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Outer Banks
Presbyterian Church
News & Notes
July 22, 2020
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In This Issue:
- Outdoor Worship Service
- July 26th Scripture & Flowers
- Devotional from Rev. Moore
- Prayer Requests
- Food Pantry Volunteers Needed
- Elder Class of 2023 Nominations
- Upper Room Publication
- OBPC Scholarship Recipient
- Assistance from Church
- OBPC on Facebook
- Online Giving
- Anniversaries & Birthdays
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- Click the button above to watch worship services live streamed on Sundays. This Sunday, July 26th, the worship service is at 6:00 pm.
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Outdoor Worship Service July 26!
This Sunday's service will be held at 6:00 pm on the east lawn of the church, near the playground. Attendance will be limited to 50 people, including the worship leaders.
Please pre-register if you plan to attend the service
. To pre-register, click on this link:
Register Now
. On the registration page, click on the line that says "Outdoor Evening Worship at 6:00 pm." A window will open with a form to add your name, how many people will be attending, and an email address. If you have trouble registering online, you may contact the office or your Elder Care person. The service will also be live-streamed, so you may watch it from home.
We will practice social distancing and face masks will be required. If you do not have a face mask, one will be provided. If you have a lawn chair and can bring it, that will be helpful. You will be instructed as to where to place your lawn chairs in order to maintain social distancing. The church building will be open for restroom use only through the door on the east side. Please
click here
for complete information about this service.
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July 26th Worship Service
Ezra 6:1, 3-5, 14-16, and 22 and Psalm 137
. Ezra takes place during the glorious return after the most traumatic experience of the Old Testament for the Israelites, which was the Babylonians’ conquest of Israel. The invaders destroyed much of Jerusalem, including the temple where the people worshiped God. The Babylonians forced many of the best and brightest Israelites into exile, living away from family in Babylon. Psalm 137 grieves what has happened in the exile. Ezra 6 notes all the hard work that is necessary for God’s people to come back together, yet it finds new ways to have a joyous celebration.
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The flowers for this Sunday are given by Tom Williamson in loving memory of his daughter Leah's 50th birthday on July 23rd.
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Devotional From Rev. Dr. Jody Moore
First of all, I am really looking forward to gathering together as a church family this Sunday evening, July 26
th
, at 6:00 pm. We will worship together outdoors on the lawn next to the church playground. The outdoor service will also be live streamed if you would prefer to continue to stay home and away from the crowd. The current weather forecast does not indicate that it is supposed to rain at that time. If it is raining, however, we will move inside to live-stream the service only at 6:00 pm. We ask you to wear your masks to this service as a way of loving our neighbors. The church will have masks available for those who need them. Those who are able, please bring your own lawn chairs. We will have a limited number of chairs already set up for those who do not bring their own. We will have a table set up that will have worship bulletins, hand sanitizer, masks, and water to drink. The east door to the church building will be open for those who need to use the restroom. As we try this new outdoor worship opportunity, some things will be different than when we normally gather. There are plenty of reasons for us to feel down during these trying times, but I hope our worship service can focus on the reasons we have for gratitude. We celebrate our church family and we worship God, who continues to uphold, strengthen, and nurture us day by day.
Keeping our spiritual lives healthy does not happen by accident. It takes dedication and determination to not let the negativity, darkness, and evil get the upper hand. We worship Jesus, who is the light of the world. He came to shine that light so that we would no longer have to dwell in the depths of despair. Laura Jean Truman has a meaningful prayer that speaks to the longings of our heart.
Laura Jean Truman’s Prayer:
God, keep my anger from becoming meanness.
Keep my sorrow from collapsing into self-pity.
Keep my heart soft enough to keep from breaking.
Keep my anger turned towards justice, not cruelty.
Remind me that all of this, every bit of it, is for love.
Keep me fiercely kind. Amen.
What does it look like for us to have faith? It isn’t just about believing in the triune God. Having faith means that we look at the world through the eyes of our faith. God’s truth shapes the way that we understand what is happening in the world and our response to events outside of our control. Putting our faith into action isn’t easy during these uncertain times, but it is the way that we keep ourselves rooted to the Holy One, in whom we can depend and rely upon.
As Truman’s prayer notes, it is a temptation for us to let our anger overcome us and turn us toward meanness. It is natural when our sorrows get too heavy that we start to feel sorry for ourselves and our difficult situation. It is normal when we get hurt that our heart breaks and we aren’t sure how to pick up the pieces. When we get angry, instead of fighting for justice, we just want to lash out at others. But there is a more excellent way than giving into despair, meanness, cruelty, and injustice. It is the way of the cross, the way of Jesus. Jesus teaches us to respond to life’s hardships with the power of God’s love.
Matthew 16:24-25:
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
”
Jesus invites us to carry our cross and follow him as the way to find deliverance and salvation. It is by freely giving of ourselves that we find the saving power of God’s grace. It isn’t an easy journey, but it is the only one worth living. We receive blessings following in Christ’s difficult path by receiving his joy, peace, and grace in this life and we have the opportunity to work for God’s eternal blessings that will not perish. My fervent prayer for all of us is that we would use this time to recommit ourselves to the Lord and to following Christ and his path of sacrificial love, drawing nearer to the heart of God.
Peace in Christ,
Jody Moore
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Prayer Requests for Our Church Family
We offer prayers of Christian sympathy to Carol Jackson and her family following the death of her husband, Jim, on July 14th. Click
here
to read Jim's obituary.
Please pray for Oscar Northen and Glynn Powell. Oscar has moved to an assisted living facility called Gloucester House near his daughter Becky in Gloucester, VA. Oscar's new address is:
P O Box 1331, Gloucester, VA 23061.
Glynn is staying in the Outer Banks. Her mailing address is: 510 Quail Lane, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948. You may call Glynn on her cell phone, which is 252-202-5280.
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Volunteers Needed for Beach Food Pantry
OBPC is responsible for working at the Food Pantry the week of August 3rd. We need volunteers for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week (Aug. 5, 6, & 7). If you can help, please contact our coordinator, Dot Landis, at 919-645-8064 or landisdorothy2@gmail.com. Thank you!
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Nominations for Elder Class of 2023
The Nominating Committee is beginning to work on selecting 3 persons to serve as Elders for the class of 2023. An elder should be a person who is committed to their faith in Jesus Christ, is a dedicated member of Outer Banks Presbyterian Church, and works well with a team as we seek to serve the Lord. The Nominating Committee would like the help of the congregation. Ordinarily, we have placed a ballot box in the gathering space for you to indicate your suggestions. This is not possible while the building is closed, so we encourage anyone with nominations to contact directly the two elder representatives on the Nominating Committee, Bobby Gentry and Bob Messinger. You may contact Bobby G. at 757-718-8353 or
bobbygentryobx@gmail.com
and Bob M. at 252-305-9388 or
bobnance55@gmail.com
. You may also contact any of the other members of the Nominating Committee, who are: Melanie Cahoon, Bev Jones, Winkey Roberts, and John Webb. Thank you for your thoughtful considerations!
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Upper Room
In order to support churches during this time when distribution of the devotional guide, Upper Room, can be more difficult, the publishers have made the July/August issue available online to subscribers. Please
click here
if you would like to read the July/August issue.
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OBPC Scholarship Recipient Hopelyn Kovacs
Hopelyn Kovacs has been an active member of our Youth Group. She was graduated from First Flight High School in June and is attending East Carolina University this fall. Hopelyn was awarded one of OBPC's scholarships this year and has written the following thank you note:
Dear Pastor Jody and the rest of OBPC,
I would like to take a moment and thank you very much for the scholarship. It was very generous and meant a lot to me. I would also like to take this time to thank you for everything that you have done for me over the past 5 years. You all have taught me so much and you welcomed me into your OBPC family with open arms, and I will never be able to explain what that meant to me. I will always be extremely grateful for that, so thank you for everything. I hope to make you proud while I am at ECU. Love you all very much, and wish you all the best!!
Love, Hopelyn Kovacs
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Assistance from Your Church Family
Two important resources to remember during this time are our Prayer Team and our Assistance Coordinator.
- If you have any request that you would like the prayer team to lift up, please share it with the prayer coordinators. Our prayer coordinators are: Jean Basnight and Rosalyn Pugh and you may share a request with them by phone at 252-480-1028 (Home) or 252-619- 7661 (Cell).
- Elder Barbara Nock is coordinating services and requests by members and friends who need any type of assistance. Twenty-four people have volunteered to help. If you or someone you know needs assistance with groceries, pharmacy pick-up, or anything else, please contact Barbara at 252-255-5979 or nocktwice@embarqmail.com.
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Do you have a Facebook account? If so, we invite you to join OBPC on Facebook. Just Click on the button at the left, log on to your Facebook account, and select "join" on the OBPC group page. Some things you will find there include:
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- Announcements about the Adult Sunday School Class.
- Children's Church with Hollie.
- Posts from Pastor Jody and comments from members of the congregation.
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Online Giving
There are two ways to give to the church during this temporary closure. You may mail pledges and donations to the office at PO Box 2199, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948. Or, you may give online. Just click on the Give Now button to go to our website, then click the button on the home page and follow the directions for online donations.
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Anniversaries this Week
- Carl (Pogie) & Laura Worsley, July 26
- John & Hillary Stautzenberger, July 28
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Birthdays this Week
- Peggy Baum, July 23
- Merrill Hastings, July 28
- Steve Landis, July 28
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Outer Banks Presbyterian Church
907 S. Croatan Highway, Milepost 8.5
PO Box 2199
Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
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During this time of irregular office hours,
you may reach Pastor Jody or administrative staff
by calling the office at 252-441-5897 and leaving a message or by sending an email to
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