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A New Church Year Begins

by Dennis W. Foust, Senior Minister

Many people suggest a new church year begins on the first Sunday of Advent. And, they are correct if they are presenting the Christian Calendar of the Liturgical Year.

However, for St. John’s and most local churches, a new church year truly begins on the Sunday after Labor Day as new leaders begin their service and fresh energies emerge in ministries.

This coming Sunday, we begin a new church year. Our new Church Council will meet at 8:00 AM. At 9:15, all Sunday School groups begin again FOR ALL AGE GROUPS.

During worship, we will commission new church leaders as they begin serving and ordain three new deacons as they join the other 45 deacons to offer exemplary servant leadership.

At 5:00 PM (after the Panthers defeat the Cleveland Browns), we will gather in Broach Hall for an intergenerational kick-off celebration of the new church year. Wear your favorite team’s colors as munch on veggie trays, chips and dips and as Kevin leads us to get acquainted with our new baby grand piano on the Broach Hall stage.

I’m not expecting us to return to a pre-pandemic world. In fact, there were many aspects of the way we lived in the pre-pandemic world that needed to change. However, let’s begin to establish meaningful rhythms again as we establish new patterns in the coming year.

In next week’s Family News, I will introduce to you our new Church Administrator and report on other good news at the beginning of another new church year. Thank you for your partnership in God’s ministry.

To the future!

Please mark your calendars for the following important dates in September and October:

Sunday, September 11:

• New Sunday School Ministry Year Begins (9:15 AM)
• Deacon Ordination of Molly Belong, Matt Comer, and Anna McLeod Cushman and Church Leadership Installation for all new deacons (10:30 AM)
• Family Dedication with Molly & Micah Belong as they present Walter (10:30 AM)
• A New Church Year Kickoff Party in Broach Hall (5:00 PM)

Sunday, September 18

• Women of the Church Luncheon in Broach Hall (register here)

Friday, September 23:

• Heritage Organ Concert in the Sanctuary featuring Maureen Howell, Noel Lance, Andre Lash, and Dr. Matthew Manwarren at 7:30PM

Saturday, October 15

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer portrayed by Al Staggs in the evening

Sunday, October 16

• Clarence Jordan portrayed by Al Staggs, during worship
• Craft & Bake Sale supporting missions: We need your help with any craft items or baked goods you could donate to sell. We also need some help with sewing some items we would like to offer. We have some fabric and can cut the items out if you could help us with sewing them. Please call Tricia Miller (704-562-4818) if you can help.
• Health Fair
• CROP Walk

Wednesday, October 26

• BUILDING A BETTER WORLD: In Solidarity with Refugees & Immigrants (see article below for details)

On Sunday, September 11 during worship, we will ordain Molly Belong, Matt Comer, and Anna McLeod Cushman as new deacons and install all new deacons!

Last week, we introduced 10 of our new deacons. Today, we introduce 5 more new deacons. Please click below to learn about these new deacons!

Women of the Church Luncheon

Sunday, September 18

The Women of the Church luncheon will be held in Broach Hall on Sunday, September 18 at 11:45 AM. We are excited to gather again for food, fun, and fellowship, and to celebrate the legacy of Baptist women at St. John’s.

Register by this Sunday, September 11! You may sign up via Realm (button below) or with the paper form and a check for $12.00 to Amanda Morrison or Nancy Wilson by September 11.

Nancy Wilson will be available to receive reservations from 10:00 – 10:25 AM outside the Church Office on Sunday, September 11. 

Reservations received after Sept. 11 are limited and will require a $15 payment at the door.

In the spirit of WMU, we will be collecting donations of feminine hygiene products, lotion, and deodorant at the door. Please register yourself (and a friend or relative) and join us as we return for our 12th Annual Women of the Church Luncheon!

You're invited!

This Sunday, September 11 from 5-6PM in Broach Hall, we are hosting our Fall Kick-Off Party to celebrate a new year in the life of our community. We will hear from several different ministries and areas of the church and learn about the events and emphases for this fall and Advent seasons.

We hope you'll join us (all ages and stages) for some time together (snacks included) as we begin a new year together. 

At 6PM, all youth will have their first Sunday Night Live gathering for the semester!

Do you shop at Harris Teeter?

You may know that you can link your VIC Card to a school so it receives a gift through your purchase. Several St. John’s members have linked their VIC Cards to our very own St. John's Weekday School or our mission partner school, Highland Renaissance Academy.

Please consider linking your Vic Card to either the St. John’s Weekday School #5879 or Highland Renaissance Academy #4135 today! Each time you purchase Harris Teeter brand items and use your VIC Card, a portion of the money is given to these schools. 

Salt Shakers is a church-wide effort to provide a setting for this fellowship...an opportunity to get to know one another a little better! Salt Shakers is designed to provide four evenings of dinner and conversation for any adult who wants to participate. Each dinner is hosted in a different home and attended by a diverse group of seven or eight people.

Four couples or single adults (different ages, interests, and stages in life...) will be grouped together to compose each Salt Shaker group. You may or may not know your dinner partners before your night out. But hopefully, by evening’s end, you will have made some new friends at St. John’s!

This fall, we will offer four Salt Shaker dates: October 21 or 22, and November 18 or 19.

Click below to view a Salt Shaker brochure for even more details and a paper form you can print out and turn in. OR register on Realm with the button below. OR Email Lee Gray at lgray@sjcharlotte.org with the heading “Salt Shakers.”

September 16 is our next meal for the shelter!

Jim Keesee and Lynn Bishop buy the food and deliver it to the shelter each month. If you would be interested in helping them, give them a call!

Barbara and Dick Schafer would like help serving this month! We need 2 or 3 more servers.

Thanks to those who provided puddings and served in August - Fredda, Barbara, Tricia, Jamie, Eva, Carol, Kimberly F., Kimberly A., Becky, James, Jane S., and Jim.

Here is your chance to be a part of our homeless ministry. Click the button to sign up!

Our friends at Refugee Support Services have let us know of several opportunities for service, ranging from in-person contact with their staff and clients to occasional tasks volunteers can do in their own homes. 

1. HELP DESK-Currently RSS is looking for volunteers who can serve at their Help Desk, in which the volunteer meets with clients who come in requesting help with tasks such as resume writing, completing applications and forms, understanding mail or bills they have received at home, or getting referrals to other community resources that might be appropriate to address a specific need.
2. RECEPTIONIST-This involves greeting people who come into the center and directing them to the appropriate area of the agency.
3. KNIT TOGETHER GROUP-This group meets every Thursday morning and works on various crafts, which are then marketed through Pop-up-Sales or other sources in the greater community. 

Volunteer assistance in the Knit Together Group is needed in three areas:

• Individuals and groups who can showcase the artisans’ beautiful items in the community. Donations from these events keep the program going and educate the community about the RSS mission.
•  Volunteers to wind yarn into balls for KTG projects. This can be done during the weekly Thursday groups or at home.
• Yarn donations are always appreciated.   
• St. John's volunteers who take welcoming snacks for the Knit Together Group on the third Thursday of each month also encourage others to join.

As we have reported in previous notices, in-person contact requires that volunteers participate in a one-hour Refugee 101 orientation, which is offered online, followed by a background check. 

For more information contact Nina Phillips, ninacarl@gmail.com, or Beverly Hester, beverlyrhester@earthlink.net.

Women's Retreat

November 4-6, 2022

Blowing Rock Conference Center

The spiritual growth team of the WOC is excited to offer a retreat experience guided by the story of “The Woman with The Alabaster Jar.” Following her example, we will explore how to cultivate deeper intimacy with The Divine and deeper connectedness with one another.

This year, our speaker for the retreat will be our very own Lia Benton. Lia is an M.Div. graduate of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte and a Candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church, USA. She has completed one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Atrium Health-CMC Main and is a practicing lactation consultant with Atrium Health. She is married to Kevin and is a mother to David, Tyler, and Nora Frances Benton. We are looking forward to hearing from Lia during the retreat.

Pricing:

$168 Triple Occupancy

$185 Double Occupancy

$248 Single Occupancy

(Prices include all meals at the retreat center!)

Those who are not lodging at BRCC have the option to pay $100 for meals and the program.

Please register and pay via Realm. If you do not want to pay online, follow these directions: 

1. Write a check made payable to "St. John’s Baptist Church" then either:
2. Give the check to Amanda Morrison in the church office.
3. Mail checks to the church c/o, Amanda Morrison.
4. Or drop checks in the "Sunday/After Hours" drop box outside Amanda’s office.

Note: If you do not receive a confirmation email from Realm, you have NOT completed your registration for this event.

One of the most significant events in the church's life occurred in the late 1960’s.



Prior to that time, the church had played a major role in the work of the Mecklenburg Baptist Association. As mentioned before, the church was asked by the Association in 1956 to sponsor a new congregation, Sunset Road Chapel, and remained a large financial supporter of that church until 1969 when Sunset Road voted to become autonomous. Along with Hickory Grove, St. John’s hosted the annual meeting of the Association in 1966. The minutes from that meeting indicate that St. John’s was one of the four largest financial contributors to the Association- First Baptist ($4,800), Pritchard ($4,000), St. John’s ($3,700), and Myers Park ($3,300).

However, long time relationship became highly divisive when St. John’s adopted a new baptism policy on March 19, 1967, which, in part, stated the following:

1) We consider baptism to be an act of obedience following conversion. Such baptism is “believer’s baptism”.

2) We will baptize new converts by immersion, the mode used in New Testament times, and which most fully portrays the symbolic meaning of baptism, death, burial, and resurrection.

3) In the reception of candidates from other denominations, we are primarily concerned about the reality of the candidates’ experience of conversion and commitment. We will accept a candidate’s baptism as valid, without regard to mode, if it was an act of obedience following conversion.

4) If a candidate’s baptism was other than believer’s baptism, the candidate will be immersed.

5) We intend this affirmation of belief and practice shall lead to a deeper appreciation for historic and present meaning of baptism in the life of the believer, and in the life of the church.

Prayers, Thanks, and Celebrations

• Tarsha Williams, Arnold Philemon, Martha Brown, Joyce Ehrenberger, Sue Veach, Sierra Leone 
• Sympathy to David, Kim, Neal & Jack Allen, and to John Allen in the death of Virginia Allen on September 2 at the age of 102. We gathered to celebrate her life and ministry on Wednesday, September 7. You can view the service online here.
• Sympathy to Jane Winn in the passing of her sister, Sarah Jolly.

Financial Ministry Plan Update

• Weeks of July 1 - 15: $36,820
• Income through July 15: $707,395
• Annual 2022 Ministry Plan Budget Goal: $1,135,000

Minister On-Call Schedule

• Week of Sept. 5-Kevin
• Week of September 12-Haley 
• Week of September 19-Dennis
• Week of Oct. 3-Kevin
• Week of Oct. 10-Haley

Staff Contact Information

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



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