A Year in Pictures

March marks a year that Blacknall has been gathering in new ways due to the pandemic. People have sewn masks, delivered meals, learned to use Zoom, opened up their backyards, and cared for one another in many other unseen ways. Below are photos of what life together has looked like this past year. Please share more photos here.

Lenten Book Study

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Sundays, Feb. 28-March 28, 7-8 pm
Register Here

Take a step forward in your life with Jesus by joining our Lenten study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship. Led by Chris Blumhofer and friends. Pick up a copy of the book. (Any edition will do, but this is the one we recommend. For those who have access to it, the Duke Library also has an e-version of this book.)

View a video invitation from Chris here.

DMET Lent Devotional Offerings

As we enter the season of Lent, these on-line resources may be useful in expanding our Christian imagination for coming alongside those who are marginalized and to listen in on what the Lord may be whispering to us. Our hope is that these resources may help us to situate the real issues of our time theologically.

  • Habitat for Humanity – weekly Devotional exploring ways “we can honor Jesus by caring for others.” Each weekly reflection includes prayer, scripture, a contemporary reflection and questions for discussion.

  •  An American Lent – an on-line (or downloadable) daily Lenten Devotional developed by The Repentance Project and is a “journey through America’s history of slavery, segregation and racism.” Each day includes an opening and closing prayer, scripture, reflection and links to resources for deeper resources.  

  • Presbyterian Mission of PCUSA Beloved Community Lenten Devotional – Using a model of Christ’s words in Matthew 25, this Lent Devotional is intended to increase commitment to “creating beloved communities in our own backyards.”  Each day includes scripture, a reflection, and a closing prayer. This guide was designed in 2020 but is very current and easy to use.

Update your Church Directory Listing!

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In this time of being apart, help us keep our church database and printed directory current by updating your CCB profile.

Instructions:  

Visit CCB. Request an account if you are not sure you have one.  

1) Under Contact, verify or enter your phone numbers, home and mailing addresses. 

2)  Under Personal, verify or enter your birthday (birth year is not visible to the congregation but is helpful for our records).  

3) Help us get to know you! Under Social, add any social media profiles you want to share. Under Custom, add details such as College, Job Title, and Occupation. If you have an online bio or blog, you may include the link in the “My Website URL”. The Race field is helpful for our records.

4) Photos: Please add or update both your Profile photo and a Family (or second profile) photo. (We suggest a photo taken within the last three years.) The Family/second profile photo is the one that will be displayed in the printed directory, so be sure we have one on file. (A camera icon next to Family means you will not have a directory photo.) A landscape orientation (16:9 ratio) works best. For families, consider uploading a close-up for each individual, and a group shot for the Family photo.  

For more tips on updating your profile, visit CCB help or contact the church office.

Thank You from the Timmises

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A note from Patrick & Catherine Timmis

Dear Blacknall family, 

We have successfully completed our move to Michigan, where Patrick will begin a teaching job this year. We’re having difficulty putting into words how much Blacknall’s love and support has meant to us during our time in Durham. You took care of us physically, spiritually, and emotionally during an overwhelming and daunting time in our life. You have been Christ to us. We already miss you dearly, and we pray that God will give us an opportunity to worship with you again before too long. In the meantime, you are in our prayers.

All our love,

The Timmises

Prayer for this nation | January 19

We have been invited to join in prayer with our brothers and sisters at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church on the eve of the presidential inauguration. In light of the violence at the Capitol last week and the threats of further violence especially around the inauguration next Wednesday, we will gather to pray twice on Tuesday, January 19.

  • 12 p.m. | In person, socially distanced and masked in the parking lot at St. John’s, 917 Onslow St., Durham

  • 7 p.m. | Zoom link on CCB.

Let us come together in prayer for our nation and against those forces that would tear down, destroy, and pull us apart. If you have questions, please contact David Dunderdale.

A Letter from Pastor Allan Poole

I haven’t slept much this past week. I keep returning to the events of last Wednesday, a day in the season that Christians call Epiphany, in which Christ is revealed as Messiah and Lord. But last Wednesday will not be remembered for that noble and hopeful proclamation. Instead, it will be remembered as the day in which thousands of Americans, many identified specifically as Christians, tried to overturn the results of a national election by force, with the encouragement of the President. The violence that ensued has resulted in several deaths, and that day has left us fearful what may occur in the inauguration next week.