First Christian Church P.O. Box 2702 207 Tarboro Street NE, Wilson NC 27894 Website: www.fccwilson.org Email: [email protected] Church Office: 252-237-4125 252-237-4126 Volume 59, Issue 4 The Church Bell April 1, 2015 A Preview of Holy Week Palm Sunday - March 29 The traditional Procession of the Palms will be a part of both of our worship services. Each worshipper will receive a gift to center us in our Holy Week devotions. Maundy Thursday Seder Dinner - April 2, 6pm Our Maundy Thursday observance again will be built around the meal. So, join us for this pot luck event as our Fellowship Hall becomes our “Upper Room” and we reflect upon the events of the last night of our Lord’s life. Our worship experience will lift up the story of the events of that evening as they are uniquely told in the Gospel of John. Join us for community, hymns, prayers and a dramatic presentation. Good Friday - April 3 Service - 1pm Walk of the Cross - 2pm In what is becoming a tradition at First Christian Church and in our community, we will host an ecumenical Service of Remembrance in our sanctuary. Musicians from churches all over Wilson will gather to lead and inspire us in our worship. As we read through the story of Jesus’ passion, our worship will be deepened by the music and the shared prayers that mark our common faith. During the service, the Christ Candle in our Lenten Wreath will be extinguished. At the end of the service, the community Walk of the Cross will depart from FCC. Another growing Wilson tradition, you can walk the distance out Nash to Airport Rd, even taking a turn at carrying the cross. Join us in route, drive along in the procession of vehicles following, or meet us at the destination for a closing time of devotion. Let this year’s Walk of the Cross make your Holy Week memorable. Easter Sunday - April 5 Our worship will be joyful beyond words as we gather to celebrate Jesus’ victory over death. The activities of the morning will be fun and festive: flowering the cross with pickings from your garden, a continental breakfast between services, and an egg hunt for the children. Both our Wellsprings and Traditional services will echo the joy of Easter resurrection in music, prayer, and proclamation. Come join us with hallelujahs on your lips. 167th Regional Assembly - April 18th The Christian Church in North Carolina will gather again on April 18th at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church in Raleigh. The day will begin with opening worship at 9am followed by the Purcell Lecture (John R. Levison), workshops (Christopher Smith), the Sprinkle Lecture (Lance Pape), and a business session. Registration is only $30 and forms are available in the church office. 1 Wanderings . . . The liturgical church year is rather contrived. It has evolved over many centuries to the basic structure we have today. We begin with Advent (most years in late November) and move to and through Christmas, Epiphany and Lent; then we celebrate Easter, observe Pentecost and march through a long, six-month period of time which is often and somewhat appropriately called Ordinary Time. Casey, Linda and I have had a couple of conversations lately about what kinds of decorations, music and themes we want to use for Holy Week. I think it was Linda who said, Of course, the reality is we live in a post-Easter reality. Her point is that while we don’t want to be singing Christ the Lord is Risen Today half-way through the Lenten season, the reality is that we are always worshipping in the light of the resurrection. Hence the contrived nature of the liturgical year – we may be celebrating Jesus’ birth, but we know where his story is headed. Not that the flow of the church’s calendar is pointless – it shapes the mood of our worship in very important ways. Especially emotionally – in the ways we feel over against think our faith. This occurs perhaps at no time more than during Holy Week, that compacted eight day period of time when we go through a whole gamut of emotions. We may start the week shouting Hosanna and end with Hallelujah, but in-between we find ourselves grappling with the darkness: betrayal, denial, arguing, sleeping . . . watching and burying . . . going home in the heavy, lonely silence. Emotionally, I find myself wanting to be depressed on Friday. I want to let those words weigh on me: With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. I want to hear that deep bell slowly tolling until something in me cries out, Enough . . . stop . . . no more! Without that emotional heartbreak, for me, our worship two days later cannot feel like the rescue it is. So, we shall gather again several times this coming week as we try to create an atmosphere for this artificial but sacred journey. Arrangements have been made for the palms which will adorn our worship centers this Sunday and be waved by young and old. On Thursday, we will eat together because . . . well, because that is what Jesus did that night. Bring a dish or two to share and we will lift forks together. And several of our members are working up a little dramatic presentation to help us understand what was on Jesus’ heart and mind when he gathered with those he loved one last time. Friday, we again will be hosting the community ecumenical service. We will pray and read the story of the day, and while the power of scripture is all that is needed, we are further blessed; Casey and her colleagues have been working hard to prepare the magnificent music which is so much a part of this service. A new opportunity has been added to our Good Friday calendar. At the conclusion of the service, the community Walk of the Cross will begin from our church lawn. The journey out Nash to Airport will take a couple of hours to complete, but you are invited to walk and help carry or drive for as much of the journey as you like . . . or meet us later at the destination for a brief devotional time. We will begin our Easter worship with music and litanies asking, Were You There. My hope is that we will be able to say, Yes – we were there – we felt it all. So come that day for a continental breakfast, an Easter Egg Hunt, and to let the emotion pour out as we celebrate God’s mighty act of raising the Lord Jesus. My prayer is that the week to come will be a blessing to all of us . . . that the depths of our faiths and our commitments to discipleship will grow in new ways. May God bless each of you. Blessings and Peace, Gary 2 CWF Outreach Evening Circle Date: TBD Leslie Kendall’s home 1000 Branch Street NW, Wilson Jane Webster, Professor of Religious Studies at Barton College, will be giving a book talk on "Lady Parts" which she co-edited. This book is a collection of narratives about women in the Bible as told through a variety of twenty first century female voices. Afternoon Circle Tuesday, April 7 at 2:00 pm Church Parlor Contact person - Sue Newcomb at 252-291-7973 Relational Groups Photoplay Monday, April 13, 7pm Novel Idea Book Club Tuesday, April 14, 7pm My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House by Lillian Rogers Parks. The book is a collaboration by two domestic servants whose careers at the White House span 51 years, from 1909 to 1960. Get your taxes done early and join us! Camp Caroline Workday Postponed to May 2 Weather has played havoc with many scheduled events in recent weeks. Because the conditions at Camp Caroline are so wet and difficult at the moment, the Region has postponed the scheduled workday to the next available time— May 2. There is much to do to get the camp ready for the summer season, so if you can lend a hand, let the church office know and we will work out some carpooling. Young At Heart Group BACK ON TRACK Thursday, April 16 Details to be shared soon Denominational Assemblies General Assembly July 18-22—Columbus, OH Call the office for information about attending. 3 FCC Financial Report Treasurer’s Report YTD February 28, 2015 Tish Scott/March 16, 2015 1/1/2015 - 2/28/2015 - YTD Operating Budget Income Expenses Actual YTD Surplus / (Deficit) (All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar) Actual $48,148 $49,430 ($1,282) Budget $51,034 $50,461 Variance ($2,886) ($1,031) Actual $27,999 $24,098 $3,901 Budget $25,517 $25,230 Variance $2,482 ($1,132) Month of January - Operating Budget Income Expenses Actual YTD Surplus / (Deficit) (All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar) 4 FCC Music Ministries - April 2015 Music Highlights in Worship at FCC Each and every Sunday our congregation and musical talents share their God given talents through service. We sing and most importantly offer music in praise to God, not to ourselves. We merely experience the secondhand blessing of hearing the music that is first handedly shared for the Glory of God. Here are some of the exciting pieces of worship that members have been preparing for weeks and even months and will be sharing in the month of April. Good Friday, April 3 – This service will feature music representing churches from across the community. This choir has been rehearsing on Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings and will be directed by Kelley Garris (First Baptist), Casey Childers and accompanied by Janie Bostick, pianist. We welcome back Byron Watkins, violinist. Sunday, April 5 9AM With an uplifting affirmation, our Encounter leaders will share in an upbeat and contemporary piece called, “Hallelujah to the Cross”. 11AM At this service, we welcome Steve Baker & David Richards (trumpet), Frank Longino & Christina Thompson (trombone) and Corey Elrod (timpanist) with us in worship! We also have many youth returning to sing with the FCC Chancel Choir as we celebrate in song the resurrection of our Lord! Closing Abendmusik Concert Coming in May Mark your calendars! On Friday, May 15, Joel Gay (Associate Music Director at First United Methodist) and Casey will be sharing an evening of works for voice and piano. This will be the closing concert for the 2014-15 year. Thanks to ALL who have contributed by your physical attendance and your financial support to this series! We hope to have you join us for this closing evening of music & fellowship! Kids Praise In April In April, our Kids Praise will be meeting on Sunday, April 12 and Sunday April 26! Our plans are to take an outing the afternoon of April 26 so be prepared to go and DEFY GRAVITY! Mobile music ministry Has Jumpstarted – Join us In April! The “Mobile Music Ministry” is a group of members who a healing factor in visitation, praying and singing. We are blessed to have so many teams who visit and pray with our homebound members. This ministry brings a “singing” dimension which our members lack when they are unable to be with us in worship. The song uplifts the souls and brings healing when words don’t seem to suffice. We have visited with Juanita Thomas and Ann Watson already. Both have been a remarkable experience for all involved. Our April visitation dates (at 11AM) are Monday, April 6 and Monday, April 20. By way of their requests to us, on April 6 we will be with Charlotte Wallace and on April 20 we will be with Shirley Burnette. If you are interested in joining us, please contact Casey or Jack Clifford. Though a core group has been leading this effort, this is open to anyone who wishes to pray & sing. Remember that the anointing of oil is a part of this visitation, but only upon the request of those wishing to be visited. Thank You! Thank you to so many who have given their time in recent weeks to prepare and offer music to our congregation, visitors, all who hear and most importantly our God. What we share is never in vain. To the Chancel Choir, Encounter team and Chalice Ringers who share countless hours week upon week, thank you. For all that you bring to our worship services, thank you. To Rod Werline for his gift of music and for sharing his creativity of music composition for our worship services, thank you! You are all such an incredible blessing to our congregation and family at FCC. Blessings, Casey 5 Our Church Family Prayer Concerns Happy Birthday April 1 Mary Louise Gray Ashley Quick April 3 Charles Smith April 5 Theresa Mathis Ryan Wetherington Michael Wetherington April 8 Peggy Almond Peggy Walston April 11 Joyce Gay John Glover, Jr. David Moses Larry Finch April 13 Kathy Sandifer April 14 David Elliott Norma Faye Etheridge Harriet Severence April 16 Caroline Anderson April 17 Leslie Kendall April 18 Boots Philyaw Ian MacLachlan April 19 Shirley Burnette Bud Ruffin Michael Webb April 20 Anna Brinson April 23 Pat Campbell June Etheridge Hollie Woodruff April 27 Margaret Scott Barry Page April 29 Alice Thomas April 30 Matthew Quick Laurie Winstead Marilyn Bass, Val Brooks (Sue Ferrell’s brother), Judy Gates (Linda Walling’s mother), Janice High, John Horne (Jane Brinson’s brother), Barbara Inscoe (Jeanne Daniel’s mother), Lib Jones, Roderic Logan, Duncan Mathis, JoJo Beland Near, Myra Powell’s mother, Russ Powell, Charles Smith, Juanita Thomas, Charlotte Wallace, Ann Watson, Jim Watson Stephen Ministry Please notify the church office at (252) 237-4125 if someone’s birthday is missing or if you have some exciting news to share. Stephen Ministry meeting Monday, April 27 6 pm in the Parlor Congratulations! Clara Boren Campbell was blessed in First Christian Church on March 22. Holding her are Pat and Sheldon Campbell, the proud grandparents. She is the daughter of Peggy and Patrick Campbell. 6 April 2015 Sun Mon Tue 5 6 7 9:00 AM Wellsprings 11:00 AM Mobile Music Ministry 11:00 AM Staff Meeting 9:45 AM Continental Breakfast, Egg Hunt, 6:30 PM Team Flowering of the Cross, Meetings & Family Photos 7:30 PM Program 10:00 AM Church Cabinet School Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 7:00 PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal 6:00 PM Maundy Thursday Seder DinnerFellowship Hall 1:00 PM Good Friday Service 10:00 AM Chancel Choir Easter Rehearsal 9 10 11 17 18 8 2:00 PM Walk of the Cross 7:00 PM Elders 2:00 PM CWF Afternoon Circle Church Parlor 11:00 AM Traditional Worship EASTER SUNDAY EASTER OFFERING 12 13 14 15 9:00 AM Wellsprings 7:00 PM PhotoPlay 11:00 AM Staff Meeting 6:15 AM Koinonia 7:30 PM Program Cabinet 5:30 PM - Encounter 10:00 AM Church School 11:00 AM Traditional 3:00 PM Kids Praise 16 167th Regional Assembly Hillyer Memorial Church Raleigh 7:00 PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal 6:30 PM - Chalice Ringers Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Book Club “A Novel Idea” Church Parlor 19 20 21 22 23 9:00 AM Wellsprings 11:00 AM Mobile Music Ministry 11:00 AM Staff Meeting 7:00 PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal 7:00 PM Elders 26 27 28 29 30 9:00 AM Wellsprings 6:00 PM Stephen Ministry Church Parlor 5:30 PM - Encounter 6:15 AM Koinonia 10:00 AM Church School 24 25 11:00 AM Traditional Worship 10:00 AM Church School 11:00 AM Traditional 3:00 PM Kids Praise Deadline for May 2015 Church Bell Articles 6:30 PM - Chalice Ringers Rehearsal 7:00 PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal 7 Servant’s List—April 2015 April 19 April 12 April 5 April 26 Elders Tim Sharp (B) Todd Brame (C) Elders Allan Daniell (B) Martha Beland (C) Elders Patsy Ferrell (B) Julia Floars (C) Elders Robert Wells (B) Phyllis Leary (C) Deacons Leslie Kendall (C) Gay Cook Mac Wetherington Lloyd Brinson Jeannette Etheridge Glenn Etheridge Peggy Williford Dennis Daniels Deacons Bobby Gray (C) Greg Daughtry Brooke Bissette Laurie Winstead Christina Terdik Jeff Flowers Brittany Wooten (R) Libby Daniell (R) Deacons Melissa Whitley (C) Faye Boykin Thomas Brown LuAnn Wooten Davis Wooten Kathy Daughety Michael Wetherington (R) Christy Webb (R) Larry Finch (R) Deacons Wendy Wingrove (C) David Scott Tish Scott Ricky Brown Wanda Brown Jobi Cook Norma Faye Etheridge (R) Marshall Quick (R) Linda Walling (R) Greeter Tim Sharp Greeter Bob Kendall Greeter Steve Kite Greeter Buren Williford Ushers Steffanie Sharp Peggy Anderson Ushers Leslie Kendall Celia Avery Ushers Phyllis Leary Sara Etheridge Ushers Peggy Williford Larry Finch Stewards Andrew Whitley Allan Daniell Stewards Bob Kendall Jennifer McHarg Stewards Tim Sharp Zeb Whitehurst Stewards A.J. Walston Lloyd Brinson Worship Leader Julia Floars Worship Leader Dick Gurkin Worship Leader Jeannette Etheridge Worship Leader Bob Kendall Wellsprings Guild Mary Louise & Bobby Gray Wellsprings Guild Joann Bass Wellsprings Guild Bob Kendall Wellsprings Guild Kristin Lamond Nursery (10 AM-12 PM) Savannah Flowers Nursery (10 AM-12 PM) Kristin Lamond Nursery (10 AM-12 PM) Bobby Gray Nursery (10 AM-12 PM) Pat Campbell Worship & Wonder Story - Jesus is Risen: Appearance to Mary Magdalene Teller - Leslie Kendall Greeter - Phyllis Leary Worship & Wonder Story - Jesus is Risen: The Road to Emmaus Teller - Mandy Flowers Greeter - Wendy Wells Worship & Wonder Worship & Wonder Story - Jesus the King Story - Jesus’ Last Passover Teller - Jamie Brown Greeter - Jason Brown Teller - Brooke Bissette Greeter - Savannah Flowers Attendance W-Wellsprings, SS-Sunday School CW-Combined Worship T-Traditional Worship March 1: W - 25; SS - NA; March 8: W - 25; SS - NA; March 15: W - 29; SS - NA; March 22: W - 21; SS - NA; March 29: W - NA; SS - NA; T - NA T - 91 T - 100 T - 112 T - NA Altar Flowers If you would like to provide flowers for the sanctuary during 2015, please contact the church office to check availability at 252-237-4125. Chancel Guild April Nan Owens Wendy & Brian Wingrove Mary Louise & Bobby Gray 8
© Copyright 2024