|
|
Balmoral Presbyterian Church
Where the Spirit Takes Flight
BPC NEWS BRIEF
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
|
|
mailing address: Balmoral Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 17309, Memphis, TN 38187
|
|
NEWS THIS WEEK
- WORSHIP for SUNDAY December 27
- SUNDAY STUDIES for WINTER QUARTER
- AROUND MEMPHIS & TN
- Can we flatten the curve AGAIN?
- PCUSA ONLINE CHRISTMAS SERVICE of LESSONS and CAROLS
- 12 DAYS of CHRISTMAS To-Do's for 2020
- REMINDERS
- INTERESTED in STARTING a FAMILY TREE? Here's a way to start.
|
|
WEEKLY INFORMATION
- Birthdays
- Calendar of Events
- OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES
- CONTACT INFORMATION
- BPC Photos
- Worship last Sunday
LINKS to DOCUMENTS:
|
|
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 5:00 pm
on YouTube
|
|
We may not be able to be in the sanctuary,
but we will STILL celebrate the Christ Child's birth with our traditional
Candlelight Christmas Eve Service!
|
|
Special music,
aaaaaaa Christmas Carols, and
aaaaaaaaaa Lighting the Christ candle,
Followed by lighting the world as we sing
"Silent Night" and "Joy to the World"
|
|
We will be inviting you to light candles with us during that service. If you have an Advent Wreath, light the candles of hope, peace, joy and love, and a Christ candle, as we light them in the service.
You may also want to share candlelight with the people you will be with by lighting a Christ candle with us then share the light by each participant leans their candle wick into the Christ candle's flame.
|
|
The service will be on our YouTube website at
You will receive a reminder email on Christmas Eve morning with these same links to the worship service on YouTube and another link to the Worship bulletin
|
|
ONLINE on YouTube at 11:00 am
|
|
|
|
|
The BUILDING is CLOSED
BUT
BALMORAL is OPEN !
|
|
|
Our Session is committed to providing worship during the pandemic that reaches everyone. Those of you who do not have computer access or SmartPhone access, Idlewild will continue to broadcast all of the worship services on the radio 96.1 FM.
Stay at home! Stay Safe!
|
|
REMINDER: Everyone who comes onto the BPC property MUST WEAR A MASK, including those who are only in the parking lot. NO ONE is allowed in the building without authorization.
We must help to keep our Worship team and the SEED children safe!
Requests for use of the property (including the parking lot) MUST prepare a proposal to the BPC COVID-19 Task Force (Scott Hill and Mary Schmitz, co-chairs) for review; the task force will review the proposal, then make a recommendation to the Session for consideration.
|
|
Worship
Balmoral Presbyterian Church
Sunday, December 27, 2020
WORSHIP at 11:00 AM on YouTube
aaaaaaScripture: Luke 2:22-40
aaaaaaSermon: "Expectant Living"
(There will be no Sunday Studies December 20th and 27th.
New classes begin Sunday January 3, 2021.)
You will receive an email SATURDAY with details and a link to the YouTube site for Worship, and a link to download the Sunday Worship Guide, with an insert of the list of Memorials and Honorariums donated to support MIFA's PlusOne partnership. You will also receive a reminder on Sunday morning!
The Idlewild service will also still be available at 11:00 am on the radio at 96.1 FM or you can go online to the Idlewild Livestream broadcast at
Previous Worship Services at Balmoral are still available on the
|
|
|
|
Rev. Carla Meisterman will be off duty from Friday, December 25, through Sunday, Jan 3, 2021
|
|
|
Rev. Anne Hagler will be the Pastor On Call during this time, and will lead worship on Sundays, December 27 and January 3.
You can reach Anne by phone or text at 901.628.2104 or by email at [email protected].
|
|
New Sunday Classes Begin Sunday,
January 3 through March 28, 2021
|
|
Christ in Crisis ?
by Jim Wallis
Writing in response to our current "constitutional crisis," New York Times bestselling author and Christian activist Jim Wallis urges America to return to the tenets of Jesus once again as the means to save us from the polarizing bitterness and anger of our tribal nation.
The author provides a path of spiritual healing and solidarity to help us heal the divide separating Americans today.
Leaders:
Cliff Gurlen and Renee Mitchell
|
|
|
|
|
This class continues to the next 2 New Testament books, Pauls' letters to the Corinthians and Galatians.
Leaders:
Clinton Bailey, Stanley Gates,
Cliff Stockton and William Warren
|
|
|
|
REMINDER:
The Christmas Joy Offering should be sent to the church by Tuesday, December 29.
Send your gift by check marked JoyGift to the church at
Balmoral Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 17309
Memphis, TN 38187
|
|
|
|
BIBLE STUDY with
the Presbyterian Women's Group
Wednesday, January 6, 2021, 10:30am
on ZOOM
|
|
Join Rev. Anne Hagler for Bible Study sponsored by Presbyterian Women as they continue their study for the Winter quarter (but you don't have to be female to join - you fellows are welcome, too!)
Bring a snack to your computer space and join in!
Bible Study meets the 1st Wednesday of each month.
|
|
BOOK CLUB for JANUARY
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
1:30 pm on Zoom
|
|
|
|
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
|
Ted Pearson will lead the discussion for January |
|
|
We had a lively discussion of "Where the Crawdads Sing" at book club for December, and it was so enjoyable to see the Kaisers and everyone else who joined us. We hope those of you who were unable to "attend" will make our next one: Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
We decided today that the January book will be "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston, and
Ted Pearson will lead. According to a search on the Shelby County Library website, they have 67 copies of this book!
This is what Amazon says about it:
"One of the most important works of twentieth-century American literature, Zora Neale Hurston's beloved 1937 classic is an enduring Southern love story sparkling with wit, beauty, and heartfelt wisdom."
Also in January, we will continue the discussion on which books we will read for 2021. Here are the main ones mentioned Tuesday, (including several that we didn't get to in 2020):
-
The Last Castle (Kathrine);
-
The Library Book (Kathrine);
-
Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell (Jane and Jane);
- The Nikel Boys;
- The Giver of Stars
|
|
IN THE NEWS AROUND MEMPHIS
|
|
THE PUSH TO FLATTEN THE CURVE …. AGAIN
|
|
Though still at critical levels, the number of ICU beds available has improved slightly. |
|
For COVID-19 testing information, go to this link:
|
|
PC(USA) online Christmas Event of
Lessons and Carols
|
|
Did you enjoy BPC's Christmas Music Special last Sunday? If so, you may also enjoy this online PCUSA Christmas Music Special as well! |
|
Drawing Inspiration from a Century-old Service, Organizers Create a Worship Service for the Present
|
|
by Rick Jones | Office of the General Assembly / December 14, 2020
|
|
Participants in the 2020 Virtual Christmas Service include (L to R) So Jung Kim, Gillian Hollis, David Gambrell and Flor Vélez-Díaz. (Photo by Randy Hobson) |
|
Public health officials urge people to wear masks. Workplaces and businesses adjust hours to prevent crowding. Several cities impose quarantines or ban public gatherings. This sounds like something people see and hear as they go online or watch the news every night, but this was December 1918 when the world struggled with the impact of a global flu pandemic.
The world of 1918 saw a lot of what people are seeing today: overwhelmed hospitals and morgues, countless deaths. But on Christmas Eve of that year, worshipers gathered at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England for the first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
“For more than a century this service has continued — becoming a beloved and much-anticipated Christmas tradition. Since the 1930s the service has been broadcast internationally by the BBC. People around the world and in many different Christian denominations have adopted and adapted this tradition in the worship of their own congregations,” said the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, associate for Worship in the Office of Theology and Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “The latest edition of the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship (WJKP, 2018), published in the centennial year of the King’s College festival, includes a Service of Lessons and Carols patterned after the 1918 liturgy.”
Gambrell and colleagues in the PC(USA) national offices, including Dr. William McConnell, Mission Engagement Advisor and music collaborator, have been working for weeks to pull together an online Christmas service.
“The model of the Lessons and Carols liturgy seemed like a fitting order of worship in the midst of our current pandemic. The heart of the service is simply the story of Christmas — God coming to us and dwelling among us in Jesus, a fragile human child in a world fraught with trouble,” Gambrell said. “At a time when beloved church and family traditions have been upended, it seems appropriate to focus on this familiar story at the center of our faith — a story of hope and joy for a time of grief and fear.”
Gambrell adds that it was important that this service reflect the “vibrancy and vitality” of this denomination in this time and place.
“For that reason, we wanted to feature the participation of Presbyterians from a variety of cultural traditions, speaking the good news in many languages. We also wanted to use music that would evoke the diversity and depth of Reformed worship in the United States and around the world,” he said. “The resulting service — while still consisting of a series of nine lessons and carols — features some different passages of Scripture and different musical selections, in keeping with our contemporary context.”
The service is a collaboration among two dozen employees and friends of the national offices of the PC(USA). Musical selections include classic Christmas carols, African American spirituals, and songs originating from Spanish- and Korean-speaking communities of faith.
“The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), is preaching, while a prayer from the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, connects the themes of Christmas with the Matthew 25 vision of service to people who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick or in prison,” said Gambrell.
Resources include:
- Christmas readings and songs in a variety of languages, styles and traditions
- Captions in English, Korean, and Spanish
- Downloadable orders of worship in English, Korean, and Spanish.
Church leaders and members are welcome and encouraged to use the resources in a variety of ways, depending on what is most appropriate and helpful in a particular context:
- Presenting the video in its entirety as the congregation’s service of worship on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, one of the two Sundays of Christmas (December 27, January 3), Epiphany (January 6), or at some other point in the Christmas season
- Using excerpts from the service within another congregational event — for instance, highlighting the message from the Stated Clerk, the readings from the Co-Moderators, or the readings and songs from staff in the national offices of the PC(USA)
- As a devotional offering for members seeking additional spiritual enrichment during the Christmas season
- As an educational opportunity for worship committees, church musicians, educators, or pastors seeking new ideas for Christmas
- As a resource for congregations without pastoral and/or musical leadership at this time
- As a contingency plan in situations where illness or weather disrupt other worship arrangements.
|
|
DECEMBER:
Carol Mitchell (23), Carla Meisterman (27), Mary Nell Easum (29), Stephanie Brigman (30), Janice Carney (30)
JANUARY:
Lorie Blackwelder (1), Frank Carney (7), Mona Kernan (11),
Anne Hagler (13), Sandra Lamb (13), Do Kaiser (18),
Kathrine Getske (19), Jerry Sparger (19), Janie Pearson (21), Dorothy Stockdale (21), Janice Hill (23), Amber Baldwin (23), Glenda Ellis (29), Bob Kaiser (29)
|
|
|
|
Have You Wanted to Research Your Family Tree? |
Here's your chance to learn how! |
|
|
Genealogy 101
Intro to Genealogy,
Family History & DNA
a Webinar presented by
|
|
When: Wednesday, January 20, 2021 10:00 AM, CST
Where: a link to a GoToWebinar Broadcast will be sent to you by email when you register
COST: for non-members of the TNGS = $5.00
Will you be attending? If so, please follow the link below:
Genealogy 101-Intro to Genealogy, Family
History & DNA by Debbie Atchley
This first session of our series will cover how to get started in your genealogical research, helpful forms and software, where to find records and how DNA fits into your search.
Access will be through GoToWebinar. Instructions and Connectivity Link will be forwarded via email to all registrants upon registration, six days prior and again 1 hour prior to the event. Making the connection is quick and easy only requiring a computer and Internet connectivity from wherever you chose to watch the event. Your questions help drive the meetings, and we will be there to help each other.
For more information about the TN Genealogical Society, click here:
|
|
ONLINE
EVENTS
Every Monday
2:00pm Writer's Group via Zoom
1st Wednesday of the Month
Bible Study with Presbyterian Women 10:30 am
1st & 3rd Thursday of the Month
Ellis Small Group 10:15 am
2nd Tuesday of the Month
BOOK CLUB meets via Zoom
2nd Thursday Evening of the Month
7:00 pm Trouble I've Seen Small Group
Thursday, December 24, 2020
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
5:00pm on YouTube
Friday, December 25, 2020
STAFF OFF for the CHRISTMAS DAY HOLIDAY
|
|
Sunday, December 27, 2020
11:00 AM Worship Service with Rev. Anne Hagler via YouTube
(no Sunday Studies)
Sunday, January 3, 2021
9:45 - 10:45 AM Advent Sunday Study on Zoom
11:00 AM Worship Service with Rev. Anne Hagler via YouTube
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
PW BIBLE STUDY 10:30 am on Zoom
|
|
Pastoral Care will be supplied by Rev. Carla Meisterman
and by Rev. Anne Hagler as a backup.
Rev. Carla Meisterman 901.235.1014
The current Session members have been re-aligned to be your primary contact for ongoing communication. Here's the new contact list:
Don Lamb ............... (901) 754-5530 ............................ [email protected]
...........................cell: (901) 486-6117
John Van Nortwick (901) 605-2907 ............ jvnortwick@cornerstone-
systems.com
(NOTE: Many of these Session members are working during the day, so you may want to text them or email them.)
Keep in mind that ANY Balmoral member who is healthy will most likely be happy to help you in case of need as well!
To contact other members, the most-current contact information is available by requesting a copy of the BPC PHONE DIRECTORY from Kathy Singleton by email [email protected] or by phone or text to (901) 734-7193.
|
|
BPC PHOTOS
..
BPC Worship
Sunday, December 20, 2020
4th Sunday of Advent
|
|
Prelude "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" with Leiza Collins |
|
Lighting the Candle of LOVE with Meditation by Leiza Collins |
|
Hymn 401 "Here In This Place"
Linda Warren, Clinton Bailey, Erich Shultz
John Gilmer & Fran Addicott, cello; Leiza Collins, piano
|
|
|
|
"Ave Maria"
Emily Collins
|
|
|
"Gabriel's Message"
Spencer Nesvick, Susan Spain, Robin Dauer, John Gilmer,
& Russ Clements, Brass Quintet
|
|
" I Heard the Lord Call My Name"
Linda Warren, Ted Pearson, Fran Addicott, Becky DeLoach,
John Gilmer, Erich Shultz
|
|
“Sweet Was the Song the Virgin Sang”
Linda Warren
|
|
"The Hands That First Held Mary's Child"
BPC CHOIR recorded December 2019
|
|
"The Prayer"
Linda Warren, Fran Addicott, Lynn Ward, Robin Ashworth
|
|
"An English Carol Medley"
Brass Quintet: Spencer Nesvick, Susan Spain, Robin Dauer,
John Gilmer, & Russ Clements,
|
|
We have been keeping reference articles in the Newsletter each week throughout the summer. It's time to take them out, BUT some of these may still be helpful, so we will store them and give you links to them, but eliminate them from the body of the newsletter itself. |
|
|
To access a document, simply click on the link name. The document will then open in your browser as a PDF file!
|
|
- Newsletter Articles & Photos should be emailed to Kathy Singleton at [email protected] no later than Monday at noon for the week you want the article in the news.
- Bulletin Information should be emailed to Rev. Carla Meisterman, with a copy to Kathy Singleton, no later than Monday noon the week before the Sunday you want the information to appear.
-
Prayer Concerns should continue to be submitted via email to Rev. Carla Meisterman ([email protected])
|
|
DECEMBER 2020
online church calendar
The calendar will take a few seconds to load and, once it opens, you will see the month that we are currently in. To see the next month's calendar, click on the arrow pointing down - it is just to the right of the name of the month. Once you click on that arrow, an icon will appear with all the months of the year listed. Click on the month that you want to see. To see a specific date, click on the number of the day you would like to see. The entire 2020 calendar is available to you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
