Each week we include a recipe in the Church Chimes and we hope that you are enjoying reading and trying them. You can add your favorite recipes to the Chimes by sending them to Cheryl Beck at cabeck@ncsu.edu. This is an ongoing WMU project.
Thanks for participating!
If you would like to provide flowers in the sanctuary for Sunday morning services, please contact Gwen Messer at 828-506-8370, or Janice in the church office to be placed on the calendar.
Job Description: Would meet with the young men in grades two to six on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Work on character building, missions education, teamwork. Build in fun and active play, too! Requires someone with a love for children, has lots of patience, and likes having fun. Materials are provided by WMU. Start date: Immediately. Please see Gaye Buchanan for more information.
What is saving my life right now is serving as the CBF associate endorser for military chaplains. I feel like my whole life, including 57 years in ministry, has been preparing me for this opportunity.
My first ministry position was serving as the Royal Ambassador (RA) leader for eight young men in my church in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia when I was 16 years old. For seven summers I served first as an assistant counselor and, in the seventh year, as director of the Peaks of Otter RA Camp and Mountaineering School. As a professional minister, I have served as a missionary journeyman, minister of youth, church planter and pastor before serving God and country for 28 years as an army chaplain. God is allowing me to use those years of ministry experience to empower our CBF military chaplains in their ministry.
There is nothing more fulfilling than being a mentor/counselor for our CBF chaplains. On my worst day as an army chaplain, Gerry Hutchinson, a former CBF endorser, was there for me. Being there for our CBF chaplains is what gives me life. Every time I visit one of our chaplains and meet with their commanders and supervising chaplains, I am always amazed by the ministry they are performing, often in extremely difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances.
One of the accomplishments of which I am most proud is the initiating of our Military Chaplain Church Sponsorship. Renee Owen, the director of CBF Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling, Carrol Wilson, our chaplaincy and pastoral counseling specialist, and I cannot do all that we want to do to support the almost 900 CBF chaplains. We are asking CBF churches to sponsor a military chaplain. We are hoping that we will have enough participating churches to expand this ministry to our V.A., healthcare, correctional facilities and law enforcement chaplains. I believe that every church should have the blessing of sponsoring a chaplain. If you are interested, email me at creynolds@cbf.net.
I wrote a book, soon to be published by Good Faith Media, called, A Quest for Warrior Priest: Enlisting Warriors as Healers and Peacebuilders. I close my book with these words: “Every breath you take belongs to God. Each breath is an opportunity for God’s healing presence to enter your life. Every day is an opportunity for God to use your life to bring healing and redemption to his world.”
Thank you for supporting our CBF chaplains who live out these words every day. I challenge you to live them as well.
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Today, consider where in your life you feel connected to your authentic self and calling. In what role, whether professional or personal, do you feel most fulfilled and connected to God’s work in the world? After pondering this question, consider offering a prayer for CBF military chaplains around the world, as they work as agents of peace and healing in the midst of challenging circumstances.
Add this email address to your contacts list on your devices so that our staff and Pastoral Care Team can learn of your prayer requests as quickly as possible. And yes, you may still contact the church office directly at 828-586-2095 to share your prayer concerns, as well.
Begins Monday, October 21 at 10:00 a.m.
Women’s Fall Bible Study will begin Monday, October 21 at 10:00 a.m. in the Gathering Place Room. We will be studying “Jesus In Me” by Anne Graham Lotz. Books are available in the church office.
United Christian Ministries is in need of: shampoo (prefer 2-in-1 shampoo & conditioner), body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, child diapers (all sizes), cereal, spaghetti sauce and spaghetti noodles. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Starting Sept. 26, each household is eligible to request four tests at COVIDTests.gov that will be shipped directly to your home address (or PO Box). Public health officials have confirmed that these tests are capable of detecting the latest coronavirus variants circulating and causing infections. (Excerpted from AARP newsletter)
Oh, holy God—who loves us in the sweetest moments of a gentle baby's touch and in the harsh moments of great pain and suffering—we give our trust to you for our family and friends in Florida, who are on the cusp of a mighty storm. As the waves crash, may they remember the one who walked on water. As the tumult rises, may they call out to the Christ, who calmed the seas, using only the sound of His voice. And as the storms crash about within their minds and hearts, be their steady guide. Help them rise above the waves. Keep them not only to stay strong and safe, but help them to be open to the very real probability that You are going to do something mighty in their midst. Thank You for loving us through everything we face. And thank you for never leaving us, even when the storms rage. In Jesus' name.….amen.
With extra special thoughts for our church families in Florida, which include: Mia Stewart, the Yosts, the Millers, the Royals, Judy Henderson & her sister, Diane’s, family.