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)