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.
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!
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.
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.
The Session is pleased to announce that a Congregational Meeting will be held next Sunday, December 4 for the purpose of electing the Pastoral Nominating Committee (PNC). See the nominees. Members can vote at the end of the 8:30 or 11 a.m. service.
The presbytery approved the Mission Study Report last week. We thank the Transition Team for their hard work on the report and thank the congregation for everyone’s participation.
Blacknall's 2022 Advent Devotional Guide is now available! Prepare your heart and mind for the coming of the Savior with devotionals written by 26 current and former Blacknall members, partners, and friends. There are three ways you can either get or receive it:
We’re excited to announce the first album from Blacknall Arts, our new songwriting and recording initiative. Blacknall Arts seeks to harness the musical creativity of Blacknall musicians to bless our church community, the larger church, and the world. Co-produced by Wen Reagan and Sam Gould—and featuring the talents of 15 Blacknall members—the five-song EP “Joy” was released on November 23. Released in time for the start of Advent, it will serve as an accompaniment to our journey through the season.
While the record will be a digital release only (no physical CDs), the album will be available across all major streaming platforms upon release. All album proceeds through 2022 will be donated to our Deep Common Journey partner Reality Ministries. Order your copy today to support Reality Ministries during this holiday season. Contact Wen Reagan with questions.
Blacknall’s International Ministries Team would like to invite you to prayerfully consider attending Urbana 2022. InterVarsity’s triennial global mission conference will happen this year in Indianapolis, IN on December 28 - January 1. Blacknall is offering partial scholarships to any Blacknall member or attender who registers for Urbana.
Do you know a Blacknall member who possesses the qualities of an elder or a deacon? The Bible says that these leaders should be “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3); able to exercise oversight willingly, Do you know a Blacknall member who possesses the qualities of an elder or a deacon? The Bible says that these leaders should be “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3); able to exercise oversight willingly, eager, able to lead by example (1 Pet 5:1–4); and above reproach, gentle, known for integrity and character, spiritually mature, and proven in faith (1 Tim 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9)? Who comes to mind? Please consider recommending him or her to the Officer Nominating Committee to serve as a Blacknall officer. You can submit your recommendation online or fill out a paper form (yellow sheets) located in the Narthex and Upper Atrium. The deadline to make your recommendation is November 16.
Ron & Betsy, longtime Blacknall-supported global workers, are joining International Students, Inc. and the iStudentsDuke staff team! They will travel from Central Asia where they have been working for nearly 25 years. We need your help to prepare their home in Durham for their December arrival.
On Saturday, November 12, let’s “pitch in” to do outdoor clean-up: raking & collecting of leaves, sticks and acorns; also, dusting cobwebs and sweeping porches. Easy. Together. “The more the merrier!”
Use this sign-up to let us know you will be there. The address is 401 Clarion Dr., Durham.
Samaritan Health Center, a local Blacknall partner, is looking for a few friendly drivers to surprise our volunteers with a hand delivered thank you gift during the first weekend of December. The majority of the delivery locations are in Durham, with some in Hillsborough, Cary, and Raleigh. SHC will match the quantity & location to your availability. Put on some Christmas music and enjoy a drive across the Triangle while you bless our community—-children are welcome! Email Meredith Martindale with interest.
What is more American than Thanksgiving Day? Family, friends, and guests gathered around the table enjoying turkey and amazing side dishes; conversations reflecting on God's many blessings; a walk in the crisp fall air; or playing a fun board game. Blacknall’s Deep Common Journey partner International Students Inc. (ISI) is ready to connect you with Duke international students who are eager to share Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 24) with a local household. The sign-up deadline is Nov. 18. Contact ISI staff Ginger Ehmann with questions.
By Traci Hoover
As an awkward middle schooler (we called it “junior high” back then), I found myself in a church youth group that planned a fall retreat just a two-hour drive from my hometown in the North Carolina foothills. That place was Valle Crucis. That weekend we did what middle schoolers do on youth retreats: roasted marshmallows, went on hikes, snuck out on the fire escape, square danced, and took turns soaking in ancient claw-footed bathtubs (well, maybe that is not something middle schoolers normally do on retreats!). I can’t remember if I went on more than one retreat there as a teenager, but my memories are so vivid I feel certain I must have, or maybe it was just the kind of place that left that deep of an impression.
You can imagine my surprise and delight when in the fall of 1992 I started attending Blacknall and learned that their Women’s Retreat happened each November at Valle Crucis!…
By Jenny Witman
I am still relatively new to Blacknall, so while many faces I see on Sunday mornings are starting to feel familiar, many are not yet linked to names or stories. After a season for all of us of being remote with COVID, and perhaps especially for those who, like me, are new to the church, the Women's Retreat will be a wonderful opportunity for all of us to become more connected and for each of us to feel like we are surrounded by our people.
By Katie Reeder-Hayes
For my first five years at Blacknall, I was a Women's Retreat skeptic. I was sure it was nice for other people, but I wasn't a "retreat person." As a mom of young kids, I felt guilty about time away from them, and too tired to contemplate figuring out anything new that involved registration and a map. As a woman in the workforce, I didn't attend weekday women's ministry events and felt like an outsider to this event that other women seemed unnervingly enthused about. As an introvert, I was terrified someone would force me to wear a nametag and play icebreaker games. But at the urging of the unforgettable Amy Rowell (extrovert extraordinaire), I reluctantly signed up in 2006. Well into my second decade, the Women's Retreat now goes on my calendar months in advance.
I've been to the retreat in so many conditions -- excited, optimistic, exhausted, sad, and wounded…
The International Ministry Team is wanting to put together some care packages for some of our global workers. For instance, Woody McClendon recently completed 10+ years as president of JAARS. He and Mary are preparing for a sabbatical soon. we want to celebrate with them and give them some items to bless them on their sabbatical. Think of Durham related items, Blacknall related items (such as books we are studying in a Sunday School Class), or things that otherwise would bring joy. Please drop any items you'd like to contribute off this Sunday in the church office.
—This survey is now closed.—
A team has been formed to consider new ways of staffing and supporting Blacknall's flourishing middle and high school ministries. Team members include: Bethany Bonnemere, David Dunderdale, Brandon Fain, Peter Gerend, Susan Kinghorn, Brian Mitchell, Roxanne Van Farowe, Ashley Weinard, and Serena Whisenhunt. The team will share their recommendations with the Session in late fall, with the hope of starting a search for new youth ministries staff in the new year.
The team would love your feedback on how the church is meeting the needs of our children, particularly if you are the parent of a middle or high school student. Please complete this short survey by October 16. Contact Ashley Weinard (aweinard@gmail.com) if you have questions or suggestions.
While the full Mission Study Report is not yet complete, interested folks are welcome to view the Congregational Assessment Tool (CAT) survey results. These results will be distilled and included in the Mission Study report.
Blacknall Youth Group (BYG) starts this Sunday, Sept 11! We'll meet in the Youth Room every Sunday from 5:00-6:30 p.m. to play games, study the Bible, pray, and worship. All 6th-12th graders are welcome!
Parents are also invited to stay for a parents' meeting led by Dave Dunderdale in the Parlor from 5-6 p.m. Dave will talk with parents about plans for this year, as well as discussing ways we can support one another as parents.
Contact Kat Burgett, Interim Youth Ministry Associate, with any questions.
The Mt. Level Community Partnership for Racial Justice is hosting a racial justice pilgrimage to Alabama from March 27-31, 2023 (during Durham Public Schools' spring break). Participants will visit various historical sites of the civil rights movement. Blacknall has been invited to participate. Space is limited and the partnership is seeking diverse representatives across age, race, and partnership church affiliation. To create a more intergenerational experience, we will prioritize the application of any adult who plans to bring with them a youth between the ages of 12 - 22 years. Applications are due by September 30.
As a church-based partnership, the pilgrimage will incorporate worship, prayer, and scripture—seeking wisdom to process what is learned, faithfully. For more information and to apply, please go to the online application. Questions can also be directed to Erin Miller.
Looking for a place to serve at Blacknall? Check out the volunteer hub on Blacknall’s website. Whether you’re into decorating, singing, storytelling, or just hanging out with the cool kids (our middle/high school students, obviously!), we have a place for you to serve at Blacknall! There are also low commitment—but critical— positions that we need to fill.
School Year Sunday School Kickoff and Promotion Sunday is September 11. Parents, children, Sunday School teachers, and friends, please join us at 10 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall to hear what is new and ongoing for our Children’s Sunday School classes for this academic year. The Children’s Sunday School serves children in grades kindergarten through 5th. Hope to see you there!
On Promotion Sunday all children and youth move up to their next grade level and fall Sunday School begins. Second and third graders will also receive Bibles in the worship services as they transition from Children’s Worship to worship in the sanctuary. And, we will also welcome our four year-olds to participate in the Children’s Blessing for the first time during the worship services that day.