In this week's Family News (Scroll to Learn More):
- 'Tis the Season for Our Church to Pursue Caring and Learning
- Nourish Up Food Drive this Month
- Supporting Our Youth Ministries
- Happy Birthday!
- RISE Against Hunger in September: Need St. John's Volunteers
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Women of the Church Retreat: Register NOW Below
- Brotherhood of the Biscuit
- Potluck Lunch on October 6
- Children's Sabbath on October 6
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Thursdays on the Town: Register Here
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CROP Walk on October 6: Register Here
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How to End Christian Nationalism, Amanda Tyler Book Release
- On the Way for October and November
- Common Table Special Opportunity
- Craft and Bake Sale
- Fall Festival & Trunk or Treat
- Shred-A-Thon
- Welcoming New Friends
- Conversation with Tommy Tomlinson on October 27
- NAMI Yoga Event
- Refugee Support Services Special Dinner
- Prayer List, Sympathy, Thanks, and Celebrations
- On Call Rotation
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Financial Update & Global Missions Update (Almost to our goal!)
- Minister On Call Schedule
- Staff Contact Info
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‘TIS THE SEASON FOR OUR CHURCH TO PURSUE CARING AND LEARNING
by Dennis W. Foust, Senior Minister
The next couple of months offer numerous opportunities for you to care and learn. These weeks allow us to express our compassion and grow in discipleship intergenerationally.
FOOD DRIVE: All through September, you are encouraged to bring items as donations for Nourish Up. You will find a grocery cart in The Giving Nook located in The Main Entrance. Please notice the shopping list included in this issue of Family News. It is a blessing to you when you know you have helped feed another family.
SEPTEMBER 22: This coming Sunday we will worship in Broach Hall and then express our love to Haley, Austin, and Finn Blackwell as they move to Texas. REMINDER: Please contribute to the love offering for the Blackwells on Realm or here and choose “Love Offering” in the drop down menu.
SEPTEMBER 29: We move back into the Sanctuary for worship. We will welcome the Youth for Christ Choir from St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church as our guest worship leaders. We will also host several other churches for lunch and a collaborative caring project as we Rise Against Hunger to package 20,000 meals as we care for people close by and far away.
OCTOBER 6: Our children will lead us in every aspect of worship including The Lord’s Supper on World Communion Sunday. Following worship, we will move from the Sanctuary to Broach Hall where we will enjoy a potluck meal (see details in this Family News) and hear a CONVERGE report from Church Council. Following lunch and the report, some of us will go down two blocks to Memorial Stadium to participate in CROP Hunger Walk.
OCTOBER 13, 20, & 27: On these three Sundays, we will learn how to work together on our CONVERGE visions in ways that embody the mission of God, share the Gospel with others, and enliven the church.
A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR OUTREACH TO OUR CITY ON OCTOBER 22:
At 6:30, on Tuesday, October 22, in Broach Hall, we will host the book release of Amanda Tyler’s significant writing, ‘HOW TO END CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM.’
Amanda was our guest speaker earlier this year during our McLeod Brown lecture. Park Road Books will be present to manage book sales. Invite your friends. This event will be publicized throughout Charlotte via a variety of media. You must register for this event. Please notice the link in the separate announcement within this Family News. We will learn a core value of Baptist heritage as we practice religious freedom.
As the weather becomes cooler and the leaves begin to offer beautiful colors, let us turn toward congregational renewal through caring and learning.
‘Tis the season!
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Nourish Up Food Drive Continues!
During the rest of the month of September, we will continue collecting food items (see list below) for the approved folks.
Especially needed:
- Beans, canned or dried. Not green beans
- Canned corn, peas
- Cereal
- Canned peaches
- Flour, sugar, salt, pepper
- Preserves, any kind
- Peanut butter
- Oatmeal
Food can be left in the Giving Nook at the Main Entrance.
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A Message from our Youth and Personnel Resource Teams
Dear St. John’s:
As you know, our church has experienced many transitions over the last several years in the leadership of our youth ministry. Another moment of transition is upon us as we say goodbye and thank you to our current Youth Minister, Haley Blackwell. This church family has always come together for one another in the past, particularly regarding our children and youth. Whether responding to a call to support the children’s ministry or participating in and showing up for Youth Sundays and Youth Mission Auctions, this congregation always looks after its own! Your youth (as well as their parents) need you now more than ever to assist in the St. John’s youth ministry.
We need our adult members, regardless of their age and regardless of their own children’s ages, to help us lead youth Sunday School classes, SNL, and other events over the coming months while we search for and transition into new leadership for our youth ministry.
Please consider committing your time and talents to the future of St. John’s and contact Lindsay Wilson (lindsaykwwilson@gmail.com) as soon as possible to see how you can help. As Haley can attest, you will learn as much from these young St. John’s members as they will learn from you! Thank you, St. John’s, for your commitment to and investment in the future of this church!
Lindsay Wilson, Youth Resource Team Chair
Jason Benton, Personnel Resource Team Chair
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Happy Birthday!
Please help us wish Tallon Cardella a happy birthday on September 21. She is the daughter of Marc and Colleen Cardella.
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Rise Against Hunger
Need St. John's Volunteers
Let’s work together to end global hunger. Please join us and congregants from several other local congregations for our Rise Against Hunger Packing Event on Sunday, September 29, immediately after worship.
How can you serve?
1. Greeters
2. Parking Attendant Greeters
3. Hospitality Table in Broach Hall
4. Lunch (Our meal will be provided by Together in Christ International Ministries and St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church, but assistance with setup and clean up are needed.)
5. Donate to Rise Against Hunger
Contact Kheresa Harmon by September 25 and tell her how you will help.
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REGISTER NOW: 2024 Women's Retreat
God's Tapestry: Woven Together in Power and Purpose
Women of the Church, you are invited to attend our 2024 Retreat on November 1-3 and the Blowing Rock Conference Center. Sabrina Gilchrist will be our facilitator for the weekend. What a joy it will be to spend the weekend with her as she leads us in focusing on Mary and Elizabeth as models of women affirming each other's gifts, and using their example to build our SJBC sisterhood in nurturing each other for spiritual growth and service in Christ's name!
The weekend will offer us deepened fellowship, good food and treats, worship, meaningful study, and fun activities. In addition to the whole group sessions with Sabrina, we will have opportunities to participate in optional sessions such as prayerful painting, weaving, writing, mindful walking, or Scavenger Shopping. Plus, a game night!
We hope you can join us! The cost for the whole weekend - including room, food, all sessions, and activities - will be $185 and must be prepaid. Register below or on Realm. If you prefer, paper registration forms will be available at the WOC luncheon on September 15 or in the church office. Look for Nancy Wilson in the hall outside the nursery area on Sundays to register, as well.
Deadline to register is September 22.
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Brotherhood of the Biscuit
Brotherhood of the Biscuit kicks off the fall season, on Friday, September 20, at 6:30AM in the 1st Floor church lounge.
Anshuman Jha (the nephew of Jeff LeVie) will share his personal experience in the industry about "The Art of Working and Acting in Bollywood." If you watch the link to this interview you can see what an intelligent, insightful person Anshuman Jha is -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvih63Gbaw0
We hope you will make plans to join us at the Brotherhood of the Biscuit fall kickoff this Friday.
We will also be looking for biscuit masters for the following Friday morning dates
- October 18
- November 15
- December 13 or 20 TBD
- January 17
- February 21
- March 21
- (Saturday) April 19 - Jeff LeVie will bring biscuits
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OCTOBER BEGINS WITH A POTLUCK LUNCH
Sunday, October 6 after worship and before the CROP Walk
Some of you remember frequent potluck lunches and dinners in churches of yesteryear.
On Sunday, October 6, we will gather in Broach Hall for a potluck lunch between worship and CROP Walk. The program for lunch will include a report from the Church Council on the CONVERGE information gathered last spring.
Here is how the potluck works.
- The church budget will pay for the meat.
- If your last name begins with A – L, you bring a vegetable/side dish.
- If your last name begins with M – Z, you bring a dessert.
See you there! Let us get this new church year started.
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Children's Sabbath
Children Leading Worship on World Communion Sunday
October 6, 2024
Please join us for worship on Sunday, October 6, World Communion Sunday, as our children lead us in all aspects of worship - from singing and reading Scripture to leading in prayer and taking communion. This is a special Sunday and we hope you will plan to join us at 10:30am, our regular worship time.
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Thursdays on the Town
October 10
Parents of children, ages birth - 5th grade, please join us on Thursday, October 10 at 6:00 p.m. at Catalina Kitchen and Bar (1942 East 7th St.). Find their menu here.
Free childcare will be provided.
Please register and reserve childcare by October 6.
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Charlotte CROP Hunger Walk
Sunday, October 6, 2024 at Memorial Stadium
“It's important for all of us to acknowledge and, if able, respond to the ongoing hunger crisis around the world. CROP Walk allows us to raise material relief for those in need. By actually walking on the day of the event, we can also give the cause greater visibility.” -Phil and Sara Vavra
Each of us at St. John’s can show solidarity with the millions who walk miles every day in search of food and water. Many of you have already registered to participate in the 2024 Charlotte CROP Walk to bring help and hope to those who need it most by raising funds to provide nutritious food, clean water, and healthy children.
If you have not yet registered, Click here to register or enter the URL https://events.crophungerwalk.org/cropwalks/accept?challenger=james-m-laney&team=st-johns-baptist-2 in your browser's address window.
To assist you with your fundraising efforts, below are tips for success from other long-time Charlotte CROP Walkers.
- Set up YOUR online Charlotte CROP Walk giving page. Create a customized URL and share the link with people.
- Send INDIVIDUAL emails, not email blasts, to potential donors.
- Send a personal letter to friends and family that aren’t likely to give online. Enclose a stamped self-addressed return envelope to make it easy for them to mail their donation back to you.
- In your emails or letters, share your personal stories about when you have encountered the “face” of poverty. Share with them how the money is used to help others. (Refer to the 8/28 Family Newsletter information (here) or learn more about the 2024 CROP walk at https://events.crophungerwalk.org/cropwalks?challenger=james-m-laney&team=st-johns-baptist-2.)
- Follow up with a reminder email to your potential donors before the walk.
- Don’t be afraid to ask people for a donation. Be passionate. Ask BOLDLY. Set a goal and make it audacious. Be creative in your “ask.” One walker reports asking potential donors to give just one dollar if that was all they could give. Knowing they could give more, they did, and he exceeded his goal. Give your own sacrificial gift.
If you are registered to walk, be sure to pick up your t-shirt at the CROP Walk table outside the worship service this Sunday, 9/22. If you have questions or need assistance with registering, please reach out to your SJBC CROP Walk Team Captains, Debbie Pittman or James Laney.
CHARLOTTE CROP HUNGER WALK
October 6, 2024
American Legion Memorial Stadium
REGISTRATION: 1:30-2:30
Walk after you’ve Registered
The walk concludes at 4 PM
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How to End Christian Nationalism
Amanda Tyler Book Release on October 22 at 6:30pm
At 6:30pm, on Tuesday, October 22 in Broach Hall, we will host the book release of Amanda Tyler’s significant writing, How to End Christian Nationalism.
How to End Christian Nationalism by Amanda Tyler is the essential guidebook for Christians alarmed by the rising tide of Christian nationalism yet unsure how to counter it. Join Amanda for a timely discussion about the threat of this dangerous ideology and learn about how she drew on her experiences, conversations with pastors and laypeople, research, Scripture and her Baptist convictions to write this new book.
This event is free, but registration is required. You will receive a confirmation email with the information you'll need to attend. Register BELOW.
Park Road Books will be present to manage book sales. Invite your friends.
This event will be publicized throughout Charlotte via a variety of media. You must register for this event below.
We will learn a core value of Baptist heritage as we practice religious freedom.
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On the Way
Outings for Retired Adults and Friends
Friday, October 25 – We will meet the church at 11:00 am to coordinate our carpools and then walk or drive to Big Ben British Pub & Restaurant for lunch at 11:15 am. After lunch people can carpool (or drive separately if they desire) to the Sullenberger Aviation Museum. (4108 Minuteman Way 28208 – It’s on Charlotte-Douglas Airport land) We have tickets for 1:30 pm and they can receive us up to 25 minutes before or after that time. We will need to fine tune our number of tickets, so please let LGray@sjcharlotte.org know if you plan to attend by October 17.
Thursday, November 14 – We have reservations for 20 at Mama Ricotta’s Italian Restaurant (601 S. Kings Dr.) at 11:30 am. We will carpool from the church and depart at 11:15 am or you can meet us there. Sometimes parking can be crowded though. Please let LGray@sjcharlotte.org know if you plan to attend by Tuesday, November 12 so final adjustments can be made to our arrangements at Mama Ricotta’s.
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You're invited: Common Table Members' Edition, Sept. 30
Members of St. John's, along with members of our other partner congregations, are invited to this special Members' Edition of Common Table, our new joint ministry reaching those in need of community. This is your opportunity to get introduced (or reintroduced) to this ministry's unique concept.
Join us for a free meal and get a taste of what our growing Common Table community has experienced each month since our initial launch in April. This special event will be held on Monday, Sept. 30, 6:30-8:30pm, at Free Range Brewing, 2320 N. Davidson St. The event is free. Reserve your tickets online. Learn more about Common Table at https://commontableclt.com.
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Annual Craft & Bake Sale Is Back!
Sunday, October 20
The Needle and Craft Ministry will be having a Craft and Bake Sale on Sunday October 20th in Lasater Hall from 11:30 to 1:00pm. All proceeds will go to support the playground renovations.
If you are interested in participating with craft items and/or baked goods please contact Ruth Jackson or Tricia Miller. Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated. We will only accept cash or checks on the day of the sale. Thank you for your support, our children will benefit from these renovations.
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Fall Festival with Trunk-Or-Treat
October 27, 3-5pm
All are invited to join us for a Fall Festival and Trunk-Or-Treat at St. John's on October 27 from 3pm-5pm. We will need folks to dress up their car trunks and hand out candy for this event. Stay tuned for more details and contact Kheresa with questions.
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Shred-A-Thon 2024 with Shepherd's Center of Charlotte
Saturday, September 28, 9-12pm at St. John's
Join us for a Shred- A - Thon on Saturday, September 28 at St. John's from 9-12pm. This is a fun, intergenerational event with food trucks, activities for kids, community resources, and more.
Bonus: The first 50 attendees will receive a FREE treat or drink from Cakeable or The Caffeine Monkey.
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WELCOMING NEW FRIENDS
November 13, 2024
SAVE THIS DATE!
Join us on Wednesday, November 13, from 5:30-7:00 PM for a fellowship meal in Broach Hall during which we’ll learn about opportunities to build relationships with newly arrived individuals and families from other countries and cultures. We’ll hear about the work of Refugee Support Services with a focus on the Fruitful Friends program, which pairs volunteers with program participants (refugees, asylees, etc.) to build friendships, share cultures, and provide support.
More information will follow soon with details on registering for this event and on the program presenters.
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Conversation with Tommy Tomlinson to Support the Counseling Center at Charlotte
October 27, 5-7pm at Park Road Baptist Church
Join us for a conversation at Park Road Baptist Church with author Tommy Tomlinson and enjoy a catered pancake supper by BrooksCakes supporting the Counseling Center at Charlotte. Tickets are $25.
Tommy Tomlinson is the author of DOGLAND, Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show. He hosts the SouthBound podcast and write the Writing Shed newsletter. His work has appeared in Esquire, ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, and others. Previously he was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He and his wife Alex live in Charlotte.
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Prayers, Thanks, and Celebrations
Current Prayer Concerns: Charles Gordon, Kaden Haver, Arnold Philemon, Jeck Warren
Continuing Prayer: Shirley Ballard, Tom Bryson, Kathleen Bumgardner, Carolyn Hall, Mary Rickenbaker, Shelly Zeigler
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Financial Update
2024 Full Year Budget: $1,211,000
Income Received Through Sept. 15: $761,653 (63%)
Through August
Budgeted Income: $807,333 (67%)
Actual Income Received: $724072 (60%)
Income Over (Under) Budget: ($83,261)
Actual Expenses Paid: $764,425 (63%)
Income/Expense Surplus (Deficit): ($40,353)
Global Missions Offering Goal: $25,000
Received through August 18: $22,865 (91%)
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Staff Contact Information
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Rev. Dennis Foust, PhD, Senior Minister - 704-359-7234 (cell); 704-333-5428, ext. 2012
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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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Russell Nelson, Minister for Worship & Music - (980) 228-6244 (cell)
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Mallory Brown, Media Coordinator - 704-477-3349 (cell)
- Chloe Hall, Children's Choir Director
- Noel Lance, Organist
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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
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