ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sanctuary Worship
Livestream begins Sunday, April 11 at 8:30 am with a small volunteer audience.
In-person worship begins Sunday, April 18, at 8:30 & 11:15 am. The 8:30 am service will be livestreamed and recorded. An abbreviated worship from home liturgy will also be provided. Read more here: Sanctuary FAQ, Sanctuary Plan.
47TH DURHAM CROP HUNGER WALK | Register or donate
The week-long virtual event will kick off Saturday, April 10 and end on Sunday, April 18. If you would like to walk with other Blacknallites, please join a walk here (or add your own to the list)! Many of you knew and loved Deanna Koenig who was involved in CROP and CWS fundraising for 20 years. Her personal walk ended March 1, 2021, but you can continue to donate and walk in her honor. “Walking for Deanna” buttons are available at the church office or through David Dunderdale.
“WHAT TO EXPECT: PARENTING TEENS DURING UNCERTAIN TIMES"
Sunday, April 11, 6:30 pm | Webinar link on CCB
It's no secret that the mental health of teenagers has declined over the past year. Thankfully there is hope that gathering together will again be the norm; however, there will be mixed feelings as we all adjust to new and unexpected ways of being over the course of the next year. Join us to learn about how loss and change can affect middle and high schoolers, the confusing ways kids show their grief and anxiety, and how parents can be part of the healing process to help kids move forward in the midst of uncertainty. Led by Emily Cox, Blacknall member and a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and faculty member at UNC-Chapel Hill.
THE GREAT DIVORCE BOOK GROUP
Wednesdays, April 14-May 12, 7:30 pm over Zoom | Sign up here
A book group on “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis, led by Allan Poole.
Prayer
Ministry Partners:
Campus—We pray for Jennifer Hagin working with InterVarsity as the Regional Director for the Virginia Highlands region. Pray for Jennifer as she begins her sabbatical on April 1. Her goals for her sabbatical include:
Cultivating awe and contemplating the desert as she spends 4 weeks hiking and biking through national parks in Arizona and Utah.
Reflecting on her 40 years and practicing gratitude.
Imagining how to keep these practices a part of normal life.
Pray for:
Safe travels in all of her adventures
The Lord’s guidance in her reflection time, that she might be sensitive to what he highlights
Establishing needed disciplines and patterns for the next season of ministry.
International—This Sunday’s focus is on our missionaries Sean and Carmen Garrigan who are serving at Missionary Air Group (MAG) Headquarters in Burlington, NC. Sean prepares missionary pilots for field deployment. Carmen ministers to apprentice families during their time in Burlington and works to mobilize the local church to fulfill the great commission. Sean is an Instrument Rated Commercial Pilot, a Certified Flight Instructor and is licensed as an Airframe & Powerplant mechanic. Carmen is an ordained Presbyterian Pastor. They are members at Blacknall, where they co-chair the International Mission Team committee. Prayer requests: (1) God’s guidance and provision, as they coordinate hurricane relief in eastern Honduras; (2) guidance in making wise plans for 2021/22; (3) God’s provision, as they reestablish their mission aviation work in Honduras; (4) no unexpected maintenance issues for their airplanes and good weather for flying; (5) God’s mighty work through a medical brigade they will host at their remote hospital in Honduras.
Durham—We pray for our sisters and brothers at Mt. Level Missionary Baptist Church and for their pastor, Dr. William Turner. We pray for:
Wisdom as they navigate this season of COVID and a strong sense of connectedness until they are able to worship in person again.
The Mt. Level Community Partnership for Racial Justice that it would be led by the Holy Spirit and would be used by God in our city to bring racial justice and healing. Pray that the Easter Vigil this Saturday would glorify God and honor Christ.
The Vision 150 Capital Campaign as they seek to build the William C. Turner, Jr. Community Family Life Center to serve four purposes: Community Outreach, Strengthening Families, Education & Development, and Health and Wellness.
Grief:
We pray for Faye McLamb on the death of her husband and longtime Blacknallite, George McLamb on March 7
We pray for Doug & Cheryl Koenig and their family on the death of their daughter, Deanna on March 1.
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
Joys
We celebrate with Emily, Jason, and Simon Logan on the 2nd birthday of daughter and sister, Claire on March 19th.
We celebrate the birth of Joanna Austell Bradshaw to Maria and Zach Bradshaw on March 10.
We celebrate the birth of Halle Claire, the great granddaughter of Carolyn and Roy Beamer this week.
We celebrate the distribution of the COVID vaccine and the hope that we will be able to begin coming back together in worship soon.
Concerns
We pray for Bill Beckman who had back surgery on Friday.
We pray for Scott Crane recovering from a gall bladder infection.
We pray for Caroline Raby with severe back and neck pain.
We pray for those couples in our congregation who are hoping to adopt.
We pray for Lori Riggs as she struggles with headaches, sinus problems, fatigue and ongoing symptoms from the coronavirus.
World
We pray for a speedy and just distribution of the coronavirus vaccines locally and around the world.
We pray for our schools as students are back in class. We pray for teachers and pray that the bonds between teachers and students would quickly be deepened and students might recover academically.
We pray for the families of the ten people who were murdered in Boulder, CO this past week.
We pray against actions and words of violence and hatred being done to Asian Americans. We pray that there would be a growing recognition and reckoning of the racism that Asians face in our country. We pray that we would listen well to our brothers and sisters.
Life Together
We pray for good weather Holy Saturday and Easter morning so that we might be able to worship together outside at Mt. Level on Saturday and at Blacknall’s parking lot on Sunday.
We pray for wisdom and the necessary volunteers who will be able to help out so that we might begin having worship inside the sanctuary on April 18. We pray for all of the ways that we will be worshiping “together” so that we will feel connected to one another and to the Lord.
We give thanks for the announcement that Becky Gould will be Blacknall’s new Director of Congregational Care beginning on July 1. We give thanks for the hard work of the members of the search committee.
We give thanks for our pastors, Allan, Goodie, and David. We pray for wisdom, energy, imagination and love to sustain them in their work among us.