Announcements
Prayer for Mission Partners | Zoom Links on CCB
Sunday, Nov. 8, 4 and 6:30 p.m.
In this week of elections and more and more coronavirus, maybe what we all need is a little perspective. Come spend an hour praying for our brothers and sisters who are serving the worldwide church. We will meet at two different times:To pray for all of our international mission partners at 4 p.m.
To pray for our brothers and sisters working with our Deep Common Journey partner, Congo Initiative at 6:30 p.m.
Come to one or the other or to both and be reminded how big our God is and what he is doing in the world!
The Blacknall Library is open!
Self-service whenever the church building is open. Check-out instructions are on the front desk. Returns may go in the slot under the window or in the basket inside the door. Please help us care for our library assets by keeping track of your borrowed materials and returning them to us. If you have materials checked out, you will be receiving a gentle reminder soon to check in with you on outstanding books, CDs and DVDs. Any questions about library access or materials? Email us at library@blacknall.org. We look forward to the day we can be together in the library again!
PHOTOS OF LIFE TOGETHER WHILE APART
Do you have a photo of a creative way of sharing life together while apart? Please send them to Mary Grimm. Photo above of Blacknall folks Christina Gibson-Davis and Rick Copland helping out with the Walltown food bank distribution last week.
Prayer & Thanksgiving
Ministry Partners:
Durham—We pray for our sister church, St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church in Walltown. We pray for Rev. Robert Daniels, their Senior Pastor, and first lady, Kathleen Daniels. We give thanks for their faithful friendship with Blacknall. We pray for their outreach into the community and for Sylvia Belcher as she spearheads this work. We pray that the people they serve and care would be receptive to the gospel. We pray for the sense of community and connectedness within the congregation to be not only maintained but deepened during this time of worshiping remotely. Pray for a deepening of our relationship with St. John’s and for the folks who gather remotely to pray together from Blacknall and St. John’s at noon on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month.
International—Please pray for Blacknall missionary Jenn West who writes from Amsterdam, “I am happy to report that none of my family, friends, or students has been infected with the virus. We have set up online Bible studies with students who haven’t returned home. All International Student Ministry (ISM) groups in the Netherlands have developed some form of virtual gathering to care for international students. I stand in awe, as students have been challenged and come up with new initiatives to minister to one another.” Prayer requests: (1) patience and wisdom in navigating ISM in these uncertain and difficult days; (2) her spiritual and physical renewal day by day; (3) wisdom in supervising the work of her staff; (4) effective means of contacting international students in the Netherlands, befriending them, and engaging them in meaningful conversations and Bible studies.
Campus—We pray for Kris Cooper and his work with RUF at NC Central University. We thank God for the student leaders who have stepped up, particularly in this season when non-students are not allowed on campus due to the coronavirus. We thank God for the opportunity Kris has had in this season to preach about the cross and its power to bring different cultures together. Please pray that God heals and reconciles the brokenness among students and fears of breaking down walls that keep us from being a church glorifying God through our differences. Please pray for the mental health of students who are suffering from being alone, depressed and missing the student to teacher contact. Pray that the Lord would provide the financial resources to help this ministry continue to grow and prosper.
Use the November Prayer guide to prayer for Blacknall supported missionaries.
Grief:
Pray for Rev. Robert Daniels of St. John’s whose sister died this past week.
We pray for Kris Barman whose Dad died recently.
We pray for Dean Storelli whose Dad died recently.
Continue to pray for family and friends of Joanne Hodgson.
Joys
We thank God for Marta Schultz’ recovery from the COVID-19 virus.
We thank God for the Wednesday evening Table Talk courses that wind up this Wednesday and for the fellowship and learning that has happened there.
Concerns
We pray for Gordie Simons having surgery this Monday.
We pray for Sarah Owen as she is recovering from the COVID-19 virus.
We pray for medical and frontline workers who are caring for those with the virus
World
We pray for deliverance from the virus as it surges in our nation and around the world.
We thank God for the election and for a political system that allows us to elect our leaders. We pray for a peaceful and fair resolution to our election and for all of those who were elected to serve that they would do so in service to righteousness and justice.
We pray for Christian brothers and sisters around the world who are facing persecution because of their faith in Christ. We pray for perseverance and hope and relief for them.
Life Together
We pray for our plans to begin worshiping in person in the sanctuary. We pray for wisdom as to how best to do this.
We give thanks for the work of the search committee for the position of Director of Music Ministries (chair, John Nicholson) and we pray for the search committee for the Director of Congregational Care (chair, Melissa Hartemink).
We pray for Durham Public Schools and for the Learning Center that we are hosting at Blacknall. We pray for the staff from the YMCA who are with the children and that our building will be a place of safety and learning.
We pray for Leslie Petree and Beth Solie as they lead our ministries to children and families and as they seek to find ways to help our children remain connected to our life together as a congregation in this season of pandemic.
We pray for the Nominating Committee as they begin their work of nominating people to serve as elders and deacons.
About the Music
Do you know people who write long sentences to describe something or someone, when a single word would have sufficed? (I meant other than me!) The power of a single word is found in its potential energy: it does not tell you everything, but it fires your imagination in ways that sentences sometimes do not. Take two songs as examples. In “Salvation Belongs to our God,” we echo the worshipers around the throne (described in Revelation) and offer these single-word “songs” to God: Praise; Glory; Wisdom; Thanks; Honor; Power; Strength. Then, in the hymn today, “O Worship the King,” we identify the Lord as King, Shield, Defender, Ancient of Days, Maker, Redeemer – and, perhaps the richest word of all, Friend. I encourage you to take these words home and meditate on them this week. Look them up in Scripture. And, as you do so, be sure to tell your best Friend all about it – He’s eager to hear from you.
O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.
Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In You do we trust, nor find You to fail;
Your mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!
Community
No-Cost COVID-19 Testing at Walgreens
Walgreens is offering no-cost, contactless COVID-19 testing at select locations in partnership with the PWNHealth provider network. Testing is available at no cost to eligible individuals who meet criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and federal guidelines. At the testing locations, Walgreens pharmacy team oversees patients’ self-administration of the COVID-19 test. Details here.
Virtual Chefs for Change | Nov. 13
Please join Families Moving Forward for 2020's Virtual Chefs for Change Gala! We'll have an online silent auction, a short video presentation, and a virtual interactive element for all attendees, and we're working with our sponsors on some other fab goodies. It has been a tough year for so many of our neighbors experiencing homelessness. FMF has continued to provide families with children a stable, safe and loving home while adapting to new routines and physical distancing. The Chefs for Change Gala is our chance to safely come together in a time when we need connection more than ever. Tickets are $50 at fmfnc.org/gala. For more information, contact Mark Paulson (919-621-2725) or Anne Paulson (919-812-6208).