GOOD NEWS AND WORSHIP UPDATE |
Sunday, January 30, 2022 @ 11 am
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Scripture: Luke 4:21-30
Sermon: "When Good News Sounds Like Anything But"
Interim Pastor: Rev. Sharon Amstutz
both in-person and on YouTube
|
|
LIVE STREAMING TO YOUTUBE, NOT FACEBOOK |
Worship Streaming update- Moving forward we will try stream to the church’s YouTube channel, then post the service to FB later, access to YouTube is widespread and some in the church have chosen not to have FB accounts. Copies of the weekly bulletin will still be emailed to members/friends, since posting it is not an option on YouTube.
|
|
NOTE: Please be sure you are reading the entire newsletter;
some email services only show the first part; if your service says
"message clipped," please click to restore the last portion of the newsletter
to view all of the news. We don't want you to miss anything. Thanks.
|
|
SPECIAL NEWS AND INFORMATION |
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CONGREGATION
Sunday, January 30, 2022
|
|
We will hold our Annual meeting of the Congregation following worship on January 30.
While this will be an in-person meeting, we will continue to stream on YouTube (there will be a link to it posted on Facebook). Additionally, we will set up a Zoom meeting to allow you to post questions in the chat feature if you wish.
We will have a brief (10 minute) break following the Postlude to set up. You will be able to join the meeting via Zoom at that time if you are unable to be with us in person.
While we are thrilled to have the technology to make all this possible, we do ask your continued forbearance as we muddle through figuring it all out (remember, we were barely beyond the filmstrip days when I went to seminary 😊).
Finally, while we have come to think of these as business meetings, these meetings are also living reminders of the many ways God has been at work in and through the life of WAPC. The pandemic has restricted our ability to carry on, but it has not restricted God.
Plan to join us next Sunday to hear from the Sessional teams and committees where we have been and what we have been doing, and get an update from the Pastor Nominating Committee as we look forward to where God is leading the church next.
In God’s grace and peace,
Sharon
PLEASE NOTE: All members and regular attendees should have received an email copy of the 2021 Annual Report earlier this week. Print copies are available in the office if you want to stop by and pick up one in advance of Sunday's meeting. All remaining copies will be available at the meeting.
|
|
TUSCULUM UNIVERSITY - THEOLOGIAN-IN-RESIDENCE |
Tusculum University invites you to the 31st annual Theologian-in-Residence Program!
Due to the pandemic, we will be having two virtual sessions via Zoom (Feb. 4th and 11th) and two in-person or via Zoom (Feb. 18th and 25th) for the Theologian-in-Residence lectures, February of 2022. All four sessions will be led by Dr. Bennie Crockett, Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness & Planning, William Carey University. The theme for this year’s Theologian-in-Residence is “Translation Opens a Window” – Key Developments in English Bible History. There are four sub-title lectures that Dr. Crockett will focus on, they are:
1. Selected English Bible Texts During the Age of Manuscripts, ca. 700-1500
2. Dominant English Bibles in Print, 1525-1782
3. Older Greek and Hebrew Manuscripts and Scientific Text Analysis: Changes in the English Bible, 1800-present
4. New Methods of Translation and the Abundance of English Bibles, 1900-2022
If you would like to register for these virtual and in-person sessions, please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement and Special Events at 423-636-0565 or by email at nrader@tusculum.edu. Registration is necessary in order for us to provide the Zoom link to those who are registered and to maintain an accurate headcount for those that wish to join in-person on Feb. 18th and 25th.
For those that attend the in-person sessions, coffee and biscuits, with a variety of jams, will be available before the lecture begins and a delicious lunch will be offered free of charge in our Pioneer Café. When you register please let me know if you plan on eating with us on Feb. 18th and 25th.
***Please remember the information provided above is subject to change depending on the global pandemic that we are still experiencing. If changes are made, I will let you know as soon as possible. For the in-person sessions, we ask that you please wear a mask, as we are currently under a mask mandate inside the buildings of Tusculum University. ***
|
|
KING UNIVERSITY - INSTITUTE FOR FAITH & CULTURE |
UPCOMING EVENTS INCLUDE:
please note: There are options to attending these events. Dr. Dotterweich messaged to say that morning events are almost always streamed at (https://webcast.king.edu ), and almost everything will be available afterward on YouTube – if they will like our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/kingfaithandculture), they can get the videos there, too.
Monday, February 28
In Concert: the Becky Buller Band
9:15 am @ King Memorial Chapel
7 pm @ Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Bristol, Virginia
|
|
HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE MONTH (noted when online)
|
|
Sunday, January 30 - Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
11 am Morning Worship, Interim Pastor, Rev. Sharon Amstutz (via YouTube)
Annual Congregational Business Meeting (TBD - in-person / Zoom)
Finance Team Meeting following Annual Business Meeting
Monday, January 31
6:30 pm ETSU U-Kirk worship / 7:30 pm meal - WAPC Sponsored
Wednesday, February 2
4 pm Meditation Circle (via Zoom)
6 pm Chancel Choir rehearsal
Thursday, February 3
10 am - Presbyterian Women (PW) Meeting
Friday, February 4
10 am 31st Annual Theologian-in-Residence with Dr Bennie Crockett (via Zoom)
Topic: Selected English Bible Texts During the Age of Manuscripts, ca. 700-1500
Sunday, February 6 - Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
11 am Morning Worship, Interim Pastor, Rev. Sharon Amstutz (via YouTube)
Tuesday, February 8
7 pm Session meeting (TBD - in-person / Zoom)
Wednesday, February 9
4 pm Meditation Circle (via Zoom)
6 pm Chancel Choir rehearsal
Friday, February 11
10 am 31st Annual Theologian-in-Residence with Dr Bennie Crockett (via Zoom)
Topic: Dominant English Bibles in Print, 1525-1782
Sunday, February 13 - Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
11 am Morning Worship, Interim Pastor, Rev. Sharon Amstutz (via YouTube)
Monday, February 14
6:30 pm ETSU U-Kirk worship / 7:30 pm meal - WAPC Sponsored
Wednesday, February 16
4 pm Meditation Circle (via Zoom)
6 pm Chancel Choir rehearsal
Friday, February 18
10 am 31st Annual Theologian-in-Residence with Dr Bennie Crockett (in-person and via Zoom)
Topic: Older Greek and Hebrew Manuscripts and Scientific Text Analysis: Changes in the English Bible, 1800-present
Sunday, February 20 - Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
11 am Morning Worship, Interim Pastor, Rev. Sharon Amstutz (via YouTube)
Wednesday, February 23
4 pm Meditation Circle (via Zoom)
6 pm Chancel Choir rehearsal
Friday, February 25
10 am 31st Annual Theologian-in-Residence with Dr Bennie Crockett (in-person and via Zoom)
Topic: New Methods of Translation and the Abundance of English Bibles, 1900-2022
Sunday, February 27 - Transfiguration of the Lord
11 am Morning Worship, Interim Pastor, Rev. Sharon Amstutz (via YouTube)
Monday, February 28
10 am In Concert: the Becky Buller Band
9:15 am @ King Memorial Chapel
7 pm @ Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Bristol, Virginia
|
|
NOTEWORTHY GREEN SPACE NEWS |
While we are worshipping online via Zoom, our services are more abbreviated. Rather than to forgo the crucial information about our environment we will be posting them here. An item of recent note is:
Humans throw away about 1.3 billion tons of food a year, or at least one third of all the food in the world. If one loaded that refuse into trucks, they would wrap bumper-to-bumper around the world seven times. All that waste is detrimental to our planet. In terms of carbon emissions, we toss tomatoes, let bread go stale, and age out our cilantro until we are doing as much damage as every single car and truck on the planet. If food waste were a country, it would be the third biggest emitter worldwide. In the United States, the biggest source of food waste is food abundance paired with food anxiety. Amid some of the cheapest food in history, many people overshop, fill the pantry and fridge, and let it rot to the tune of approximately $1600 per person a year.
So what can be done about it? This problem has come into focus over the last decade, and in 2015 the United Nations issued a goal of eliminating 50 percent of global food waste by 2030. However, what has made that more achievable is the pandemic. The sight of barren shelves forced many Americans to rethink their connections to food. More people took steps to reduce food waste in order to make the most of every grocery run. They planted vegetable gardens and tried new recipes to use up leftovers. Let us hope that that mindset continues when and if the pandemic ends!
|
|
VIRTUAL CREATION ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK |
FOUR SEASONAL FILMS FROM THE BLACK FOREST NATIONAL PARK BADEN-WURTTENBERG, GERMANY, by the Black Forest Collective.
Each short film “SPRING / SUMMER / AUTUMN / WINTER I Black Forest Adventure” has been created as part of the four seasons film and photography project “Adventure in the Black Forest” about the unique animal and plant life in the Black Forest national park in southern Germany. Also listed as part of the UNESCO Black Forest Biosphere Reserve.
(November 2015 | 2.26 min)
SUMMER - BLACK FOREST NATIONAL PARK
(October 2014 | 2:20 min.)
(June 2015 | 2:20 min.)
(November 2015 | 2:25 min.)
|
|
|
|
Who are these people and why are they happy ?? |
|
|
|
January 30 - Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Psalm 71:1-6; I Corinthians 13:1-13; and Luke 4:21-30
February 6 - Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13) and Psalm 138; I Corinthians 15:1-11: and Luke 5:1-11
February 13 - Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 17:5-10 and Psalm 1; I Corinthians 15:12-20; and Luke 6:17-26
|
|
February 20 - Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Genesis 45:3-=11, 15 and Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; I Corinthians 5:35-38, 42-50 and Luke 6:27-38
February 27 - Transfiguration of the Lord
Exodus 34:29-35 and Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3;12 - 4:2; and Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
|
|
A new command I give to you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34 (NIV)
|
|
February Elder of the Month - Hugh Broome
Next Session meeting - Tuesday, February 8 @ 7 pm (TBD)
|
|
2022 Annual Budget - $ 135,000
Budget through January 25, 2022, Week #3 ($ 10,385)
Receipts $ 28,176.50
Disbursements - $ 9,052.75
Balance $ 19,123.75
Thanks to everyone for your continued support the church with your tithes and offerings during this extraordinary time. You are encouraged to mail your pledge to us or to drop it by the church office during regular business hours. Thanks.
We are still receiving the 5 Cents per Meal offering that is usually taken on Communion Sundays. If you would like to make a contribution to this offering please do so and designate it on your checks.
|
|
Holston Presbytery meetings 2022
Meetings in March, June and December begin at 9 am; meeting in September begins at 2 pm.
Saturday, March 5, 2022 @ open
Saturday, June 4, 2022 @ Strawberry Plains
Tuesday, September 6, 2022 @ open
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 @ Hopewell
Rich Fifield, Executive Presbyter/Stated Clerk
Rich was called to Holston Presbytery in 2001. He is an ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Diana Moore, Transitional Stated Clerk
Diana is an ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (SA), and has served congregations within Holston Presbytery, including serving as Assistant Clerk of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission.
Kimberley D. Fifield, Treasurer/ Financial Manager
Kim has been with Holston Presbytery since 1999. She maintains the financial records of Holston Presbytery, Presbyterian Campus Ministry and assists with Board of Pensions benefits inquiries.
Stephanie Ratcliffe, Transitional Treasurer/ Financial Manager
Stephanie has degrees in Human Resource Management and Accounting.
|
|
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT,
CHECK OUT THE POTEAT LIBRARY
|
NOTE: Please remember that you are welcome to drop by the church library if you are looking for something new to read. We ask that you to sign out any books on the register sheet found on the file cabinet in the corner with the call #, book title, your name and date checked out. The white book cart inside the library has new titles. There is also an orange book cart in the Heritage Room that has books free for the taking. Come and browse.
|
|
The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories
By Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
(220.6)
Esteemed Bible scholars and teachers Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Z. Brettler take readers on a guided tour of the most popular Hebrew Bible passages quoted in the New Testament to show what the texts meant in their original contexts and then how Jews and Christians, over time, understood those same texts. Passages include the creation of the world, the role of Adam and Eve, the Suffering Servant of Isiah, the book of Jonah, and Psalm 22, whose words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” Jesus quotes as he dies on the cross.
Comparing various interpretations – historical, literary, and theological - of each ancient text, Levine and Brettler offer deeper understandings of the original narratives and their many afterlives. They show how the text speaks to different generations under changed circumstances, and so illuminate the Bible’s ongoing significance. By understanding the depth and variety by which these passages have been, and can be, understood, The Bible With and Without Jesus does more than enhance our religious understandings, it helps us to see the Bible as a source of inspiration for any and all readers.
|
|
 |
The Chancel flowers were given
in honor of Lewis & Marcia Songer's
January babies.
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS
February 1 - Rev. Pat Locke
February 2 - Caitlin Bailey Smith
February 9 - Alice Burrell
February 10 - Virginia Farr
February 11 - Sue Shanks
February 16 - Carolyn Hawk
February 20 - Stephen Patrick & Phil Brandt
February 23 - Bob Danks
February 24 - Jenny Darling
THE NEW 2022 FLOWER LIST IS AVAILABLE ON THE BULLETIN BOARD IN THE SIDE ENTRY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THOUGHTS & PRAYERS
For Members / Regular Attendees
Logan Songer (great-grandson of Lew & Marcia); Fred Burrell; Debi Hughes; David Robert Hughes (stationed on Korean DMZ); Pat Mooney; Don Loughry; Camilla & Hunter Lyle; Jack Hansel.
For Friends
Friends of the Clark's, Becky Donan and family, loss of husband Troy The family of Jenny Turner and faculty / students at Towne Acres Elementary School; Linda Solly; Sue Sheffield's nephew, Jeremiah Collins; Sally Gerhardt's friend, Rosemarie Shields; Sue Shank's friend, Judy Klein; Sharon Amstutz's brother, Paul Hagood; Karen Frederick; Theresa Lura's cousin, Randy Carter; Sarah Suptin; church neighbor, Casey Harvey; Chris Stansell's parents, Rev. Donald & Velma Stansell.
Special Prayers for Clinical and Medical Health Care Workers
The continued COVID pandemic concerns with cases still on the rise with the delta and lambda variant strains, along with the new mu virus with the highest number of overall cases in the United States, India and Brazil with cases on the rise throughout Europe in France, Finland, Spain and Poland among others; and especially seniors who are once again in "lock down" in long-term health care facilities; new disaster of scorpion bites in Egypt due to excessive flooding that caused scorpions to leave their burrows and escape into the streets and homes biting people.
Prayers for Others
For our military members who serve our country here and abroad, as well continued prayers for our fragile planet during this time of extreme weather conditions, and for those who have suffered loss from recent ongoing disasters including the volcanic eruption in Tonga and tsunami aftermath around the Pacific, winter storm Izzy in the U.S. and Canada, wildfires in South Africa and the continuing humanitarian emergency in Syria. And especially prayers for our nation and for strength, endurance, faith and courage for all.
|
|
Congregational Concerns / Prayer Requests - Please contact the church office or Sherry Bailey.
Flower List - Sign up to sponsor flowers for our weekly worship services in honor or in memory of loved ones. Arrangements are $30 each.
Liturgists - On Hiatus - We are always looking for new people to be liturgists. Please contact the church office, if you would like to volunteer.
e-Avenue deadline - Please submit information to church office (wapc@churchwapc.net or 926-7942) for the March 2022 issue of the e-AVENUE no later than March 17th. This includes team and committee reports, news, planned events and other newsworthy items.
Photos needed - We welcome contributions to our Facebook page via your comments and photos of church events and activities. Please also submit your photos to the church office for archiving. It will be wonderful to have a visual record of all of the positive things that Watauga Avenue Presbyterian Church does for our community.
|
|
|
|
Established 27 September 1892, Watauga Avenue Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ. Reformed in theology and Presbyterian by way of organization, it is related to Holston Presbytery, the Synod of Living Waters, and to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
|
|
Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)
Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
