mailing address: Balmoral Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 17309, Memphis, TN 38187
|
|
NEWS THIS WEEK
- DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS!
- WORSHIP and SUNDAY STUDIES for SUNDAY, MARCH 13
-
SISTER ACT, Jr. at NEW SPARK PERFORMING ARTS features ELI GURLEN
- NO CHAIR YOGA Thursday, March 10
-
PC(USA) PEACE & JUSTICE MINISTRIES ASKS US TO URGE CONGRESS TO SUPPORT UKRAINIANS
- LENTEN PREACHING SERIES at CALVARY EPISCOPAL (& Waffle Shop is OPEN!)
- BPC Photos
- Worship, Sunday, March 6
-
NEW WORSHIP & BUILDING POLICIES & PROCEDURES
|
|
WEEKLY INFORMATION
- Birthdays
- Calendar of Events
- OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES
- CONTACT INFORMATION
- WORSHIP IN-PERSON POLICIES & PROCEDURES
|
|
|
|
Rev. Mary Gale will be out of the office tomorrow, Thursday, March 9, attending the Calvary Episcopal Lenten Waffle house.
She can be reached by phone if needed!
|
|
BPC WORSHIP
Sunday, March 13, 2022
11:00am IN BPC's SANCTUARY
Scripture: Psalm 27 & Luke 13:31-35
Sermon: Under God's Wing
|
|
CIRCLE of FAITH WORSHIP at 8:30am
IN BPC's Fellowship Hall
Everyone is invited to join Circle of Faith's worship service!
To enter the building, use Office door to the Fellowship Hall.
|
|
Bible Study of Matthew
led by Clinton Bailey, Stanley Gates and William Warren.
Meets in Classroom A.
|
|
Book Study of "His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis"
by Jon Meacham; led by Cliff Gurlen.
Meets in the Fellowship area
|
|
NEW BUILDING POLICY
WEARING MASKS is now OPTIONAL!
Social distancing is still encouraged, and we ask unvaccinated individuals to wear a mask while in the building.
(SEE BELOW for FULL LIST of CURRENT POLICIES and PROCEDURES)
|
|
NOTE: THERE WILL NOT BE A LiveStream Service on YouTube for this Sunday, March 13.
We will still send an email on FRIDAY, however,
with the Sunday Worship Guide.
Previous Worship Services at Balmoral are still available on the
|
|
As we journey through this first week of Lent, the imagery of Jesus in the desert has stayed close with me. As I shared in my sermon on Sunday, sometimes it feels like the entire world is a wilderness.
I want to be able to point to goodness, point to newness, but too often my heart is broken, and I am wrapped in doubt and fear.
We have been having the same conversations – about health, climate, poverty, about access to education – since I was a small child, and I am worried my children will be having the same conversations when they are grown. I want to trust that we can live into the promises of the faithful, just community that God envisions, but sometimes it is easy to doubt. Temptation seems to be winning far too often.
And yet.
In the desert is where things become clear. In the desert, all our striving and self-aggrandizement, the rat race, and the hamster wheel mean nothing. In the desert, we are forced to rely on the Holy One who created heaven and earth, who brings us out of bondage – every.single.day.
“In the desert, we cast aside the temptations of this world and actively engaged in the promise that abundant love will always have the final say. The desert may very well be right where we belong[1].”
Rev. Mary Gale
[1] Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia, “A Lenten Devotional: Full to the Brim”, a sanctified art, sanctifiedart.org
Picture:
“Enough” by Rev. T. Denise Anderson A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
Inspired by Luke 13:31-35
|
|
OUR MEXICO MISSION is BACK!!! |
|
Crews are being gathered for 3 trips to Mexico this summer:
Dates available:
May 9-16
July 25-Aug 1
Aug 1 - 8
(Bill Hooker and Julie DeMarco are already signed up!)
Clean water cistern building is part of Balmoral’s active ministries in Xjupil, Mexico. Members of Balmoral travel to Mexico two to three times a year to build the cisterns. The mission of providing clean water for impoverished families in the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula is BPC’s largest and most far reaching ministry. Since 1996, this mission, which is aligned with The Outreach Foundation and PCUSA, has built in excess of 400 cisterns for truly needy families.
CONTACT SCOTT DAWSON if you are interested!
scott.dawson1956@gmail.com
|
|
Eli Gurlen is so excited about his upcoming production, Sister Act Jr!
For more information on purchasing “Sparkler shoutouts” or tickets to the show, visit:
|
|
CHAIR YOGA will NOT MEET
on Thursday, March 10.
Join us again NEXT WEEK,
Tuesday & Thursday.
|
|
From the PC(USA) Peace & Justice Ministries:
Urge Congress to Support Ukrainians Impacted by the Russian Invasion
|
|
PC(USA) Action Alert seeks support for vulnerable Ukrainians, refugees and asylum seekers
by Rich Copley | Presbyterian News Service
March 4, 2022
|
|
LEXINGTON, Kentucky — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness (OPW) is asking people to contact their congressional representatives and urge them to support people in Ukraine and refugees and asylum seekers following Russia’s invasion of the country.
“Now is a critical time to urgently provide humanitarian support to people in Ukraine and refugees in neighboring countries,” the Action Alert from the Presbyterian ministry on Capitol Hill reads. “The escalation of conflict has triggered an immediate and steep rise in humanitarian needs as essential supplies and services are disrupted and civilians flee the fighting.
“The UN estimates that 12 million people inside Ukraine will need relief and protection, while more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees may need protection and assistance in neighboring countries in the coming months.”
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, reported Thursday that more that 500,000 of the refugees are children.
But the federal government is able to act in ways most private entities cannot, which is why OPW is calling for advocacy in addition to giving.
“Now is a critical time to take action,” the alert says. “Join us in urging Congress to mobilize resources for humanitarian and displacement assistance and to hold the Biden administration accountable to respond to the protection needs of displaced and at-risk populations.”
LINKS BELOW FOR MORE STORIES & WAYS YOU CAN HELP:
|
|
Read more on the Presbyterian response to Ukraine
OUR PARTNERS in CRISIS:
|
|
PICTURE: Evacuees board a train at a railway station before leaving eastern Ukraine. (Photo by REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
|
|
Lenten Preaching Series
at Calvary Episcopal
|
|
12:05–12:40 P.M.
WEDNESDAYS, THURSDAYS, AND FRIDAYS
at Calvary, 102 N 2nd Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38103
Calvary Episcopal Church celebrates its 99th annual Lenten Preaching Series and Waffle Shop. All are invited to attend
in-person to hear this year’s 16 dynamic speakers. All of this year’s preaching series also will be live-streamed at 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday through Friday on
SPEAKERS for this week and next week:
|
|
Thursday & Friday, March 10-11
The Rev. Dr. Serene Jones
President of Union Theological Seminary,
New York
A highly respected scholar and public intellectual, the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is the sixteenth President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The first woman to head the 182-year-old institution, Jones is a past president of the American Academy of Religion, which annually hosts the world’s largest gathering of scholars of religion. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University. She is the author of several books including Trauma and Grace and, most recently, her memoir Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World. Jones, a popular public speaker, holds deep grounding in theology, politics, women’s studies, economics, race studies, history, and ethics.
|
|
Wednesday, March 16 ~ Noon
Pádraig Ó Tuama
Poet, peacemaker, storyteller, Ireland
Pádraig Ó Tuama’s interests lie in language, violence, and religion. Having grown up in a place that has a long history of all three (Ireland, yes, but also Europe) he finds that language might be the most redeeming of all three of these. In language, there is the possibility of vulnerability, of surprise, of the creative movement towards something as yet unseen. He is inspired by any artist of words: from Krista Tippett to Lucille Clifton; from Patrick Kavanagh to Emily Dickinson; from Lorna Goodison to Arundhati Roy. Ó Tuama loves words — words that open up the mind, the heart, the life. For instance — poem: a created thing.
|
|
Thursday, March 17
The Rev. Rosalyn Nichols
Organizing Pastor of Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church and Interfaith Officer at MIFA Memphis
Dr. Nichols, a native of Memphis, TN, is the organizing pastor of Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church (DOC). Following the death of a childhood friend, Dr. Nichols created A More Excellent Way, Inc., an organization with a mission to help individuals from all walks of life to enter into, engage in, and maintain spiritually healthy relationships while eliminating relationship violence. She is a founding member of MICAH (Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope) and serves as Inter-Faith Officer for MIFA (Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association). She has been a visiting professor in Gweru, Zimbabwe, a church planter throughout China, and a Holy Land pilgrim. Dr. Nichols’s deepest passions are transformational teaching and working with others to seek justice, love, and mercy.
|
|
Friday, March 18
The Rev. Joshua Narcisse
Director of Spiritual Care, Church Health, Memphis
The Rev. Joshua Narcisse is a proud native of Queens, NY, who now calls Memphis home. He is a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a co-host of “The Mystic,” a monthly discussion forum on spirituality, faith, and meaning hosted at Crosstown Concourse. He currently serves as director of spiritual care at Church Health, a faith-based healthcare organization caring for the uninsured and underserved in Memphis. There he offers pastoral and spiritual support to staff and patients and coordinates interreligious programming. He is interested in the intersection of the Black church and Mysticism traditions; he is a fan of Howard Thurman, Barbara Holmes, and Richard Rohr. Narcisse is motivated by the possibilities within life-giving and God-honoring human relationships and our broader connectedness to all creation.
|
|
NOTE: At this time, the Calvary website indicates the following COVID procedures:
Masks and physical distancing are required for all people over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status, in public worship services, outreach ministries, education offerings, and gatherings at Calvary.
|
|
6:15–7:15 P.M. WEDNESDAYS:
|
|
FUTURE WEEK SPEAKERS:
The Rev. Rufus Smith Senior Pastor of Hope Church, Memphis
Wednesday, March 23
Rabbi Katie Bauman Senior Rabbi, Touro Synagogue, New Orleans
Wednesday, March 23 at 6:15 p.m. and Thursday, March 24 at Noon
The Rev. Lisa Anderson Executive Director, Room in the Inn, Memphis
Friday, March 25
Dr. Ellen F. Davis Theologian and Old Testament Scholar, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC
Wednesday, March 30 ~ Noon and 6:15 p.m.
The Rev. Dan Matthews Former rector of the Church of Trinity Wall Street, New York
Thursday, March 31
The Rev. Dr. Kathryn Kimmel Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Memphis
Friday, April 1
Rabbi Micah Greenstein and The Rev. Sam Teitel
Senior Rabbi at Temple Israel and Minister at Church of the River, Memphis
Wednesday, April 6 ~ Noon and 6:15 p.m.
Mr. Geoff Calkins Columnist, The Daily Memphian
Thursday, April 7
Mr. Justin Pearson
Community activist and co-founder, Memphis Community Against the Pipeline
Friday, April 8
For more information about the Lenten Series, visit their website at
|
|
Calvary's
Waffle Shop
MARCH 3-APRIL 8, 2022
WEDNESDAYS, THURSDAYS, AND FRIDAYS
11 a.m.-1:30- p.m.
It’s been 93 years since plates were piled up with waffles, chicken hash, and fish pudding at Calvary’s first Waffle Shop in Lent of 1928. For all that’s changed in our world since then, Memphians still stream to Calvary each year for these three dishes, as well as more “recent” additions such as shrimp mousse, tomato aspic, and Tennessee bourbon pie. Why some of these might not have been on the menu even as long as you’ve been alive! But Waffle Shop has become the ultimate annual comfort food for many, so we are pleased to let you know that it will be up and running again in 2022!
Dining will be offered in-person in the Mural Room on a first-come, first-served basis. Groups of 10+ can make reservations in advance by calling 901-525-6602. To-Go meals will be offered.
|
|
Bill Hooker (13), Robin Van Nortwick (20), John Gilmer (27) |
|
Every Monday
2:00pm Writer's Group CLASSROOM A and/or on Zoom
EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY
12:30pm CHAIR YOGA in CLASSROOM B
1st Wednesday of the Month
BIBLE STUDY 10:30am in Classroom A
1st & 3rd Thursday of the Month
Ellis Small Group 10:15 am
2nd Tuesday of the Month
1:30pm BOOK CLUB in Classroom A
2nd Thursday Evening of the Month
7:00 pm Trouble I've Seen Small Group
in Classroom A
1st & 3rd Thursday of the Month
COLONIAL PARK FOOD DRIVE
|
|
Sunday, March 13, 2022
8:30 AM Circle of Faith Worship in the Fellowship Hall
9:30 AM SUNDAY STUDIES: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
- Bible Study meets in Classroom A
- "His Truth is Marching On" meets in the Fellowship area
11:00 AM BPC Worship in the Sanctuary
(LiveStream or YouTube will NOT be available this week)
Sunday, March 20, 2022
8:30 AM Circle of Faith Worship in the Fellowship Hall
9:30 AM SUNDAY STUDIES: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
- Bible Study meets in Classroom A
- "His Truth is Marching On" meets in the Fellowship area
11:00 AM BPC Worship in the Sanctuary
& on LiveStream
Sunday, March 27, 2022
8:30 AM Circle of Faith Worship in the Fellowship Hall
9:30 AM SUNDAY STUDIES: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
- Bible Study meets in Classroom A
- "His Truth is Marching On" meets in the Fellowship area
11:00 AM BPC Worship in the Sanctuary
& on LiveStream
TUESDAY, MARCH 29
5 30pm OUTREACH meeting at BPC (room TBD)
Sunday, April , 2022
8:30 AM Circle of Faith Worship in the Fellowship Hall
9:30 AM SUNDAY STUDIES: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
- Bible Study meets in Classroom A
- "His Truth is Marching On" meets in the Fellowship area
11:00 AM BPC Worship in the Sanctuary
& on LiveStream
|
|
PW BIBLE STUDY April 6
PALM SUNDAY April 10
BOOK CLUB April 12
-
April's book is Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
MAUNDY THURSDAY COMMUNION SERVICE April 14
EASTER April 17
|
|
WORSHIP SERVICE
Sunday, March 6, 2022
|
|
Balmoral Choir
Directed by Ben Legett
|
|
LITURGIST
Lorie Blackwelder
|
|
COMMUNION
The Rev. Mary Newberg Gale
|
|
|
|
IF ANYONE IS CALLED TO SERVE....
We work every 1st and 3rd Thursday.
Colonial Park UMC
5330 Park Ave
CONTACT SCOTT DAWSON for more INFORMATION
|
|
CLOTHES DRIVE
for
JOHNSON AUXILIARY
|
|
|
Men’s Clothing:
- Men’s Casual Shoes (athletic-type shoes) /Slippers (with backs) (All sizes needed)
- Men’s Jackets and Hoodies (all sizes) & gloves
- Men’s Casual Pants—Waist Sizes (All sizes needed, but particularly need sizes 30-36 waist and sizes 44 and up waist)
- Men’s Casual Pants—Sweatpants (All sizes)
- Men’s Casual Shirts—long sleeve (All sizes needed, but particularly need sizes XL and up particularly big and tall sizes); button down the front and pullover
- Men’s underwear and socks (Must be new)—(All sizes)
Women’s Clothing:
- Women’s sweatpants—all sizes needed
- Women’s underwear and socks (must be new); all sizes needed
- Women’s hoodies/casual outerwear (all sizes needed, particularly plus sizes); gloves
- Women’s casual shoes (athletic-type) /slippers (with backs)—Sizes 9 and up
Other Clothing Related Needs:
- Umbrellas
- Rainwear such as ponchos (unisex, preferred)
If items have been previously worn, they must be clean, odor-free, stain-free and not in need of repair.
Your contributions really help and are greatly appreciated!
(Place items near the Food Cart in the narthex hallway.)
VOLUNTEERS are also needed!
Contact Beverley Hooker for more information!
|
|
Pastoral Care is supplied by Pastoral Care Intern Rev. Elizabeth Dick 314.330.0506
or email elizabethdick2@gmail.com
and our Transitional Pastor
Rev. Mary Newberg Gale 913.481.7427
or email mngale@balmoralpc.com
Session members are your primary contact for ongoing communication. Here's the current contact list:
Lori Blackwelder .... (901) 262-8282 ............... LORIEB1165@yahoo.com
Leiza Collins ........... (901) 246-5031 ..................... leiza1016@gmail.com
Becky DeLoach ...... (901) 489-3369 ............. BeckyMD2905@gmail.com
Barry Dotson .......... (901) 277-1596 ............... barry.dotson@yahoo.com
Janice Hill ............... (901) 826-9747 ................... janicehill81@gmail.com
Beverly Hooker.........(901) 496-1241 ......................... bev.h@earthlink.net
Ted Pearson home: (901) 754-9796 ................... pearsonteda@aol.com
...........................cell: (901) 486-6117
Erich Shultz .............(901) 268-4951 ...................emshultz@bellsouth.net
John Van Nortwick (901) 605-2907 ............ jvnortwick@cornerstone-
systems.com
(NOTE: Many of these Session members work during the day, so you may want to text them or email them.)
Keep in mind that ANY Balmoral member who is healthy will most likely be happy to help you in case of need as well!
To contact other members, the most-current contact information is available by requesting a copy of the BPC PHONE DIRECTORY from Kathy Singleton by email ksingle2@bellsouth.net or by phone or text to (901) 734-7193.
|
|
NEW POLICIES for WORSHIP & BUILDING USE
effective March 6, 2022
Now that the latest surge has passed, Balmoral is REMOVING many of the restrictions:
- Wearing a mask in the church building is optional.
- Social distancing is still encouraged.
- Individuals exhibiting symptoms of illness are asked to not enter the building.
- Unvaccinated individuals are asked to wear a mask, including members of community organizations that use the building.
- Should a surge in Covid-19 infections prompt the Shelby County Health Department to recommend indoor mask-wearing and social distancing, the task force will convene to decide how to react.
- Members who test positive for Covid-19 are asked to notify Rev. Elizabeth Dick, who will notify the congregation so members can decide how to respond.
- To keep the SEED children as safe as possible, the procedures controlling the old end of the building will remain unchanged, except when there is a need for someone to pass through the SEED area.
- Individuals may bring only water into the sanctuary; food and drink is permitted elsewhere.
- Passing plates to collect the offering is permitted.
- The SEED children and staff are allowed to use the new hallway to access the playground and the main bathrooms.
- The drinking fountains are no longer off limits.
- The kitchen is no longer off limits.
- Collections for the Food Cart may resume.
|
|
NOTE: Since the church office is NOT currently manned and the outside doors remain locked, those needing access to the church office will need a key or be with someone who has a key. Please continue to stay vigilant about keeping the SEED children safe by avoiding going into their area. Thank you!
|
|
Small Group Meetings in Classrooms A & B must be scheduled with Barry Dotson, barry.dotson@yahoo.com or signed text/cell: 901. 277.1596 |
|
THIS ISN'T ENTIRELY OVER YET, HOWEVER!
PLEASE, FOR THE SAFETY OF YOURSELF and ALL THOSE YOU LOVE AND CARE FOR:
Anyone who is experiencing symptoms of illness (EG: sinus infection; flu like symptoms; sore throat; fever or chills; cough; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; fatigue; muscle or body aches; headache; new loss of taste or smell; congestion or runny nose; nausea or vomiting; diarrhea) should consider contacting your Healthcare Provider and let them know you may have been exposed to a breakthrough case of COVID-19 to a fully vaccinated person.
PLEASE DO NOT COME TO THE CHURCH
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS
Thank you for continuing to observe the ever-changing policies as we navigate the pandemic together.
To contact the Chair of the BPC COVID-19 Task Force:
Scott Hill - signed text: 901.277.9794
email: sphill1946@gmail.com (NOTE his new email!)
|
|
IF YOU ARE EXPOSED TO OR HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH COVID
Contact: The Reverend Elizabeth Dick 314.330.0506 or elizabethdick2@gmail.com
Let Elizabeth know when you were last in church; Give permission for notification to the congregation; Get Tested, if you have not already been; Contact any person or persons you have been with and follow with your doctor's advice.
|
|
- Newsletter Articles & Photos should be emailed to Kathy Singleton at ksingle2@bellsouth.net no later than Monday at noon for the week you want the article in the news.
- Bulletin Information should be emailed to Rev. Mary Gale, with a copy to Kathy Singleton, no later than Monday noon the week before the Sunday you want the information to appear.
-
Prayer Concerns should be submitted via email to Rev. Mary Gale (mngale@balmoralpc.com) and/or Rev. Elizabeth Dick (elizabethdick2@gmail.com) with a copy to Kathy Singleton at ksingle2@bellsouth.net.
|
|
MARCH 2022
online church calendar
The calendar will take a few seconds to load and, once it opens, you will see the month that we are currently in. To see the next month's calendar, click on the arrow pointing down - it is just to the right of the name of the month. Once you click on that arrow, an icon will appear with all the months of the year listed. Click on the month that you want to see. To see a specific date, click on the number of the day you would like to see. The entire 2021-2022 calendar is available to you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
