Calendar
Sunday, Oct. 31
Sunday Evening Worship | 6-6:45 p.m.
Please join us for outdoor worship at our Iredell St. lot (714 Iredell St.). This is an opportunity for all ages to see familiar (or new!) faces, witness to our neighbors and celebrate the Lord’s table.
Sunday, Nov. 7
Daylight Savings Time ends!
Set your clock back the night before.
Cancer Support Group | 10-10:45 a.m. | Zoom (Link on CCB)
Gather for prayer, education and sharing our lives. This is for all cancer survivors, caregivers, and loved ones. Contact Karen Allen with questions or to join the email list.
Sunday Evening Worship | 5-5:45 pm
Note: the final Sunday evening outdoor service will be held at 5 p.m.
Friday-Saturday Nov. 12-13
Women’s Retreat | Durham and Stem, NC
The retreat committee is excited to host a local, in-person retreat this year! Our theme is Encounters with Jesus, based on passages found in the Gospel of John. Read all about it and register here.
Sunday, Nov. 14
Prayer for Mission Partners (4 p.m.) and Congo (6:30 p.m.) | Zoom (link on CCB)
Announcements
Personnel Update
Ali Shoenfelt has faithfully served and supported us for the past 6.5 years as Administrative Associate. She is integral to so many parts of our life together, holding important details and thoughtfully keeping us centered. We are sad to announce that she will be leaving her role on staff at Blacknall at the end of December. During her time with us, her creative gifts, passion for missions and natural talent at relationship building have blessed our ministry partners, members and staff. We are thankful that the Shoenfelt family will continue to be active members in our life together at Blacknall. We give thanks for Ali and wish her and John the best as they consider what God is calling Ali to next professionally. Please take a moment in the next couple of months to send Ali an email or a note to thank her for her incredible work.
An update from the Interim Pastor Transition Team
Once Blacknall’s Interim Pastor is appointed, the next step is a Mission Study involving the whole congregation. The graphic below describes the function of this study. Visit this page for more information on the pastoral transition process.
Community Announcements
Most Reluctant Convert film screening
The fellowship for Performing Arts is a Christian theater company whose performances are beautiful and thought provoking. Their stage play about C.S. Lewis is now coming to film on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Carolina Theater. If you're affiliated with Duke, you can request a free ticket here, thanks to the Center for Christianity and Scholarship! Otherwise, find tickets online here.
Love and Serve
Samaritan Health Center
Blacknall local partner Samaritan Health Center is looking for project help the week of November 15 (mailing to supporters) and the weekend of December 3 (assembling and delivering volunteer gift bags). These are family-friendly ways to bless SHC and the community at year end. Service can be onsite at the clinic, or done from home. Contact communications director Meredith Martindale to learn more.
StepUp Durham
Volunteer with StepUp Durham. Particular needs right now are for volunteers to serve as Resume Builders and Mock Interviewers at job readiness workshops, and to walk with participants as Co-Partners in Step2’s 8-week training modules. All opportunities are virtual through the end of 2021. To learn more, email StepUp’s Volunteer Coordinator, or contact Nancy Grigg.
Iglesia Emanuel Food Pantry
Volunteer at the Iglesia Emanuel Food Pantry. Not comfortable gathering? Sign up to bag rice and beans from home.
Walltown Neighborhood Ministries Food Bank
Volunteer at the Walltown Neighborhood Ministries Food Bank.
Deep Common Journeys
What’s a Deep Common Journey? One of Blacknall’s commitments in mission is that we would intentionally enter into “Partnership with an organization in mission toward learning to be disciples of Jesus Christ.” We call these partnership relationships “Deep Common Journeys.” While Blacknall supports approximately 60 different international, Durham, and campus mission partners, we have focused on four Deep Common Journey partners—Reality Ministries (Durham), Families Moving Forward (Durham), International Students, Inc. (Campus), and Congo Initiative (International).
How can I enter our Deep Common Journey? There are many ways to get involved:
Congo Initative— Join the monthly prayer time for our Congolese brothers and sisters (second Sundays at 6:30 p.m. over Zoom), be a pen pal to a university student at UCBC, serve on the Congo Leadership Team. To learn more about these and other opportunities, fill out the CI Volunteer Interest Form or contact Kim Dunderdale. Sign up to receive news and updates from CI.
Reality Ministries — Reality has a wide variety of volunteer opportunities including gardening, beekeeping, karaoke dance, art, music, cooking, Bible study and much more. Join a daytime or evening group at the Reality Center, have fun and make some new friends! Check out Reality’s Volunteer page or contact volunteer coordinator Tammy Rodman.
Families Moving Forward— Be a Study Buddy, join the Hospitality Team, donate to Barrels of Joy, be a Room Refresher, or dine with Chefs for Change. Visit FMF’s volunteer page or contact Mark and Anne Paulson to learn more.
International Students Inc.— Join the IstudentsDuke prayer ministry and engage in regular conversation with an international student (in person or virtual). To learn more, fill out the volunteer interest form, visit ISI’s Volunteers page, or contact Dan Kronstad (630.903.1300).
Prayer
Ministry Partners
Durham—We pray for the The WAY (Walltown Aspiring Youth) and their staff, Dan Keegan and Jennifer Jones. Pray as they work with youth and their families in the Walltown area. Pray as they provide academic support, life skill training, and teach them about the good news of the gospel of Jesus. Pray for Dan and Jennifer in their relationships with the young people and also in their relationships with teachers and parents.
Campus & National—We pray for Jennifer Hagin working as Regional Director for InterVarsity in SW Virginia. Jennifer just returned from a six-month sabbatical and shares the following praises and prayer requests:
• Praise God for the gift of sabbatical and the rest and growth he provided.
• Pray she thoughtfully returns to normal life with these lessons learned. Given the time of year of her return and how she distributed responsibilities in her absence, she has the blessing of a reset.
• Pray with her that she wisely hear what is hers to pick up again and what is not as well as what new things she may need to explore to set up the area well for the future in staffing and finances.
• Pray for her surgery on Nov. 30 to deal with limited finger function on her left hand
International—We pray for Blacknall global workers, David & Erin Pervis, who are now relocated in Athens to reach out to the many Muslim refugees who have settled into Greece. An outreach film, used with a mix of adults and teenagers, has generated many probing questions: “why does God allow people who do evil to continue to live and have power?”; “where does evil come from?”; “why did God give us responsibility for creation?”; “since the Bible was written so long ago, how is it relevant to us today?”; “if we have God’s image in us, why do we sin?; “why did God let Abraham wait until he was 100 years old for his promised son to come?”; “what would have happened if Abraham had actually sacrificed Isaac?”; “why did God introduce Himself as ‘I am’ in the present and not the past nor the future?”; “why did God choose a coward like Moses to be His prophet?” Prayer requests: (1) Erin’s volunteer work with a ministry in downtown Athens for prostitutes; (2) the opening up of effective doors for the gospel, as a small group, including the Pervises, pray and visit people in the Glyfada neighborhood; (3) love and joy to minister to Greeks and refugees; (4) Their son Josiah’s recent marriage and daughter Clara’s medical studies.
Griefs
We pray for Garland & Sally Epps on the death of Garland’s nephew, Terry. Terry is also Ron Epps and Sabrina Clawson’s cousin.
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
Joys
We rejoice with Courteney (Paulson) & Francisco Contreras and grandparents Anne & Mark Paulson on the birth of Eva Lucia on Thursday.
We rejoice with Lucy & Evan Cate and grandparents Kim & David Dunderdale on the birth of Frances Elizabeth on Thursday. Bring the Cates a meal.
We give thanks for the report that Wen Reagan’s melanoma surgery was successful in removing all of the cancer from his leg.
Concerns
We pray for Daniel (Stu) & Danielle Stulac. Stu ruptured his Achilles tendon last week and is scheduled for surgery this coming Thursday. They are also closing on a new house on Monday and need to be moved into this house to help with Stu’s recovery. Pray that with the help of the Blacknall community they might be able to move into their home before Thursday. Pray for healing for Stu. Please consider supporting the Stulacs by bringing a meal or helping them move (locally).
We pray for Jo Oldham and Margaret Scearce, who are both fighting cancer.
We pray for Catherine Wilkins Hart who fell and broke her foot and finger. Pray for Ray Wilkins as she supports Catherine and Cameron, her son.
World
We pray for the release of the 17 missionaries and their driver in Haiti. We pray for a cessation of the violence and chaos in Haiti.
We pray for Chris Rice who is traveling in Cyprus and Beirut, Lebanon in his work with the Mennonite Central Committee.
We continue to pray for the nation and people of Afghanistan, and particularly for Christian brothers and sisters there. We pray for attempts to rescue those whose lives are in danger.
Life Together
We pray for our continued searches for an Interim Pastor, Choir Director, and the newly updated Communications & Program Coordinator.
We pray for Wen Reagan as he leads us in worship. Pray for a new initiative, endorsed by our elders, to build a recording studio in our building so that Blacknall can be not only consuming worship music but also creating it and other forms of vocal art. Pray for plans for our celebrations of Advent and Christmas.
We thank God for the election of our Congregational Nominating Committee and pray for them as they begin their work of discerning who to nominate to serve us as elders and deacons. Please pray for: Evan Cate and Michael Whisenhunt, co-chairs, Brandon Fain, Bo Harrison, Traci Hoover, Jillian Marcantonio, Susie Meghdadpour, and Tanya Moore.