Binkley Newsletter. January 2, At the Threshold of the Year

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1 Binkley Newsletter January 2, 2008 From the Pastor At the Threshold of the Year I have always been intrigued by paintings and photos of windows or doors. When my husband and I moved away from Oberlin where he had been a pastor for some years, the congregation presented us with a simple but striking photograph of light streaming in through a clear glass window on the side wall of the sanctuary. It is one of our most cherished gifts, probably because it seems to capture memory and possibilities, transition and transcendence. Evelyn Mattern, a friend, writer and former colleague at the N.C. Council of Churches, has a wonderful essay, Thresholds, in which she speaks of the spiritual significance of doorways, windows, and other portals. She writes: In some cultures, one bows, prostrates, or touches the hand to the doorway in passing. Doorways and gates are traditional places of sacrifice and judgment. Jacob wrestled with the angel at the gate of Heaven, and the Gospel admonishes us to enter by the narrow gate. Jews attach a mezuzah to the doorpost, and Catholics place a holy water font nearby. Windows hold similar spiritual significance. They speak of possibility, penetration, consciousness. Paintings of the Annunciation of the angel to Mary often feature a window, a doorway, or a portico symbolizing the coming of the divine into our human space. Some mornings I walk into the lovely new narthex here at Binkley, watch the winter sunlight slant through the graceful curve of glass at the front entrance, and think about thresholds. I wonder about the world outside our doors and the world within. I am reminded that our congregation is standing at the cusp of a new year and a new future. The pastoral search committee will be formed and begin its work in January. Ongoing conversations between the Council, Diaconate, and congregation will allow us to step into some new places of discernment and questioning. I hope we will find safe space to honestly discuss issues of communication and trust while also taking a fresh look at church structures that may need revision to meet the changing needs of a changing congregation. The god, Janus, for whom January is named, has two faces: one facing forward into the future and one looking behind at the past. I hope we can be like Janus as we enter 2008, the year of Binkley s 50 th birthday and also the threshold for a new future in ministry. May we pause for awhile at this spiritual doorway, grateful that grace still flows into the portals of our lives, and thankful for both memory and possibility! Peace to you and yours for the coming year. Denise

2 Transition Committee Presentation of Recommendations On December 9 th, the Transition Committee presented its recommendations to the congregation at an informational listening session following worship. Since this was a time for the congregation to learn more about the work and recommendations of the Transition Committee, and to ask questions and offer comments, no formal action was taken at that time. However, if there is readiness to adopt the recommendations of the Committee in the coming weeks, a vote can be taken at the Church in Conference Meeting after worship on January 6, Following are the Transition Committee s recommendations for future ministerial staffing: 1) Binkley continues the basic configuration of our present ministerial staff structure. 2) A Pastoral Search Committee should be established to look for a new minister who will: - Provide leadership in the areas of worship, preaching and pastoral care; - Provide leadership in setting priorities and sustaining the church's vision and mission in partnership with the other professional ministers, congregation, Church Council and Diaconate; - Guide/energize the ministerial staff in continued growth toward a team environment by: a) Providing leadership to enhance the team environment, mutual support and respect that exists within the church staff; b) Establishing priorities and balancing staff responsibilities in consultation with other members of the ministerial staff; c) Encouraging delegation of responsibility to other members of the professional staff - Assume the new title of "Minister" rather than "Senior Minister". This staff leadership model is a continuation of our present ministerial staff leadership structure with some modifications that will lessen hierarchy and enhance the teamwork aspects of the professional ministerial staff. The potential benefits of these modifications include: - Enhancing each minister's gifts and encouraging more responsibility within each minister's area of expertise while providing individual leadership as needed. This reduces the potential for 'burnout' since no one minister is expected to be 'in charge' in all areas of church life; - Attracting a more energetic, dynamic and creative applicant. Welcome, Bo Lloyd! We are delighted to have Bo Lloyd joining us this Sunday, January 6, as Binkley s new organist. We hope you will all be on hand to welcome him into our community. A huge thanks to the Organist Search Committee: Janice Pope, Carl Johnson, Pearl Seymour, Judith Eastman, Caryl Thomason Price, Leandra Strope, and chaired by Mike Jenkins! The months of work have paid off, and we are all excited to welcome Bo to our community. Christmas Eve Offering Report: Thank you to everyone who was able to support our church s 2007 offering. Nearly $ was collected on Christmas Eve to support two families in our congregation and the Bethlehem Smile program. Wrapping Up 2007 Pledges: Now is the time to catch up on your 2007 pledges for Binkley s programs and ministries! Pledge receipts are falling short of what was budgeted, so please help us meet our financial obligations and close out our books for the last year by sending in your contributions as soon as possible. Stewardship Update: We have received $581,668 in pledges from 178 members and friends of Binkley. The asking budget goal, $631,000, is now 92% within reach. Join your fellow congregational members in making our dreams a reality. It is noteworthy that the members of Binkley who have pledged have increased their pledge from last year by 8% on average. Let us all continue to be good witnesses to our faith. -Carole Stevens Denise Cumbee Long will be on vacation visiting her daughter in Peru from January Dale Osborne will be in NYC with Suzy and Hannah from January Contact Dale at for any pastoral emergencies during this time. If Dale is away, he will contact another minister to assist you.

3 Prime Timers: will meet January 9th at 12:30 over lunch in the lounge. The speaker will be the Reverend Susan Gladden, the Director of The Johnson Intern Program, which places college graduates in local nonprofits for a year's learning experience. Please register on the bulletin board across from the Minister of Education's office. Lunch is $6.00. Though this is an event for senior adults, all are welcome. Robert Seymour Picture This: Please mark Saturday January 26, Monday January 28 and/or Tuesday January 29 on your to do calendars. These three dates will be the days for picture time at Binkley. That s right; we need a new and up-to-date Binkley Pictorial Directory! Bill McNairy, Margie Billinger and Dale Osborne will be looking after this worthwhile endeavor. Strawbridge Studios will be setting up cameras and backdrops on the above three days to capture your beautiful face for our directory. More information will follow soon along with sign-up sheets in the narthex after the holidays. (Please note: this is a correction to dates that were published in previous editions of the newsletter.) Special thanks to Janice Pope, who has been our Substitute Organist for the past couple months. We are very fortunate to have Janice s talent, thoughtfulness, sensitivity, and generosity! New Member: Bonnie Stevenson has joined our congregation. Bonnie works at Presentation Strategies in RTP, and lives in Pittsboro. Her address is 116 Persimmon Hill Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312, and she can be reached at New Choir Robes! The Children s Choirs are getting new robes! Thanks to a special contribution by Mark and Jane Walters, we can move forward with purchasing robes and stoles for the children. The Walters very generous contribution is in honor of Mark s grandmother, Edith Walters, fondly known as Muz. This contribution is in addition to gifts made in honor of Jane Walters for her work with the Children s Choir a couple of years ago, and by the Binkley Ringers in thanksgiving for Leandra s work with them. Thank you to all who are making this possible for the children and for worship at Binkley! We hope to see the robes sometime in March. Children s Choirs New Rehearsal Schedule: Beginning January 6, the Children s Choirs have new rehearsal times. Immediately following worship, children and their families will gather for lunch in the Sunroom. Lunch will be coordinated by Jamie Rogers-Cook. Younger Children (K-1) will begin rehearsal about 12:45, and Older Children will begin rehearsal at 1:45. This is a great time for new children to join the choirs. Please contact Leandra at the church to let her know if your family will participate in the Children s Choir program. Youth Choir will begin rehearsal again on January 6 at 5:00. New members, grades 6 through 12, are welcome and encouraged to come sing with us. Chancel Choir (adults) will start the new year gearing up for Lent. This is a great time to join us! We rehearse on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 until 9, and we would love to welcome more members. We particularly need sopranos at this time. Please contact Leandra for more information. Church School: Church school resumes regular classes January 6 th. Special thanks to all our wonderful teachers! If you taught Sunday School this Fall and did not receive your thank you gift at the Intergenerational Church School this morning, please pick yours up on the baptistery in the narthex. Adult Christian Education Spring 2008: Binkley Church offers a wonderful array of adult education classes this spring, all listed below. We encourage you to sign up, and if you d like more information, please pick up a brochure in the narthex, or contact Beth Honeycutt.

4 Welcome Nicole Suddeth: We have hired a new nursery worker to begin Sunday, January 6. Welcome to Nicole Suddeth, who will join us in the Binkley nursery! Nicole will care for our children (particularly for infants) and connect with adults in the nursery. In addition, the main purpose Binkley employs nursery caregivers is to benefit from a presence of continuity throughout Sunday mornings and from week to week. Nicole is from Florida, where she earned a BA from Florida State University. She is with us in Chapel Hill as one of eight incoming students in the Fall 2008 Doctorate of Audiology Program at UNC. Nicole has cared for children of all ages, which provides a context for her interest in pediatric care in her Audiology studies. In addition, while at FSU Nicole was a long-term employee and active leader of the Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry. She is involved at Christ UMC in Chapel Hill. We hope that the Binkley parents of infants in particular will get to know Nicole and give her reasons to be busy on Sunday morning! Nicole joins Megan Stauffer, our nursery director, in forming our team of paid caregivers. Before the holiday break, we arranged for Nicole and Megan to meet and get to know one another. They are ready to begin work together in providing a safe and fun environment for Binkley s youngest! Beth Honeycutt January Birthdays 1 Katie Maitland Robbie Maitland 10 Elise Carlson Sibyl Wagner 23 Sarah Buren, Avery Jenkins Hunter King 2 Andrew Pike 11 Sue Schroeder 24 Christine Jernigan Christopher Wise 3 Jane Hill Ella Jackson Graham 13 James Price Diane Willis 26 Alex Borowski Scott McKenzie 5 Meg Graham Yvonne Holt 14 Susan Cullen, Ed Davis. Len Keller, Ann Overton 27 Beth Jukes Curt McLaughlin 6 Claudia Cannady 16 Kimberly Brewer 29 Gladys Matthewson Amelia Wise Chuck Hinnant 7 Kate Horton 18 Linda Vaughn 30 John Cullen 8 Billie Cox, Bill Powell 19 Diana Palmer, Stephanie Phillippi, 31 Anne Winfield Coye Rogers, Daniel Textoris 9 Nancy Hilburn 20 Ethan Porter Happy Birthday! January Anniversaries Tom Loomis and Gail Buxton: January 16 Our January Nursery Volunteers Date Nursery Volunteers Greeters January 6 Bob & Pat Goetz, Meg Graham & Amy Jackson, Daniel Guy Ilona & Troy Page January 13 Beth Honeycutt & Brian Graves, Martha Hutt, Trudier Harris, Wally Hill Angela Snider January 20 Betsy Holsopple, John & Yvonne Holt, Buck Horton & Sheryl Scrimsher, Kara Richards-Baker Catherine Hoyo, Don Hamm January 27 Anne Huffman, Betsey & Robert Hughes, Jeff Jenkins, Mike & Kristen Jenkins Tamara Dempsey-Tanner Help Wanted! Updates for Your Church Member Contact Information: We are busily correcting and updating church member contact information. If you have had any changes in your address, phone or , please let us know. Additionally, if you have requested having sermons, bulletins or newsletters sent to you, and are not receiving them, please let us know. We apologize for this inconvenience, and ask for your patience as we get this process moving. Contact Maureen Rosen at office@binkleychurch.org, or by phone , and she will gladly make sure you receive your Binkley information in a timely fashion. Nametags: If you have requested a permanent nametag and have not received one, please write your name on the nametag sheet on the blue table in the narthex. We realize there s been some confusion about this, and we apologize: if you ll let us know that you need a nametag, we will make sure that one is prepared for you.

5 You re Invited! A great group of Binkley members and friends (Tom Fewel, Kit Conway, Paul and Caroline Lindsay, Lisa Creasman, Sheryl Scrimsher and Dale Osborne) have been attending some training sessions on how to organize our Orange County community for positive social change. The parent organization that has sponsored our training is IAF (Industrial Areas Foundation ). We went to our community action training with over 40 other area residents from local churches and synagogues. The concept we were asked to ponder during our relationship building times was Think about the world as it is and imagine the world as it could/should be. Now we want to invite you to some relationship building opportunities where you can ponder that kind of question with us. One of our goals is to organize a large, diverse group of citizens to work for positive social change in our area. You are invited to pick one of three discussion times to build relationships and dreams for our community: Dale Osborne and Lisa Creasman will host at Dale s home on Wednesday, January 9 from 7:00-8:30 pm The Lindsays and Sheryl Scrimsher will host a gathering at the Lindsay home on Sunday, January 13 from 7:00 8:30 pm Tom Fewel and Kit Conway will host a gathering at Tom s home on Tuesday, January 15 from 7:30 9:00 pm Please contact Dale at dale@binkleychurch.org or at ext. 26 for more information. Binkley Book Group: Mark your calendars for Tuesday, January 29, 10:30 am. The BBG will meet in the Binkley Library, and Nancy Lutes will lead a discussion of Anne Tyler s book, Digging to America. John Dominic Crossan Lecture Series: This well-known religious author and scholar will offer a series of lectures at First Reformed United Church of Christ in Burlington on February 22 and 23, The lectures will follow the life of Jesus through a series called Jesus and the Kingdom of God: Why there, Why then? Why in Galilee? Crossan has written twenty books on the historical Jesus in the last thirty years, and is former cochair of The Jesus Seminar. Cost for both days of lectures, including lunch is $25. Attendees can come for one or both days. See Denise Cumbee Long for more information and a registration form. Habitat Hammer Time: I hope you re ready to wield a hammer or do some painting in the near future because Binkley will start work on our Habitat Apostles Build program in February. We ll be building a house in Hillsborough with seven other hammering churches. Please contact Dale Osborne (dale@binkleychurch.org) if you re interested in building or making lunches for this project. Workers must be 16 or older to volunteer. Our three Saturdays of work will take place between February and the end of May, and a sign-up board will be placed in the narthex. Say No To Cliffside Coal Plant: Al Gore in his very recent Nobel Peace Prize speech said: We also need a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store carbon dioxide. Third World companies plead that they must have new coal plants to keep their economies going (China adds one a week), but what about North Carolina.? Unbelievably Duke Power is planning to build a new coal-fired plant at Cliffside without using the latest emissions technology (because of an EPA loophole) and certainly not using carbon sequestration. While the first stage of approval is largely over, the fight for this plant has just begun and will be continued in courts and in the public arena. Send a message to James E. Rogers, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Duke Energy Corporation, ContactUs@duke-energy.com, and let him know we live in the 21st Century. - Earth Ministry Committee Recycling Christmas Cards: Rutherford Housing Partnership (RHP) is a non-profit in my home county that does small home repairs (small means $1000 or less for materials, performed with volunteer labor), often related to roofing and plumbing, as well as ramps and showers. One fundraiser RHP does is to collect Christmas card covers and turn them into postcards. Send your card covers to me and I will pass them along to the diligent fundraisers in Rutherfordton. Thanks! - Beth Honeycutt

6 Understanding the World Around Us: Flicka Bateman and Lily Wai will present "Refugees from Burma" following worship on January 27, This PowerPoint presentation will include an overview of the political situation in Burma, a firsthand account of life in a refugee camp and subsequent adjustment to American culture, and an introduction to Karen/Burmese traditions and values. Lily grew up in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border and came to the United States with her family in She is Karen, an ethnic minority in Burma that has struggled for decades for independence from the Burmese government. The family that Binkley began supporting in October is also Karen. Lily is a graduate of East Chapel Hill High School and a 2007 graduate of UNC-CH with a degree in Biology. She is currently employed in the histology lab at the Center for Cystic Fibrosis Research at UNC and works as a part-time translator for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Carrboro Community Health Clinic. For several years after they arrived in the US, the Wai family were neighbors of Lewis and Flicka Bateman. Flicka has been Lily's tutor, mentor, and friend since then. Praying in the Chapel: You are invited to spend time in prayer and meditation in the Binkley chapel space. Enter the chapel from the new narthex and open yourself to God s presence any time that the church is open. In addition, the Binkley prayer group meets in the chapel every Monday morning at 9:15. Yes, Virginia, There IS a Yard Sale! Since there have apparently been some reports to the contrary, we want to make sure to announce to one and all that there will be a Binkley Yard Sale in August 2008, pending Council securing a Chair or Co-Chairs. Please don t throw away all that wonderful stuff in your garage and attic! We look forward to a great event next year. Seated Properly: We would like to thank Joy Riebel for donating the comfortable couch and chairs to our library. They belonged to her parents, the late John and Peggy Riebel, former members of Binkley! Many thanks to Maria Palmer for responding to our appeal for furniture by letting Joy know of our need. Our library doesn't have a budget, but we do have a wish list! It is located on the top shelf of the counter just inside the door. We welcome your donations of current, children's and other books suitable for this library and in good condition. We also have suggestions of titles you could purchase to add to the collection. See the donation form for details, which is located on the same shelf. We are especially eager to acquire books BY or ABOUT Binkley members! - The Library Committee Sanctuary Flowers: Flowers are a loving way to support our worship together. Many thanks to all those who contributed beautiful bouquets in 2007! The 2008 sign-up sheet for providing flowers for the communion table is now in the narthex and ready for you to choose a date that you would like to provide flowers for our sanctuary. You may assist by bringing your own bouquet, by contacting a florist to deliver a bouquet or if you need assistance, you may contact me at If you order flowers, please make sure the florist delivers them on time and sends the invoice to you rather than the Binkley Church office. If you want to include a statement in the bulletin to honor a person or an occasion, please send that information to the office manager no later than Wednesday prior to the Sunday you will be providing flowers. If you do not plan to take the flowers with you after church, it would be helpful for you to let me know, so that we may share them with members of the Binkley community who may need a visit by our ministers. Thank you! - Janet O'Neal, Flower Committee Safety at Binkley: In our ongoing efforts to ensure a safe environment here on the Binkley campus, we are asking that all weekday visitors to the church enter through the front door, closest to the narthex. The door at the back of the church ( the kitchen door ) is now locked during weekdays, and only one front door will be unlocked for use. Of course, on Sundays, all of the front doors and the kitchen door will be open so that those attending services may enter and exit comfortably. We hope this is not an inconvenience to anyone, and we believe that limiting entrance to the church during weekdays allows us to maintain a safe place for all of us. Happy New Year from all of us at Binkley Baptist Church!

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8 Prayer Concerns in the Church Family: Dean Smith, Pam Swanson-Boyd, Dan Textoris, Gretchen Aylsworth, The Overton Family, Tom Bryan, Sarah Buren, Maurice Cohen (Julie Lentz s husband), Mary Jo Daughtrey, Martha Henderson, Lew Miles, Phillippi family, Lyn and Nash Pollard, Coye Rogers, Norma Willhoit, Roma Harris, Joan Ewing. Prayer Concerns in the Extended Family: Tim Buckley (friend of Geraldine King), David Moyer (Bob Phillips stepson), Hope Conway (mother of Kit Conway), Karen Brock (Ann and Roy Brock s daughter-inlaw), The family of Thomas Barnett (Karen Long s friend), Joyce Bradley (Family friend of Kent Coyle), Tan and Scott Coats, Richard Cole (Kent Coyle s uncle), Margie DeWoskin (Laurie Freeman s daughter), Tara Hogan (Talmadge Walker s niece), Thalia Falk, (Nettie Wilburn s friend), Gayle Gordon (Ruth Nagle s sister), Christine Hopkins (Anne Fishel s mother), Bill and Ellen Huffman (Anne Huffman s parents), Verla Insko s mother, Dirk Leiser (Mary Lou Smith s brother), Ethel Moses (Nettie Wilburn s sister), Jessica Mosqueda (granddaughter of JoAnn Flair), Dan Peck (brother of Bill Shelp Peck), Rebecca Rogers (Susan s mother), Jeanne Schulte (friend of Gladess Crisp), Sebene Selassie (Bereket s daughter), Jane Sutton (Willard Hamrick s cousin), Ruby Switzer (Katherine Walker s grandmother), Linnea Smith s father, Don & Sally Weil (friends of Doug and Susan MacKinnon), Mark Zach (friend of Phil and Rhonda Szostak). In The Military: Brian Buchanan (Tom and Kathy Bryan s son-in-law in Afghanistan), Logan Peck (Bill and Stacey Shelp-Peck s nephew in Iraq). We extend prayers of sympathy to Libba Wells on the death of her brother, Robert Carpenter, who died December 19 in Cherryville, NC. Binkley Baptist Church 1712 Willow Drive Chapel Hill, NC (919) Nonprofit Org. US Postage Paid Chapel Hill, NC Permit No. 70 Staff Directory Denise Cumbee Long, Interim Senior Minister denise@binkleychurch.org, ext. 27 Dale Osborne, Associate Minister Dale@binkleychurch.org, ext. 26 Beth Honeycutt, Minister of Christian Education Beth@binkleychurch.org, ext. 25 Leandra Merea Strope, Minister of Music Leandra@binkleychurch.org, ext. 24 Chris Fisher, Business Manager Business@binkleychurch.org, ext. 23 Maureen Rosen, Office Manager Office@binkleychurch.org, ext. 10 Robert E. Seymour, Minister Emeritus Pearl Seymour, Organist Emerita Bill Eastman, Volunteer Minister of Visitation Gloria Lightsey-Lewis, Vol. Min. of Church Growth Marlene Dickison, Director of Binkley Pre-School