Calendar

Sunday, February 27

As we hear the news of war in Ukraine, we are invited to join together in prayer for the people of Ukraine this Sunday at 5:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We will hear reports from brothers and sisters in Ukraine and spend time interceding for God’s mercy and his kingdom come.

Wednesday, March 2

Please join us for the first of the weekly Lenten communion services beginning on Ash Wednesday at 7 p.m. Blacknall will also offer an imposition of ashes at noon on Wednesday.

COVID Update

Please note that starting next week, Sunday, March 6, Blacknall will no longer require registration for any of its Sunday morning worship services, including Children's Worship. Should our community or area experience another surge in COVID cases, we will reevaluate the decision to suspend worship registration.

Updated: In-Person Worship

We look forward to worshiping with you at the 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. services. Please do not forget to register. The livestream will start at 8:30 a.m.

The atrium side of the sanctuary is now open for general seating.

Children’s Worship or Nursery

Children’s Worship is still limited to rising kindergartners through current second-graders with limited spots for the 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. services.

There will be no nursery for children under four and they are welcome to participate in sanctuary worship. There is a cry room available in room 402 with audio of the service.

Sunday School

Get ready for Sunday School! Nursery & Sunday School will resume on Sunday, March 6. This includes Adult Sunday School, Youth Sunday School, and Children’s Sunday School. Check out the updated Adult Sunday School classes.

In lieu of Children’s Sunday School, a ‘Playdate Under the Oaks’ is being offered outside between services again this Sunday, Feb. 27 in the Blacknall parking lot on Iredell Street Hosted by the Witman family, they will provide water and goldfish crackers for the young and the young-at-heart to enjoy on blankets. A variety of activities to occupy little hands will be available.

Announcements

We will cap off our 8:30 a.m. worship service by celebrating the wedding of Michelle Haller and James Johnson. All who are gathered will be witnesses to their vows to one another in the presence of the Lord and as the Lord binds them together as husband and wife. Please be praying for Michelle and James as they embark on this journey of marriage together.

The Men's Ministry Leadership Team invites all the men of Blacknall to join in the observance of Lent this year in two ways:

We will provide a daily prayer liturgy that we encourage all Blacknall men to use as a way of uniting ourselves before the Lord during this season. (Details coming soon.)

Starting March 2, we are offering specific times to connect with other men on a weekly basis during Lent for fasting, prayer and fellowship.

See Details

Women of Blacknall! Please join us for a Bonfire and Hymn Sing on Friday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. We'll gather at Cory Pikaart's house (8911 Millers Bend, Bahama, NC) to sing and eat s'mores and just spend time together. Please bring a chair and a flashlight. If you'd love to go but need a ride — or if you have any other questions — please contact Becky Gould.

Want to know more about Blacknall? Have you considered membership? The spring New Inquirers’ Class will begin meeting on Sunday, March 6. Pastor Dave Dunderdale will lead the class, which runs for five consecutive weeks. After completing the class, participants will have an opportunity to formally join as a member of the congregation. More details about the class content and schedule are on the registration page.

Register now

Mark your calendar for the upcoming Congregational Meeting to elect officers— elders and deacons — on Sunday, March 13. More details and bios of the nominees are forthcoming.

Learn more

Book Giveaway
Nancy Congleton is opening up the library of her late husband, Russ, once again, this Sunday, Feb 27. The books are now located on just the shelves outside the library

An astute and engaging teacher, Russ shared his faith, intellect, and love of history for years here at Blacknall. The breadth and depth of his scholarship and interests are evident in the collection.

Feel free to take any books!

Finance Update

We are thankful for God’s provision and the generosity of our congregation. Here is a comparison of offerings and expenses for the first seven months of the current fiscal year:

(July 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022)
Offerings $1,363,977
Expenses $ 975,864
Offerings minus Expenses $ 388,113

December giving was quite strong, and our cumulative offerings continue to exceed expenses through the end of January. If a surplus remains at the end of the fiscal year (June 30), it will be transferred to the Future Vision Fund, and the Blacknall Session will direct its use.

Contact Rich Frothingham with questions.

Community Announcements

Abundant Joy Center for Women's Ministries
Abundant Joy CWM serves women who are experiencing a difficult time. Our services are free and confidential and include one-on-one counseling to women 18 and over, support groups, and Bible study groups. We are offering the following groups in the Winter of 2022. Women can register for a group at abundantjoycwm@gmail.com or call 919-943-0789 for more information.
- January 18 - March 15: Sermon on the Mount by Jen Wilkin on Tuesday morning 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.,
- February 2 - April 13: Prayer Group for Mothers of Adult Children on the first and third Wednesday afternoon of the month 1-2:30 p.m.
- February 3 - April 21: Basic Peer Counseling Training will be offered for anyone interested in volunteering as a peer counselor or group facilitator. An application will need to be completed as well as an interview with Priscilla, the Center Director, before taking this class. The class will be offered on Thursday morning 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., .

Love & Serve

Please help minister to the Riggs family as Lori continues to experience health challenges. Sign up to bring them a meal.
The Smith family is experiencing circumstances that would make meals extremely helpful right now. Sign up to bring them a meal.

world relief durham
Wondering where to find the list of donations still needed for Afghan and other refugees? Please find the Amazon Wishlist and other donation info here
Iglesia Emanuel Food Pantry
Volunteer at the Iglesia Emanuel Food Pantry. Not comfortable gathering? Sign up to bag rice and beans from home.
Walltown Neighborhood Ministries Food Bank
Food needs appear to be increasing in Durham. The Food Bank in Walltown is now serving well over 175 families each month. Volunteers are needed to shop, sort food, distribute food and deliver food. For those who want to volunteer to shop, sort food and distribute food please sign up on the updated Signupgenius. Volunteers who would like to deliver food can call Sylvia Belcher at 919 286 0332 ex 20. Funds are also needed to help needy families. Please make checks payable to and mail to Walltown Neighborhood Ministries.

Prayer

Durham

Susan McSwain, Executive Director, Reality Ministries

We pray for one of our Deep Common Journey partners, Reality Ministries, in their work with all kinds of folks with all kinds of disabilities. Pray for their Executive Director Susan McSwain.

Also, please pray for:

Blacknall’s Reality Team (co-chairs Maria Bradshaw and Taylor Brennan) as this team seeks to find ways to deepen Blacknall’s relationship with Reality. Pray as our team seeks to find ways to bless and encourage the Reality staff.
The staff at Reality as they seek to deepen the sense of community. Be praying as they are beginning the search for next year’s Reality Interns who will be beginning in August, and as they continue to look for a Director of Development and Bookkeeping Assistant.

Campus & National

Matt and Bethany, Vance and Elise Mahla. Matt is a RUF campus minister at Duke

We pray for Matt Mahla in his work with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Duke.

Praises:

Praise God that he has given us a number of fruitful new relationships this year, including with students new to the Christian faith or exploring it for the first time. Please pray that God would meet these students with the gospel of Christ.

Requests prayer for:

For energy, perseverance and faith for us, as we have walked with a number of students through very difficult and painful situations. Please pray, too, for the grace and peace of Jesus to be a comfort to these students.
Please pray for our family, that our children would know and love the Lord and give us wisdom as we parent them.

International

Tom and Judy Harvey. Tom is the academic dean at the Oxford Centre of Missions Studies, and Judy is the SSM Curate, Cutteslowe Families Pastoral Care Worker at St. Andrew’s Church, Oxford.

We pray for Blacknall global workers, Tom and Judy Harvey, working through our denomination as Tom serves as the academic dean of the Oxford Centre of Missions Studies, and as Judy continues her pastoral work with St Andrews Church in the Cutteslowe Community of Oxford.

Tom wrote, “OCMS continues to go full steam ahead even in lockdown, but everything has been moved online and I'm the officer overseeing that transition. That said, we have had 12 students successfully complete their degrees from around the globe. We hold the examinations online via video conferencing. We also have a strong cohort of students wanting to join the programme, which is good.”

Requests prayer for:

The freedom for their students to come to Oxford in order to spend time in the library and to work with their supervisors;
Tom’s development of the center’s online Library and Digital Resource interface, and that it will meet the needs of the students;
Safety for their students who live in Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo and other places of violence; and
Judy’s ministry as an Anglican priest in St. Andrews Church.

Griefs

We pray for the family and friends of Jo Oldham who will be gathering this Saturday March, 5 at 2:00pm at Blacknall for her memorial service.
We grieve for the people of Ukraine and for the loss of life from the Russian invasion.
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus

Joys

We rejoice with Michelle Haller & James Johnson who will be married in the 8:30 worship service this morning.
We rejoice in the birth of John Charles to Susan Emmett & Bill Steinbeck on February 10.
We rejoice in the birth of Phoebe Ann to Goodie & Jack Bell on February 11.

Concerns

We pray for the Garrigan Family who have all come down with COVID. The Garrigans are global workers in Honduras.

World

We pray for the people of Ukraine and the cessation of violence and the thwarting of evil intent.
We pray for an end to the COVID virus.

Life Together

We pray for our continued search for a Choir Director, but we also thank God for Donna Mutter who has agreed to serve as our Interim Choir Director. Pray for the choir as they begin rehearsals for the Lent and Easter season.
We pray for wisdom as we seek to make decisions about how we can be together in this season of COVID.
We thank God and pray for Ben Davison, our Divinity School Intern, as he works with our undergraduate students. Pray for Ben as he is discerning God’s call for what comes after graduation in May
We pray for the members of our Confirmation Class as they meet with Brad & Jamie Turnage in preparation for making the decision to claim this faith as their own: Anastasia Eagle, Asa Gerend, Andrew Hartemink, Carson Hervey, Ava Kinghorn, Calvin Stultz, Hannah Taylor, Joel Van Farowe