discussion having completed the book (through Part 3).
Giving the Jesus Way
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!
WNCBF Fall Gathering
Sunday, November 12
Canton First Baptist Church
5:00 p.m. Meal | 6:00 p.m. Worship
We will have our annual Fall Gathering on November 12 at Canton First Baptist Church. Following a fellowship meal, we will worship together as we remember the influence of saints around us and those who have gone on before us. Reverend Doctor Guy Sayles will be our proclaimer, and congregants will have an opportunity to light a candle prior to the worship service in memory of friends and loved ones. Child care will be provided.
Cost is $20 per person (12 and under eat free.) The meal is provided by WNC Baptist Campus Ministries (grilled chicken or pork chop, salad bar, potato bar, bread, and dessert.)
Click here to register now! Or register and pay in person. To register by phone and pay in person, please call 828-667-4541 (M – Th, 9 am – 3 pm).
We will be taking an offering that evening in memory of Rev. Dr. Tommy Bratton, to be given to CareNet Counseling in Marion, NC. If you would like to donate online now to that offering, click here.