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Amy and I are off this week. Taking a vacation? Well, not a vacation of rest and relaxation, that’s for sure! We will work every day (as Bob Clare likes to say), “from can to can’t.“ I think that is a reference to the sun: from when you can see until you can’t see, but this week it has more to do with working from when you can lift a finger until you just can’t do one more thing — which is long after the sun goes down!

As you all have heard us say, we’re getting ready for a wedding. Our younger son, Bennett, is going to “tie the knot” on Saturday. It will be a smallish occasion in an outdoor venue in Monroe. We’re sorry all our church friends cannot be there.  The rehearsal will be in our front yard, the steps at our front door being the altar, and then the rehearsal dinner party, with 80 guests, will be around back. (Some of you helped us prepare for this at our last Fun Food Friday. Thank you!)

Bennett is the last of seven grandchildren on my side to get hitched, and as we have done for all the others, the family is doing all the food and all the preparations and all the decorations for the rehearsal dinner. Aunts, uncles, and cousins start arriving tomorrow. Their cars will be loaded down. We’ll have a big family party Thursday night, just to get ready for the bigger shindig 24 hours later.

I had never been one to spend much time in my yard until Bennett left home. For all their childhood and adolescence, I had spent my spare time on fun and games with the family (and we watched a good bit of baseball!) But when Bennett left our nest empty, and we moved 3 miles down the road to our current home, I inherited a three-quarter acre yard, a swimming pool and cabana, a garage finally big enough for a wood shop. I traded Baseball for making stuff and doing a lot of yard work.

I don’t know that it is ready for “Southern Living” yet, but I started working in early spring, and it has never looked better. There’s still room for improvement — if I knew more about what I really ought to plant, and where, if I knew trees and shrubs, perennials and annuals, all that lawn-gardening stuff, but I’m pretty pleased.

And inside the house, Amy has been working her fingers to the bone on all the preparations for decorations and in prepping enough food to feed 80 guests.

It’s a lot of work, (we are definitely gonna need a vacation from this vacation!), but some things are worth all the effort. When your children find just the right one, and you know it is just as right as they do, well there are some things that are worth a week of hard work (and not just a little dip into the savings account!)

We will not be with you on Sunday. We will be recovering from all this “vacation!” But please show up. We start our summer series this weekend, “Exploring Our Welcome.“ Caleb Foust will be preaching, and he and Dan McClintock will lead us well as we start a series that examines the welcome statement we read at the beginning of every worship service.

Say a prayer this week for Bennett and Keylee, and for Amy and me as we work our way through this week, and also make preparations for officiating the ceremony — a great privilege that deserves a Heart & Soul of its own.

Now, enough writing… time to get back to work! See you soon. – Russ

I grew up in the church — like seriously grew up in it. I was there every time it was open and often when it wasn’t. In elementary school, our bus dropped my brother and me off at the church; I learned to play basketball in the church gym, was invited to ask deep questions by my youth leaders, and my parents would tell you they couldn’t have functioned as parents without the knowledge that I had an extended family of other parents filling the pews weekly — people they trusted to care for me as if I were theirs too. Oftentimes in worship, my mom was in the choir, my dad was on the platform, and I was sitting somewhere in the sanctuary (usually the balcony), watching and learning about what it is we do. Worship is a key component of what the Church does, and whether we realize it or not, our children are learning what that means. They’re watching us sing, and pray, and confess, and wonder together — and that is deeply important. They’re connecting words and actions and wondering what their part in all this is. This is a key reason why we value children being in worship.

However, valuing children in worship also means we encourage children to be children in worship. One of the ways this has been accommodated recently is with our worship bags and the Prayground (the back left section of the sanctuary). These are about to undergo a glow-up. Over the summer, we will be updating the Prayground and outfitting it with some resources and activities that assist our children in worship. Be on the lookout for some changes (minor ones, I promise), and feel free to explore the area for yourself. And if you find yourself sitting around one of our kids in worship, see it as the opportunity to be one of their teachers — by inviting their curiosity and modeling what it is to worship, together. - Caleb

My name is Rebecca Lewis, my husband, Sam and I have been members of Park Road since 2021. We have lived in the Ballantyne area for the past five years. We welcomed our son, Cooper, in February 2023 and he is loving the nursery life and making new little friends at Park Road! We are super excited for what the future holds for our children’s ministry. I’m a member of the choir as well as a new deacon this year and I’m looking forward to serving the Park Road families! I currently teach music part-time at Smart Diehl Academy in Mint Hill, NC and work a full-time Mary Kay business as an Independent Beauty Consultant. I love my flexible schedule and getting to be home with our son Cooper.

Allison Meena made it official, though the common comment to her after worship on Sunday was: “I thought you were already a member!” Allison has been visiting with us faithfully for quite some time, gradually getting to know folks. Allison is a nurse, and we are excited that she has officially joined our church family.

We always love having you to our place, and it may not make Southern Living yet, but our yard has never looked better! We’ve been fussing over it, getting ready for a big wedding party next weekend, so it’ll be just right for you to visit. And the pool and the hot tub will be open if you want to bring a swimsuit. It’s one of those BYOE things (if you want something to eat or drink, you bring Everything!) We’re just providing the yard. We’ll be ready for you at 6:00pm. If you need an address, call one of us, or the church office (704-523-5717). – Russ and Amy

“Do we have to turn them back in?”

“No, the 5 books you select today are yours to keep forever!”

So went a dialogue with one of the kids this past week at Starmount Academy of Excellence as we held the 3^rd Book-A-Palooza of the 2024-2025 school year. The students were beyond excited to be able to pick 5 books this time (as opposed to the 3 we were able to give in December and April). Teachers were thrilled to learn that they got to pick 5 books also. It was electrifying to see kids running to pick their books, then having to be told to quit reading them so they could go back to their classroom. PRBC is doing our small part in eliminating the “book desert” in Charlotte.

Over 18 volunteers assisted in transporting books and tables, setting out books, assisting in the kids selecting their books, and then packing up the leftover books and transporting them (and the tables) back to church. This was truly a team effort! And you helped too through your contributions to the AMP – a big part of the Schools Support line item of the Missions AMP goes to purchasing new or nearly new books that the children will want to read.

Kids (and teachers) got to select 5 books each, for a total of over 1980 books distributed last Tuesday. And those volunteers who were present during the distribution got to see the kids’ excitement as they rushed (every time) to select their books. There is just not much better than that!

For this school year (2024-2025) we held 3 Book-A-Paloozas where we gave a total of 11 books per child and teacher. That’s a grand total of over 4,500 books. At the average price of $2.84 a book this year, that is the equivalent expenditure of almost $13,000. We got a $1000 grant from Bojangles again this year. The rest of the money came from the Missions section of the AMP.

PRBC, as a part of our continuing partnership with Starmount Academy of Excellence, plans to hold 3 Book-A-Paloozas next school year also – before winter, spring, and summer breaks! Look for announcements of dates and times where you can help!

-George Miles

This past Sunday was a day of celebration. Pentecost and Baccalaureate Sunday rolled into one, what could be better!? These students are products of our congregation as a whole, and such wonderful examples of the strength of individuality within the power of community! Sunday night, the Youth had the opportunity to celebrate them as well with dinner and words of recognition about what they’ve meant to the students and the church throughout their time.

*Youth - are students who have completed grades 6th– 12th during the 2024-2025 school year.

Over the summer, the students will not meet on Sunday Nights. We will gather for connection points each Wednesday, starting next week June 18, at 11:30am with GAME DAY! All youth, grades 6-12 are invited to join us for card games, board games, yard games, water games, and even a video game or 2! We’ll gather in the Youth Building at 11:30am!

Mark Your Calendar: June Youth Events

• Wednesday, June 18 – Game Day! (see details above)
• Topgolf + Dinner and a Movie – Date and details coming soon! Hang out, enjoy some friendly competition, and help us find the best slice around!

Regular Scheduled Programing is as follows:

• Sunday Mornings, 10a - Preview
• Sunday Evenings, 5:30-7p - SNT (Currenlty on a break for the summer and will resume at the end of August.)

*Children - are students who have completed grades K– 5th during the 2024-2025 school year.

Looking ahead:

The first Wednesday of July, July 2 at 7:04pm, we are heading to the Knights game for a family night at the ballpark! If you’d like to join us let me know and I’ll add you to the list to make sure we get all our seats together.

Camp Prism - If you have completed grades 3–5 and want to go to Camp Prism but have not signed up with me yet, please let me know ASAP. Registration closes June 27. The cost is $200, and the dates are July 15–18.

Regular Scheduled Programing is as Follows:

• Sunday Mornings 9:45a.: Children's Sunday School (K-5th)
• Sunday Mornings 9:45a. & 11a: Nursery
• First Wednesdays 5:30p Dinner/6p Children's Midweek - The first Wednesday of each month.

Coming Up at Park Road

Sunday Worship

Facebook Live and In-Person

11a

Sundays

Pickleball

(Gym)

7:15p

First Wednesdays

Dinner and Vespers

(Community Center)

5:30p Dinner / 6p Vespers

First and Third Tuesdays

Bible Study and Fellowship

(Community Center - Room C503)

10a

Tuesday and Thursdays

Flexercise

(Community Center)

9a

Park Road Baptist Church 

 3900 Park Road | Charlotte NC | 28209

Tel (704) 523-5717 

Fax (704) 523-8481

info@parkroadbaptist.org 

 www.parkroadbaptist.org