Bulletin 11.14.21

Calendar

Sunday, Nov. 14

  • Prayer for Mission Partners (4 p.m.) and Congo (6:30 p.m.) | Zoom (link on CCB)

    From Cape Town to Amsterdam. From Tonga to Kyrgyzstan. From Blacknall to Beni and lots of places in between! We are invited to gather to pray for our Blacknall-supported missionaries. Come participate in what God is doing in our world! Contact: Dave Dunderdale.

Saturday- Sunday, Nov. 20-21

  • Men's Backyard Gatherings (various days/times)

    All men are warmly invited to one of our backyard gatherings, held in various neighborhoods around town. This will be a great opportunity for fellowship, reconnection, and a chance to share your perspective with the men's ministry leadership team as they seek to respond to the needs in our congregation. Please view the list of gatherings and RSVP at your earliest convenience. Contact: Cullen Rodgers-Gates.

Sunday, Nov. 21

  • Special Mission Offering for Afghanistan

    Please read the full announcement below (scroll down to Announcements) about this year’s Mission Offering. You may give online now through Nov. 30, the offering will be collected in worship on Nov. 21.

Sunday, Nov. 28

  • Advent begins!

    View the full calendar of ways we will gather together this Advent season to wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior. Vote now for your favorite Christmas carols- we’ll sing the most requested tunes during our “Community Carol Singalong” on Dec. 12 (5 p.m.).

Announcements

Meet our Interim Pastor, Rev. Mark Hutton!

Last Wednesday Blacknall’s Interim Pastor Transition Team shared with the congregation that we have called Rev. Mark Hutton to be our Interim Senior Pastor. Please view the recording of the meeting where you will hear about the process for the search that led us to him. About 40 minutes into the meeting, Mark joined us on Zoom and shared some of his background and sense of call to interim ministry. Let’s warmly welcome Pastor Mark! He will join our staff in early December.

Mission Offering

In the month of November Blacknall is collecting financial donations for its Annual Mission Offering.  This year our offering is directed to care for the people of Afghanistan who are in our community and who are in Afghanistan. 

The offering will be divided equally between three mission partners.  World Relief Durham, Samaritan Health Center, and International Assistance Mission.  We are expecting 1,000 Afghans to be resettled in North Carolina in the next 4-6 months with as many as 400 coming to the Triangle area through refugee resettlement agencies.  All of these refugees are entering our nation legally but because they are being so rapidly processed they are limited in their access to benefits including medical care, housing assistance as well as other support offered to incoming refugees.  This offering will help World Relief in resettlement efforts as well as helping Samaritan Health Center provide translation services, medication, and health care for these Afghan refugees.

International Assistance Mission continues to work inside Afghanistan.  They support Afghan-led community development, education, and health work.  This offering will not only support Afghan refugees but also the people of Afghanistan who still remain in the country. 

You can give to this offering online through the Blacknall web site and we will be receiving the offering in worship on Sunday, Nov. 21. If giving online, choose “2021 Mission Offering” under Designation. If writing or sending a check, put “Mission Offering” in the memo line.

Community Announcements

  • Families Moving Forward Gala

    Families Moving Forward’s annual fundraising gala will be held virtually this year on December 3 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. Attendance at the Gala is a fun way to learn more about the work of FMF and its impact on families experiencing homelessness in Durham and to financially support this important work. The Gala will include presentations from FMF staff and residents as well as an online auction of local products and experiences. Tickets are $50 and include a special basket of goodies delivered the day of the event for ticket holders. The online auction will also open early for Gala ticket holders, so you will have the first look and opportunity to bid on some incredible packages and experiences – so buy your tickets now!

Love and Serve

Prayer

Ministry Partners

Durham—We pray for Walltown Neighborhood Ministries as they serve the needs of our neighbors in Walltown and beyond. Pray for the Food Bank as distribution of the food happens this Thursday. Pray for provision of food and volunteers to be able to meet these needs. Pray for Sylvia Belcher as she oversees the Food Bank and as she responds to emergency needs of our neighbors.

Campus & National—We pray for InterVarsity’s Asian Christian Fellowship at Duke. Pray for Angela Cho as she leads this ministry. Pray for the development of student leaders and for deepening relationships within the fellowship but also with those who don’t know Christ. Pray for a growing heart for evangelism and for missions as well as wisdom of how to be faithful witnesses to the whole gospel of Jesus Christ on campus.

International—We pray for Blacknall global workers on staff with Cru, Rich and Barb Leary, who have moved from Budapest to Virginia in the U.S. (they are not retired). (The delightful picture, with 10 adults and 10 children, is of the large Leary clan.) Prayer requests: (1) praises for a great trip to Hungary, Ukraine, and Moldova and meetings with Cru leaders in those countries; (2) effective follow up meetings with those leaders via Zoom; (3) wisdom for Rich to put together a curriculum for fund development training for Cru leaders; (4) thanksgiving for their new granddaughter, Lexi, born to Russel and Kelley; (5) Barb’s brother Joe, who has brain cancer and is now in hospice care.

Griefs

  • We pray for Rich & Margaret Frothingham on the death of Rich’s mom, Mary Frothingham, last Sunday.

  • We pray for Gloria & Jack Simonds on the death of her brother-in-law, Bob Russo on November 6.

  • We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.

Joys

  • We rejoice with Ashley & Chad Kersey on the birth of their son, Samuel Glenn on Nov. 6.

  • We celebrate with Don & Karen Turner on the wedding of Evan & Kimberly Turner on Nov. 7.

Concerns

  • We pray for Peter French who is recovering from a motorcycle accident. 

  • We pray for those who are caring for aging parents and for those who are aging as they face difficult decisions together.

  • We pray for Jo Oldham and Margaret Scearce, who are both fighting cancer.

World

  • We continue to 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 our military veterans.  We pray for healing and for hope for those dealing with trauma. 

  • 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 give thanks to God for his guidance and provision of Mark Hutton who will be our new Interim Senior Pastor, beginning on Dec. 5.  We pray for Mark as he concludes his work as Interim Pastor at Central Presbyterian Church in Towson, MD this Sunday.

  • We pray for our women as they are concluding their Women’s Retreat this weekend.  We pray that relationships with the Lord and with each other will have been deepened.

  • We pray for our continued searches for a Communications & Program Coordinator and a Choir Director.

  • We pray for Ali Shoenfelt as she serves us as our Interim Communications Director.  Pray for strength and stamina in this busy season and pray for the Lord’s direction of what is next for her as she concludes over six years of serving with us at Blacknall on December 31.