Calendar
Today! Donuts in the Rose Garden
Sunday August 29, 10 a.m. | Perry Street
Glazed or Jelly? Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ Donuts? Whatever your preference may be, please join us between services on August 29 for donuts, fellowship, music, and a chance to get to know our staff and learn how you can serve at Blacknall this fall. Many thanks to our Deacons for hosting this event. Questions? Contact Maggie Holland.
5th Monday Prayer
Monday August 30, 7:30-8:30 p.m. | Sanctuary
All are invited to join our elders and deacons in praying for the Lord’s help and mercy for our congregation and our world. Please note, face coverings are required in the building. Ordained officers meet to pray whenever a month has a 5th Monday. All are welcome.
Cancer Support Group
Sunday, Sept. 5, 10-10:45 a.m. | Zoom | More Details
Fall Kickoff
Sunday September 12, 10 a.m.
Child, Youth and Adult Sunday school classes begin (in person at Blacknall) on September 12. Middle and High School Youth Groups resume at 5 p.m. Youth Contacts: Brad Turnage (High School), Tanya Kronstad (Middle School). Details will be posted on blacknall.org as they become available.
11:15 a.m. service will move to 11 a.m.
Sunday September 12
With the return of the Sunday School hour between services, the 11:15 service will shift back to 11 a.m. The early service will remain at 8:30, with the livestream option.
Announcements
Blacknall is Hiring!
The Communications Coordinator search committee (chair, Lucy Cate) is now accepting applications. The committee’s hope is to find a person who will communicate the work of our church effectively, build relationships with members and engage with new audiences. Please view the posting for the full job description and details on how to apply.
The part-time Choir Director search is also open, and the application deadline has been extended until September 15.
Dance Worship | Sign up (Children 1st-5th Grade)
Worship at Blacknall happens in many ways. For the past 10 years, many elementary age girls have worked at participating in and sometimes leading worship at our church. When everything shut down in March 2020, these girls continued practicing their gift via Zoom. In the fall of 2020, they moved their practice to the backyard of Sara Stults’ house and continued practicing into the spring of 2021. Several of their worship dances were shared via Zoom with the church on Sundays; we now ask you to worship along with their last “Stults Studio Backyard Worship Dance” of Oceans. Registration for the Blacknall Dance program for the fall of 2021 is now open. We are moving back to the community room, which means limited enrollment and masks for everyone. Practice will be Sundays, 5-6 p.m. beginning September 12.
Nursery Volunteers | Sign up
We are inviting fully vaccinated adults and teens in our congregation to partner with the Nursery Ministry in providing childcare during our Sunday 8:30 a.m. worship service.
Responding to the Afghanistan Crisis
Our hearts are heavy as we continue to hear the news coming from Afghanistan. Let us continue to pray for this nation and the people there. If you are looking for ways to respond and to support the people there, here are several options:
Give financially to Concilium, recommended to us by global workers working in Afghanistan. This helps expat Gospel workers and local Afghan Christians get to safety.
Give to Team Expansion, working to provide for the essential needs of displaced Afghans.
Contact Blacknall’s Andrea Tshihamba, our liaison with World Relief Durham if you’re interested in being a part of a Blacknall team that helps welcome Afghan refugees.
Please contact David Dunderdale if you have questions or thoughts on how we might respond.
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:
Reality Ministries Volunteer Gathering— Tuesday, August 31, 7 p.m. at the Reality Center, 916 Lamond Ave. Reality has a wide variety of volunteer opportunities, including gardening, beekeeping, karaoke dance, art, music, cooking, Bible study and much more. Contact Reality’s Volunteer Coordinator Tammy Rodman or simply show up on August 31. Reality will follow CDC guidelines for in-person meetings, virtual option also available (email Tammy for link.)
Families Moving Forward— FMF is looking for volunteers to step up and help restart their in-person programming. Visit FMF’s volunteer page or contact Volunteer Coordinator Associate Imani Vincent for more information.
International Students Inc.— We hope you heard today’s Focus on Missions! There are many ways to participate: 1) Be a Supper Club host for the Fall 2021 semester, 2) Join the IstudentsDuke prayer ministry, 3) 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).
Congo Initative— Visit CI’s News and Updates page, and contact Kim Dunderdale to be part of the Congo Leadership Team.
Prayer
Ministry Partners
Campus & National— We pray for Young Life of Durham and Chapel Hill, working with Middle School, High School and university students in our area. Please pray for:
New students at UNC Chapel Hill and at Duke to get involved as leaders
New clubs to form again at Northern HS, Southern HS, Voyager Academy, School of Science and Math, and Stanback MS
Clubs to be formed for the first time at Hillside HS, DSA, and Pollard MS
Leaders to make good connections with students and find creative ways to get together in this season of COVID.
International—We pray for Blacknall supported missionaries John and Karen Friesen, affiliated with the Mennonite Central Committee and involved with Community Development in Egypt. Karen writes, “We are grateful for the work here and it has been going well. We continue to support our various Partners with financial grants for projects such as women’s literacy, education for youth, health and peace building … many of our partners are tackling the problems of Gender Based Violence and FGM [female genital mutilation].” Specific pray requests: (1) praises for the privilege of working alongside church partners in Egypt, as they minister to vulnerable Egyptians and refugees from Africa and the Middle East; (2) the Partner Summit, planned for November, to be a time for all their partners to come together for sharing; (3) adjustment and encouragement for Hannah, a new missionary who will work with a refugee program; (4) guidance in evaluating and choosing the project proposals presented by their partners.
Durham—We pray for Samaritan Health Center (SHC) and for our own Elizabeth Brill, the Executive Director. She writes: “At Samaritan Health Center, we are deeply grateful for God's continued protection of our team's health, for COVID vaccines we are giving in clinic, and that 2/3 of our patients are vaccinated! We're also grateful that several staff members got some much needed time off this summer.
Looking to the fall, we have a lot of transition ahead. Several staff members are leaving by the end of September, which is a big change for a small and long standing staff! Please pray stamina and health for our existing team, God to bring us gifted community members to fill the needs, and His careful molding of our work. Some of our patients continue to struggle with loneliness and addiction. We pray God's deliverance, and we thank Him for partner organizations addressing these needs beyond SHC's doors. We pray He will bring more patients we can serve and listen to well, in His name.
We also pray for relationships with new communities in Durham: churches, volunteers, patients, partners. There are so many community members for us to learn from and we need God's wisdom and grace.
Finally, God's financial provision (including through Blacknall!) has been overwhelming this year. Please pray He will make us humble stewards of these gifts and anoint them to honor Him.
Griefs
We pray for Sue Duncan and her family on the death of Greg Duncan on August 22. Sue’s address is in CCB.
We pray for the family of Jack Adams who died on August 13
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
Joys
We give thanks for the joy of being able to be together in worship, in fellowship, and in service.
We give thanks for the friends we have been given. Let us express that thanksgiving to one another.
Concerns
We pray for Stephen Crupi returning to Uganda on Tuesday to teach South Sudanese church leaders.
We pray for our children who are first year students in university and for their parents.
We pray for April Perry and Shelia Rittgers as they care for their friends from Haiti, Romel and Fregga’s, daughters, Gaelle (7) and Hadassa (3) for the next several months.
World
We pray for children and teachers who are starting back in school and that their education would not be negatively impacted by the coronavirus.
We pray for the nation of Afghanistan and particularly for the most vulnerable and for Christian brothers and sisters who are there.
We pray for Makail, the brother of two men whose families Blacknall helped to settle as refugees here in Durham. He returned to Afghanistan last month to help bring his wife and six children to Durham and is now stuck there, hoping to get out.
Life Together
We pray for the search committee for a new Communications Coordinator (Lucy Cate, Chair).
We pray for the search committee for our Interim Pastor (Stephanie Wheatley, Chair).
We pray for Leslie Petree and Beth Solie, as they equip parents and our congregation to love and disciple our children.
We pray for people who have just started to attend Blacknall. We pray that they would be welcomed well and that they would find many opportunities to connect with others in the congregation through small groups, fellowship opportunities, and involvement in service and mission.
Love and Serve
Take a meal to Josh and Lori Riggs and pray for Lori as she’s experiencing health issues.
Volunteer at the Iglesia Emanuel Food Pantry. Not comfortable gathering? Sign up to bag rice and beans from home. There’s a significant need as the teenagers that were a mainstay of their summer operations are returning to school.
Volunteer at the Walltown Neighborhood Ministries Food Bank