March 27, 2025 Edition

Heal Educate Empower — these words organize the mission of the Friends of Barnabas

Following Hurricane Mitch in 1998, The Reverend Linwood Cook began leading mission trips to Honduras. Along with the destruction caused by the hurricane, he saw the effects of limited access to healthcare in rural communities, especially for children. In 2000, Linwood founded Friends of Barnabas (FOB) to create a sustainable pathway to improve healthcare in remote villages. Named after Barnabas, one of Jesus’ early disciples (whose name means son of encouragement), FOB marks its twenty-fifth year of offering healthcare services, training local providers, and empowering communities. 

Each month FOB welcomes medical teams who visit five communities at various stages of development in the three-year community education process. FOB has also trained the first pediatric cardiovascular surgeon in Honduras, which means children no longer have to wait for a visiting surgeon to get lifesaving care in their own country.  

On March 15, five people from All Saints’ – Joe and Debbie Stegman, Julia Hill, Dennis Lockney, and myself – headed to Honduras. Click to continue reading.

Awesome! We're doing a key inventory and just need to know who has what! So, EVERYONE (yes, YOU!) who has a key of any kind that is associated with the All Saints' campus, please send an email to the Church Administrator with YOUR NAME and KEYS in the subject line. In the email, please list which keys you have by noting what as imprinted on each (ex: AA, dog key, GMK). We'd like to get all keys accounted for by Monday, March 31. So, we really need YOUR help! Thanks so much!

Be an Engaged Citizen! Advocacy Day 2025 Postcard Campaign | The General Assembly is in session in Raleigh considering many bills that will impact North Carolinians. Do you want to express yourself on an issue you feel passionately about? The Diocese of North Carolina is conducting a postcard campaign as part of Advocacy Day 2025. A team will take your messages to the General Assembly this spring! See or contact Martin Ericson for a postcard and further instructions. Cards should be returned to the church office by Thursday, April 10, so we may ship them to Diocesan House. For more details, see the Advocacy Day 2025 website.

Lenten Food Drive | Wow! We collected 776 pounds of food during the Lenten food drive. Thank you for feeding our neighbors! Don’t forget – every Sunday you can bring non-perishable food. So far this year we have delivered 896 pounds of food to the CCM food pantry.

Mothers and Children Home Dinners | Another way to feed our neighbors is at the CCM MAC (Mother and Children) house. Provide dinner for 15-20 of our neighbors, mothers and children, that are working towards Independence and Financial Stability. In addition to providing food, we are welcome to eat with the families, which is a joyful experience. April 15, May 27, and June 10 are our next three dates. We serve one Tuesday per month. Please contact Gary Kovar (contact details in Realm) for more info.

All Saints' grounds look beautiful this Spring! Many thanks to Bob Black and Mark Robinson for pruning the trees around the parking lots close to the Columbarium and Welcome center. Mark reports that a well-hidden native southern crabapple (malus angustifolia) tree is in bloom. It is located on the edge of the woods about 20 yards southeast of the fire pit. Check out this tree and all the others in bloom at All Saints' this weekend! It's a wonderful time to walk the Stations of the Cross as well!

Katie Kovar was selected for membership in Concord Lake Steam Academy chapter of the National Junior Honor Society. Taken into consideration were Katie’s service, leadership, citizenship, character, and academic achievements. Katie will be inducted into the NJHS in a ceremony on April 3. Congratulations, Katie! We are so very proud of you!

Prayer is the foundation of the ministry of this parish. If you would like to request prayers, please share here. If you are hospitalized, please let the church know. If you are unable to make the call yourself, ask for the chaplain on call and they will make it for you. The church phone number is 704-782-2024.

This week from the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for: Province de L’Eglise Anglicane Du Congo. This week from the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer we pray for: Abundant Life, Greensboro; All Saints’, Greensboro; Church of the Holy Spirit, Greensboro. This week from the Parish Cycle of Prayer we pray for: The Alexander family, Allen family, and Antonides family.

This week prayers have also been requested for: Tom, Eileen, Carol, JoAnn, Jake, Marisa, Don, Jake, and Ann.

Applications are being accepted for a wide variety of educational scholarships from The Episcopal Church for the 2025-2026 academic year. The deadline to apply online is April 4. All applicants must be Episcopalian. Scholarships are derived from annual income of designated trust funds established by generous donors through bequests to The Episcopal Church. The listing of trust funds and scholarships includes information related to the intended use of scholarship funds. A number of these scholarships are designated for students enrolled in theological education and training. Others provide modest scholarships for children of missionaries, bishops or clergy, as well as other groups covering a wide range of eligibility.  When funds are available, the maximum award is $10,000 per student. Click here for educational scholarship details.

Feast for the Spirit, A Community-Wide Gathering for Women, Saturday, April 5, 6-8:30 PM | Join Central United Methodist Church's Jubilee-Ward Circle for Feast for the Spirit, a community-wide gathering for women. The inspiring evening will include dinner with guest speaker Kate Bowler. Kate Bowler is a New York Times bestselling author of books including The Lives We Actually Have, the host of the popular podcast Everything Happens, and Professor of Religious History at Duke University. Click here for details.