Announcements
2nd Sunday Prayer | Jan. 10, 4 & 6:30 p.m. Zoom links on CCB
Prayer for Missionaries - 4 p.m. Download the January Prayer guide here.
Prayer for Congo Initiative - 6:30 p.m.
Women’s Bible Study
Please join Women’s Bible Study as we study Philippians together as a community this spring. We will begin the week of January 18 and run through the end of April. We will have audio teachings each week by a variety of women and an opportunity for you to join a zoom group, in person small group, or you may choose to do the study on your own. If you have already registered, you do not need to do so again. If you have not registered (or if you have decided you would like to be part of a small group), please fill out this registration form here and we will be contacting you with more information. Purchase your study guide "Discovering Joy in Philippians" here or from your local bookstore. If you are able, join us for a brief Zoom Kick Off at 7pm on Thursday, January 14.
Photos of Life Together
Do you have a photo of life together? Please send to Mary Grimm.
Session Notes | View Here
The Session has been considering safe and creative options for worship. Please be in contact with your praying elder if you have prayer concerns, worship needs, or feel disconnected. You can find contact information for your praying elder by going to your profile page in CCB. Every member at Blacknall has an elder assigned to them. Be in touch! You can read the minutes of the most recent Session meetings here on the CCB homepage.
Finance Committee Update
We received offerings of $401,000 in the month of December. Total offerings for the first half of our fiscal year (July 1 to December 31) were $873,000. Both of these numbers are the highest in our history. Our expenses for this period were $786,000, so offerings exceeded expenses by $87,000. These figures are preliminary and may change slightly.
We are thankful for God’s provision and the generosity of our congregation.
There are multiple ways to give to Blacknall:
· Cash or check brought to the church office.
· Checks mailed to the church office.
· Automatic bank drafts as a part of bill pay directed to Blacknall using your local bank.
· Gifts of stock. Contact Rick Every (919-489-9733) or Carol Smith (919-286-5586).
· Online giving is available from our website (including bank transfer, debit card, and credit card donations). Members can also schedule recurring online gifts when signed on to CCB.
· Details on all giving options are available at www.blacknall.org/give.
Questions? Contact Rich Frothingham.
Prayer
Ministry Partners:
Durham—We pray for Urban Ministries of Durham and for their Executive Director, Sheldon Mitchell. In this winter season with the risk of exposure due to the weather, we pray for our homeless neighbors who need shelter. We especially pray for them as UMD and other ministries have had to reduce their capacity in order to protect our neighbors from the spread of COVID-19. Pray for protection for the staff from COVID as well. We thank God for the spirit of cooperation and coordination among the various ministries to the homeless in Durham and we pray that it would deepen so that our neighbors would know that they are valued and cared for.
International—Please pray for the Blacknall-supported ministry "Empower Bihar -- a network operating in several North Indian states and in Nepal. Its strategy is to train teachers to equip disciple making Christians. Neighbors are invited to attend a home meeting where they hear the gospel. As the neighbors turn to Christ and grow in their faith, the group divides and forms a second home meeting. In this way, some groups have spawned dozens of house churches over the past decade.” Specific prayer requests: (1) wisdom for the online training of their leaders; (2) protection from persecution and Covid-19 for churches in North India; (3) the formation of a strong faith which will enable believers to withstand opposition; (4) fruitful outreach among Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Musahars; (5) the effective training of 150 leaders to facilitate financial management and to foster recovery from the pandemic setback.
Campus—We pray for Matt Mahla and his ministry with RUF at Duke. Matt reports that doing campus ministry in this season of COVID-19 has been a challenge and a blessing. Please pray for a growing sense of community between students who are in Durham and able to meet together (in groups of 10 or less) and those who are “virtual students” who are showing up via Zoom. Pray for students who are not believers yet who have started coming to RUF, hungering for interaction and community. Pray for Matt as he relates the gospel to the issues students are facing, including racial injustice, politics, and death. Pray for the financial needs of RUF at Duke. Pray for Matt and Bethany and their family and their growing connection to their church and their neighborhood. Pray that Matt and the leadership of RUF would “remember Jesus Christ” [2 Timothy 2:8]. “If God is committed enough to us to send Jesus to rescue us, COVID and all its questions can’t threaten that commitment and love.”
Grief:
We pray for Nancy Congleton on the death of her stepmom, Joan, in Indiana. This immediately follows the death of her Dad.
We grieve for those who have lost loved ones through violence in Durham in the past week and the past year.
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
Joys
We give thanks for the ministry of Dave Stuntz among us.
We give thanks for the Lord leading Wen Reagan to join us as our new Director of Music and Worship.
We give thanks for this past year and for God’s provision for us in these days!
Concerns
We pray for Scott Crane as he recovers from recent surgery and radiation treatment.
We pray for Lori Riggs who is battling with COVID on top of her ongoing struggle with Lyme’s Disease and several other maladies.
We pray for Ali Shoenfelt’s sister, Pamela, who is having heart surgery this Tuesday at Duke.
We pray for Taylor Brennan as she begins radiation treatments for cancer.
We pray for Wen and Casey Reagan that they would be able to successfully sell their house in Birmingham and find a house for their family here in Durham. We pray for all of the details of their move and for their children, Ezra, Pax, and Lovewell.
World
We pray for deliverance from the virus as it surges in our nation and around the world.
We thank God for the development of vaccines that promise to help fight this virus. We pray for a speedy and just distribution of these vaccines around the world.
We pray for President-Elect Biden and for the peaceful transition of power. We pray for a strengthening of the bonds that unite us in this nation and for a repudiation of racism and all other demonic forces that would pull us apart.
Life Together
We pray for the search committee for the Director of Congregational Care (chair, Melissa Hartemink).
We pray for Taylor and Jake Pennigar as their baby girl is due to arrive this week.
We pray for Brad Turnage and Tanya Kronstad as they lead our youth ministries and for continued wisdom, energy, creativity, and joy in finding ways to love, disciple, and connect with our young people.
Community
Christianity's Surprise: The Early Church for 21st Century Christians
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 7-8 p.m. Join us for this book launch event featuring Dr. Kavin Rowe (George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School). Dr. Rowe will be sharing about his newly released book Christianity's Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope. This event is co-hosted by the North Carolina Study Center at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Duke Center for Christianity & Scholarship. Register here.
Volunteer with International Students Inc
Be a virtual volunteer and connect with an international student for the spring semester. Questions? Contact Dan Kronstad or Scott Hawkins.
iFriends – Facilitate friendship building and cross-cultural exchange between international students and residents of the Triangle by engaging together via video chat. Register yourself, with a housemate or spouse, or as a family. We'll match you with the appropriate number: 1 or 2+. Aim to meet each other virtually at least monthly through about early May. Register by Jan.10. iFriends launch - when you get connected to your international student(s) - is Jan. 30.
Prayer – Receive regular prayer notes and/or join virtual prayer times. Never, ever must we minimize how utterly dependent we all are on the King, for apart from Him we can do nothing!
Volunteer at Iglesia Emanuel Food Bank
Every Wednesday our friends at Iglesia Emanuel serve approximately 400 families. They can’t do this alone. Help is needed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. If you can help with the preparation, distribution, or traffic control, please sign up here.