General
Jonathan Sobota
Blacknall Survey of Service Engagement

Blacknall's Durham Ministry Engagement Team (DMET) is conducting a community service survey this year, running from January 12-31. Your responses will assist DMET and the Session in organizing our resources to serve our neighbors in Durham. The poll will also inform how DMET supports people at Blacknall who are interested in new service opportunities in Durham.

General
Jonathan Sobota
Sunday School Spring Semester

The Sunday School class schedule and descriptions for the spring semester are now available.

Adult classes will cover a variety of ongoing and new topics. You can jump right into any of these classes, even if you did not attend the prior semester of an ongoing study. There is no reason to hesitate, please come!

General
Jonathan Sobota
Inquirers & New Members Weekend February ...

Want to know more about Blacknall and what it means to be a member? Join us for our next Inquirers and New Members Weekend, Saturday morning, February 15, and Sunday afternoon and evening, February 16. Visit the registration page to sign up and see more details.

General
Jonathan Sobota
Blacknall Survey of Service Engagement Coming ...

Be on the lookout for an opportunity to share how you and your household are engaged in community service. The survey will assist Blacknall’s Durham Ministry Engagement Team and inform how DMET might provide better onramps for people at Blacknall who are interested in service opportunities in Durham.

Register now! Spring 2022 WBS

WBS will begin our spring semester on Thursday, Feb. 3 and will run through Thursday, April 28. We'll gather at church on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:15 a.m. for fellowship, worship, teaching, and small group time.

For those who can't come on Thursday mornings, small groups will meet at other times throughout the week, too, either in person or over Zoom.

This spring, we will be studying Hebrews with the study guide "Better: A Study of Hebrews" by Jen Wilkin. There is no fee aside from the cost of the book; please purchase a copy online or at your favorite book store.

If you have any questions, please contact Becky Gould at bgould@blacknall.org .

When: February 3 - April 28
Time: Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Where: Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church
Cost: Free | Purchase book at your favorite bookstore

Welcome Sondra Haaga, Blacknall's new Communications and Program Coordinator!

A letter from Leslie Cenezy, chair of the Communications and Program Coordinator search committee.

Dear Blacknall family, 

The last two years have included many staff transitions at Blacknall. While it is always a difficult process to see treasured friends and coworkers go, it’s also an opportunity to receive new ones. The search committee included Leslie Cenezy, Goodie Bell, Hillary Train, Chad Weinard, Hana Kamiya, Lisa Mitchell and Lucy Cate, who was originally chair and is enjoying time with her newborn. We met for six months, changed the position from part time to full time, and received more than 20 applicants on our way to discovering our new coordinator.  We are particularly grateful for this committee’s faithfulness, diligence and perseverance in what was a lengthy and challenging process.

We are excited to introduce to you Sondra Haaga! Sondra, her husband Parker and their daughter Alethea have been attenders of Blacknall since 2015. She comes with over 16 years of education and experience in communications, marketing, graphic design, production, event management, volunteer coordination, office administration and all of the related technological tools. In addition to this wealth of knowledge, Sondra obtained a Master of Theological Studies from Duke Divinity, focusing on New Testament biblical studies and exegesis. We are delighted to see how the Lord will use her many gifts in service to Him at Blacknall.

Please say hello and welcome to Sondra! Her email is shaaga@blacknall.org. She (and I) will also receive emails sent to churchoffice@blacknall.org.

Cheerfully,

Leslie Cenezy
Business Manager

Community Carol Sing

Sunday Dec. 12 | 4:45- 6 p.m. | Outdoors under the Oaks (714 Iredell Street)

Join us for a festive evening of outdoor fellowship while we sing our way through a collection of beloved Christmas carols. Enjoy prelude music from our friends at High Strung Violins & Guitars starting at 4:45. Bring a chair, dress for the weather and enjoy a warm cup of cocoa as we raise our voices to the birth of our Savior!

God With Us, God For Us: A Women’s Ministry Advent Celebration

God With Us, God For Us: A Women’s Ministry Advent Celebration | Thursday Dec. 9 | 7-9 p.m. | Rose Garden and Fellowship Hall

Please join us for an evening of fellowship, worship, sharing, and art-making with women from Blacknall and our broader community. After refreshments in the Rose Garden, we’ll hear three women—Amanda Diekman (Blacknall), Susan McSwain (Reality Ministries), and Deborah Eaton (Mt Level Missionary Baptist Church)—share stories of how they’ve experienced God being for them and how that has transformed the way they interact with others. We’ll conclude the evening with a chance to creatively express, here in this Advent season of anticipating the arrival of God With Us, the truth that God is for us. You can write a card, make a card, and/or contribute to a community art project under the capable direction of Liz Shively. Please come and bring a friend!

Officer Recommendations

Recommendation Form

Open through Tuesday, Nov. 30

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 fall 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 (listed by class on our web site) serve three year terms, with a third of their number rotating off each year as the next class joins. Officers may run for two consecutive terms for a total of six years at a time. (After a break, they may run again in the future.)

Thank you for your recommendations.

The 2021-2022 Officer Nominating Committee

Brandon Fain, Traci Hoover, Jillian Marcantonio, Tanya Moore, Susie Meghdadpour, Bo Harrison and co-chairs Evan Cate and Michael Whisenhunt

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)

Introducing our Interim Pastor, Rev. Mark Hutton

On Nov. 10, Blacknall’s Interim Pastor Transition Team shared with the congregation that we have called Rev. Mark Hutton to be our Interim Senior Pastor. Please watch the recording below, where you will hear about the search process that led us to him. About 40 minutes into the meeting, Mark joined us on Zoom and shared some of his background and sense of call to interim ministry. Let’s warmly welcome Pastor Mark! He will join our staff in early December.

Men's Backyard Gatherings

November 20 and 21, Various times and locations

All men are warmly invited to one of our backyard gatherings held in various neighborhoods around town on November 20 and 21. This will be a great opportunity for fellowship, reconnection, and a chance to share your perspective with the men's ministry leadership team as they seek to respond to the needs in our congregation. Please view the list of gatherings and RSVP at your earliest convenience. Contact: Cullen Rodgers-Gates.

Women's Retreat Weekend

Nov. 12-13, 2021 | Durham and Stem, NC

Please register by Nov. 8.

The women’s retreat weekend is almost here! Our theme is Encounters with Jesus, based on passages found in the Gospel of John. We’ve invited Kat Burgett and Sylvia Belcher, women from our congregation and community, to reflect on an encounter of Jesus that has been particularly meaningful in their lives. Through their words and our corporate worship, we expect these gospel stories to fall afresh on us and help us recognize the ways in which Jesus has met us in our own journey.

New full-time position: Communications & Program Coordinator

The Communications Coordinator search committee (chair, Leslie Cenezy) along with input and approval from the Session and Staff have expanded the Communications position to a fulltime salary position, adding needed program and administrative support to the communications work.

The new title is now Communications & Program Coordinator and we are accepting applications through November 30. Our 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 visit the Employment page for the full job description and application details.

Blacknall is also still seeking a part time Choir Director. Please view the job posting for details and share these two openings widely.

Historic Stagville Tour

historic stagville.jpg

Saturday, November 6, 2021, 9:30-11 a.m.

Stagville Plantation, 5828 Old Oxford, Highway, Durham, NC 27712

The Durham Ministry Engagement Team (DMET) is hosting a free, guided tour of Historic Stagville, a state historic site in northern Durham dedicated to teaching about the lives and work of enslaved people on a plantation. We have a reservation to tour the grounds on Saturday, November 6, 2021, from 9:30-11 a.m. Due to the nature of the tour content, this event is best suited for people 12 years of age and older. View full details and reserve your spot here. (At this time, only a few spots remain).

Congregational Meeting

Sunday, October 24 at the end of each service | Sanctuary

The session has called a congregational meeting to 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 (Brandon Fain, Traci Hoover, Jillian Marcantonio, Tanya Moore, Susie Meghdadpour) alongside two elders (co-chairs Evan Cate and Michael Whisenhunt), one deacon (Bo Harrison), and pastors (ex officio).