Mt. Hope Messenger August, 2016

Transcription

1 Mt. Hope United Church of Christ Mt. Hope Messenger August, Mt. Hope Church Rd. Whitsett, NC Office: Fax: website: church co-pastors Rev. Lynne Hinton (505) (cell) (36) (home) Rev. Kristin Gerner Vaughn (336) (cell) (336) (home) Office Hours: 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. church secretary Shirley Connor Office hours: Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Thurs. - Fri., 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. consistory president Dallas Belvin choir director / organist Tim Hucks custodian Brenda Currie Your Love Letter from Your Pastors: We are on the cusp of something new. On June 1, 2016, Mt. Hope voted for 2 pastors to work together, equally yoked, to care for this church, to provide pastoral care, to preach, to plan and lead worship, to provide guidance to committees and to lead the church in missions and community outreach. The past 8 weeks have been life-giving for both of your pastors. We have accomplished things like setting up the office, making the one office work for two pastors. We have attended meetings and helped with VBS, begun a Bible Study on Wednesday nights, provided pastoral care to homebound members and those in the hospital. We have been inspired hearing your stories over coffee and lunch and we have prayed for you. We are gaining a sense of rhythm to our week. Starting something new is exciting and challenging. George Washington, as he was starting this country, said, Change is a fast growing plant. George Washington also said, Collaboration is a plant of slow growth that endures much adversity. Your pastors desire to be co-pastors who are in constant collaboration with each other. Both of us are part-time pastors with part-time hours. We are 2 pastors filling a fulltime position and in order to do that we value collaboration so that the church s resources and our time can be utilized fully. You may not always see us together. Most likely, one pastor will be present at any one ministry event, such as a committee meetings, however, please know that we share notes from each ministry event we attend with the other pastor. We collaborate about your meeting, your pastoral care needs, prayer concerns, upcoming events, future ministries, etc. It is a bonus for Mt. Hope Church to now have 2 pastors who love you and remain in prayer for you continuously. On our first day of work, we were together riding in Lynne s car. We were returning from making pastoral care visits in the nursing care facilities. It was a blessed day! As we were traveling, we saw a church member in her yard. I rolled down the window and said, Hey there!! I didn t think she recognized the car or me so I introduced us, Hey! It is your 2-headed pastor. How does the saying go? Two heads are always better than one. George Washington was right, collaboration is a slow growing plant that endures much adversity. Faith, collaboration, love, genuine care and a passion for ministry are helping us shape

2 our time together. We remain grateful for this opportunity to be your pastors, together. You are a wonderful church and we feel blessed to be in this partnership together. Co-Pastor s Yearly Schedule: Kristin returns on August 6. Lynne will be gone during September. (1 st year modified schedule.) December through May: Lynne and Kristin will both be working part-time. Summer: Lynne will be working full-time. Fall: Kristin will be working full-time. Pastor Lynne is in the office Monday-Wednesday Pastor Kristin is in the office Wednesday-Friday. Courage and strength, blessings and power, Your Pastors Co-Pastor's Schedule The Pastor Preaching is on-call for the week before that Sunday. Week Preaching On-Call August 1 7 Lynne Lynne August 8 14 Kristin Kristin August Lynne Lynne August Lynne Lynne Aug. 29 Sept. 4 Kristin Kristin Mt. Hope United Church of Christ Consistory Meeting Members Present: Gloria Apple, Dallas Belvin, Elizabeth Craft, Bennie Gerner, Bob Hamlet, Joe Hughes, Dora Moore, Linda Shue, and Becky Stafford Trustees Present: Wesley Reece The meeting was called to order at 7:06 p.m. A quorum was established and Dallas welcomed all. Devotions: Becky Stafford presented devotions on the Aaron and Miriam. People wept because they had not heard the word, they were spiritually hungry people. She referred to last Sunday s Sermon and how the congregation wept as we too have been spiritually hungry and we are now hearing the word. Becky gave thanks to our new pastors. Rev. Hinton thanked us all for her being here and to work with Kristin. Dallas closed in prayer. Trustees Report: Wesley reported that they have fixed all the burned out lights. The computer for the heating and air has some issues but they are giving it another month before we decide it has to be replaced. We need to run note in bulletin to remind everyone to not touch the HVAC controls per Dallas, Consistory President, as it is controlled by a computer. Bathroom is still work in progress. HVAC unit for parlor is work in progress. Porch light will be fixed we when can arrange for a lift. No one has seen a leak in the Steeple, still watching it. Bennie Gerner is to get a date set for the church cleanup. Thanks go to Tracy Brady & Stanley Buff for painting the external doors of the church. Dora Moore to get an authorized personnel only sign for the boiler room. Three walls of the pastors office need to be painted. To run announcement in bulletin that we have a used office desk if anyone would like it to let Dallas or one of the trustees know. Gutters are off in two places. Wesley to get a price on using a lift. Bennie Gerner gave approval for the church to put the water tanks for the shelter in the building in the cemetery to be stored so the trustees can have access when the shelter is rented. To run announcement that the picnic shelter needs to be reserved with Shirley, we have a procedure just like for the use of the church. Youth asked to move homeless bags packing area to the other side of the Meals4kids room.

3 Youth to clean up and organize so they can use it. Pastors Report: The pastors reported that they have had two funerals in June and have done twelve visits includes meeting with families. They are following up with visitors from each Sunday. Rev. Hinton will be at BRCC this weekend Wednesday Saturday. Southern Conference annual meeting is Jun Anyone interested in attending, Rev. Vaughn will be going Thursday and Friday and Rev. Hinton will be going with anyone else who wants to attend. Rev. Hinton is taking September off. Rev. Vaughn will be off June 26-July 9 th. The installation of our new pastors will be on Aug 28 th. Saturday August 27 th we will have a farmer s market day and crafts and music. Stewardship Committee to change August hot dog lunch date to August 27 th. Saturday Aug 27 th we will have a night speaker and open up the church to other churches and conference for Stages of Faith. Steve Lucas will be the speaker and we will have a love offering for him. August 28 th at 3pm will be the installation service. We will have pot luck lunch and Ice cream social for the reception and Bennie to check on music and someone to check with Cynthia Morris about changing the ice cream social to the day of the installation. The pastors are doing mid-week announcements and they are taking 5 members each week to pray for them and their families. Working on pod cast for link about info on each sermon. Approval of the Minutes: A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes with the corrections. Motion carried. Treasurer s Report: Joe Hughes presented a report on May. The beginning balance in May was $40, and the monthly income was $22, Expenses were $14, This resulted in a closing balance of $48, A motion to accept the Treasurer s Report was made and seconded. Motion carried. Meals4kids: Gloria Apple reported that they thought the last bagging was in May but because the school year was extended they were given another week to do. Thanks goes to Bennie and Judy Gerner for delivering the bags. Stewardship: Dallas reminded everyone that our first hot dog lunch will be on Saturday. Evangelism: Dallas reported they still need members. Bennie Gerner, Helen Busick, Dallas Belvin, Elizabeth Craft, Rev. Hinton and Rev. Vaughn will help. Old Business: Youth helped out with Andy Open. Rev. Foust Visit, consistory needs more information. The pastors will cover with the congregation the good works of the UCC. Safe church policy, Dee informed pastors they need to complete and we are still waiting on others. Constitution Revision committee will be giving the Consistory a list of the changes to review. Legacy Planning and UCC funded projects, Dallas will let us know when something comes available for us to help. Nursery Worker Training, Elizabeth to set up training. Holding off on installing TV/DVD for nursery 0-4 years and will work to put teaching into place. Rev Hinton moving expenses have been settled up. Dora Moore called Duke Power but we will still have three bills but they put them on the same schedule to read so we could write one check. New Business: Consistory discussed Mt. Hope Daycare opportunity but we have too many issues going on to do this now. Dee Greeson to get photos of Rev. Hedrick and Rev. Wallace that are not pictured on the bulletin board of past preachers. Dallas to send letter about hosting WNCA meeting. Bill Craft has offered to scan historical records and so that we can have them on and off site. A motion was made and seconded to allow Bill Craft to scan them. Motion carried.

4 Thanks to Bill Craft for the pastor s desk, computers and help setting up everything. Actions Approved by Dallas: We purchased two new chairs for the pastors office. Approved funeral for Tyler Gerringer to be held at the church. Approved use of the van for the Crossnore Trip. food at any time. The Children are out of school and the need for food is even greater at this time. There is a basket in the Narthex for your donations and a monetary container is there also if that will work better for you. There are also containers in the breezeway and the portico entrances. Please pray about this much need ministry and buy a can or two when you do your grocery shopping. Thank you for your support in the much needed ministry. Rev. Vaughn closed in prayer. Meeting adjourned at 9:58 p.m. Next Consistory Meeting is July 14 th at 7pm. Respectfully Submitted, Gloria Apple, Secretary On July 3, 2016, we celebrated the baptism of Aveleen Avie Craft. Avie is the daughter of Michael and Kate Craft, the sister of Liam and Corbin, the granddaughter of Bill and Elizabeth Craft and Wayne and Lynn Hale and great granddaughter of Peg Hale. Below you will find some photos from the service. Greetings Ladies, How the summer is speeding by! There is just one thing to remind you of this month. We have been invited to attend the Guilford/Randolph District meeting of Southern Conference Church Women. It will be held at St Stephen UCC Greensboro on Sunday, August 14 th, at 3:00 pm. If you would like to attend just be at Mt. Hope that day at 2:15 and we can car pool. We will be receiving information about new program material. Also, two people will be sharing their testimonies about their real-life experiences. Let s try to be there! Elizabeth Craft Lilly Moser serving as Acolyte Greensboro Urban Ministry: Due to the holiday and people being on vacation, our food donations were very low for the month of July so we didn't take any in this month. Our collection dates for August will be Sunday, August 7th and on Sunday, August 14th. You can bring Baptism of Aveleen

5 Baptismal Reading Children s Time Wednesday night Bible Study, come join us! Music by Kathi Hinton Nixon & Georgia Kate Edgerton, Pastor Lynne s family members Aveleen s family Hot Dog Lunch Report for July For the month of July, we had another successful hot dog lunch. Attendance was good with a total of $ in purchases and $75.75 in outright gifts. So far for July, no requests for reimbursement have been submitted, so we have no purchases to be paid from receipts. We greatly appreciate the work of our volunteers and supporters for purchasing food, donating food and supplies, and for working diligently to make the lunch a success.

6 The table below provides totals of the food items consumed. It lists the funds received for purchases and on-the-spot donations. The total has been deposited into the general fund account. total desserts sold= 95 total chips sold= 165 total drinks sold= 98 total hot dogs sold= 211 total funds received= $ Gifts received at lunch = $75.75 total funds received= $ The Hot Dog Lunch for August will be on Saturday, August 27 th. It will be very special as it will be part of the installation of our new ministers. Please plan to attend and become part of this occasion to welcome our new pastors and to meet and greet friends and relatives in the community. -The Stewardship committee story about the cross on the donkey s back (see the picture). We also received a special treat from Mary Catherine, which we ate when we got back to the church. The last day we played some games. The older kids enjoyed Red Rover, an oldie but goodie. The younger kids enjoyed playing, Pig Pen. Our pink pigs made out of balloons escaped from their pen and had to be put back in using fly swatters. It was an exciting time as the pigs kept escaping. We also had great snacks: pigs in a blanket, cow tails, fruit & veggie cups, goldfish, melon in a melon bowl that looked like a pig and yummy cupcakes. The kids had fun learning some fun songs, including Take Me Out to the Barnyard, BINGO, Old MacDonald and If You Are Happy and You Know It. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone that helped with VBS, everyone worked hard and made this VBS a success. It could have not been done without you. Enjoy the photos!! Day 1 July 17 th ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mt. Hope VBS Barnyard Friends The Vacation Bible School for Mt. Hope this year took place July 17th-19 th. Our theme was Barnyard Friends. We had 12 kids to attend. We had a great time and a great bunch of leaders/helpers. Our story was The Sower, which was taught by Farmer Kristin and Farmer Lynne. They taught us to condition our hearts to follow God and his word, and live a good life instead of a rocky life so we can grow spiritually just like plants planted in good soil. We planted flowers in a wheelbarrow which is placed outside of the porch of the Pastors office. We also went on a wagon ride to Larry and Lydia Moser s farm. We had the opportunity to pet a hen and a sheep. There was also a donkey on the farm. Pastor Kristin read us a Bible

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14 Care Package Ministry for those less fortunate- Sue Holt sang The Lord s Prayer during the worship service on Sunday, July 24. What a blessing!! Applesauce cups Pudding cups Men s Socks Soap (travel size are perfect) Wash Clothes Toothpaste (travel size are perfect) Shampoo (travel size are perfect) Individual Snacks Back packs (As school quickly approaches and you are purchasing new backpacks, consider donating your slightly worn bags. These are so helpful.) We have an address change for you to make in your directories. Karen Johnson has moved to 7414 Danford Rd., Burlington, NC Her phone number remains the same. Our youth are working each month to prepare care packages for the homeless. They pack the bags on the third Sunday of each month in order to deliver them on the fourth Sunday. This is a ministry in which the entire church family can participate. Below you will find a list of the items that are used each month to pack the bags. Please be thinking about the list of items that are needed and pick up a few things at a time when you are able. It might be a good idea to keep the list with you as shop to help you remember what is needed. There are boxes in the hallway of the educational building to leave them. What a wonderful way to show God s love to those who are less fortunate than we are! Thank you!! There is an incorrect address circulating for Pastor Kristin. Please make sure you have the right address for her. The correct address is : kristingvaughn@gmail.com. There is a "g" between her first and last name. Please make this permanent correction. Mt. Hope Partnering with Peacehaven Farm On August 11 th Mt. Hope will launch a program partnering with Peacehaven Farm. Using the fibers that wool from sheep provides we will work to make items for the core members to sell in stores. We will work together to process the wool, from skirting the wool to transforming the wool into a product to use. We will focus our efforts on felted soaps and disks for making mobiles for Peacehaven Core Members to sell. If you are interested in helping, we need help skirting and washing the

15 wool (this can be done in your own home) and we will need participants to come join the core members and help us on Thursdays from 4-6 PM in the old fellowship hall here at the church. If you know of anyone who has sheep, please let us know, we are in need of a wool supply!! If you have questions or want to sign up to help, please contact the church, or Chelsey Cox at chelseycox@aol.com. Current Needs: Sheep just their wool Old wool clothing items like socks, sweaters, etc. collection bin in the breezeway. School starts back on August 29 th. Enjoy the rest of your summer vacation!! New Member Sunday is August 14 th! We have a number of people who are planning to join the church on this day. If you are interested in joining with our church family be sure to contact Pastor Lynne or Pastor Kristin. Thank you so much to our Mt Hope family for all the cards, food, paper products, messages and visits during my Moms passing. God blessed us with a great gift in you guys. We love you all. Pat Harris and Family Colton Underwood 11 th Colby Arrington 12 th Bryson Caviness, Kim Sheffield 14 th Jeanne Ingold 15 th Lu Eller Ingold 16 th Trevor Bolton 17 th Susie Simpson 18 th Greg Greeson 21 st Sylvia Gilliam, Tim Hucks, Linda Neese, Penny Perkins 22 nd Michael Craft, John Dickson, Peggy Eller, Casey Ellis 23 rd Jo Ann Gauldin, Richard Knowles, Dalton Paul 24 th Rachael Gossett 25 th Glenda Slayton, Landon Woollett 26 th Jaime Owen, Catherine Priesmeyer 28 th Simon Clark, Alan Michaux 29 th Sara Shue 31 st Karen Kirkman August Anniversaries 4 th Haywood & Peggy Levens E.C. & Inez Thornburg 11 th Jerry & Nancy Bartenfield Greg & Lisa Moser 17 th Max & Elaine Layton 19 th Roger & Patty Coble Donald & Linda Slayton 21 st Jeff & Susan Holt 27 th Cliff & Barbara Greeson 28 th Brian & Emily Neal 31 st Michael & Faith Oakley August Birthdays 2 nd Alayna Woollett 5 th Tiffany Needham, Clay Warren 6 th Bernice Shoffner 7 th Noral Belvin, Donna Cauthren 9 th Josh Anzaldua, John Deaton, Bob Lane, III, August Events 2 nd 9:00 a.m., Quilters Meet 3 rd 6:30 p.m., Bible Study 4 th 6:30 p.m., High Lonesome Strings Jam Session 7 th Collecting for Greensboro Urban Ministry 9:45 a.m., Sunday School

16 11:00 a.m., Worship, Pastor Lynne 9 th 9:00 a.m., Quilters Meet 10 th 6:30 p.m., Bible Study 11 th 4:00 p.m., Peacehaven Project 7:00 p.m., Consistory 14 th New Member Sunday Collecting for Greensboro Urban Ministry 9:45 a.m., Sunday School 11:00 a.m., Worship Pastor Kristin 16 th 9:00 a.m., Quilters Meet 17 th 6:30 p.m., Bible Study 7:30 p.m., Choir Rehearsal 18 th 4:00 p.m., Peacehaven Project 21 st 9:45 a.m., Sunday School Youth pack bags for homeless 11:00 a.m., Worship, Pastor Lynne 23 rd 9:00 a.m., Quilters Meet 24 th 6:30 p.m., Bible Study 25 th 4:00 p.m., Peacehaven Project 27 th 8:00 a.m., Farmer s Market and Fellowship Live Music 11:00 a.m., Hot Dog Lunch 7:00 p.m., Church Leaders Workshop 28 th 11:00 a.m., Worship Service and Rally Day: Dr. Stephen Lucas preaching 12:00 p.m., Potluck (New Fellowship Hall) 3:00 p.m., Service of Installation, Followed by Ice Cream Social Black Lake activities (Submitted by Bennie Gerner, Jeff Holt, and Bill Craft) Black Lake is a bucolic retreat and conference center in Randolph County. It is located at 4709 New Hope Church Rd, Asheboro, NC. Catawba College Chaplain and Senior Vice President, Dr. Kenneth Clapp and his team oversee the center s operation, and Ken has indicated that every effort is being made to make the operation of Black Lake Retreat Center a model of environmental stewardship and sustainability. He said that We want to preserve this beautiful enclave of creation as a place where people can get away, relax and experience the wonders of nature at the same time that they share meaningful experiences with friends and loved ones. In fact, the mission of the Black Lake Retreat Center is to offer a place of retreat and spiritual renewal to persons of all ages and levels of faith development." Additional Black Lake information can be found at: Twice during the week of July 17 through 23, we traveled to the Black Lake to help extend electrical services to two new cabins at the Black Lake network. The photos below provide some details about our work and experiences in this tranquil and quiet conclave. Trenching to bring power to new cabins Side-by-side cabins under construction

17 We completed nearly all of the interior wiring for lights, power outlets, the HVAC systems, hot water, and nearby exterior lighting. The cabins are just that, small, but with the mod coms most people need while roughing it. We had a few quick encounters with wildlife including deer not staying long enough for photos. In addition to running wiring and installing electrical boxes, we were met by Ken at the site who invited us to lunch on Thursday. There were 30 to 40 ravenous students already having lunch when we arrived, but Ken was a great host and had hidden away some specially prepared salad aka taco mix and a special baked pasta recipe. This was important because by the time we arrived the tacos had all been devoured. Bennie at work on a switch box Students dining at the Black Lake Retreat Center overlooking the lake Bill, Jeff, and Bennie at lunch with Ken

18 Mt. Hope United Church of Christ 2400 Mount Hope Church Road Whitsett, North Carolina Church Phone: Fax Number: July 20, 2016 Dear Community of Faith: We are writing to invite you to a weekend of Installation activities as we celebrate the installment of our new co-pastors, Rev. Kristin Gerner Vaughn and Rev. Lynne Hinton. We are excited about the new things God is doing in our midst and we want to share our delight with you and members of your faith community. We are beginning the weekend with a farmers/artists market on Saturday morning, August 27, 8:00-12:00 pm with live music and dance performances, and a hot dog lunch 11:00 am- 1:00 pm. There will be a special presentation Saturday evening from 6:00 pm 7:30 pm on Where s My Church: The Challenges Communities of Faith Face in These Changing Times, led by Church Consultant and Retreat Leader, Dr. Stephen Lucas. Sunday s events begin with Worship at 11:00 am, followed by a church potluck. The Installation Service will be Sunday, August 28, at 3:00 PM at Mount Hope UCC in the sanctuary. Ministers are asked to process in and sit together. Red stoles will be worn. Pastor Kristin and Pastor Lynne will be bringing the message and guest speakers include, Rev. Jennie Hemrick, Thomasville, NC, Dr. Stephen Lucas, Austin Texas, Dr. Sharon Hinton Bender, New Bern, NC. Communion will be served. Following the service a reception will be held in the Fellowship Hall. We hope you can attend all of the events but we especially look forward to your joining us for this special service of worship and celebration. We honor you and your ministry and hope this will be an opportunity for you to worship with us! In God s Peace, Dallas Belvin Dallas Belvin, Consistory President

19 Installation Weekend Schedule of Events August 27-28, 2016 Saturday, August 27 8:00 am 12:00 pm: Farmers Market and Crafts show, live music, breakfast items and coffee for sale (Outside in the back parking lot and picnic shelter) 11:00 am 1:00 pm: Hot Dog Lunch (Old Fellowship Hall) 6:00 pm 7:30 pm: Special Presentation: Where s My Church? The Challenges Communities of Faith Face in These Changing Times led by Church Consultant and Retreat Leader, Dr. Stephen Lucas, Austin, Texas Sunday, August 28 11:00 am Worship Service and Rally Day: Dr. Stephen Lucas preaching 12:00 pm Potluck (New Fellowship Hall) 3:00 pm Service of Installation (Sanctuary) Reception to follow (New Fellowship Hall)

20 Mount Hope United Church of Christ 2400 Mount Hope Church Road Whitsett, NC Farmers Market and Art/Crafts Fair Date: Saturday, August 27, :00 am 12:00 pm Wide variety of vendors - local artists, pottery, jewelry, soaps, essential oils, embroidered, crocheted, & wooden items, molasses, baked goods, veggies, and even books from a best-selling author! Coffee and Breakfast will be available Hot Dog Sale from 11:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Come on over and enjoy some live music while you shop!!