The Weekly Word at Western Boulevard Presbyterian Church

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Give Thanks to the Lord

This Sunday is Dedication Sunday for our Stewardship Season at Western Boulevard Presbyterian Church. We are all invited to bring our pledges of financial support for the church’s ministry in 2023 and they will be dedicated as part of our morning worship service at 10:30am. You can click HERE to learn more about our plans for ministry next year, and how we are excited for what God has in store for us as people of faith! You can also find additional pledge cards in the narthex of the sanctuary, and you can submit your pledge via Realm by clicking HERE.

As we prepare for this special day in our church’s life, I would invite you to reflect on this question: what are you grateful for in your life of faith? I am grateful for:

A loving family who supports and cares for me through the highs and lows of life.
A vocation and job that is fulfilling and provides income and benefits which allows me to be free to serve in ministry.
A foundation of faith which was taught to me by family and saints in my past, and for the new voices of faith which lead me into a fuller understanding of God’s call in my life today.

It is out of my gratitude for these and other gifts God has given me that I first give back to God. When I receive my paycheck, the first check I write is to the church. That was a spiritual practice taught to me by my parents, and it has been our practice of giving since we’ve been married. And throughout many stresses and strains on our budget, we’ve always found that when we give back to God in thanksgiving first, there is always enough for what we need.

How does our giving reflect our gratitude to God? Do we give God the first-fruits of our labor, or do we give God the leftovers? How are we called in this season of rising inflation and greater needs for our community to respond in faith? Will we hold onto what we have, or will we share in joy so that God’s light will bring hope in the darkness of this world?

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we joyfully respond in gratitude to God’s love for us and for God’s blessings in our lives.

With a full and grateful heart,

Frank

THIS SUNDAY AT WBPC

Worship Service – 10:30am – Click HERE for the bulletin.

@The Table Worship – 5:00pm on Zoom. Click HERE for the order of service, which includes the link for the Zoom gathering.

STEWARDSHIP DEDICATION SUNDAY – OCTOBER 23

We will celebrate God’s blessings in our lives on Sunday, October 23, with Dedication Sunday. We are all invited to bring to worship that day our pledges of support for the ministry of Western Boulevard Presbyterian Church in 2023. You are then invited to join us for a luncheon after church in the Fellowship Hall – the meat/entrée will be provided, and we are asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share. You may also find additional stewardship materials and pledge cards in the narthex. We look forward to seeing you on the 23rd as we give thanks for all God has done in our lives together! Click HERE to sign up!

Click HERE for all the education offerings for 2022-23.

WELCOME TERRENCE ROGERS!

We are excited to share that we have hired Terrence Rogers as our new Director of Christian Education and Community Engagement. Terrence is from Baltimore, Maryland, is currently a student in the Masters of Divinity Program at Duke Divinity School, and has had experience serving in youth and outreach ministries in the Baptist church. He started his work with us on October 17, but has a previous preaching commitment this Sunday morning, but is hoping to be with us for the luncheon after church and will be with the youth this Sunday evening. Look for more information from Terrence introducing himself in the weeks ahead! You can contact him through youth@wbpresbyterian.org.

YOUTH FELLOWSHIP NEWS - OCTOBER 23

Join us this Sunday for our next youth group gathering at 6:30pm! Dinner will be provided!

BIBLICAL JUSTICE FORUM - OCTOBER 24

Biblical Justice Forum (BJF) is studying the book White Too Long by Robert Jones. In the words of Jim Wallis of Sojourners this is a "compelling ...moral indictment of the way white supremacy has infected the white church. in the US. "We began this study on Oct 10 with chapter 1 being led by Pam Wilson of West Raleigh PC. Becky Burmester leds us in chapter 2 on Oct 17 and Beth Ware will lead us in Chapter 3 on Oct 24. All are welcome to join at any point. We have an extra copy of the book if you would like to join us, let Sandy Irving know. Click HERE for the Zoom link.

FAMILY PROMISE

Our host week for Family Promise is coming up soon - October 30th thru November 6th. Our responsibilities include providing dinner Monday, Oct 31st thru Friday, November 4th and delivering the meals to the Day Center by 5pm each day. We are in need of volunteers to help provide meals. There’s more info on the signup HERE if you need it, or please let Mel Holt know if you have any questions.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR MOW

WBPC volunteers for Meals on Wheels (MOW) deliveries on the 5th Mondays of the month--4 times a year. We have some faithful volunteers but we are short of volunteers for Oct 31st. Can you spare 2 hours on Oct 31st to deliver meals to homebound residents (10 AM-12 noon)? If so, call or email Sandy Irving @ 919-787-2254 or s-dirving@earthlink.net.

PRAYERS FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN HAITI AT THE YJCF HOME AND ELIM CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Faithful WBPC servants, the needs are dire as they seem to have been for awhile now. As you know, Clarksville Presbyterian Church in Clarksville VA, was able to donate the funds for a new transitional apartment for the older boys to live in who have aged out of the YJCF Home. Chedlin has received those funds, but cannot get to the bank to use them nor can he get the materials to begin building, but as always he is praying that this will happen soon. The UN Task Force on Violence are considering sending in armed troops to help manage the infrastructure of the country. Chedlin still needs about $5,000- $8,000 in funding to be able to build the parameter wall, put in solar panels for electricity, build a clothing wash station and to connect water to the apartment. Currently we have about $4,800 which were budgeted for 2022 mission trip to Haiti and the love offering from Jazz Vespers in August that the MO Committee has approved to be used for the apartment. If you are able, please consider contributing specifically for this need for the older young men. They are living in the school bus on the property until their apartment is built. As always, as you are prayerfully considering your 2023 pledges, won’t you add a bit to the Haiti ministry? WBPC has contributed $1,000 a month for 15 years - all on donations. What a wonderful gift from God. From Chedlin this week: “My friends, we are safe by the grace of God. The goods shortage is horrible. Thanks be to God, thanks be to you who never stopped supporting us. Without you what would we do? The church members are starving in the village, I do not know what to do. Continue to pray for us.” Amen, Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kathy Johnson (wojo2006@nc.rr.com).

FREE PIZZA DINNER – HALLOWEEN NIGHT – OCTOBER 31

The Fellowship Committee will be providing a free pizza dinner for families in our church and neighborhood on Halloween, October 31, at 5:30pm. Come for dinner and then head out to trick-or-treat! All are welcome! Click here for a flyer to share!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE SCHEDULE FOR REST OF YEAR

We’ve had a busy fall with Wednesday Night Live, and we are very grateful to the Fellowship Committee for preparing these wonderful meals and offering informative and fun programs each week. The Fellowship Committee has a couple of special events coming up, so we won’t be meeting on Wednesdays the next two weeks (October 26 & November 2). But we will be back for WNL on November 9 and 16. On November 9, the Youth will be sharing about their summer conference and mission trip experiences. And on November 16, our guests will be the Shams Family from Afghanistan. Look for more details in the weeks ahead, and we look forward to seeing you for WNL on November 9!

CALLING ALL COLLEGE STUDENTS

Montreat is offering a conference just for you the week of January 2 – 5, 2023. If you are interested in attending, please email youth@wbpresbyterian.org. Click here for more information.

CAMERATA CONCERT – OCTOBER 22 - 7:00 PM

Come enjoy a FREE concert of rarely heard music of composers from Eastern Europe by Raleigh Camerata, a professional baroque music ensemble. They open their 10th season bringing light to another group of composers often overlooked in an effort to continue to bring attention to the war that Ukrainians are still fighting. Music by Tůma, Čart, Zelenka, Richter, Zeutschner, Hůrka, and Jiránek.

They are anticipating a full crowd, so please reserve your free ticket HERE today.

The concert will be held at Western Boulevard Presbyterian Church at 7:00pm on Saturday, October 22nd. If you would like to reserve a ticket via phone, please contact the church office at (919) 851-4713.

50+ THIS MONTH

50+ will not meet this month. Fortunately a number of activities have been suggested for future outings. Look for November plans later.

WESTERN BOULEVARD PRESBYTERIAN PRESCHOOL NEEDS

YOUR HELP

The Preschool needs your help! We are having a yard sale from 9-12 on October 21st and 22nd. If you have any things that you have been wanting to clean out, now is the time! We will be accepting household items, children’s toys and clothes, etc. Please drop items off in the Preschool office by next Thursday, the 20th. We will also take baked items for a bake sale! We are trying to get money for a new sand box and sand, so any help is appreciated.

STAFF VACATION PLANS

Frank Mansell will be out of town October 24-November 6, as he and Debbie visit their daughter, Heather, who is studying abroad in Paris this semester. If you have a pastoral emergency during this time, please contact the church office, John Bayne with the Deacons (919-649-0449), or one of our Stephen Ministers.

DIVORCE CARE

If you are considering separation or divorce, don’t try to go through it alone. Connect with a DivorceCare group either in person or online. You’ll find caring people who understand the issues you face and practical counsel for decision making and managing stress. Contact DivorceCare HERE or speak with a Deacon or Elder for a list of several groups that meet in The Triangle area, churches or online.

PRAYER CHAIN REQUESTS

If you have a prayer concern, please contact Frank Mansell (frank@wbpresbyterian.org), Marcia Bennett (sen1969@hotmail.com), or Betty Dean (betdean@nc.rr.com) and request that it be added to the Prayer Chain. Please note that any confidential prayer requests will not be added to the Prayer Chain. Please let us know if you are nor receiving prayer updates and you had signed-up, and we will work to reconfirm you are on the mailing list.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: October 23 - October 30

Sunday, October 23 – Stewardship Dedication Sunday

9:30am Sunday School

10:30am Worship Service

11:45am Celebration Luncheon (Fellowship Hall)

4:00pm Cub Scouts (Fellowship Hall, downstairs, parking lot)

5:00pm @ The Table Service (Zoom)

6:30pm Youth Group (Fellowship Hall)

Monday, October 24

12:00pm Biblical Justice Forum (Zoom)

7:00pm Scouts (Fellowship Hall and Downstairs)

Tuesday, October 25

4:00pm AventWest Children’s Mentoring (Fellowship Hall)

Wednesday, October 26

9:30am Wednesday AM Prayer Group (Fellowship Hall)

6:30pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary)

7:30pm Handbell Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary)

Thursday, October 27

4:00pm AventWest Children’s Mentoring (Fellowship Hall)

6:30pm Bible Study (Zoom)

6:45pm BSA girls (Youth room)

Sunday, October 30

9:30am Sunday School

10:30am Worship Service

4:00pm Cub Scouts (Fellowship Hall, downstairs, parking lot)

5:00pm @ The Table Service (Zoom)

5:00pm Youth Group (Fellowship Hall & Haunted House)

RESERVATIONS, PICTURES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Please refer to the Calendar if you have questions about meetings. If you want to reserve a room, please email admin@wbpresbyterian.org. If you have photos from Church events this year, please share them with us. You may upload your pictures directly to our shared Church album by clicking HERE.

If you would like your birthday included on the monthly birthday list, please update your personal information on Realm or contact the church office.

GLASSES FOUND

Did you leave some teal and grey striped bifocal glasses in the education building? If so, they are on the church office desk!

Click HERE for October birthdays!

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