|
|
In this week's Family News (Scroll to Learn More):
- From Dr. Don Gordon: My First Hello
- On the Way, September 25
-
Rise Against Hunger, September 28: Sign Up Now!
- Invite Your Friends and Neighbors to Rise Against Hunger
- CROP Hunger Walk
- Thursdays on the Town, October 9
- Fall Festival, October 26
- Children's Missions & Music Day, November 8
- Men's Shelter Volunteering
- Get Your Key Fob!
- CBF Young Adult Research Project
- Heart Math Tutoring Needs Your Help!
- From the Heritage Room: Thank You Ken Sanford
- Fall Churchwide 2025 Save the Dates
- Prayer List, Sympathy, Thanks, and Celebrations
- Financial Update
- Minister On Call Schedule
- After Hours On Call Schedule
- Staff Contact Info
| | |
|
My First Hello
by Dr. Don Gordon, Interim Minister
| | |
I bring you greetings as your new interim pastor and fellow servant, walking alongside you during this season of transition. I am grateful for St. John’s history and its faithful witness to Jesus Christ in the city of Charlotte and beyond for 103 years. I am also excited about what God will do through and among you as you step into the future.
I already feel a sense of connection with you through long-time relationships and shared experiences with many of you. I’ve considered Dennis Foust a friend and respected colleague for decades in the Baptist community, and it is an honor to follow him after his 15 years of significant leadership at St. John’s. Dr. Tom Graves was one of my favorite professors at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary during a tumultuous season in the seminary’s history. Since arriving, I’ve learned that Dr. Richard Hester is a part of your congregation. I remember hearing him passionately defending academic freedom when it was under threat while standing on a table surrounded by professors and students. I’ve known and respected Lee Gray and Kheresa Harmon long before anyone was thinking about Dr. Foust’s retirement. More personally, I once had the privilege of serving as Scottie Wellborn’s pastor, officiating at her daughter’s wedding 30 years ago and later at her husband’s funeral during the COVID pandemic. In short, I already feel deeply connected to you, and I look forward to building those connections even further in the days ahead.
While we have only a short time together — I am here on a one-year contract — I understand the human instinct to refrain from investing too deeply in relationships, knowing our paths will part. But I want you to know that I don’t think that way. I want to embrace the fullness of this community of love, even with the knowledge that our time together will be brief. The words of the British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson come to mind: “'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
So, let’s try to love one another well, even in our imperfections, and go one step further in loving our neighbors — whether they are in the city of Charlotte or along the winding and precarious road from Jerusalem to Jericho. If we do that, we will have a rich and meaningful year together.
In Christ,
Don
| | |
On the Way to House of Pizza: September 25 | On the Way will go to House of Pizza on Thursday September 25 at 11:00 am. In addition to pizza, their menu includes salads, sandwiches, and pasta. We will meet at the restaurant 3640 Central Ave. Please email Lee Gray LGray@sjcharlotte.org if you plan to participate. |
Rise Against Hunger - September 28 | |
We’re coming together to pack 15,000 meals for families in need around the world!
Partnering with Rise Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organization, we’re joining a global movement to end hunger by empowering communities, nourishing lives, and responding to emergencies. Since its founding, Rise Against Hunger has packaged and distributed over 600 million meals to countries worldwide.
This is a unique, family-friendly way to make a real impact — join us and be part of something bigger!
Register Today by visiting the link here!
|
| |
|
Help Invite Our Neighbors!
A Personal Invitation is THE BEST WAY to Reach Friends & Neighbors
You, yes YOU, can play a key role in extending an invitation for family members, friends, and neighbors to join us at our Rise Against Hunger event.
Follow these easy steps:
- Save the image below to your computer or phone
- Copy the below promotional text
- Go to your favorite social network, like Facebook or Instagram. (Bonus points if you share to your neighborhood's Facebook Group or on NextDoor).
- Upload the photo and paste the copied text in the caption/post area.
- Hit share! It's that easy!
| |
Promotional Text to Copy and Paste:
Hello! I am volunteering at an upcoming community service event to help fight world hunger. It's called Rise Against Hunger. We're going to be packing 15,000 meal kits that will be used to provide immediate nourishment for those facing hunger around the globe.
I hope you can join me! There will be a free lunch! This is the perfect way to engage your entire family in a unique community service event! We'll even have an ice cream truck on hand for sweet treats after the event!
It's on Sunday, Sept. 28, at St. John's Baptist Church, 300 Hawthorne Lane, Charlotte, NC. Lunch starts at 11:30am, and meal packing is 1-3pm.
You can get more information and register at:
https://stjohnsbaptistchurch.org/event/rise-against-hunger-experience/
|
| |
|
Thursdays on the Town at Urban District Market
Families, join us on Thursday, October 9, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., at the Urban District Market for good food and fellowship! There is something for everyone, so bring the kids! Register soon!
|
| |
|
2025 Fall Festival and Trunk-or-Treat
We need volunteers for our Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat community event on Sunday, October 26, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at SJBC. How can you volunteer?
- Provide your vehicle that you can decorate.
- Candy, stickers, pencils, etc. as treats for your trunk.
- You in costume, too!
Only Register 1 person per vehicle.
Please sign up by October 22.
|
| |
|
Children's Missions & Music Day
K-5th graders are invited to participate in CBFNC’s Children’s Missions and Music Day on Saturday, November 8 at First Baptist Statesville. Sponsored by the CBF Children’s Ministry team, the day features station rotations, including music (singing, instruments, and interpretive movement), Bible study, missions activity, and games; worship; and an ice cream celebration. The event is free, and children bring their own bagged lunches. I hope that our church will participate. If your child would like to participate, please let Kheresa know by September 28.
|
| |
|
Men's Shelter Volunteering
St. John's members and friends are invited to serve each month at the Men's Shelter on Tryon Street. We serve on the third Friday of every month! We need servers and banana pudding. Get more information and signup for upcoming serving dates. You may also call Jim Keesee.
|
| |
|
Get Your Church Key Fob!
Maintain your access to the church while ensuring the safety and security of our campus
As you know, St. John's has many doors, and it feels quite porous on Sunday mornings with all of them unlocked. The Safety and Security Task Force is trying to balance our desire to be hospitable with our need to be safe and secure. While we have greeters assigned to certain doors, it is not easy to staff every door, and sometimes volunteers do not report for their duty. (Our God is forgiving!)
Therefore, in the future, you may find that a fob would come in handy. On Sunday mornings, if you arrive at an unattended, locked door, you will still be able to get in via the Broach or Main Entrance by using a fob. (The Narthex doors will be open starting at 10 am.)
Here is how to order your fob today!!
- Key Fob forms can be found outside of Amanda's Office, in the Main Entrance Lobby, and the Broach Entrance Lobby Newsstands.
- Please fill out the form and place it in the white After Hours/Sunday Morning drop box beside Amanda's office.
- You may pick up your new key fob the following Sunday from the Reception Office behind the Sanctuary near the 5th Street Entrance. You can also pick it up by contacting Amanda and coming by the church office during the week.
|
| |
|
CBF Young Adult Research Project: Focus Group Recruitment
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is inviting people aged 18–44 to join a paid Zoom focus group interview. Whether you’re connected to a church, have stepped away, or never found one that fits – your perspective matters. Participants will receive a $25 gift card as a thank you for taking time to share your story.
Start here by taking a short interest survey (2-minutes): https://forms.gle/XwaququqRhpNgvtk8
This is part of a national study on faith, belonging, and inclusion in Baptist churches. It’s led by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Dr. Rex Foster, and research nonprofit More in Common. The purpose of the study is to learn about people’s experiences with church, particularly those who have felt excluded or marginalized by traditional church structures, in an effort to help shape something better.
Whether you’ve left the church, are currently attending, or are still searching, your perspective matters.
Here’s what to expect:
- Sessions are held via Zoom and last about 60 minutes.
- Your responses are confidential, and you can use a pseudonym if you prefer.
- Conversations will be recorded for research but will not be linked to your name.
If you qualify, you’ll receive a follow-up from our research partners at More in Common with scheduling details.
Learn more about the project here:
https://transformingtradition.org
|
| Heart Math Tutoring Needs Your Help! | | |
Join St. John’s Baptist Church in supporting CMS students with just 1 hour per week as a volunteer tutor! Heart Math Tutoring is looking for volunteers to help provide foundational math skills and confidence to elementary students being nominated for the program in the 2025/26 school year. Read more details below and sign-up here.
1 hour per week with the same student
Fun, hands-on, game-based curriculum provided
On-site coordinator present during all sessions to support
Basic math (counting, comparing numbers, addition and subtraction)
Choose the school, day, and tutoring time that work best for your schedule.
Want more information before you sign up? Join a Volunteer Information Session on Sept. 3rd or Sept. 17th.
|
| |
From the Heritage Room: Thank You Ken Sanford | |
Ken Sanford, who passed on ahead of us on August 25, knew the history of St. John’s. His name appeared in the leadership reports for many years as the Church Historian.
Ken was one of the first members of the Heritage Task Force and was a ready source of information for the group.
In 1972, for the 50th Anniversary, he updated the story of St. John’s in a booklet, “Fifty Favored Years,” using as the basis the story that was begun for the 25th Anniversary by Richard L. Young. For our first Heritage Sunday celebration in 2014, he wrote a series of weekly articles for the Family News focusing on one decade each week. These articles condensed the highlights of each decade into a few paragraphs and were combined into a booklet, “The First 90 Years.”
In the foreword for that booklet, Dr. Dennis Foust wrote:
“We are appreciative to long-time St. John’s member, Ken Sanford, a noted writer of North Carolina history, for compiling this introductory overview of our story. Ken’s capacity to focus on some significant moments of the past nine decades and then connect them along the years is a reflection of two realities: (1) Ken’s keen insight; and (2) a consistency in living out our covenant commitments by the members of St. John’s.”
He put together timelines of significant events in the life of St. John’s for each year beginning in 1922 through the late 2000s. These timelines have been invaluable in researching the history of the church. He also authored the article on International House for the 100th Anniversary book, “The St. John’s World View.”
|
| |
Fall 2025 Churchwide Save The Dates: |
- All Saints Sunday, November 2
- NAMI Walk Saturday, November 8
- WDAV Lessons & Carols, December 2
| | |
Prayer List, Sympathy, Thanks, and Celebrations | |
Current Prayer Concerns:
Mary Jo Breckenridge, Carl Phillips, Joe Trull
Continuing Prayer:
Anna Lynn Kearse, Mary Rickenbaker
|
| |
2025 Full Year Budget – $1,241,000
Budgeted Income thru August 31 - $827,333
Actual Income Received thru August 31 - $802,636
Actual Expenses Paid thru August 31 - $818,022
Global Missions Offering - $23,000
Income Received thru August 27 - $18,170
| | Minister On Call Schedule |
- Sept. 14 - 21: Lee
- Sept. 22 - 28: Kheresa
- Sept. 29 - Oct. 5: Don
|
| |
Staff Contact Information
-
Dr. Don Gordon, Interim Minister - 704-333-5428, ext. 2012; 919-972-1933 (cell)
-
Rev. Lee Gray, Minister for Congregational Care - 704-333-5428, ext. 2015; 704-451-1309 (cell)
-
Rev. Kheresa Harmon, Minister for Children & their Families - 704-333-5428, ext. 2018; 910-890-3392 (cell)
-
Noel Lance, Minister for Worship & Music
-
Amanda Morrison, Church Administrator - 704-333-5428, ext. 0
-
Lydia Olmsted, Weekday School Director - 704-333-5428, ext. 2039
- Chloe Salmeron, Children's Choir Director
-
Liza Tindall, Media Coordinator
| | Follow Us on Social Media! | | | | |
