Announcements

Virtual Congregational Meeting | Sunday, Oct. 11, 12 p.m.
Learn more about a plan for reduced capacity worship in the sanctuary and vote on the Officer Nominating Committee. The committee identifies members to stand for election to the offices of elder and deacon. Members will be asked to vote to approve a slate of individuals (Randy Bridges, Traci Hoover, Mary Mathew, Brett McCarty, and Dare Nicholson) to serve at-large on the committee this fall, alongside two elders (Evan Cate, Alex Hartemink), one deacon (Nancy Jones), and pastors (ex officio).
Officer Recommendations | View Form. The Officer Nominating Committee welcomes your recommendations for deacons and elders. More info here.
Virtual Table Talk | Wednesdays, Oct. 14-Nov. 11, Learn more here!
6:30-7 p.m -All the fellowship & fun of a meal together, minus the food.
7-8 p.m. - A variety of courses.
Fall Inquirers’ Class | Sundays, Oct 18-Nov. 15, 7-8pm | Zoom
Do you want to know more about life and membership at Blacknall? Come get to know more about Blacknall, and let us get to know you! We will kick off with a socially-distanced outdoor meeting on Sunday, October 18. The rest of the class will take place on Zoom. To attend, contact Goodie Bell.
S’mores Bake Off | Saturday, Oct. 24 10-12 p.m. kit pick up. The deacons are offering 50 free S’mores kits in honor of the long time Festival of the Bean. More info here.

Prayer & Thanksgiving

Ministry Partners:

Durham—We pray for World Relief Durham: (1) for the two families from Guatemala who arrived safely this past week, one of whom has severe disabilities...that they feel the welcome of their new community and safety in their new home; (2)f or the thousands of displaced persons who need to flee violence and persecution around the globe… WRD grieves the historically low number of refugee arrivals to the U.S. proposed for 2021 this past week and they ask us to pray for successful advocacy that this number would be increased; (3) for the families in the RIYS (Refugee and Immigrant Youth Services) program...online learning is tricky, and even more so for those for whom English is a second language and technology is not readily available.

International—We pray for Blacknall missionaries Dick and Nancy Baggé. From here in the U.S., Blacknall missionaries Dick and Nancy continue to counsel Wycliffe missionaries. Specific prayer requests: (1) thanksgiving for the purchase of a home in Pennsylvania, where they plan to move from Waxhall, NC, in October; (2) thanksgiving that they will continue to be fully engaged in supporting the Wycliffe team; (3) wisdom and love for Nancy in counseling missionaries; (4) healing and growth for those whom she counsels (5) Dick’s work as consultant and his work with the trauma healing materials; (6) relief from Nancy’s chronic back pain.

Campus—We pray for Steve Edwards and his work with international students at NC State. Steve works especially with South Asian students (here is a picture of him on his recent trip to India). Please pray for opportunities to meet new international students given the obstacles presented by the precautions because of the Coronavirus. Pray for international students who are feeling more isolated in this season. Pray for a virtual South Asia cultural training class that Steve is helping to facilitate.

Grief:

Pray for Mindy Lance whose Mom died last week.
Pray for Tim McKeown whose brother died recently
Pray for family and friends of Joanne Hodgson who died unexpectedly

Joys

We celebrate with Jay Huff and his parents, Mike and Kathy, at Jay’s wedding on September 19 to Lindsay Knights. Brad Turnage and former Blacknall intern, Mike Weiglein, officiated in Charlottesville, VA.
We celebrate the birth of Carys Mary Ebert to Deb and Aaron Ebert on September 20.
We celebrate the birth of Susannah Wren Stulac to Danielle and Daniel Stulac on September 24.
We celebrate Phil Mullins’ recovery from heart surgery and pray for continued strength and recovery.

Concerns

We pray for Marta Shultz as she is recovering at Pruitt Health Center from the COVID-19 virus.
We praise God that a new heart was found for Jerry Walter and that he had successful heart transplant surgery early Wednesday morning. Pray for continued recovery and for his wife, Angela.
We pray for Pam Pennigar as she accompanies her mom in Iowa through her last days.
We pray for Kris Barman as she cares for her Dad as his health declines.
We pray for all of those who are caregivers.
We pray for Sally Epps as she continues to recover from her hospital stay
We pray for Jo Oldham as her cancer has returned and is now entering hospice. Jo is unable to talk, so please let her know you care by writing her a note.

World

We pray for relief from the wildfires in the western United States.
We pray for our president and his wife that they would recover from the COVID virus.
We pray for the upcoming election and for the health of our shared civic life.

Life Together

We pray for search committees for the positions of Director of Music Ministries (chair, John Nicholson) and 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 will be with the children and that our building will be a place of safety and learning.
We thank God for Leslie Cenezy, Roger Eibest, and Rick Copland in their hard work and care for our building.

About the Music

A blast from the past: Today’s worship begins with an instrumental piece that was written for Blacknall over 20 years ago…but it’s absolutely worth hearing again. Andy Sauerwein was a grad student in music composition (and my very good friend); he wrote the beautiful setting (using the familiar hymntune “Waly Waly”) and helped to premier it (he was also a fine oboist). Originally scored for flute-oboe-piano, over the years I have massaged it for use with varied combinations; for today, Annie Scott and Kate Wilkin bring it to life with their violin and viola. Let the verse below be in your mind as you listen, all of it setting the table for Jamie Turnage’s beautiful solo, singing on our behalf, “Holy Spirit, You Are Welcome Here.” Isn’t it wonderful to know, that the Spirit of God is not waiting for us to beg or plead – He is here, now, in our midst, pointing with delight to the Father and the Son. Be comforted; be encouraged; be thankful.

Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control,
Our spirits long to be made whole.
Let love for Christ guide every deed;

By this we worship, and are freed.

*****

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here.
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.
Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for,
To be overcome by Your presence, Lord.
Your presence, Lord…

Community

Music, Faith… and the Double Pandemic | October 19, 7 p.m.
The upheaval of the world surrounds us with unmistakable force. Healthy forms of community are being interrupted by COVID-19 just as unhealthy forms of racial disunity are erupting in violence and being exposed through large-scale protests. How do we make sense of this world? Can music teach us or help us in this process? Dr. Emmett Price believes that “with ears to hear” music can help us in our isolation and in our disunity. More info here.