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I like to say we are “Liturgical Baptists,” which means we are liturgical – so long as it suits us – and then we just do whatever we want to do! We generally follow the church year: Advent to Christmastide, Epiphany to Lent, Easter and Eastertide and Ordinary Time. We generally follow the 3-year cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary, utilizing prescribed texts for each Sunday. We begin Lent with an Ash Wednesday service and will observe Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter. Our Maundy Thursday service has become important to many of us, though it’s generally been our only Holy Week observance, other than Sundays.

The word Maundy is strange (not Monday Thursday or Maunday Thursday – both of which are completely understandable). It’s from the Latin word for mandate (maundatum). On the Thursday night of his final week, as Jesus enjoyed his Last Supper with his friends, the Gospel of John has him say: “I have a new commandment (a mandate… maundatum): Love One Another.”

For many Christian churches, Holy Week provides opportunities for daily reflections on the events of that last week, with Maundy Thursday commemorating The Last Supper and “Good Friday” services remembering the crucifixion. Holy Saturday is the quiet before the glory of Resurrection Sunday.

This year, we have an opportunity to make Holy Week very special.

We don’t often say, you really ought to come, or we want you to be here, or we want to ask you to make a commitment to attend if at all possible… but will you come for Maundy Thursday!?

We’ll begin with communion, then walk Jesus’s last days on earth, combining Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in one service. (I told you, we’re “liturgical Baptists!”) The Sanctuary Choir will perform the 3-movements of “On the Passion of Christ,” reenacting The Last Supper, the Betrayal, and the Crucifixion, in a haunting musical setting. A quartet from the Charlotte Symphony will accompany.

Candles will set an appropriately somber mood in the room. The music will be beautiful, with scripture and a spoken reflection to frame each musical movement. We will sing a final hymn and then go in the quiet of darkness, trying to put ourselves in the shoes of those first disciples – who, at this point, could not have even imagined resurrection.

Amy and I are excited about the chance to be together. To sit together. To worship together. To share communion together. To remember together. To grieve together. And to go out, alone, but anticipating a glorious Sunday morning, together.

Maundy Thursday. Charlotte Symphony. Sanctuary Choir. Communion.

It’s Holy Week. You really don’t want to miss it. - Russ

In observance of Maundy Thursday, our normal First Wednesday meal will be moved to Thursday night for the month of April. Please call the office by Tuesday April 4 at noon or sign up in Helt Hall to reserve your meal. After our 5:30p dinner in the Community Center, we will move to the sanctuary for Maundy Service communion and music, beginning at 6p.

It is that very special time of the year - our early spring meeting! We can’t predict if the weather will be chilly or warm. However, we do know that Thursday, March 16 will abound with fun, food, and fellowship with a generous measure of laughter. We will have a delicious lunch at noon. Since VSP meets on St. Patrick’s Eve, come lucky ones will receive one of the coveted door prizes. Another first, for our entertainment: a blue grass trio will make us want to dance a jig! Indeed all of us will truly have good fortune because we’ll be together! Be sure to make your reservations by this Sunday, March 12! To reserve your spot please sign up in Helt Hall on Sunday or call the church office.

Each year our Easter Sunday cross is decorated with beautiful flowers of the season. Lilies will be purchased, and for a donation of $10 each, you can designate a lily in memory or honor of someone. This is not a fundraiser. The donation provides for the purchase of the lilies to be used. A list of names will be published in the Easter Sunday bulletin. Please sign up in Helt Hall or contact the church office to designate a lily in a loved one’s name.

Last Sunday night the youth gathered to prepare for worship this Sunday. We really hope you will join us for Youth Sunday. At least 15 of our young people will lead us in worship with litanies and prayers and sermon and music. They have worked very hard to put this service together, and I think you will all be inspired by their leadership. Make it a point to be here this Sunday. You will not be sorry that you did. 

When giving online to PRBC, you are able to give a one-time gift or set up a recurring contribution. Setting up a recurring contribution is a wonderful and easy way to complete your AMP pledge for the year. Once you set up a recurring gift, you can change it at any time by logging into Bluefire Giving, the online giving platform PRBC utilizes. As a reminder for the beginning of a new year, if you have changed your pledge from the previous year and are enrolled in online recurring giving, you will need to log into Bluefire Giving and update your recurring gift amount. Recurring contributions are not automatically changed when your pledge changes. You are also welcome to reach out to Allison Wieland in the Finance Office if you need assistance changing your recurring gift through the Bluefire platform. Thank you for your faithful giving to PRBC!     

The 35-year-old HVAC system in our Children's Building was recently replaced. This was another good project, with the CDC and church sharing the cost. A section of the sidewalk had to be removed, giving us a chance to apply a welcoming message to the new concrete, near the carport entrance at the back parking lot. What could be more appropriate to our sense of welcome than those three words? All Are Welcome! Thanks to the generous donation of one church member, we are able to convey a sense of our theology and mission to everyone who visits.

Our next Thirsty Third Thursday is March 16, at T.A.P. The Auto Pour located ata 5033 South Boulevard, Suite O, Charlotte, NC 28217. (The actual entrance is on Seneca.) Check out their website by clicking here. Very little food is available on site, but you can carry food in or order and have it delivered. We do have a reservation at 6p, and Jenny and John are looking forward to hosting our group! As a reminder, significant others, or friends are welcome to join the fun!

Our March Mission Offering will go to Project 658. This organization is a Christ-centered, holistic ministry providing services for at-risk families in Charlotte, moving them toward sustainability, with a key focus on the international and refugee communities. Our own Cindy King is a nurse with Project 658.

You are invited to join the pastors from the Park Road churches for a casual lunch and conversation each of the Wednesdays of Lent. We had a good start last week, meeting at Sedgefield Methodist. Today Park Road is hosting, and we will continue, visiting all our neighboring churches. You are invited to bring lunch at noon; drinks and a simple dessert is provided.

Upcoming Dates:

• March 15 – Holy Comforter Episcopal - Jim Ewing
• March 22 – Avondale Presbyterian Church - TBD
• March 29 - Woodlawn Community Fellowship - Tom Stinson-Wesley

If you would like to sing in the choir but can’t make the commitment to a weekly rehearsal, you are invited to join Bob Pritchard and the Sanctuary Choir at 9:30a on the third Sunday of each month. Bob will plan an anthem you can learn in an hour and then sing during worship. We are looking forward to adding a few new faces. Please join!

Patterson Scholarship - Due May 1

Park Road’s college students attending Campbell, Furman, Meredith, or Wake Forest Universities are eligible. Two forms are required: FAFSA and a second simple form. Both are available through

the church office.

In 2022 we had $50,000 in two gifts designated for improvements the audio quality in the sanctuary. A $10,000 gift is being used for some ongoing upgrades and enhancements to equipment. A $40,000 is being used to complete the acoustical modification which was proposed with the re-design of the sanctuary and Helt Hall. Sound-absorbent panels will be added to the rear walls (upper and lower) and absorbent fabric will be laid above the new ceiling of Helt Hall. The goal of the project is to primarily enhance the spoken word in a room that is acoustically too “live.” Detailed digital measurements were made by an Acoustician with WAVE, Inc. in order to determine a best approach. The money is in hand. The materials have been ordered. We are hoping for a brand-new acoustical experience in the sanctuary… maybe by Easter. Thanks to our very generous donors.

Join the Charlotte Pride Band as they kick off their 2023 Performance lineup with their first concert of the new year, titled "Journey". Through the incredible vision of their Artistic Director, John Stanley Ross, and Assistant Artistic Director, O'Shae Best, "Journey" will feature triumphant, adventurous, and atmospheric arrangements that are bound to move you! They are honored to also feature Jacob Lipham, Principal Timpanist of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Join us for this special event on Saturday, March 18th, 2023, at 7p at CPCC’s Parr Center Theatre, 1201 Elizabeth Ave, Charlotte, NC 28204. Admission is FREE!

We list an individual each week that we call our “Friends at Home” with their contact information.

Drop a card or give a call to check-in. Even if you do not know someone personally, a contact from someone from their church is always an encouragement.

Coming Up at Park Road

Sunday Worship

Facebook Live and In-Person

11a

First Wednesdays

Dinner and Vespers

(Community Center)

5:30p Dinner / 6p Vespers

Third Wednesday of Each Month 

Virtual Midweek Meet-Up - Facebook Live

6p

First and Third Tuesdays

Coffee and Kibitz Bible Study

(Community Center - Room C503)

10a

Tuesday and Thursdays

Flexercise

(Community Center)

9a

Park Road Baptist Church 

 3900 Park Road | Charlotte NC | 28209

Tel (704) 523-5717 

Fax (704) 523-8481

info@parkroadbaptist.org 

 www.parkroadbaptist.org