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In this week's Family News (Scroll to Learn More):
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From Dr. Don Gordon: What Is a Saint?
- Happy Birthday!
- Stewardship is Coming!
- NAMI Walks - November 8
- Depression Support Group - November 4
- Real Estate Task Force Listening Session - November 16
- Friendsgiving - November 16
- On the Way
- Message from Mission Resource Team
- IRMG Message
- Basketball Announcement
- Christmas Painting Party at Noah's Art - November 22
- Coat Drive Collection in November
- Save the Date: Senior Adult Christmas Gathering - December 4
- Weekday School Job Posting
- Churchwide 2025 Save the Dates
- Prayer List, Sympathy, Thanks, and Celebrations
- Financial Update
- Minister On Call Schedule
- After Hours On Call
- Staff Contact Info
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What is a Saint?
by Dr. Don Gordon, Interim Minister
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There are a couple of misconceptions we should clear up before we gather for All Saints’ Day this Sunday morning.
First, saints are not goody-goody, always-smiling, perpetually pleasant people who walk on water.
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Saints are not super-Christians or flawless fixtures of faithfulness. Sometimes the way people talk about saints could make any ordinary person want to hide under the pew and hope no one notices them. As is often the case, the popular notion of sainthood is far from the original meaning found in Scripture.
The word “saints” comes from the Greek word hagioi, which literally means “holy ones” or “those set apart.” It is not a designation for purity or perfection, but a description of placement. Through the grace of God, we have been placed in God’s family — set apart for service, for witness, and for stewardship in the church God has created.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul uses language typical of all his letters to the churches:
“To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints (hagioi): Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The saints, then, are not morally superior people; they are those graciously set apart for God’s mission.
The second misconception is that sainthood emerges out of thin air — as if God simply snaps His fingers and creates a saint completely disconnected from anything physical, historical, or human. But the Bible tells a different story. From Adam to Abraham and from David to Jesus, there is a lineage that shapes the story of faith. We often call these the “Begat Chapters” of the Bible, filled with long lists of names — many we’ve never heard of. Did you know that Kenan was the father of Mahalalel (Genesis 5:12)? Or that Joktan fathered Almodad and eleven other sons (Genesis 10:28)?
Even Jesus didn’t appear out of thin air. He lived, grew, and drew nourishment in the womb of a young Palestinian teenager for nine months before breathing His first breath of earth’s air. Both Matthew and Luke make a point of tracing His lineage: Matthew through Abraham, and Luke all the way back to Adam. The connecting figure in both is Joseph — not Jesus’ biological father, but his earthly one. Their message is clear: Jesus didn’t just appear. He came from somebody — a whole tribe of somebodies, an entire nation of somebodies.
This Sunday, we will name some of those somebodies. We will read the names and remember the dates of birth and death of saints who have gone to be with the Lord from St. John’s Baptist Church. We will light candles and honor them with our presence and our prayers. In doing so, we will recognize their “begottenness” in the life of our church — saints who came before us, shaping our identity as a community of the called-out ones.
In this sacred act, we are declaring that they didn’t just appear out of thin air, and neither did we. We are here — in some small and mysterious way — because they begot us. And we must not let the begotten be forgotten.
God has called us out from the world, not from thin air, but through the lineage of these biological and spiritual ancestors. This does not make us saints — it simply reminds us that we are saints, by the grace of God and through the witness of those who have gone before us.
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Happy Birthday, Riley!
Riley Cardella will celebrate her birthday on October 30. She is the daughter of Colleen and Marc.
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Happy Birthday, Mabry Anne!
Happy Birthday to Mabry Anne Miller, who will celebrate her big day on November 3! She is the daughter of Elizabeth Peacock and Steven Miller.
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STEWARDSHIP 2026: Growing Together
As we approach Commitment Sunday, our stewardship journey turns to the idea of “Growing Together.” At St. John’s, our strength comes not just from individual gifts, but from the way we join our resources, talents, and hopes to build something greater than ourselves.
This year, your pledges have helped us realign staff and resources to better serve our mission. We transitioned to a more efficient staffing model, hiring part-time maintenance support (Herb Parrott), expanding part-time administrative assistance for Amanda Morrison and the church office, engaging contract custodial services (Stratus), and expanding the role of Noel Lance as part-time music minister and director of choir and handbells. These changes allow us to maximize our resources and support our full-time ministerial and administrative team more effectively.
Financially, we have been able to preserve our nest egg for the future by not tapping into the Garrison Road sale proceeds. Instead, we’ve benefited from higher interest rates on pre-paid pledges and reserve balances, which have generated additional income for programming and ministry. Our Real Estate Task Force continues to work toward sustainable, long-term solutions that will benefit our church for years to come.
When we pledge, we are investing in the future of St. John’s—not just for ourselves, but for generations to come. Together, we can continue to nurture a church that is rooted in faith and growing in purpose.
Our theme this year is “Rooted in Faith, Growing in Purpose.” Commitment Sunday is November 9—please mark your calendar and consider how you will participate.
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NAMI Walks: Nov. 8
St. John's is a sponsor of this year's NAMIWalks Charlotte. Join our team and support the work with NAMI!
"No one NAMIWalks alone," is the mantra we walk by at the community’s most important mental health fundraising event.
Some people walk together, in step and arm in arm. Others walk together in spirit. Still others, sadly, walk together in memory.
However, we raise money that connects those in need to the life-changing, even life-saving, mental health programs and guidance that NAMI offers.
We participate as a team. Each contributing what we can: time, effort, muscle, and commitment. What do you have to offer us? Because let me tell you, your contribution will make all the difference. No matter the age of a team member, or whether you’re a practiced athlete, when you join our ranks, it’s one big loud cheer the community will hear: We are NAMIWalks.
It's also a lot of fun. You get to meet new friends and reach goals you never thought you’d reach.
Won’t you join the joy with us? Together, we’ll be strong enough to lift hope itself!
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Depression Support Group
Join the St. John’s Depression Support Group! Contact Rev. Kathy Turner (919-225-2749) to learn more about a regular meeting to provide support for people coping with depression; to foster honest conversations in our daily lives with others who can relate; and to help us hold one another accountable so we feel supported and not judged.
The first meeting will be on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at the church in room 104 (Cheers Classroom). Please note: This is intended to provide a support network. It is not a therapy session.
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Real Estate Task Force Listening Session
The Real Estate Task Force (RETF) will be holding a listening session on Sunday, November 16th at 8:15 AM in Broach Hall. During this session, we will update our congregation on our activities over the summer and seek your feedback on the next steps.
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Friendsgiving Potluck - November 16
Join us on Sunday, November 16, 11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., in Broach Hall for a special Friendsgiving celebration at St. John’s Baptist Church as we gather to reconnect, share a potluck meal, and celebrate the enduring bonds between our church and the Lost Boys of South Sudan. This event marks the beginning of a year-long commemoration of the former Lost Boys of Sudan’s arrival in the U.S. in 2001; our shared story of faith, friendship, and hope; and the enduring connections between St. John’s and South Sudan.
Bring a dish that represents your family’s story and an appetite hungry for good food and fellowship! Linger longer after lunch and join us for an epic basketball game!
Please register by November 14th.
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On the Way!
St. John’s retired adults will be ON THE WAY to Trio Restaurant - 10709 McMullen Creek Pkwy - on Wednesday, November 19th. Please note that we will be meeting there at 11:00 am that day. Please email Lee Gray at LGray@sjcharlotte.org if you would like to attend.
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A Message from The Mission Resource Team
In late September your Mission Resource Team approved the use of $3,000 from our Mission Action Projects restricted account to help with Helene relief efforts in Western North Carolina.
We sent $1,000 each to Park Road Baptist Church, Mars Hill Baptist Church, and the Community Housing Coalition of Madison County. All three were instrumental in working to help rebuild the home of a family devastated by the storm.
Thank you for your generosity, St. Johnsians! God is at work.
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A Note from the Immigrant & Refugee Ministry Group
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina’s Welcome Network is providing a wonderful opportunity to learn more about and discuss a grounding theological vision for immigration. See the link below to register for this event on Zoom on November 6 at 6pm.
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Basketball Registration is Live!
St. John’s Basketball registration is now live for children and youth. We will have teams for boys and girls ages 4-12. Please click on the link to register and see all the details pertaining to the upcoming basketball season. Click here to learn more and register now. Contact Lee Gray at LGray@sjcharlotte.org if you have any questions.
Two free pre-season clinics open to all boys and girls 8 years old and under will be held on Monday, October 13 at 5:00 pm & Tuesday, October, 28 at 5:00 pm.
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Christmas Painting Party at Noah's Art
Kids, let’s make Christmas 2025 colorful with a painting party at Noah’s Art of South Park on Saturday, November 22, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.! Bring a friend. The cost is only $10 per child. Register here by
Sunday, November 16.
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Coat Drive Collection in November
Nourish Up at the Galilee Center is having a Coat Drive for all ages, Children through Adults for the month of November. St. John’s is participating in this drive. If you have any gently used or new coats you would like to donate to help our neighbors please leave them in the Giving Nook at the main entrance. Also if you might have some hats, scarves and gloves those would also be appreciated. Thank you for supporting this worthy cause.
- MRT Team
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Save the Date: Christmas Gathering
St. John's Senior Adults (75 and older)
Please mark your calendars now and plan to attend our annual Christmas Gathering on Thursday, December 4th in Broach Hall at 11:30 am. Details to follow soon!
Be on the lookout for your invitation to arrive this week in the mail! Questions should be directed to Bobbie Hinson at Bobbie.hinson@providenceday.org or 704-806-1947.
| | Weekday School Job Posting | | | 2025 Churchwide Save The Dates: |
- All Saints Sunday, November 2
- Commitment Sunday, November 9
- WDAV Lessons & Carols, December 2
- Senior Adult Christmas Gathering, December 4
- Hanging of the Green & Nativity Play with Lunch, December 7
- Christmas Cantata, December 14
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Prayer List, Sympathy, Thanks, and Celebrations | |
Current Prayer Concerns:
Mary Jo Breckenridge, Carol Drye, Martha Fowler, Dale Johnson, Fredda Kimball, Anne Sutton, Joe Trull
Continuing Prayer:
Anna Lynn Kearse, Mary Rickenbaker
Sympathy:
Dear St. John’s family, Please remember Chris Lavender and his husband Noel Lance in your prayers. Chris’s mother, Ann Lavender, passed on Monday October 27th. Arrangements have not been made at this time.
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2025 Full Year Budget – $1,241,000
September Financials
Budgeted Income thru September - $930,750
Actual Income Received - $904,745
Income over(under) budget - ($26,005)
Actual Expenses paid - $945,123
Income/Expense Surplus (Deficit) - ($40,378)
Global Missions Offering - $23,000
Income received thru October - $23,280
| | Minister On Call Schedule |
- Oct. 27-Nov. 2: Kheresa
- Nov. 3-9: Lee
| | - Todd Stillerman - (704) 763-6611
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Staff Contact Information
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Dr. Don Gordon, Interim Minister - 704-333-5428, ext. 2012; 919-972-1933 (cell)
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Rev. Lee Gray, Minister for Congregational Care - 704-333-5428, ext. 2015; 704-451-1309 (cell)
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Rev. Kheresa Harmon, Minister for Children & their Families - 704-333-5428, ext. 2018; 910-890-3392 (cell)
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Noel Lance, Minister for Worship & Music
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Amanda Morrison, Church Administrator - 704-333-5428, ext. 0
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Lydia Olmsted, Weekday School Director - 704-333-5428, ext. 2039
- Chloe Salmeron, Children's Choir Director
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Liza Wade, Media Coordinator
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