Announcements
Prayer for this nation | January 19
We have been invited to join in prayer with our brothers and sisters at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church on the eve of the presidential inauguration. In light of the violence at the Capitol last week and the threats of further violence especially around the inauguration next Wednesday, we will gather to pray twice on Tuesday, January 19.
12 p.m. | In person, socially distanced and masked in the parking lot at St. John’s, 917 Onslow St., Durham
7 p.m. | Zoom link on CCB.
Let us come together in prayer for our nation and against those forces that would tear down, destroy, and pull us apart. If you have questions, please contact David Dunderdale.
Women’s Bible Study | Begins Jan. 18
Please join Women’s Bible Study as we study Philippians this spring, beginning the week of Jan. 18 through the end of April. Weekly audio teachings by a variety of women and an opportunity to join a zoom group, in person small group, or to do the study on your own. If you have not already registered (or if you have decided to be part of a small group), please fill out this registration form here. Purchase your study guide "Discovering Joy in Philippians" here or from your local bookstore.
Men’s Bible Study | Begins Feb. 17
Wednesdays starting Feb. 17, 8-9 pm. A 6 week zoom men's Bible study of Jeremiah using Eugene Peterson's book Run with Horses. Lead by Paul Tshihamba, Mark Paulson and Don Hoover. The format will include a brief reflection on the topic/scripture, small group discussions, and a prayer partner. Homework using the book's study guide and some scripture memory. Registration coming soon.
Photos of Life Together
Do you have a photo of life together? Please send to Mary Grimm.
Love & Serve
Take a meal to the Freyer family. Rachel is struggling with pain and mobility issues in her hands and arms.
Take a meal to the Pennigars as they welcome baby Helen.
Prayer Concerns
Ministry Partners:
Durham—We pray for Gateway Women’s Health and its president, Melinda Delahoyde, and their ministry to women and men who are struggling with a crisis pregnancy. Pray for their staff that they would be given the wisdom and Spirit to love and care for their clients. Pray for their office in Durham and that women would hear about their services. Pray that each client would feel loved and at peace. Pray for the women who choose to continue their pregnancy that they would received the support they need from family, friends, and the community around them. Pray for the women who choose to have an abortion that they would also receive the support they need and that all might know the blessing of knowing our Lord Jesus through them.
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 the Center for Christianity and Scholarship at Duke and for Edward Dixon, the Executive Director. We pray for creativity as the Center seeks to do programming that is engaging for students and faculty in the Age of Zoom. We pray for good connections between the staff, students, and faculty and that there would be a growing sense of community. We pray for funding for the Center. In particular, we pray for new funding to hire a new Associate Director of Academic Programming. We pray for Blacknall members, Steve Hinkle and John Nicholson who serve on the board of the Center.
Grief:
We pray for Erin Pervis, a Blacknall supported missionary in Greece, whose Mom died in Georgia on January 4th. We thank God that Erin was able to be with her Mom before she died.
We pray for Diane Bidgood whose Mom, 92, died on January 9th, in Florida
We pray for Virginia Greene, whose grandson Christopher, 36, died on January 4th.
We pray for Diane Felton, whose brother Dennis died on January 3rd.
We pray for Nancy Congleton on the death of her stepmom, Joan, in Indiana. This immediately follows the death of her Dad.
We pray for Ann Harbour Tonn on the death of her mom, Doris, on January 13.
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
Joys
We give thanks that Wen & Casey Reagan, our new Director of Music and Worship, were able to sell their house in Birmingham so quickly!
We rejoice with Jake & Taylor Pennigar (and grandparents Pam and Tim Pennigar) on the birth of Helen Monroe Pennigar on January 8th.
We give thanks for the Lord’s financial provision as we ended the year with our income well over our expenses.
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 recovering from open heart surgery this past Tuesday.
We pray for Taylor Brennan as she begins radiation treatments for cancer.
We pray for Rick Every as he recovers from cataract surgery.
We pray for Wen and Casey Reagan that they would be able to 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 the inauguration of President-Elect Biden on Wednesday 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 a time of prayer for the inauguration and for our nation this Tuesday with St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church at noon and 7pm.
We thank God and pray for Carol Smith, as she serves us by handling the finances for us at Blacknall.
We thank God and pray for Leslie Cenezy as she manages our building and keeps our staff running.
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.
Community
Congo Initiative SEMINAR SERIES: A REFLECTION ON AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY AND THE GLOBAL CHURCH. Congo Initiative (CI) invites you to reflect and learn together with a host of CI friends whose wealth of experience in strengthening the church in Africa and beyond will inspire and inform your own work in cultivating impactful local and global relationships. Learn more.