Brief notes of thanks from Paula Rinehart and Lowrie Beacham
Parade Drive By to Celebrate Dave Stuntz
Sunday, Dec. 27, 2-4 p.m. | Blacknall Perry St. Entrance
Dave Stuntz, Blacknall’s Director of Music Ministries for 23 years, retires at the end of December. Share your gratitude by waving, honking, and dropping off cards as you drive by. Celebratory signs and cards encouraged.
Directions
Please line up on Iredell Street and turn right on Perry Street. Please stay in your car; someone will be there to collect cards.
Read brief notes of thanks from Paula Rinehart & Lowrie Beacham here.
Blacknall Nativity
Spot the nativity in the Blacknall windows on Perry Street! Thank you to Rick Copland, Roger Eibest, Bob Leslie, Mike Eyster, Ali Shoenfelt (creative planning & wreaths), Beth Solie's idea to put them in the windows, and Leslie Cenezy for staying late to capture a photo.
Christmas Eve Eve Outdoor Services | Dec. 23
Worship on the Longest Night
This service has passed but you can watch a recording here.
A contemplative service over Zoom that provides space to remember that Jesus comes for those of us who are suffering, lonely, or grieving.
Advent Devotional Sign Up
Jesus is coming – so let’s sing! This year, our daily Advent devotionals will be centered around carols. Each day will include a reflection by Dave Stuntz and a carol recorded by fellow Blacknallites.
Carols & Bring Your Own Cocoa
This event has passed but you can view the recorded service here.
Join us for a live stream evening of caroling!
Prayer for Missions Partners
Saturday, Dec. 12, 4 p.m.
Pray for our missionaries and for Congo together. Please spread the word and we hope to see you on Zoom on Saturday.
(Please note: because of Carols and Cocoa, we will not be meeting this Sunday like we normally do at 4 and 6:30 p.m. )
Advent at Blacknall
Lessons & Carols
Sunday, Dec. 6
Worship from home with familiar carols and recordings by Blacknall choir and scripture readings.
Carols & Bring your Own Cocoa
Sunday, Dec. 13, 6:30 p.m.
A livestream Christmas songfest.
Worship on the Longest Night
Sunday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m.
A contemplative service over Zoom that provides space to remember that Jesus comes for those of us who are suffering, lonely, or grieving.
Christmas Eve
Thursday, Dec. 24
Worship from home or in small outdoor gatherings. Stay tuned for more details!
Advent Wreath Kits | Sign up
Blacknall is providing Advent wreath kits this year as our gift to the congregation so we can walk through the season of Advent together, even while we're apart. Kits include 4 candles, a floral foam wreath ring, and instructions.
Advent Devotional | Sign up
Jesus is coming – so let’s sing! This year, our daily Advent devotionals will be centered around carols.
Advent Wreath Kits
Sign up here
Blacknall is providing Advent wreath kits this year as our gift to the congregation so we can walk through the season of Advent together, even while we're apart. Kits include 4 candles, a floral foam wreath ring, and instructions.
S’mores Bake Off Winners!
The deacons selected three winners from the S’more Bake Off entries (they all made us hungry though!). Thanks to everyone who participated and to the deacons for organizing.
Lord of the S'more
Michael Kight with "Night of the Living S'mores"
Most Beanlicious
Erin Miller with "Gimme S’more of that 3 Bean Chili"
Most Edifying
Sylvia with "Sylvia's S'more Tabernacle"
Thanks to all the creative participants!
A Lot to Give Thanks for
The Blacknall Library is open
Self-service whenever the church is open, with check-out instructions on the front desk. Returns may go in the slot under the window or in the basket inside the door. Please help us care for our library by keeping track of your borrowed materials and returning them. If you have materials checked out, you will receive a gentle reminder soon to check in on outstanding books, CDs & DVDs.
Questions? Email us at library@blacknall.org.
S'mores Bake Off Photo Submission!
Bake-Off Photo Submission Form
The deacons provided 50 free S’mores kits in honor of the long time Festival of the Bean (which will not take place this year).
About the Bake Off:
Create a dish using the 3 items plus anything else you want to add.
Give it a name and send in a picture telling us how it was made (submission form coming soon).
Scored by name, appearance and picture.
Young adults, families, youth, small groups, pastors - everyone can compete.
There will be prizes!
Contest ends Sunday, Nov. 8.
For those not competing, you’re invited to send in a picture making s’mores.
Questions? Contact Barb Eyster.
Fall Inquirers’ Class
Sundays, Oct 18-Nov. 15, 7-8pm | Zoom
Do you want to know more about life and membership at Blacknall? Come get to know more about Blacknall, and let us get to know you! We will kick off with a socially-distanced outdoor meeting on Sunday, October 18. The rest of the class will take place on Zoom. To attend, contact Goodie Bell.
Officer Recommendations
Recommendation Form
Open through Sunday, Oct. 18.
A note from the Nominating Committee:
Blacknall has been gifted with great officers through the years, elders and deacons who love Christ and his church and are responsive to His call to leadership. Each winter a Nominating Committee enters into a discernment process asking “Who among us is the Lord raising up for leadership?” Now is the time to be prayerfully considering who God might be calling to be leaders in our church. The Officer Nominating Committee welcomes your recommendations for Deacons and Elders.
This above form allows you to recommend a person to the Blacknall Officer Nominating Committee for consideration as a possible candidate for the office of deacon and/or elder. Please note this form is a recommendation and not a nomination.
In our polity, or church governance, elders and deacons are elected from the congregation to lead in various capacities. Elders are responsible for the oversight of the spiritual life of the congregation, and are nominated based on "their wisdom and maturity of faith, having demonstrated skills in leadership and being compassionate in spirit…. They are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life." (Book of Order G-2.0301). Deacons are particularly possessed of a servant’s heart, and serve in ministries of hospitality, care, and attention to our facilities, in addition to caring for those in particular need. Together elders and deacons seek to lead the church as servants of Christ. Elders and deacons (often listed by class on the back of the bulletin) serve three year terms, with a third of their number rotating off each year as the next class joins.
Thank you for your recommendations.
The 2020-2021 Officer Nominating Committee
Who are elders & deacons?
Read below for descriptions from the PCUSA Book of Order
Deacons: The Ministry of Compassion & Service
The ministry of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion, witness, and service, sharing in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the friendless, the oppressed, those burdened by unjust policies or structures, or anyone in distress. Persons of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly and sisterly love, sincere compassion, and sound judgment should be chosen for this ministry. (PCUSA Book of Order G-2.0201)
Ruling Elders: The Ministry of Discernment & Governance
As there were in Old Testament times elders for the government of the people, so the New Testament church provided persons with particular gifts to share in discernment of God’s Spirit and governance of God’s people. Accordingly, congregations should elect persons of wisdom and maturity of faith, having demonstrated skills in leadership and being compassionate in spirit. Ruling elders are so named not because they “lord it over” the congregation (Matt. 20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life. Ruling elders, together with ministers of the Word and Sacrament, exercise leadership, government, spiritual discernment, and discipline and have responsibilities for the life of a congregation as well as the whole church, including ecumenical relationships. When elected by the congregation, they shall serve faithfully as members of the session. When elected as commissioners to higher councils, ruling elders participate and vote with the same authority as ministers of the Word and Sacrament, and they are eligible for any office. (PCUSA Book of Order G-2.0301)
Virtual Congregational Meeting
Sunday, Oct. 11, 12 p.m. | Zoom
Learn more about a plan for reduced capacity worship in the sanctuary and vote on the Officer Nominating Committee.
The committee identifies members to stand for election to the offices of elder and deacon. Members will be asked to vote to approve a slate of individuals (Randy Bridges, Traci Hoover, Mary Mathew, Brett McCarty, and Dare Nicholson) to serve at-large on the committee this fall, alongside two elders (Evan Cate, Alex Hartemink), one deacon (Nancy Jones), and pastors (ex officio).
Confessions of a Presbyterian Circuit Rider
Dear Blacknall family,
You may have missed these monthly newsletters over the summer as we gave our full attention to other forms of communication in light of our circumstances. But thanks to the great work of Mary Grimm, we are reinstituting this means of being in touch as our separation from one another continues.
How could we possible have imagined the shape of late Spring and Summer, now into the months of Autumn? Someone generously described me as “knocked back” by the challenges; I am glad I wasn’t quite knocked out. But our team at the church has worked creatively and faithfully through all this, and we continue to adapt and tweak as our season apart drags on. I owe them a deep debt of gratitude. We have heard similar notes of thanks for many of you.
In recent weeks the three pastors, aided by some other ordained folks, have sought to provide communion to the worship groups who are meeting out of doors. Each week I pack my sacramental bag with chalice and paten, bread and wine, and a sufficient number of what are called “Celebration Cups”, and make rounds to two worshipping groups. Historically, this traveling parson has been more associated with the Methodists than the stodgy Presbyterians who require the people of God to come to us! But we have heard, and felt ourselves, that our commitment to the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper has become a vital part of our weekly worship, and we continue to try to find ways to provide participation in the body and blood of Christ to members who so desire. And so we have taken to “horseback” and are heading into the fields and backyards of our gathered community where we find them, in a variety of adaptive ways, attending to the worship of the Triune God. And it has been a vital point of connection not only to one another, but a reminder that the Lord meant for us to be together, and not apart. Even while we long to be reunited, and especially with those who are, for reasons of vulnerability, even more isolated, we are grateful that the Holy Spirit can overcome the limits and griefs imposed on us by COVID 19.
Adaptive change. If we ever needed to be open to that, it’s now. I was reminded of the apostle Paul who thought he had a pretty good sense of the Lord’s direction in his life. But he was stymied in his plans and redirected, with great effect (Acts 16.6ff.). And Paul isn’t alone. Throughout Scripture the Lord invites his people to trust him as he redirects them onto paths they would not have chosen if left to themselves. The greatest example of this is actually seen in the cross itself, a path that brought Jesus to his knees. But means and ends are united, and while the path of suffering seemed mysterious at best, and horrific to all, the Lord asked his Son to walk in obedient trust. The result was beyond imagining, the first and crucial (a word derived from “cross”) step in the recreation of the cosmos, and its reconciliation with its Redeemer.
All this to say again that the Lord is not surprised by the events that are taking place in our world, nor are we beyond his reach and redemption. In the meantime, let us gather as we can, attend to his Word, his Table, and his world, those around us, in loving trust and faithfulness.
Allan
Reflections on Foster Care
A photo of the Coonley family
By Nisrine Pineo & Isela Coonley
Nisrine: We have been a licensed foster family with Durham County for several years. Early in 2019, two young siblings came to live with us and have been with us since then. When the Department of Social Services discovers abuse, neglect, or dependency in a family, children are sometimes removed from their family and enter the foster care system. They are placed with a foster family, who cares for them until they can safely return to their family or be adopted.
There are currently more than 400,000 children, aged 0-21, in foster care in the United States. In many counties, there is a shortage of foster families available to receive these children. As a result, children are sometimes placed out of their county, farther away from their birth family, or in group homes. Being a foster family has been challenging. My son, Zavier, shares that, “if you don’t know where the kids are going to end up, it’s harder to take care of them.” He’s right! But, I can also say with confidence that it has felt very rewarding to do work that has such a huge impact on the kids. If you, as a single person or a family, are interested in finding out more about what it means to be a foster family or support foster families in our community, I am happy to talk with you.
I’m grateful that Isela Coonley was recently willing to share with me about her experience. An excerpt of our conversation is below.
Nisrine: Could you tell us a little bit about your experience with the foster care system in Durham?
Isela: I was 13 months old when I was placed in Durham County's foster care system due to an abusive family situation. Initially, I was taken to an emergency foster care family for two weeks before my birth family arranged for a kinship placement. I spent about a month in the kinship placement before that too became unsafe. At this point social services contacted my future parents (Kip and Sarah), who had been licensed and waiting for several months. After about three weeks with them, they learned that another kinship placement had been arranged. I was transitioned to that fourth home for one night, but cried for most of that night. Because my birth father had visited while I was in the Coonley home and saw that I was happy there, he asked my mom (Sarah) if it would be ok for me to go back. My parents were delighted to bring me home again! After a few more complications, I was finally adopted as a three-year-old in 2008. My birth father died in a car accident while I was still in foster care and my birth mom was deported back to Mexico. I have had very sporadic contact with my birth mom, but we have tried to keep in touch.
Nisrine: What characteristics should a foster family have?
Isela: There are many characteristics that families should keep in mind when considering foster care. Some of the ones that come to mind at the moment are to be open to people coming and going, to be a safe haven for any foster kids, and to set a good example knowing that this is an opportunity to show children another way. Although it's sometimes hard, being positive and encouraging can help. It can also be really sad, to see a kid have to go through such difficulties. Parents should know how to guide kids through learning about their past.
Nisrine: Is there anything else that would you like people to know about foster care?
Isela: Foster care can be hard, but rewarding because you know you’re helping families out when they need it. And of course, it impacts the kid’s life, to have a family who will love them. It’s helpful to know that there are people out there who will give their time and energy for a short-term or long-term relationship with these children. People go through hard times and make bad decisions sometimes, and foster parents can help provide much needed care and stability in these situations.
There are kids right here, right now that need your help who would definitely benefit from a loving family who will help them through a little portion of their lives.
Congo Initiative Radio Station
By David Dunderdale
As part of Blacknall’s ongoing Deep Common Journey with Congo Initiative (in Beni, DRC) Blacknall gave $10,000 to help refurbish the community radio station that CI operates. The equipment in the radio station had broken down and through this gift from Blacknall our friends in Beni were able to buy a new transmitter, repair the broadcast antenna and restart broadcasting.
This radio ministry is an important part of the work of CI in Beni. It provides needed health and community education as well as proclaiming the message of the Gospel to the entire Beni community. If you are interested in hearing more about this Deep Common Journey or would like to get involved in working within our congregation to deepen this partnership, please contact Kim Dunderdale.