The Binkley Weekly Update
October 30, 2026
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From Our Minister with Senior Adults:
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Dear Binkley Friends:
This coming Sunday, November 1, when we gather for worship, we’ll celebrate All Saints Day, a time when we remember and give thanks for the lives of our Binkley saints who have died since last year’s service. This year, the group includes:
Richard Brice
Michael Ennis
Harry Jensen
Paul Lindsay
Kevin Twine
Joy Wood
Jurgen Wanke (husband of Luz Cobos Jasso)
We are grateful for the gifts that these saints shared with us during their lives, and for the memories that continue to bless us and encourage us to keep on serving faithfully.
Everyone will be invited to bring forward a leaf bearing the name or names of loved ones who have died and hang the leaf on a tree as a tribute to your loved one. The leaves will be provided in the worship bulletin.
This Sunday is also communion Sunday. As we prepare for a stressful week of elections, it seems especially important for us to gather, to encourage each other, and to participate in this meal as we ground ourselves by remembering why we gather, why we serve, and whose spirit is always with us.
I am grateful for you all, for your faithful witness as Binkley saints, and for all the gifts you share so generously with me! Oh, and my homily title? “For All the Binkley Saints.”
See you Sunday!
Diane Eubanks Hill, Minister with Senior Adults
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From Executive Minister:
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Happy Friday Binkley Family!
What a fun week it has been! Remy and I had a ball being dinosaurs with our dog Karl at the Trunk Or Treat on Wednesday. Karl ate a hot dog and got pet by at least a hundred people, so he might have had the best night of all.
I am looking forward to seeing many of you tonight at Claire's ordination and again Sunday for All Saints Day where our own Diane Eubanks Hill, Volunteer Minister to Senior Adults, will be preaching. Binkley has some beautiful traditions surrounding All Saints Day and I'm excited to be a part of it this year. Who are the Saints who have formed you? Who will you be remembering this year?
Last Summer I lost my maternal grandmother and my paternal grandfather within a few days of one another. Each had their own special impact on my life and my spiritual development. Each left behind a beautiful legacy of faithfulness, creativity, and love. As you remember the saints in your life, I pray you will be blessed by good memories and deep gratitude for the witness of their lives.
Blessings,
Rev Kelsey
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Together in Transition Update
Gathering Ongoing Feedback
The Transition Team has wrapped up seven listening sessions, engaging more than 35 Binkley members and friends in the group sessions. If you have not had the opportunity to connect with us in a listening session, individual conversation or over email - or you have an additional thought - we continue to be available and have a NEW way for you to share your thoughts:
We now have a Together in Transition Dropbox in the Narthex, where you can drop anonymous feedback any time. We will check this box at least once a week.
As always, we genuinely invite your engagement. Reach out to the team via transition@binkleychurch.org if you want to discuss anything further.
Coming Soon
As we shared last week, the Transition Team is reviewing the insights shared in the listening sessions and plans to reflect these back to the congregation next week. One of the elements we have heard throughout the transition is a desire to understand the transition process, and will soon share a visual roadmap to help make sense of the transition components.
Additional Updates
- The final draft of the Interim Minister position is with the HR Committee, and will soon move to the Leadership Team. We hope to have the position posted within the next week.
- The Transition Team is working with the Leadership Team and Staff to ensure continuity - this includes pastoral care, communications, committee liaison responsibilities, and the preaching schedule.
The Transition Team shares a warm congratulations and hearty affirmation to Claire as she is ordained into the Gospel Ministry as Reverend this evening! Please join us at Watts Street Baptist tonight at 6:30pm, October 30.
Your involvement in this process is valuable and appreciated - it is necessary for our success as a Church. Please continue reading Together in Transition each week for updates as we move forward faithfully, thoughtfully, and together.
Transition Team
Jessica Stokes, Co‑Chair
Katie Cartmell, Co‑Chair
Nancy Cheek
Kevin Ramer
Carol Ripley-Moffitt
Matthew Ripley-Moffitt
Elizabeth Stroop
Binkley Leadership Team
Kelsey Vincent, Executive Minister
Alice Glover, Moderator
Alan Brown, Moderator‑Elect
Sue Wallace, Diaconate Chair
Roal Carlson, Diaconate Chair‑Elect
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CHRISTIAN FORMATION AT BINKLEY
Programs this Sunday
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Herman Greene and Mike Hawkins will begin an eight-week class based on Marcus Borg’s Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally. The first class will be on how to read the Bible using the historical-metaphorical approach. Succeeding classes will cover the Creation Stories, the Pentateuch, the Prophets, the Wisdom Literature, the Gospels, the Epistles of Paul, and Revelation. This class will meet in the lounge.
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Nancy Davis will conclude her four-week class on “Crucial Conversations.” These are conversations in workplaces, families, institutions, and with intimate partners that need to happen and are difficult. This class will meet in the library.
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Ty Hagler and Remy Vincent are leading an intergenerational “Doodles
and Discussions” class of indefinite duration in the Art Room. Adults and youth are welcome.
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Appeal for Adult Sunday School Leaders
Do you have an idea for a future Sunday School class? Would you like to lead a class?
If so, please contact Herman Greene, leader of Binkley Adult Christian formation at hfgreenenc@gmail.com or 919-480-0787 (m).
Areas for classes include Christian education, Life Skills, Spirituality/Art/Writing, Spirituality, and Current Events.
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The Children's Sunday School Lesson This week:
The SS Lesson for this week will focus on having a balance in our lives so that we can be productive people. Jesus' parable about the unproductive fig tree from Luke 13:1-9 will be read and explained as an example of how we need to use our time wisely. The book The Couch Potato, by Jory John will also be read. The character in this book learns that having a balance in his life makes him happy!
Snack will be an old favorite, Fig Newtons.
| | Children & Youth Activities | | |
Nov 1:
Children:
Chapel @ 9
Sunday School @9:45
Worship @ 11
Youth:
Chapel @ 9
Sunday School@ 9:45
Worship @ 11
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November 8:
Children:
Chapel @ 9
Sunday School @9:45
Worship with Children @ 11
Youth:
Chapel @ 9
Sunday School @9:45
Worship @ 11
| | Please remember to wear your name tag on Sundays! If you need a new one, there is a sign up on the welcome desk, and Beth Ann with get it made by the following week. | | | Worship @ 11:00 am, In-Person & Livestream | | | We will livestream the service at 11 am on our website, Facebook, and YouTube. You choose which platform works best for you. After the livestream has ended, you can view the service at your leisure on Facebook or YouTube. | |
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The Service of Ordination for our Director of Children and Youth Ministry - Claire Dillashaw is set for Friday, October 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Watts Street Baptist Church, 800 Watts Street, Durham. We hope many Binkley folks will attend this joyful service. All who attend, including the children, will be invited to come forward to offer Claire a blessing. Parents, you may wish to encourage your children by suggesting they simply touch Claire, or say something simple to her like "God bless you." or "I love you." A reception will follow. Please contact Sharlene Meisner if you'd like to offer a contribution to this reception. (sharlene5meisner@gmail.com).
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Church in Conference following Worship in the Fellowship Hall
The Constitution Working Group is recommending that select changes to the Constitution related to the search for Church leaders be approved ahead of the full constitutional revision review to allow the transition process to move forward using the new guidelines. The recommended changes are primarily for Article II The Church Staff. The changes are shown in this document in purple.
Most of the recommended changes were first suggested by the 2019 Constitution Working Group. They involve creating a small committee to establish and support the search committee. The search committee will be a smaller committee. In addition to those suggested changes, the Transition Team suggested codifying "Senior Clergy Leadership" as the term we use in the Constitution to refer to the person or persons who are responsible for leading ministry at Binkley. In the constitution it will replace "Minister" or "Senior Minister." It will give the Transition Team and search committee greater flexibility in identifying the next leaders for our church.
A Church in Conference meeting will be called to approve the changes.
| | A well-meaning recycler has been leaving a full bag of lids and caps monthly in our recycling containers at Binkley. Unfortunately this type of recycling is not available in roadside pickup. These would need to be taken to plastic recycling at the dump. Please do not leave lids in our recycling bins at the church. Thank you. | | |
Recent article in the Daily Tar Heel about Binkley's Medical Debt Relief fund.
| | This photography exhibit will come down at the end of October. Don't miss your chance to look around and enjoy the beauty. | |
Binkley Senior Adult Ministry Updates
from Diane Eubanks Hill, Minister with Senior Adults
Earlier this month, we gathered on my porch for brunch and to reflect on our reading of Parker Palmer’s On the Brink of Everything. Sharing our thoughts about this book provided a great opportunity for nourishing connections with our Binkley friends. The Planning Team is in the process of considering the next book for focus. Please feel free to offer suggestions to a member of the Team. I am considering Exuberance: The Passion for Life by Kay Redfield Jamison - one of the most fascinating books I've ever read! Has anyone read this book? Let me know what you think.
Be sure to take note and mark your calendars for upcoming events offered by Binkley’s Senior Adult Ministry. Remember that anyone interested, no matter the age, is invited to participate.
Aging in Community led by April Kemper gathers next at 10:30 on Wednesday, November 18 in the Sun Room. At this gathering you are invited to share one thing for which you are grateful. If you’d enjoy bringing a food item to share, please feel free to do so. Contact April with questions or ideas (aek913@gmail.com). Drop-ins are always welcome.
New Diagnoses and Treatments for Alzheimer’s - Wednesday, December 2, 11:00 a.m., concluding with lunch. Plan now to join this conversation with Duke geriatrician Mitch Heflin, MD. We are grateful to Dr. Heflin for his willingness to share his time and expertise with us. Lunch will be provided by Alpaca. Watch for registration information.
2026 Christmas Sing-Along – Wednesday, December 16, 10:30 a.m. Join this time of joyful singing and connections with your Binkley church family, followed by the always scrump-dilly-icious lunch provided by Karin and Linda! Many thanks to our Minister of Music Sally Molineux for once again planning and leading this annual Binkley event! Watch for registration information.
The Senior Adult Planning Team meets next on November 9. All events offered by Binkley’s Senior Adult Ministry are open to anyone interested, no matter the age. Questions or ideas? Contact a Senior Adult Planning Team member: Ann Brock, Tonya Hamm, Buck Horton, April Kemper, Denise Laux, Craig Meisner, Elizabeth Perry, Betty Prioux, Sheryl Scrimsher, Dennis Will or Diane Eubanks Hill, Minister with Senior Adults.
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We have next Sunday available!
| More about Kristin Bradley-Bull here. | |
Save the Date! The Binkley Alternative Gift Fair and Holiday Party is set for Sunday December 6, following the 11am worship service. Open to the community and other faith partners, we have dozens of vendors (and excellent causes to support), festive music and food. Give the Gift that Gives back!
The Medical Debt Relief Working Group is collecting holiday apparel and new or gently used decorations that will be used to support the Marcus McFaul Medical Debt Relief Fund. (contact Carol Miller for more information, cmillerlong@gmail.com or 202-378-7662).
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5 Calls
Make your voice heard.
5 Calls is the easiest and most effective way for U.S. constituents to make a political impact.
For more information, and to start calling,
here is the website:
https://5calls.org/
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Our Wider Community
Click the links for more information
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Support Binkley Preschool
Click HERE to learn the various ways you can support Binkley preschool through linking loyalty cards, purchasing from specific merchants, and purchasing holiday greenery.
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IFC Newsletter available here. | | |
Submissions for the December Newsletter are due by:
November 16th
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Submissions for the weekly bulletin and Friday Update are due by:
Wednesday at Noon
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