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legacy

/ˈleɡəsē/

A legacy is money, property, or an enduring impact handed down from an individual, an ancestor, or the past.

Core Meanings of Legacy

• Legal / Financial: Money or personal property given to someone through a will (a bequest or inheritance).
• General / Historical: Something passed down from a predecessor, such as traditions, cultural values, or a lasting historical impact.
• Technology and Computing (Adjective): Outdated computer hardware, software, or systems that are still functional or relied upon, but difficult to update.
• Education: An applicant to a school or university whose parent or relative previously attended.

Common Synonyms

• Inheritance
• Bequest
• Heritage
• Endowment

So, there's all you need to know about the definition, but there's a lot more to know.

For all of our years as your pastors we've been trying to talk about Legacy Giving. Yes, it has come in fits and starts, but that conversation has been a consistent interest of mine over all these years — and apparently some of you have listened. Thank you!

Over these years we have had more than $1 million in Legacy Gifts — that is, gifts made out of someone's estate. These gifts have made a huge difference to our church. Many have come undesignated, which has allowed them to be used for urgent needs beyond our budget. A few have been designated for campus improvements — the construction of the community center, the renovation of the sanctuary, etc.

But just like our Annual Ministry Plan (which we refuse to call a "budget," because it is not just about the money), Legacy Giving is not just about the money. The amount of the gift is not important. What is important is the love and support of a community of faith, and a commitment to ensure the ongoing success of that community by making a gift that will live beyond your own lifetime.

Every year, on the last Sunday of October, we celebrate "Legacy Sunday." At the conclusion of worship, we gather in the Legacy Garden, just outside the sanctuary, and read the names of any church members who have died in the past year and left a legacy gift to Park Road. We add an engraved brick with the name(s) to the growing list of names memorialized in that garden.

We are grateful for every single Legacy Gift that has been given to Park Road, and want to continue to encourage you to consider making such a gift. (In the recent Feasibility Study that was conducted by Joanne O'Brien Beam for our upcoming Campaign, she learned of five church families who have designated the church in their wills. We were unaware of this, but it is so good to know that many of you are thinking ahead!)

If you want to see your church thrive beyond your own lifetime, and if you would like for your own generosity to survive as well, please consider a Legacy Gift.

Join us the last Sunday of October. Dr. Bill Leonard, former Dean of the Wake Forest Divinity School, will be our guest. It's also Reformation Sunday. Bill will join us to help us celebrate our Baptist history and heritage. It's a good day to talk about Legacy. - Russ

This Saturday, October 3, we will meet at 9:00 a.m. to give attention to the landscaping on campus. We would love to have a large group of folks with hedge trimmers and pruners. We want to give special attention to shrubs and trees in the landscaped areas around campus. We will spend the morning working together. Hope you can join us.

This October, our mission offering will support two ways of fighting hunger, close to home and around the world.

On the first Sunday of the month, October 4, our mission offering will go toward purchasing supplies for the Duncan Community Food Pantry. Each month, we will use the first-Sunday offering to stock the pantry with staples for our neighbors in need.

On the remaining three Sundays, October 11, 18, and 25, our undesignated offering will go to the Charlotte CROP Walk. The CROP Walk supports the hunger-fighting efforts of Church World Service, both locally and in more than 40 countries around the world.

Charlotte's CROP Walk will be held on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at Providence Baptist Church, 4921 Randolph Road, Charlotte, NC.

Thank you for your generosity, and for being a community that cares for our neighbors near and far.

Few things are needed more right now than helping people read the Bible well. Scripture is misused so often on our national stage that it's easy to feel unsure about what it actually says, or how to approach it at all.

If you've ever said, "I really want to know more about the Bible," learning to read it well is the place to start. As part of our Park Road University fall 2026 offerings, Sandy Rogers will lead this three-session study in Milford Chapel at 9:45am. The first session is this Sunday, October 4, with the next two on November 8 and December 6. We hope you will join in on this conversation. All are welcome!

Senior Adults, mark your calendars for Thursday, October 15, our first VSP (Very Special Persons) meeting of the new season. We'll gather for lSenior Adults, mark your calendars for Thursday, October 15, our first VSP (Very Special Persons) meeting of the new season. We'll gather for lunch ($8) in Helt Hall, followed by the meeting and entertainment.

Our entertainment will be James and Janet Ford of Taylorsville, NC. The Fords are retired schoolteachers and longtime friends of Hugh's for many decades. They will play and sing a mixed bag of classic popular songs along with a bit of gospel music, and Janet will share a couple of her poems with us.

We always have a drawing at the end for several lucky persons to win a table centerpiece plant. A sign-up sheet will be available in Helt Hall on Sundays through October 11, or you may call the church office at (704) 523-5717 or email info@parkroadbaptist.org.

Please join us for our First Wednesday meal and time together around the tables. In our increasingly isolated world, it’s great to have time together, sharing a meal and fellowship face to face. That’s what families do! Please email to make your dinner reservation by Tuesday, October 6, at noon at info@parkroadbaptist.org, or sign up in Helt Hall on Sunday.

It's time once again for our monthly food collection! On the first Sunday of each month, which is this Sunday, October 4, we collect nonperishable food items to support the Duncan Community Pantry, a vital ministry serving neighbors in our community.

Beginning this month, the mission offering on the first Sunday of each month will also be designated to purchase supplies for the pantry. So while we will continue collecting food items, you are also invited to give financially to help stock the pantry.

⭐ Top-priority items include (self-opening cans are especially needed):

•  Easy-open cans of meat: chicken, tuna, turkey, Spam, Vienna sausages, and more. (Canned meat is always the first to run out.)
• Granola bars, breakfast bars, peanut butter crackers, individual bags of chips and popcorn, shelf-stable fruit cups, and pudding cups (individual snacks)
• Ramen, self-opening cans of soup and chili, individual bowls of mac and cheese that just need water added, and ravioli in a can
•  Capri Sun drinks, juice boxes, sports drinks, and other shelf-stable beverages

🛢 Look for the donation bin in Helt Hall during Sunday morning services.

📌 Kind reminder: Please check expiration dates. No opened, partially used, or expired items, please.

*Youth - are students who are currently in grades 6th – 12th during the 2026-2027 school year.

Regular Scheduled Programing is as follows:

• Sunday Mornings, 10a - Preview

*Children - are students who are currently in grades K– 5th during the

2026-2027 school year.

Regular Scheduled Programing is as follows:

• Sunday Mornings 9:45-10:45am Children's Sunday School (K-5th)
• Sunday Mornings 10am-12pm Nursery
• First Wednesdays 5:30pm Dinner/6pm Children's Midweek - The first Wednesday of each month.

Coming Up at Park Road

• Sunday Worship

Facebook Live and In-Person - 11am

(Sancutary)

• Sundays

Pickleball - 7:15pm

(Community Center - Gym)

• First Wednesdays

Dinner and Vespers

5:30pm Dinner / 6pm Vespers

(Community Center - Gym)

• First and Third Tuesdays

Bible Study and Fellowship - 10am

(Community Center - Room 503)

• Tuesday and Thursdays

Flexercise - 9am

(Community Center - Gym)

PRU Fall 2026 Offerings

October 4 – “How to Read the Bible in Today’s World” Sandy Rogers

Perhaps nothing is needed more today than helping people read the Bible well, because the abuse of scripture is so rampant on our national stage. If you’ve ever said, “I really want to know more about the Bible” – reading it well is where you start. Milford Chapel. 9:45am.

October 18 – Indigo: The Color of Grief, Jonathan Foster

After the tragic death of his teenage daughter, Jonathan expressed his grief in a collection of powerful poems. Some of you met Jonathan at last year’s Open and Relational Theology conference. He will join us for a Sunday morning session in Milford Chapel and will preach in worship. Milford Chapel. 9:45am. Worship in the sanctuary, 11:00am.

October 19 – “Monday School”

If Sunday School has quit working for you, maybe a Monday night discussion group at the home of Marinn and John Esch will be just right. More details TBA.

October 25 – “Teaching Dissent: the Witness of the Minority,” Bill Leonard

Our friend, Dr. Bill Leonard, former Dean of Wake Forest Divinity School and one of the country’s leading Baptist Historians, will lead a session on the historic Baptist voice of dissent and will preach in worship. Community Center. 9:45am. Worship in the sanctuary, 11:00am.

November 8 – “How to Read the Bible in Today’s World,” Dr. Sandy Rogers

November 9 – “Monday School”

November 15 - “Stitching Strength,” ALS documentary film with Dr. Richard Bedlack

Dr. Bedlack, M.D., Ph.D., Duke University, is one of the world’s leading researchers and a practicing physician for patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Dr. Bedlack will be with us to entertain our questions after we view his documentary film. Sanctuary. 1:30-3:00pm.

December 6 – “How to Read the Bible in Today’s World,” Dr. Sandy Rogers

December 20 – Dealing with Grief in the Holidays

While the holidays are a joyful time, they can also be very difficult. If the loss of a loved one or some other grief weighs heavy during the holiday season, join us to share together. Place and time, TBD.