We will again have an in-person worship service in the sanctuary on Sunday, October 18th at 10:00 a.m. The service will be limited to a total of 50 people, excluding worship participants. Attendees are asked to register in advance. Please click here to register. Face masks and social distancing will be required. We will also offer nursery care and Children's Church.

Click here to read the full document of actions approved by the Session at their October 3rd meeting.

Philippians 2:1-11 and 3:4b-14. In chapter 2, Paul states that Jesus Christ’s name is worthy to be praised because he lived humbly among us, giving up every advantage he had at God’s right hand to come to earth and serve us. Christ is a role model for the church in how he sacrificed himself for others and sought to love all people. Then in chapter 3, Paul tells us that faith involves persisting and persevering, as we seek after our goal of serving and loving Christ.

           In July 2020, a Kentucky garbage man noticed no trash cans were being put out at an elderly woman's house on his route for two straight weeks. He was concerned enough to share the address with his supervisor. She found the name of the woman at the address and called her: “Ms. Smith, we noticed you haven't put out your cans for a while. Are you ok?” Ms. Smith replied: “I’m ok. But my caretaker was so afraid of the virus that she stopped coming. I can’t get to the store. I don’t have any trash because I’ve run out of food. And I don’t have any family to help me.” After a long pause, the caller said: “You do now. We are your family.”

           She let her truck driver know of the sad news. The next day, on his day off, he knocked on her door and asked her to make up a grocery list. “Ms. Smith— the list is too short.” She added a few more items. “Ms. Smith, this list is still too short. Would you mind if I looked into your fridge?” She relented. He opened the fridge and it was bare. Empty.

           An hour later, he brought in dozens of bags of groceries for a woman he hardly knew. Tears. An air-hug that met social distancing protocol. And the garbage man walked out of the house of this woman who was physically immobile, but levitating. A garbage man decided he’d reach out to someone and church broke out. His supervisor shared the creed with this elderly woman: “You have a family now.”

           I have seen that kind of generous spirit here at Outer Banks Presbyterian Church and in our community during the pandemic. There have been so many of you ready to help your neighbors in need: we have had an overwhelming response of people offering assistance to those who needed help picking up groceries, prescriptions, and other needs. We have had a group of volunteers delivering flowers and other thoughtful gifts to members who have been sick, at home, or in need of encouragement. I have heard stories of neighbors looking out for neighbors. I have seen an eagerness to do something helpful and constructive at a time of such great need. Thank you for all the ways that you continue to seek out ways to support Christ’s ministry in this church and community. 

           After this October 14^th issue of the News and Notes, we will be sending out these email newsletters with less frequency. We originally started these e-newsletters when the pandemic began in March as a way for us to touch base every single week as we could not meet together in person.  I had no idea that these weekly newsletters would continue for seven months. Now that we are gathering regularly in the sanctuary for worship, we will be sending out this e-newsletter less often. We are planning to mail the printed newsletter at the beginning of the month and will have this e-newsletter sent electronically to you in the middle of each month. If there are additional key announcements or news, we will also use this email newsletter as a way to get the word out to the congregation quickly.

Prayer (adapted from the Iona Abbey Worship Book, p. 26):

There was a Congregational Meeting immediately following the October 11th worship service. The purpose of the meeting was to hear a report from the Congregational Nominating Committee, including their recommendation of three individuals to serve on the Session's Class of 2023. The nominees were Bev Jones and Maggie Snyder for 3-year terms and Elder Bobby Gentry whose current term would be extended by 1-year. A quorum was present and all three nominees were approved.

The final class of the 5-week Bible study Pastor Jody has been leading will take place on Tuesday, October 27, at 5:00 pm in the sanctuary. There will not be a class on October 20th. The topic for the October 27 class is Revelation 7: 9-17. Please join us even if you have not been able to attend the other classes. We would be happy to see you!

"News & Notes," emailed each Wednesday, was started as a way to keep in touch while we could not gather as usual due to the pandemic and didn't even know what would be happening from week to week. Now that in-person worship services have resumed and groups can meet again in the church (following Covid guidelines), we are better able to plan ahead for a month at a time. We will be resuming the monthly mailed newsletter and only sending out the e-news once during the middle of the month. We will also use e-news for announcements that cannot wait until the next mailed newsletter.

Question: Have you personally known someone with the COVID19 infection?

Answer: The numbers of people infected and killed by the novel Coronavirus SARS-2 is actually hard to comprehend. In the USA alone as of October 13, there were 7,787,548 infections, and of them, 214,446 deaths due to the virus, a rate near 3%. Many have not been counted in these statistics, because the people died at home and/or were never tested.

We are thankful to God that His love surrounds us all. Bev Jones and Team

The Adult Sunday School Class continues its study of Comparative Religion. We are using the book 12 Major World Religions by Jason Boyett. We will start a block on Christianity on October 18. This study of Christianity will be roughly broken into four parts:

This study will probably last for the next six to eight weeks, then on to Islam! We will continue to meet via ZOOM on Sunday morning at 8:30. Zoom invitations will be sent out to the class mailing list on Friday mornings and will be posted on the Church Facebook page. A link to a video of each class is available to our e-mail list and by request. Please join us when you can! All are welcome! Tom Carrico

We will celebrate All Saints’ Day on Sunday, November 1st, during the morning worship service. On that Sunday, we will remember and celebrate the lives of our church members who died during the past year. All Saints’ Day commemorates those whom God has chosen, have died in the faith, and have joined the church triumphant. We will be remembering the lives of Patricia Yoder, Etta Parrott, Judy Dempsey, Howard Miller, Marge Bennett, James Jackson, and Robert Callens.

The youth group is once again sponsoring Trunk or Treat on Sunday, October 25, from 5:00-6:00 PM. Due to COVID, many other Halloween events are cancelled so this is a real need in our community. This year's event will be a drive-thru activity, where children remain in their vehicles and church members distribute candy, dinner, prizes, and church information through the windows. There are many ways for you to be a part of this fun, socially distanced event! Please use this link to reserve your parking spot and sign up to donate items!  https://forms.gle/Kf9QCNKHHzbEUvoA8

Email: office@outerbankspresbyterian.org

Website: www.outerbankspresbyterian.org

You may reach office staff at 252-441-5897 or by sending an email to office@outerbanksbrebyterian.org