Announcements
VACCINE INFORMATION | VIEW HERE
An ever-evolving list of the current options for receiving the vaccine for eligible groups. As of 1/14/2020, NC Department of Health HS has approved COVID vaccine administration for both Group 1 (health care workers and long term care staff and residents) AND Group 2 (older adults > 65 years old).
MEN’S BIBLE STUDY | REGISTER HERE
Wednesdays starting Feb. 17, 8-9 pm. A 6 week zoom men's Bible study of Jeremiah using Eugene Peterson's book Run with Horses. Lead by Paul Tshihamba, Mark Paulson and Don Hoover. The format will include a brief reflection on the topic/scripture, small group discussions, and a prayer partner. Homework using the book's study guide and some scripture memory.
Giving Statements
Thank you for your support of Blacknall Presbyterian Church. Stock Donations will be sent out in the mail and will not show up on your giving statements. You may download your 2020 Giving Statement here.
Click Giving Statement from the top right screen
Choose "Family" from the drop down menu under Type
Choose "Last year" from the quick date range drop down menu
Select" Deductible Only" from the drop down menu under Tax Deductible
Click Run Report then Print out your Giving Statement
Questions? Contact Carol Smith, (919) 286-5586.
Prayer
Ministry Partners:
Durham—We pray for our neighbors at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church across Perry St. from us at Blacknall. Let us pray:
· For the congregation as they are in an interim period without a pastor (vicar). We pray for their search for a new vicar.
· For Monnie Riggin, their liturgical Deacon, as she leads in this interim.
· For their ministry to our homeless neighbors, serving them a “bag” breakfast every Mon/Wed/Fri and a “bag” lunch on Saturdays. Pray for our own Kris Barman as she leads a team of volunteers from Blacknall to serve this breakfast each Monday.
International—Please pray for missionaries Rollin and Wendy Grams. “Rollin has a unique teaching ministry from live interaction with students around the world using Skype or Zoom. He prepares lectures and asynchronous resources on line for procedures and education. Wendy works on resource guides for children's education. Pray/Praise: Rollin has been unable to travel to South Africa. South Africa has struggled more with COVID-19 than other African countries and it is closed to Americans. The Ridley team is starting to hold meetings, not in person and will continue “Hearing God Speak” where they left off in February. This summer was a very productive time of writing and developing their Biblical Ethics course. One of the ten areas of research is slavery. Slavery has been in every part of the world since the beginning of written history and still an issue in parts of Africa today.” Specific prayer requests: (1) healing for Dave Doveton, their partner in South Africa who has some health issues; (2) Ridley Institute’s training program in South Africa, unfortunately now limited to those who have an internet connection; (3) preparations for a lower level course this spring on “Finding Jesus in the Old Testament”; (4) the students who will be taking the master’s courses on “Historical Theology and Readings in Missions”; (5) improvement for Rollin’s chronic neck pain related to degenerative discs.
Campus and National—We pray for Cullen Rodgers-Gates who serves as director of development and membership for the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). The mission of the NAE is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelical Christians. In his role, Cullen is primarily focused in two key areas: 1) strengthening and growing NAE's membership base, which currently consists of 250+ institutional members (including 40+ denominations, 130+ churches, 20 schools, and 50+ nonprofit organizations/ministries); and 2) establishing and growing the development program for the organization, which is focused on cultivating authentic and trusting relationships with financial supporters, and finding creative ways to enhance their participation in the NAE's mission. Please pray for:
Creativity and diligence in reaching out to members and donors, and an attentive posture to listen well to their concerns and interests.
God’s help in developing relationships with partners and others in NAE and for discernment and wisdom about how to engage with his colleagues in ways that are helpful and constructive.
For the NAE generally, that it would have clarity about how to best engage society at large that both faithfully represents its members and boldly proclaims the gospel in the best ways. This is particularly crucial during a time when the "evangelical" label has been significantly tarnished by partisan politics.
Grief:
We pray for the friends and family of Barbara Odom, longtime member of our LC’s fellowship who died on January 25.
We pray for John Hamilton whose sister died recently.
We pray for Anne Harbour Tonn whose Mom, Doris, died on January 13.
We pray for Erin Pervis, a Blacknall supported missionary in Greece, whose Mom died in Georgia on January 4th. With COVID restrictions, please pray Erin will be able to return to Athens on Feb. 3.
We pray for Diane Bidgood whose Mom, 92, died on January 9th, in Florida
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
Joys
We give thanks that Wen & Casey Reagan, our new Director of Music and Worship, were able to sell their house in Birmingham so quickly and will be arriving in Durham this week!
We rejoice with Jake & Taylor Pennigar (and grandparents Pam and Tim Pennigar) on the birth of Helen Monroe Pennigar on January 8th.
Concerns
We pray for Deanna Koenig who is in the hospital and for her parents, Doug and Cheryl.
We pray for Paul Immanuel who is having persistent problems with his eye.
We pray for Lori Riggs as she struggles with headaches, sinus problems, fatigue and ongoing symptoms from the coronavirus.
We pray for our young people as they continue to deal with the struggle of remote learning and the grief and loss of not being able to be together with friends and classmates.
We pray for Wen and Casey Reagan that they would be able to find a house for their family here in Durham. We pray for all of the details of their move and for their children, Ezra, Pax, and Lovewell.
World
We thank God for the development of vaccines that promise to help fight this virus. We pray for a speedy and just distribution of these vaccines around the world.
Life Together
We pray for the search committee for the Director of Congregational Care (chair, Melissa Hartemink).
We thank God and pray for our custodial staff at Blacknall, Calvin, Ronnie, and Enrique.
FINANCE COMMITTEE UPDATE
We received offerings of $401,000 in the month of December. Total offerings for the first half of our fiscal year (July 1 to December 31) were $873,000. Both of these numbers are the highest in our history. Our expenses for this period were $786,000, so offerings exceeded expenses by $87,000. These figures are preliminary and may change slightly.
We are thankful for God’s provision and the generosity of our congregation.
There are multiple ways to give to Blacknall:
Cash or check brought to the church office.
Checks mailed to the church office.
Automatic bank drafts as a part of bill pay directed to Blacknall using your local bank.
Gifts of stock. Contact Rick Every (919-489-9733) or Carol Smith (919-286-5586).
Online giving is available from our website (including bank transfer, debit card, and credit card donations). Members can also schedule recurring online gifts when signed on to CCB.
Details on all giving options are available at www.blacknall.org/give.
Questions? Contact Rich Frothingham.
COMMUNITY
CONGO INITIATIVE SEMINAR SERIES: A REFLECTION ON AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY AND THE GLOBAL CHURCH.
Congo Initiative (CI) invites you to reflect and learn together with a host of CI friends whose wealth of experience in strengthening the church in Africa and beyond will inspire and inform your own work in cultivating impactful local and global relationships. Learn more.
VOLUNTEER AT IGLESIA EMANUEL FOOD BANK
Every Wednesday our friends at Iglesia Emanuel serve approximately 400 families. They can’t do this alone. Help is needed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. If you can help with the preparation, distribution, or traffic control, please sign up here.