Calendar
Thursday, Sept. 23
Women’s Bible Study Begins
Thursdays, Sept. 23- Dec. 9, 9:30- 11:15 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall, with off-site and Zoom options at other times.
Please register and let us know if you plan to attend on Thursday mornings or are interested in one of the other options.
The large group session at Blacknall includes fellowship, worship, and teaching with small group time to follow. We will be studying Romans 8 with the study guide If God Is For Us: The Everlasting Truth of Our Great Salvation. There is no fee aside from the cost of the book; please purchase a copy online or at your favorite book store.
Prayer for Afghanistan
Please consider joining John Nicholson and Paula Rinehart for prayer (and fasting, if you can) for Afghanistan as we pray for the church under duress there, for allies who need safe passage out, for the mercy of God in a crisis situation, for Christ to reveal Himself to this stricken people. We’ll pray together on Zoom on Thursdays, Sept. 23, 30, and Oct. 7, 12-12:30 p.m. Zoom link on CCB. Contact: Paula Rinehart.
Coming Up:
Sunday Evening Outdoor Worship
Sundays, 6-6:45 p.m. Oct 3, 10, 24, 31, and Nov. 7 . Please join us on Sunday evenings for an outdoor worship service in our Iredell St. lot (714 Iredell St.)
Fall Festival
Sunday, Oct. 17, 4-7 p.m. at Camp Chestnut Ridge in Efland. Please save the date for our annual fall festival, a time of sweet fellowship and enjoyment of the beauty autumn brings.
Women’s Retreat
November 12-14, 2021 (Location/Format TBA). More details here, with a link to share your preferences for gathering.
Blacknall Opportunities
Welcome a new Afghan Refugee Family
An Afghan family has arrived to Durham and we have the opportunity to welcome them by setting up their apartment. They are a family of five, including three young children. They will have access to the apartment this Saturday, so we are hoping to deliver items this Sunday early evening. They have almost nothing. They will need everything that can be used on a daily basis: kitchen supplies, towels, bedding, furniture. You may choose from the list of items and sign up. Deliver items to Blacknall or for bigger items, you can call to make arrangements. Contact: Andrea Tshihamba (952.334.9411).
Join a Dante’s Divine Comedy Reading Group
Are you curious about Dante’s famous Inferno, or his epic journey from the depths of Hell into the starry Heavens? Want to read or reread a classic of Christian and Western literature, while being guided through each canto of the poem by an experienced Dante teacher? Join us for a bi-weekly reading group on Dante’s Divine Comedy with the Center for Christianity and Scholarship (CCS)! In celebration of the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death, we’ll be joining reading groups around the world, with help from www.100daysofdante.com. Participants will receive a short video introduction to a “canto” (like a short chapter) of the Comedy three times a week, and we’ll meet every other week to discuss what we’ve been reading. The material is geared to be accessible to first-time readers, but friends of all ranges of familiarity with Dante are welcome!
Options:
Two groups are meeting (bi-weekly) from September to April at the CCS house:
Thursdays, 3:30 - 4:30pm (Starting Sept. 23rd), led by Aaron Ebert (contact Aaron to sign up).
Fridays, 4 - 5pm (starting Sept. 24th), led by Brad Boswell (contact Brad to sign up).
A third, convenient option: A Blacknall group will meeting during the Sunday School hour. “Come join us for introductions in the Rose Garden on 9/26. All are welcome!” Contact Brad Boswell for more details.
Join the Men's Ministry Leadership Team
Do you want to help men get connected to one another and grow deeper in their faith? We are seeking to form a men's ministry leadership team to think creatively together about various ways to strengthen and expand our men's ministry as an important part of life at Blacknall. If you are interested in participating in this effort, please contact Cullen Rodgers-Gates (919.641.8198).
Be a storyteller at “The Betty”
The Betty is Blacknall’s storytelling event. It is an effort to create a space for women to bear witness to the amazing/head-scratching/wonderful/ impossible/painful/glorious/joyful work of God in our lives. Save the date for the fall 2021 edition of The Betty- Thursday, October 28, 7-8:30 p.m. outdoors, on Lauren Holahan’s lawn. We invite 3-4 women to step up to the mike and share a reading, recite a poem, do a comedy sketch, or tell a short story about a time they encountered Jesus. Humorous content is encouraged! Serious reflections are too! Maybe you’ve encountered Jesus on a literal mountaintop, or maybe it was in a cramped office, or maybe it was in a grocery store. If Jesus was there, no story is too wild or too mundane. The Betty is a forum for all of us to hear, resonate with, and reflect on these sacred stories in the company of other listeners. It is the promotion of a culture of God-story tellers. We hope you’ll join us. Contact Maria Bradshaw if you’re interested in being at the mike or have questions.
Serve on Sunday Mornings
Serve as an Usher (Aaron Ebert), or join the Stream Team (Wen Reagan), BAT (Blacknall Audio Team) (Leslie Eibest), or Coffee Crew (Tana O’Keefe). Contact the leader (in parentheses) for more information.
Volunteer in the Nursery. Fully vaccinated adults and teens are invited to support families by providing childcare during our 8:30 a.m. worship service and Sunday school hour.| Sign up. Contact: Leslie Petree.
Community Announcements
Reality Ministries Community Worship
Wednesday, Sept. 29, 7-8 p.m. A family-friendly hour of worship led by Reality friends of all abilities. Outdoors in the parking lot at the Reality Center. All are welcome!
Bible Study Fellowship Men’s group
BSF has a men’s group that meets at Blacknall, Monday evenings at 7 p.m. Blacknall men and their school-aged children are invited to participate in this fall’s study of Matthew. Contact Ross Green (864.450.0592) or Kelly Corbet for more information.
Congo Initiative is Hiring!
Our Deep Common Journey Congo Initiative (CI) is hiring a part-time Administrative Coordinator. For more details, visit the job posting.
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.
Volunteer at the Walltown Neighborhood Ministries Food Bank
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 — 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 on our website or contact volunteer coordinator Tammy Rodman to get involved. Our new season of programming is starting right now, so it's a great time to jump in!
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, contact Volunteer Coordinator Associate Imani Vincent , or Blacknall contacts Mark and Anne Paulson to learn more.
International Students Inc.— There are many ways to participate, such as joining the IstudentsDuke prayer ministry and engaging 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 Jacob Thielman, working with InterVarsity doing Graduate and Faculty Ministry at UNC in Chapel Hill. Jacob is a new mission partner with Blacknall since July. He and his wife, Erin, have four children and moved here during the pandemic from Michigan. He is part of Steve Hinkle’s team. Jacob asks us to join him in prayer: 1) Praise God for increasing numbers, for space to meet with the NC Study Center (Madison Perry), for new opportunities. 2) Praise God for our church and the community it has given us. 3) Praise God for his faithfulness in keeping us safe, despite new COVID cases. 4) Please pray for my administrative abilities to exceed their normal capacity. I need the Lord's help to organize the work here. 5) Please pray for Erin and the kids as we work out our fall schedule for schooling, preschool for daughter, Virginia, and other learning and child care. 6) Please pray for our 2021-22 support raising.
International—We pray for Blacknall supported global worker Jennifer West who serves with InterVarsity’s international partner organization, IFES, working in international student ministry in the Netherlands. Pray as her family back in the U.S. has suffered a lot of grief with the sudden death of two of her mom’s brothers in the past year. Please pray for: 1) Opportunities for staff, volunteers, and students to have in-person fellowship after months of isolation; 2) Encouragement for Jenn and wisdom in directing the work of her staff; 3) An effective outreach by volunteers to international students with many opportunities for good conversations and for sharing Christ with them.
Tammy Rodman
Durham—We pray for Reality Ministries and for their Executive Director, Susan McSwain. We are grateful to have new staff member, Tammy Rodman, Volunteer Coordinator, with us in worship this morning. We thank God for Tammy and for her many years of involvement in ministry in Durham, most recently with Durham Cares. Please pray: 1) For the Community Worship service on Wednesday, September 29, at 7 p.m. at the Reality Center. Pray that the community would gather together and celebrate the Lord’s presence and goodness. 2) That the Lord would keep the participants and staff safe during this season of COVID. 3) That Reality would be able to carry through with resuming many of their activities with wisdom for how to do so carefully, and they would have the needed volunteers and resources to carry on this ministry 4) For a new Blacknall Reality Team that is in the process of being formed to help facilitate a deeper and broader connection between Blacknall and Reality. Please let David Dunderdale know if you are interested.
Griefs
We pray for Jim & Linda Demarest (and Molly, Luke, Abby, and Grant) on the death of Jim's mom, Rose Demarest on Thursday.
We pray for Ilene Stitsinger and Abby Stitsinger whose mother/grandmother died on September 12.
We pray for Carmen & Bob Pennington on the death of Carmen’s father Hassel, on September 13.
We pray for Peter Feaver and his family on the death of his mom on August 28.
We pray for Sue Duncan and her family on the death of Greg Duncan on August 22
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
Joys
We rejoice with Don & Karen Turner who celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary last week.
We rejoice as one of Blacknall’s new international mission partners, Michael Olonade, reports that in a recent evangelistic outreach in Nigeria, they saw 3,000 Muslims come to faith in Christ.
Concerns
We pray for John Blake, Executive Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship in Durham, who had surgery to remove a brain tumor on Friday.
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 the nation of Afghanistan and particularly for the most vulnerable and for Christian brothers and sisters who are there.
We pray for Afghan refugees and for the Mangal extended family here in Durham. We pray for Makail and his family still stuck in Afghanistan. We pray for a new family just arrived in Durham and for Andrea Tshihamba as she spearheads efforts by Blacknall to care for this family.
We pray against the spread of COVID and we pray for people to be diligent in taking precautions to prevent its spread. We pray for the health workers who are caring those infected with this virus.
Life Together
We pray for Blacknall’s Women’s Bible Study beginning this Thursday as they study the book of Romans.
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 the Lord would lead us to a person who would be able to serve us as a choir director.
We pray for Brad Turnage and Tanya Kronstad as they pastor our High School and Middle School students. We pray that 6th and 9th grade students would quickly feel connected to the Middle School and High School BYG groups, respectively.
We pray for small groups, both existing and new ones being started up this Fall. Pray that our small groups would be agents of discipleship and fellowship. Pray especially for new groups forming that the members would quickly connect with one another and become places of trust.