Sunday, November 17, 2024 @ 11 am

Sermon: "Walk in the Light"

Scripture reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Rev. Brandon Davis, Pastor

both in-person and on Facebook or YouTube (click here)

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ELDER OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER - WILSIE BISHOP

* PLEASE NOTE: CHECK OUT OUR NEWLY UPDATED WEBSITE

https://wataugapc.org

SERMON NOTES

When Jesus was asked the logical question of which commandment is the greatest, he gives the two-fold answer. Loving God and loving your neighbor are of upmost importance. All other commandments hang on those two. And this week, we get the chance to explore that that means for us. That we love God and then are invited to love others as God loves them. We are called to walk as children of the light, living with faith, hope, and love. So join us this week as we continue to see the exciting ways that our faith turns to action as we are led into this new calling!

May God Bless

Brandon

BIBLE STUDY ADVENT SERIES - MONDAYS IN DECEMBER

ADVENT DREAMS FOR CHRISTBEARING PEOPLE

Matthew’s nativity story begins with the anguish, drama, intrigue, and desperation attending the arrival of the Christ Child. Included are five dreams that guide the dreamers as they tend the wellbeing of the infant Jesus. Taken literally, these dreams save his life. The dreams alone could keep us busy for the Advent season!

But what if we also watch the arc of those dream stories unfurl across the life of Jesus? What if we let the edges of those dreams loosen into metaphor? What if we begin to intuit that our own dreams carry meaning and guidance? What if, as Christbearers, we begin to sense that our dreams reveal the indwelling presence of the Holy One, inviting us to deeper spiritual relationship?

Join Laura Huff Hileman for our Monday night Advent series in which we explore the Matthew dreams (plus a few visions and angels from Luke). You’ll learn a bit about the ancient-but-new Christian spiritual practice of dreamwork; hear some insights from Carl Jung; and practice listening and responding to your own dreams.

Laura is a Spiritual Director, Dreamworker, and lifelong Presbyterian who has facilitated dream circles for over 25 years. A graduate of Haden Institute, she’s taught dreamwork there and at many retreats and churches. She lives in Jonesborough where she runs her practice, Fire by Night Dreamwork.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL

This series follows a Yale University on-line course on ”New Testament History and Literature” with Dr. Dale Martin who was the Woolsey Professor of Religious Studies at Yale. This 26 part series began the first Sunday in August. The class welcomes any who are interested in joining us at 9:45 a.m. in the Conference Room. 

SPECIAL NEEDS

Anna Gerhardt, Sally's daughter lives in Barnardsville, NC. She has asked our help to assist with various items for her work. Her new needs are baby clothes, maternity clothes, Gatorade for workers who are aiding in the recovery effort and matches. She is also in need of diapers for premmie / newborn through 1 year. She will keep us informed of other needs as they arise. Thank you all for your generosity during this time. 

MISSION COMMITTEE REQUESTS

The Mission committee is requesting that members and friends of the congregation assist them in collecting can goods and other non-perishable food items that will be given to our Thanksgiving and Christmas families. We hope to the names of the families we will be assisting soon. Food items can be placed in the side entrance hallway or drop them by the church office during the week.

With Advent just a couple of weeks away we know that everyone loves to help us decorate our Mitten Tree with winter items that will be given to various agencies serving the needy and homeless.  We will be looking for mittens, gloves, scarves, hats or caps, socks and other items.  The Mitten tree will be placed in the side entrance hall by December 1^st.  Thanks to all who participate.

PW MEETING ON DECEMBER 7

Members of PW are encouraged to bring Christmas ornaments, recipes and stories to the December meeting that can be shared with others.

WAPC INTERPRETATIONS FOR DECEMBER

Prompt: "Pick a Number"

Next Month: Tuesday, December 3, 2024

"You don’t have to be a mathematician to have a feel for numbers."

- John Forbes Nash

THE GREAT FIGURE

Among the rain

And lights

I saw a figure five

in gold

On a red

Firetruck

Moving

Tense

To gongs and change

Siren howls

And wheels rumbling

Through the dark city.

There are many references to numbers in the Bible that hold significant and symbolic meanings. The numbers seven, three and forth are examples that appear frequently. The number three is associated with the Trinity and events often occur in sets of three. Seven is mentioned first in Genesis in the telling of the story of Creation, symbolizing completion and perfection. Forty symbolizes testing, preparation, and purification for spiritual growth. Jesus fasted for forty days; the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years; Noah was in the rain for forty days and forty nights. Explore other numbers and their meanings in scripture for inspiration.

Do you have a favorite number – a number that is significant to you such as a special date, an anniversary, or one you consider lucky?

LUNCH BUNCH / UPCOMING FOOD NEWS

  November 17 - Fellowship Thanksgiving Lunch

November 24 – Rainbow Asian Cuisine

December 1 – Cootie’s Brown Campus

December 8 – El Charolais

A WINTER LUNCH BUNCH SCHEDULE (December-January-February) is posted on the bulletin board. Happy Dining!!

IF ANYONE HAS SUGGESTIONS FOR OTHER DINING VENUES, PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE TO ADD THEM TO OUR LUNCH ROTATION. THANKS

Please note: Constant Contact is still having various technical issues, including run-on items; i have worked around most issues, but cannot fix others. I have notified the company several times and they are well aware of the problems.

Sunday, November 17, 2024

9:45 am Adult Sunday School / Open Yale series "New Testament History and Literature"

10:30 am Café WAPC (in the Heritage Room)

11 am Morning Worship, Rev. Brandon Davis, Pastor (in-person YouTube / Facebook)

12:15 pm Fellowship Thanksgiving Lunch (meal is furnished / please bring desserts)

Monday, November 18, 2024

6 pm Weekly Bible Study (in Conference Room)

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

4 pm Meditation Circle (via Zoom)

6 pm Chancel Choir rehearsal

Sunday, November 24, 2024

9:45 am Adult Sunday School / Open Yale series "New Testament History and Literature"

10:30 am Café WAPC (in the Heritage Room)

11 am Morning Worship, Rev. Brandon Davis, Pastor

12:30 pm Lunch Bunch @ Rainbow Asian Cuisine

Monday, November 25, 2024

6 pm Weekly Bible Study (in Conference Room)

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

4 pm Meditation Circle (via Zoom)

6 pm Chancel Choir rehearsal

Thursday, November 28, 2024 - THANKGIVING DAY

[2024 Annual Budget - $ 181,300

      Budget through November 15 Week #45 ($156,894)

    Receipts $ 144,799.81

     Disbursements - $ 145,311.89

     Balance $ (-512.08)

The 5 cents per meal offering is taken the first Sunday of each month.

The Christmas Joy Offering honoring God's gift of Jesus Christ by providing assistance to current and retired church workers in their time of need will be taken during the upcoming Advent Season.

SESSION COMMITTEES and CHAIRS

      a. Connections - Sherry Bailey & Jenny Darling

      b. Finance – Nancy Fennell (meets quarterly - September 15th)

      c. Growth – Karen Clark (meets 2nd Sunday of the month)

      d. Mission – Debi Hughes & Susan Turner (meets during Potluck lunch)

      e. Personnel – Wilsie Bishop (meets 1st Sunday of the month)

      f. Property– Dick Lura & Ed Snodderly

THOUGHTS & PRAYERS & JOYS

For Friends and Family

Stephen Patrick and family in the loss of his brother, Paul; Matthew Clark's friend, Mark Finucane; Camilla and Messina Lyle; Karen Clark's brother-in-law, Mark Hanna; Sue Sheffield and family in the loss of her nephew, Jeremiah Collins; Charlotte Woody' and family in the loss of husband Robert; Camilla Lyle's brother, Jeff McFee; Sue Shanks' college roommate, Sue Trevathan; Alynda Worrell-Welch’s mother-in-law, Shelly Welch; George, Jo & Nikki Rolling; Don Loughry; Rev. Maggie Lauterer; Sarah Suptin; Kelly Hodges.; Heather Hughes; Edna Campbell.

IN THE POTEAT LIBRARY

Please remember the library is open by appointment and 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.

Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades

By Jonathan Phillips

(909.07/PHI)

From an internationally renowned expert, here is an accessible and utterly fascinating one-volume history of the Crusades, thrillingly told through the experiences of its many players—knights and sultans, kings and poets, Christians and Muslims. Jonathan Phillips traces the origins, expansion, decline, and conclusion of the Crusades and comments on their contemporary echoes—from the mysteries of the Templars to the grim reality of al-Qaeda. Holy Warriors puts the past in a new perspective and brilliantly sheds light on the origins of today’s wars.

Starting with Pope Urban II’s emotive, groundbreaking speech in November 1095, in which he called for the recovery of Jerusalem from Islam by the First Crusade, Phillips traces the centuries-long conflict between two of the world’s great faiths. Using songs, sermons, narratives, and letters of the period, he reveals how the success of the First Crusade inspired generations of kings to campaign for their own vainglory and set down a marker for the knights of Europe, men who increasingly blurred the boundaries between chivalry and crusading.

In the Muslim world, early attempts to call a jihad fell upon deaf ears until the charisma of the Sultan Saladin brought the struggle to a climax. Yet the story that emerges has other dimensions—as never before, Phillips incorporates the holy wars within the story of medieval Christendom and Islam and shines new light on many truces, alliances, and diplomatic efforts that have been forgotten over the centuries.

Holy Warriors also discusses how the term “crusade” survived into the modern era and how its redefinition through romantic literature and the drive for colonial empires during the nineteenth century gave it an energy and a resonance that persisted down to the alliance between Franco and the Church during the Spanish Civil War and right up to George W. Bush’s pious “war on terror.”

Elegantly written, compulsively readable, and full of stunning new portraits of unforgettable real-life figures—from Richard the Lionhearted to Melisende, the formidable crusader queen of Jerusalem—Holy Warriors is a must-read for anyone interested in medieval Europe, as well as for those seeking to understand the history of religious conflict.

WATAUGA AVENUE PC IS ON .. click and see for yourself.