Calendar
Sunday, Oct. 3
Cancer Support Group | 10-10:45 a.m. | Zoom link on CCB
Gather for prayer, education and sharing our lives. This is for all cancer survivors, caregivers, and loved ones. Contact Karen Allen with questions or to join the email list.
Sunday Evening Outdoor Worship | 6-6:45 p.m. | Iredell St. Lot (714 Iredell St.) |
Please join us on Sunday evenings (Oct. 3, 10, 24, 31, & Nov. 7) for outdoor worship at our Iredell St. lot (714 Iredell St.). This is an opportunity for all ages to see familiar (or new!) faces, witness to our neighbors and celebrate the Lord’s table.
Thursday, Oct. 7
Prayer for Afghanistan | 12-12:30 p.m. | Zoom link on CCB.
Please consider joining John Nicholson and Paula Rinehart for prayer (and fasting, if you can) for Afghanistan as we pray for the church under duress there, for allies who need safe passage out, for the mercy of God in a crisis situation, for Christ to reveal Himself to this stricken people. Contact: Paula Rinehart.
Sunday, Oct. 10
Prayer for Mission partners (4 p.m.) and Congo (7 p.m.) | Zoom link on CCB
Sunday Evening Outdoor Worship | 6-6:45 p.m. | Iredell St. Lot (714 Iredell St.)
Coming Up:
Festival of the Bean (Fall picnic/Chili Cookoff)
Sunday, Oct. 17, 4-7 p.m. at Camp Chestnut Ridge in Efland. Rise to the chili challenge, and you may be crowned Lord or Lady of the Bean! Come enjoy fellowship, s’mores, and the beauty of autumn. More details.
Inquirers’ Class
Sundays, Oct. 24, Nov. 7, 14, 21, and Dec. 5, 5-6 p.m. Curious about membership at Blacknall? Come to the Inquirers’ Class, a five-session series on what it means to be a follower of Christ in this particular Outpost of the Kingdom. Come get to know more about Blacknall, and let us get to know you! Childcare is available. Contact Goodie Bell with questions. Please register here.
The Betty (Women’s Storytelling Event)
Thursday, Oct. 28, 7-8:30 p.m. outdoors, on Lauren Holahan’s lawn (4428 Guess Road, Durham). The Betty is an effort to create a space for women to bear witness to the amazing/head-scratching/wonderful/ impossible/painful/glorious/joyful work of God in our lives, and a forum for all of us to hear, resonate with, and reflect on these sacred stories in the company of other listeners. We invite 3-4 women to step up to the mike and share a reading, recite a poem, do a comedy sketch, or tell a short story about a time they encountered Jesus. The Betty is the promotion of a culture of God-story tellers. Please contact Maria Bradshaw if you’re interested in being at the mike or have questions.
Women’s Retreat
November 12-14, 2021 (Location/Format TBA). More details here.
Announcements
Finance Committee Update
We are grateful for the generosity of our congregation. Here is a summary of our offerings and our expenses for the first two months of the current fiscal year (July 1 through August 31, 2021):
Offerings $185,559
Expenses $294,400
Offerings minus Expenses -$108,841
It is normal for us to fall behind in the summer months. Our current deficit of $108,841 is quite a bit larger than usual for this time of year. We do have reserves set aside to cover gaps such as this one, and we have finished each of the past 5 years with a surplus. Our overall financial status remains strong. This would be a great time to consider your plans for giving to Blacknall in this fiscal year. Since we are no longer passing an offering plate during our services, some members have set up monthly automatic donations. Please see our Giving page for a list of ways to give to Blacknall.
Serve on Sunday Mornings
Serve as an Usher (Aaron Ebert), or join the Stream Team (Wen Reagan), BAT (Blacknall Audio Team) (Leslie Eibest), or Coffee Crew (Tana O’Keefe). Contact the leader (in parentheses) for more information.
Volunteer in the Nursery. Fully vaccinated adults and teens are invited to support families by providing childcare during our 8:30 a.m. worship service and Sunday school hour.| Sign up. Contact: Leslie Petree.
Community Announcements
Reality Ministries Fall Fundraiser
Reality presents Swing Music on the Lawn with the Durham Jazz Orchestra. Sunday, October 24, 2021, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 4026 Glenn Road, Durham. An afternoon of music and fun along with a presentation about Reality and an opportunity to support our work. Please bring: Chairs or blankets, friends and family, and your dancing shoes! We will have popcorn and cookies, you're also welcome to bring a picnic!
Mentorlink Global Virtual Gathering
October 19, 8 p.m. EST. The Global Virtual Gathering will focus on leading like Jesus. This event is open to everyone and has speakers from all over the world sharing their experiences leading and mentoring. Learn what leading like Jesus is and why it is vital today. Each message is followed by a time of discussion and reflection for all participants. Please use this link to register yourself and send to others who you think will profit from the Gathering.
High Strung Irish Learning Jams at Blacknall
High Strung’s weekly Irish Learning Jam is now held in Blacknall’s Community Room on Tuesday nights, 6:30- 8 p.m. All players who are comfortable enough with their instrument to play in G major, D major, A major and the occasional e minor are welcome. Fiddle, guitar, mandolin, flute, tinwhistle, concertina, tenor banjo and harp are the most common instruments you'll find at this jam. Never a fee, always a frolic!
Love and Serve
Volunteer with StepUp Durham. Particular needs right now are for volunteers to serve as Resume Builders and Mock Interviewers at job readiness workshops, and to walk with participants as Co-Partners in Step2’s 8-week training modules. All opportunities are virtual through the end of 2021. To learn more, email StepUp’s Volunteer Coordinator, or contact Nancy Grigg.
Take a meal to Josh and Lori Riggs and pray for Lori as she’s experiencing health issues.
Volunteer at the Iglesia Emanuel Food Pantry. Not comfortable gathering? Sign up to bag rice and beans from home.
Volunteer at the Walltown Neighborhood Ministries Food Bank
Deep Common Journeys
What’s a Deep Common Journey? One of Blacknall’s commitments in mission is that we would intentionally enter into “Partnership with an organization in mission toward learning to be disciples of Jesus Christ.” We call these partnership relationships “Deep Common Journeys.” While Blacknall supports approximately 60 different international, Durham, and campus mission partners, we have focused on four Deep Common Journey partners—Reality Ministries (Durham), Families Moving Forward (Durham), International Students, Inc. (Campus), and Congo Initiative (International).
How can I enter our Deep Common Journey? There are many ways to get involved:
Congo Initative— Join the monthly prayer time for our Congolese brothers and sisters (second Sundays at 6:30 p.m. over Zoom), be a pen pal to a university student at UCBC, serve on the Congo Leadership Team. To learn more about these and other opportunities, fill out the CI Volunteer Interest Form or contact Kim Dunderdale. Sign up to receive news and updates from CI.
Reality Ministries — Reality has a wide variety of volunteer opportunities including gardening, beekeeping, karaoke dance, art, music, cooking, Bible study and much more. Join a daytime or evening group at the Reality Center, have fun and make some new friends! Check out Reality’s Volunteer page or contact volunteer coordinator Tammy Rodman.
Families Moving Forward— Be a Study Buddy, join the Hospitality Team, donate to Barrels of Joy, be a Room Refresher, or dine with Chefs for Change. Visit FMF’s volunteer page or contact Mark and Anne Paulson to learn more.
International Students Inc.— Join the IstudentsDuke prayer ministry and engage in regular conversation with an international student (in person or virtual). To learn more, fill out the volunteer interest form, visit ISI’s Volunteers page, or contact Dan Kronstad (630.903.1300).
Prayer
Ministry Partners
Campus & National— We pray for Hank Tarlton, working with faculty and graduate students at UNC Chapel Hill. Hank asks for prayer for: 1) His follow-up with UNC faculty who recently attended the first Triangle Faculty Roundtable. There were 70 faculty in attendance, 20 of them were from UNC. Several of them are not Christians and he would especially love to connect with them. 2) He is partnering with the NC Study Center for a faculty and graduate student event in a week. Dr. Ben Storey will be speaking on the topic of contentment. In addition, we are going to do a meet & greet with Dr. Storey the day after specifically for faculty and graduate students. 3) For the remainder of the graduate student dinners this semester. His new colleague, Jacob Thielman (whom Blacknall just started supporting), has been doing a great job overseeing the grad ministry though Hank continues to be involved. There has been a great turnout from new graduate students this semester in spite of COVID limitations. He says, “Please give thanks especially for all of our local hosts who have opened their homes (well, their yards) and served us dinners. Most of our hosts are faculty. Their hospitality has been tremendous.” 4) Jacob and Hank are planning a graduate student retreat to happen over UNC’s fall break toward the end of October. They will need to keep the numbers low due to COVID precautions, but are looking forward to doing this event in person.
International—We pray for Blacknall’s International Deep Common Journey partner, Congo Initiative, working in Beni, Eastern DRC. We pray for David & Kassie Kasali who hopefully will be coming to Blacknall in the next few months. We also pray for Honoré Bunduki Kwany, the Rector at the Christian Bilingual University of Congo (UCBC). Honoré asks us to praise God for the LMD degree format that UCBC has been using has been adopted by the national government and is an example for the government. David & Kassie Kasali were able to get both shots of the vaccine before they travel to the USA. They ask us to pray: 1) That all UCBC diplomas to be signed by the national Governor of Education. 2) For restoration of safety and security in the region of Beni, Congo. 3) For peace and hope for everyone who has recently lost a loved one to the violence and insecurity. 4) For David to receive his renewed passport and David & Kassie to get their visas before they travel to the USA. 5) For safe travel for the Kasali’s and that they will have the opportunity to travel throughout the USA once they arrive and not be locked down by COVID restrictions.“The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.” (Psalm 126:3)
Durham—We pray for the Durham Public School Foundation as they support the education of the children in our city. Please pray for DPS' 33,000 students, teachers and staff and the various levels of trauma they have experienced over the pandemic. Many of the students need healing and help coming back into in-person learning spaces. Teachers too. Pray that educators have the time and space to nurture students and meet their emotional needs, along with their academic needs. Please also pray for the DPSF as they are currently leading an effort to build outdoor eating and learning spaces across Durham Public Schools. They are looking for volunteers to help distribute lightweight chairs and cushions to schools, starting with schools that have the greatest need. Over 7,000 chairs have been purchased. They need help sorting and getting them out. If interested, people can visit DPSF's website or contact Mary Mathew.
Griefs
We pray for Nancy Congleton whose mom died on September 17
We pray for Jim & Linda Demarest and family on the death of his mother, Rose, on September 16
We pray for Ilene Stitsinger and Abby Stitsinger whose mother/grandmother died on September 12.
We pray for Carmen & Bob Pennington on the death of Carmen’s father, Hassel, on September 13.
Joys
We rejoice with Joe and Johnena Brown who were back in Durham last weekend for Joe’s hooding ceremony on the receipt of his PhD. They are doing well in Dayton, Ohio.
We rejoice with Abby Demarest & Toby Finizio who were married last weekend in Swansboro.
Concerns
We pray for Scott Crane, who is scheduled to have cataract surgery this Wednesday.
We pray for Andrew & Lauren McCrary as they work to become licensed as foster parents in order to welcome a young baby, “J”, to their family, hopefully before the end of 2021.
We pray for April Perry and Shelia Rittgers as they care for their friends from Haiti, Romel and Fregga’s, daughters, Gaelle (7) and Hadassa (3) for the next several months.
World
We pray for Afghan refugees and for the Mangal extended family here in Durham. We pray for Makail and his family still stuck in Afghanistan. We pray for a new family just arrived in Durham and for Andrea Tshihamba as she spearheads efforts by Blacknall to care for this family.
Life Together
We pray for Leslie Cenezy as she serves us by ensuring our building is in good shape and coordinating much of the ways our staff serves the congregation. We thank God for how Leslie has done so much to help us navigate being together in this season of COVID.
We pray for small groups, both existing and new ones being started up this Fall. Pray that our small groups would be agents of discipleship and fellowship. Pray especially for new groups forming that the members would quickly connect with one another and become places of trust.