Yes, I've been remiss again in posting to blog! I really am trying to get it together...but now a note from Dave's desk...
“TAKE ANOTHER LOOK”
I drove over from our home to Erwin twice on Monday. In the morning as I came over, all the colors I had marveled at on Sunday were gone! There were no trees visible at all. In fact, the very highway was not visible, nor even the white lines on it. I was driving over during that horrendous downpour Monday morning, and the visibility was nil for a while. Obviously,I (and a lot of other drivers)just had to pull
over for a few moments before continuing on. But then I came back again on Monday evening, just before sundown, and the sun was breaking through clouds and highlighting different hillsides and slopes of the surrounding mountains: it was absolutely gorgeous! Even more amazing than what I had enjoyed on Sunday, probably because of the contrast from the morning.
It is not news to mention that First Christian Church has been through some stormy times recently.Several people have expressed alarm at the low attendance for worship services and the low offerings each week. In times like these our vision seems extremely low; some would say that the bright days were all in the past. But just as the mountains in all their beauty were still there all day on Monday, so we need
to get our perspective clarified and realize that God’s hand has not left His church.
When you think back to Jesus’ ministry in the days just before He went to Calvary, the Gospels tell us that His Apostles didn’t seem to catch on to what was happening. As He anticipated the great drama of the Crucifixion, they were arguing with each other about who was going to have the greatest position in His coming kingdom. From His arrest in the Garden, during His trials, and then while He suffered and died, almost all of the Twelve fled in fear and fretted about saving their own skin. It seemed there couldn’t have been a more unlikely group with which to found the Church! But then the Risen Lord drew them back together and refocused their vision on what His ministry really had been about. After His Ascension, the Holy Spirit filled those same unlikely and apparently unqualified followers, and thousands of people were baptized and became part of the worldwide Body of Christ.
We have to remember that this is Jesus’ Church, not ours. And when His Spirit is at work in His people,“the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” [Matt. 16:18] Through the centuries the Church has had stormy times, but it is still His Church. And even when it is hard for us to see, He is still working in and among us. Now it is our privilege to be faithful servants and seek to let His Spirit lead us where He will.
Yours in Christ,
RDR
~
Thanksgiving Dinner
Wednesday, November 10 at 6:00pm!
Our dinner will be catered by Three Peas in a Pod
and will consist of a traditional Thanksgiving
dinner. To help defray the cost we’re asking for a
donation of $6.00 for age 12 and up; $3.00 for
ages 6-11; children under 5 no charge.
Look for reservation slips on 10/31 & 11/7. You
may drop slips in the offering plate or call the
office by November 4th.
~
Trunk or Treat—Saturday, Oct. 30th.
The kiddies will start showing up at 5pm’ish so if
you’re planning on handing out candy and want to
decorate your car and prepare for the hordes you may
want to get there at 4:00-4:30!!
All children are invited to enter our COLORING
CONTEST!! Check out www.fccerwin.org to
download you coloring sheet! Entries in 7:00pm at our
Trunk or Treat location.
ALSO
Rumor has it there will be a drawing for an iPOD
Shuffle! All entries must be in by 7:00pm at our Trunk
or Treat location. All of those who enter will need to
pick up and fill out an entry from in it’s entirety.
Exclusions: FCC Members
~
For your information:
If you would like to come to Church and or
Bible Study and can’t drive yourself we’d be
happy to help OR
If you’re unable to attend Worship Service
and would like to have Communion brought
to you…
Please call the Church Office for more
information
~
5th Sunday Hymn Sing
Sunday, October 31 @ 6:00pm Lily Dale will host
~
Missions Minute
Our missions program has been one of our strongest outreach ministries here at FCC. Over the years we have been blessed to be able to support a missions program that is a significant percentage of our general budget. Our mission’s budget for 2010 is slightly over 24% of our general budget. This does not include special offerings like the Haiti offering taken in February, or the special missions Sunday offering taken in August..
Unfortunately we are currently running behind on our weekly offerings in support of missions. So far this year our church giving to missions is about $10,000 behind what the budget calls for at this time of year. Fortunately, the Boone Estate is helping, but we should not and can not keep depending upon this source. Our missions program is an extremely important segment of our ministry and we must continue to support it generously. The solution to our deficit is not lower our budget, but rather to prayerfully and intentionally trust the Lord to bless us as we increase our personal giving to His work.
Next week we will look at how FCC categorizes the missions we support.
PDE
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
TRUNK or TREAT!!
We will have our annual Trunk or Treat at the Fellowship Hall on Saturday, October 30 from 5:00p-8:00p. If you plan on participating in handing out candy and decorating your car you might want to be there a bit earlier!
We will have a coloring contest and rumor has it an ipod Shuffle will be given away in a drawing.....check out www.fccerwin.org for more details!
The Erwin Merchants Association is also closing down part of Main Street to hand out candy as well...it may prove to be our biggest and best T or T ever!!
If you cant make it out on Saturday evening but would like to donate candy you my bring your dontations to FCC on Mon. Tues. or Thurs. from 8:00am to 2:00pm
Join us!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Broadcaster Highlights - October 5, 2010
Yes, I know it's been hit and miss on the blog lately! There are so many new and exciting things going on right now that quite frankly I forget to post to the blog, my apologies!
I'm thinking by 2011 the blog may be phased out since we now have the website thanks to Andy being so handy! Sorry Andy I couldnt resist that :)
I will slowly learn "how to" post the news letter directly on the web site.
I feel renewal in the air - I also feel the pressure starting to build as we approach the busiest season of the year. From now until the end of December it will be Katie bar the door. (I just keep tossing names out there!)
Stay centered loved ones; keep your eye on the Cross and make time for God and His word every day and especially when you are overwhelmed, let Him quiet your spirit and feed your heart! Join us this Sunday as we learn more about Heroes of the Old Testament:
Sunday, Oct. 10
Speaker…….David Roberts
Sermon Title
“A Runaway Faces God”
Sermon Text
Genesis 28:10-22
And now...
From the desk of David Roberts......
AFTERTHOUGHTS OF AN APPLE FESTIVAL
Well, the big festival is over for another year! Our youth (aided by a host of
hard-working adults) earned a great sum from the parking provided to festival-goers, and the little booth in front of our building offered both balloons and maps for the festival locations – plus some good information about First Christian Church. We really do thank all those who worked so hard and helped this church to have a positive presence at this big occasion.
As I have thought about the occasion, I keep coming back to the apple part of it. Donna and I went up to Coffee Ridge as part of our annual enjoyment of the festival, and we bought our usual bushel of apples.There is nothing better than buying them fresh from the orchard (including a price far less than buying apples in a store – apples that have traveled halfway across the country or around the world to get here!)But the brothers Willis, who are working one of the last three orchards still fully functioning on the Ridge, said this may be the last year for their orchard to continue. People shun paying $12 a bushel for their apples and prefer to pay as much as a dollar an apple in stores. It is sad to think that a local industry is fading away due to short-sighted economic decisions.
When we first started coming to the festival, some 28 years ago, we hardly saw any apples available for sale among the booths. At the time it seemed strange that the festival claimed to be about apples, but they
were hard to find. Now there are several booths that sell them, but I’m not sure if any actually come from Unicoi County orchards. I guess that’s another sign of the times.Mulling over these thoughts brought me to think that any apples we get today will be gone at least by spring, if not long before. And that reminded me of the old stories of Johnny Appleseed, the legendary man who went everywhere planting apple trees all over the countryside. Assuming those stories to be based on some kind of fact, that represents someone providing apples far beyond the fruit of a single
season. A good apple tree, well cared for, can produce an abundance of apples – literally for a lifetime. And those thoughts brought me to the role of Christians in the church today. All of us are here for only a season, no matter how many years we may count up in the process. And the lasting benefit of our having been here can be found best in the seeds we plant along the way. Jesus’ commission to His followers was/is to “make disciples,” and the ongoing life of the church always depends on that very process. We in the church today have a tremendous blessing of having been able to enjoy the fruit of those who have gone before us. Our most important job now is to make sure we are planting trees that will bear fruit for generations to come.
Have you scattered any seed this week? Let’s all encourage one another to keep on keeping on!
Yours in Christ,
RDR
Trunk or Treat
Candy Donations…..
FCC will host a Trunk or Treat again this year on
Saturday, October 30th beginning at 5:30pm;
rain or shine!
We need candy for this event!
You will find boxes for your
donations in the foyer and
In the main Hallway.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
This Sunday, Oct. 10
Please plan to stay a few minutes following the Worship Service to vote on Elder/Deacon nominees.
~
Monday, Oct. 11
Committee Dinner Meetings @ 6:00pm hosted by Beverly Britt & Angie Moore
Followed by the
Board Meeting @ 7:30pm
In the Booster Classroom.
~
Ministers Appreciation
Potluck Meal
Sunday, October 17 following the Morning Worship Service.
October is Clergy appreciation month. In recognition of this we will have a carry in potluck meal to honor Dave and Donna Roberts and Andy and Kim Frazier.
Beverage and Bread provided.
~
Trunk or Treat
Will be on Saturday,
October 30th beginning at
5:00-5:30pm
~
5th Sunday Hymn Sing
Sunday, October 31
@ 6:00pm
Lily Dale will host.
Happy Birthday to:
Tommy Phillips-14
Jack Gardner-15
Happy Anniversary
Shelton/Gail Thompson-14
I'm thinking by 2011 the blog may be phased out since we now have the website thanks to Andy being so handy! Sorry Andy I couldnt resist that :)
I will slowly learn "how to" post the news letter directly on the web site.
I feel renewal in the air - I also feel the pressure starting to build as we approach the busiest season of the year. From now until the end of December it will be Katie bar the door. (I just keep tossing names out there!)
Stay centered loved ones; keep your eye on the Cross and make time for God and His word every day and especially when you are overwhelmed, let Him quiet your spirit and feed your heart! Join us this Sunday as we learn more about Heroes of the Old Testament:
Sunday, Oct. 10
Speaker…….David Roberts
Sermon Title
“A Runaway Faces God”
Sermon Text
Genesis 28:10-22
And now...
From the desk of David Roberts......
AFTERTHOUGHTS OF AN APPLE FESTIVAL
Well, the big festival is over for another year! Our youth (aided by a host of
hard-working adults) earned a great sum from the parking provided to festival-goers, and the little booth in front of our building offered both balloons and maps for the festival locations – plus some good information about First Christian Church. We really do thank all those who worked so hard and helped this church to have a positive presence at this big occasion.
As I have thought about the occasion, I keep coming back to the apple part of it. Donna and I went up to Coffee Ridge as part of our annual enjoyment of the festival, and we bought our usual bushel of apples.There is nothing better than buying them fresh from the orchard (including a price far less than buying apples in a store – apples that have traveled halfway across the country or around the world to get here!)But the brothers Willis, who are working one of the last three orchards still fully functioning on the Ridge, said this may be the last year for their orchard to continue. People shun paying $12 a bushel for their apples and prefer to pay as much as a dollar an apple in stores. It is sad to think that a local industry is fading away due to short-sighted economic decisions.
When we first started coming to the festival, some 28 years ago, we hardly saw any apples available for sale among the booths. At the time it seemed strange that the festival claimed to be about apples, but they
were hard to find. Now there are several booths that sell them, but I’m not sure if any actually come from Unicoi County orchards. I guess that’s another sign of the times.Mulling over these thoughts brought me to think that any apples we get today will be gone at least by spring, if not long before. And that reminded me of the old stories of Johnny Appleseed, the legendary man who went everywhere planting apple trees all over the countryside. Assuming those stories to be based on some kind of fact, that represents someone providing apples far beyond the fruit of a single
season. A good apple tree, well cared for, can produce an abundance of apples – literally for a lifetime. And those thoughts brought me to the role of Christians in the church today. All of us are here for only a season, no matter how many years we may count up in the process. And the lasting benefit of our having been here can be found best in the seeds we plant along the way. Jesus’ commission to His followers was/is to “make disciples,” and the ongoing life of the church always depends on that very process. We in the church today have a tremendous blessing of having been able to enjoy the fruit of those who have gone before us. Our most important job now is to make sure we are planting trees that will bear fruit for generations to come.
Have you scattered any seed this week? Let’s all encourage one another to keep on keeping on!
Yours in Christ,
RDR
Trunk or Treat
Candy Donations…..
FCC will host a Trunk or Treat again this year on
Saturday, October 30th beginning at 5:30pm;
rain or shine!
We need candy for this event!
You will find boxes for your
donations in the foyer and
In the main Hallway.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
This Sunday, Oct. 10
Please plan to stay a few minutes following the Worship Service to vote on Elder/Deacon nominees.
~
Monday, Oct. 11
Committee Dinner Meetings @ 6:00pm hosted by Beverly Britt & Angie Moore
Followed by the
Board Meeting @ 7:30pm
In the Booster Classroom.
~
Ministers Appreciation
Potluck Meal
Sunday, October 17 following the Morning Worship Service.
October is Clergy appreciation month. In recognition of this we will have a carry in potluck meal to honor Dave and Donna Roberts and Andy and Kim Frazier.
Beverage and Bread provided.
~
Trunk or Treat
Will be on Saturday,
October 30th beginning at
5:00-5:30pm
~
5th Sunday Hymn Sing
Sunday, October 31
@ 6:00pm
Lily Dale will host.
Happy Birthday to:
Tommy Phillips-14
Jack Gardner-15
Happy Anniversary
Shelton/Gail Thompson-14
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