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Giving What We Have:

Trusting God to Multiply Our Commitments

by Dennis W. Foust

This coming Sunday, November 13, as an expression of our worship, we will bring forward our financial commitments to support our 2023 Ministry Vision. Please bring your commitment cards to worship!

Each dollar you give to St. John’s does more than pay the light bill. Your gifts continue the ministry of Jesus. Your gifts feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, encourage the lonely, comfort the grieving, befriend the stranger, welcome the immigrant, care for infants, teach children the biblical story, accompany youth along their journey, embrace the elderly, and nurture community.

With this being our centennial year, Fredda Kimball recently excavated several stewardship testimonies from past leaders in our history. Our heritage has been enriched by these faithful members. Please read their words in Fredda’s heritage article in this Family News. She has agreed to allow me to quote Tom Peacock here.

In my first months as senior minister of St. John’s, in 2011, I visited with Tom and Marie Peacock. Marie was already living in Memory Care. Tom was fully devoted to her. Tom and Marie were core leaders in St. John’s for decades. They influenced multiple generations of leaders and allowed St. John’s to help parent their children and grandchildren. Tom and I enjoyed numerous visits over the years; several conversations over lunch. He loved St. John’s. Here are his words about our financial stewardship commitments and gifts.

“Can a single flame light up the darkness? If only a few people light matches, the tiny individual flames make only a twinkle. But many together, make a difference in melting the darkness. Isn’t that the way it is with our church? What we can’t do alone, we can do together: build a school in South Sudan, provide a safe and warm place during the winter for the homeless in Charlotte, feed the hungry through CROP, pay a utility bill for a family through Crisis Assistance, and give necessities for a newborn to a new mother living in poverty through Baby Bundles. (Mission partners updated for 2022.) These are things we cannot do alone. And take our church—St. John’s, its building and its people, its spiritual depth, and its programs for young and old—could you provide all this alone? Of course not. But people can—together, God’s people can. They can join hands and hearts and do these things—and much, much more. What one tiny flame cannot do, many together can. What one dollar cannot do, our dollars together can. Please do your part this year to increase the dimensions of our giving at St. John’s. So much depends on you. Will you light your flame?”

To paraphrase Tom Peacock, will you follow the example of that boy who gave to Jesus his five barley loaves and two fish? He gave what he had while trusting God to multiply his gifts to meet a multitude of needs.

This will be the first budget of our second century. Let’s honor those who have gone before us and provide a faithful example for those who come behind us. Amen.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

Churchwide Opportunities

• November 18: Serve at Men's Shelter, Need 6 servers and 9 banana puddings! Sign up here
• November 20: Yakama Nation Dancing Our Prayers team during worship
• Coat Drive for Charlotte Rescue Mission in November for Men's Coats
• Baby Bundles Drive for baby socks, bibs, and receiving blankets in November
• December 6: WDAV presents Lessons & Carols LIVE from St. John's Sanctuary at 7PM
• December 8: Senior Adult Christmas Luncheon in Broach Hall
• December 16: Serve at Men's Shelter, Need 6 servers and 9 banana puddings! Sign up here
• December 16: Room in the Inn Begins! Sign up below.
• December 24: Christmas Eve Service of Communion, Carols, and Candlelight

Children's Ministries:

• December 4 at 11:30am: Gingerbread House Decorating Party for Children and their Families
• December 8 at 6:00pm: Thursdays on the Town for families with children at Abugida Ethiopian Cafe; contact Kheresa if you need childcare
• December 11 at 11:30am: Children on Mission at Baby Bundles

Youth Ministries

• December 4: Poinsettia delivery after worship
• December 18: Youth Christmas Party in the evening

Young Adult Ministries:

• November 11: Brewery Night at NoDa Brewing Company
• December 2: Brewery Night at Free Range Brewing



Dancing Our Prayers

Sunday, November 20

On Sunday, November 20, at 10:30 AM, St. John’s welcomes a team of youth and young adults from the Yakama Native Nation. Dancing Our Prayers are teams of Native teens who travel locally, regionally, and nationally sharing their culture, spirituality, and way of life.

This is an initiative of Mending Wings which aims to help people fly again after centuries of prejudice and abuse. Dancing Our Prayers teams drum & dance in full regalia, perform drama, give testimony, and speak on conciliation issues between Native and non-Native America.

After worship, all are invited to a catered lunch in Broach Hall. Please register, by Tuesday, November 15. We will share lunch and conversation with the young people from the Dancing our Prayers team.

Anderson’s is catering lunch with a fine meal. A donation basket will be near the door with a suggested cost of $12. Please register so we can communicate an accurate number with Anderson’s.

Throughout this month, our children lead us in sharing with others and welcoming new life into our world by supporting Baby Bundles. Baby Bundles provides baby essentials to families in financial need in the Charlotte area and empowers them to have a strong start with their newborns.

From now through November 30, we will receive the following donations: burp cloths, bibs, and receiving blankets at the Main Entrance by the gym. There are white bins for items. We prefer new items but if you have very gently used items with no stains, those are welcome, too!

If you have any questions, please contact Kheresa at 910-890-3392.

For the 2022-23 season, St. John's and our partners at Caldwell Presbyterian Church will host 8 homeless neighbors vetted by Roof Above within the Room in the Inn program, often referred to as RITI, on 9 Friday nights.

Caldwell will host at Caldwell on the second Friday night of December through March while St. John's will host at St. John’s on the third Friday. 

RITI hosting at St. John's will begin on Friday, December 16, 2022 and run through Friday, March 17, 2023. Just as information, St. John's members are needed to drive our van for BOTH churches on all NINE Friday nights and the following Saturday mornings. The signup list linked below includes van driver signups for ALL NINE Friday nights/Saturday mornings.

Please contact Dale Johnson at 704-454-8931 or Alice Wirz at 704-222-6208 if you have any questions on any of these tasks.

Thank you for your support for Room in the Inn at St. John's!

Need a Key Fob?

Find a key fob form in the reception office, fill it out, return it to the reception area and your fob will be ready for your the following Sunday in Amanda's office. Key fobs are now used to enter the building and some interior doors.

Coat Drive for Rebound Program at Charlotte Rescue Mission

The Charlotte Rescue Mission has a need for men’s winter coats for their Rebound program. MRT will be supporting a coat drive until the end of November. If you have any men’s winter coats that you could donate to help our neighbors please leave them on the clothes rack in Lasater Hall close to the stage. Thank you for supporting this worthy cause.



Parents of children, ages birth - 5th grade, are invited to Thursdays on the Town, intentional evenings of table fellowship with each other. Free childcare will be provided. 

Our first Thursday on the Town will be December 8, 6-8pm, at Abugida Ethiopian Cafe and Restaurant (3007 Central Avenue). 

To reserve your spot and secure childcare, please register by December 5. You can register on Realm OR by contacting Kheresa at kharmon@sjcharlotte.org or 910-890-3392.

Our Commitment Sunday is Sunday, November 13. The following are excerpts from Family News articles written by several long-time St. John’s members in 1967. The sentiments reflected are the same today as 55 years ago.

From Frank Gilreath:

“I remind you of God’ goodness to us. We’ve been blessed in countless ways—little things, big things, personal and intimate things which no one else knows. The church pledge is an act of worship, that’s for sure, but it’s more than that—it’s a way of saying our thanks for the goodness of God, it’s an exercise in spiritual growth. Won’t you remember that when the time comes to put something down on your pledge card? So many good folks do. What in the world would we do without them?”

From Don Millsaps:

“Time is relentless sometimes. We say we love the Lord, and we’re going to do better in our stewardship—tomorrow. Not right now, because “something’s come up.” But tomorrow gets by. And we have our regrets. Now is the time—it always is—to do what we ought to do. For our children, for our friends, for the church and for the kingdom of God. That’s why Commitment Sunday is such an important. When you make your pledge, you’ll be building memories, avoiding regrets.”

From Wilson Hewitt:

“Your pledge is a genuine, responsible act of Christian worship—an act which expresses your conviction about what really matters in this life of ours. No one will call or put pressure on you. There’s no reason why anyone should. Christian folk don’t need to be flattered or battered to do what they know they should- anyway, that’s how we feel about it at St. John’s."

Carolina Voices' Festival Singers, under the direction of Donna Hill, invites you to their opening concert: Illuminate.

After the dark of night comes the dawn. Light brings hope of a new day and the promise of renewal.

Many composers use the theme of light as their source of inspiration. The Festival Singers are delighted to share a few of these exquisite compositions during our fall concert, Illuminate.

Dan Forrest, a modern, prolific composer combines music with the text of Paul Wigmore that evokes light, joy, love, peace, and hope in Light Beyond Shadow. Additional music included in the concert are two settings of the ancient chant of Ubi Caritas by Forrest and Maurice Duruflé. Splendor by Elaine Hagenberg and a choral favorite, Wanting Memories by Yyse Barnwell round out the program.

Here are the details:

Illuminate

4:00 PM on Sunday, November 20, 2022

St. John's Baptist Church, Sanctuary

300 Hawthorne Lane

Charlotte, NC 28204

Tickets

$25 in advance or at the door

$18 seniors

$10 students (present student ID at the door)

Prayers, Thanks, and Celebrations

• Tarsha Williams, Martha Brown, Barbara McElwey

Minister On-Call Schedule

• Nov 7-13: Kevin
• Nov 14-20: Haley
• Nov 21-27: Dennis
• Nov 28-Dec 4: Kheresa
• Dec 5-11: Lee

Staff Contact Information

• Haley Blackwell, Minister for Youth & Young Adults - 620-515-3558 (cell)
• Rev. Dennis Foust, PhD, Senior Minister - 704-359-7234 (cell); 704-333-5428, ext. 12
• Rev. Lee Gray, Minister for Congregational Care - 704-451-1309 (cell)
• Kevin Gray, Minister for Music and Worship - 803-524-0287 (cell)
• Rev. Kheresa Harmon, Minister for Children & their Families - 910-890-3392 (cell

• Mallory Brown, Media Coordinator - 704-477-3349 (cell)
• Chloe Hall, Children's Choir Director
• Noel Lance, Organist
• Dr. Matthew Manwarren, Associate Organist
• Amanda Morrison, Ministry Coordinator - 704-333-5428, ext. 11
• Lydia Olmstead, Weekday School Director - 704-333-5428, ext. 39
• Jill Rackley, Church Administrator - 704-333-5428, ext. 20