Issue #381

The Weekly AVENUE

APRIL 6, 2023

GOOD NEWS AND WORSHIP UPDATE

MAUNDY THURSDAY LOVE FEAST

Thursday, April 6 @ 6 pm

potluck supper and service

@ Covenant Presbyterian Church

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE

Friday, April 7 @ 6 pm

"The Way to the Cross" | John 18:1 - 19:42

MORNING WORSHIP - EASTER SUNDAY

Sunday, April 9, 2023 @ 11 am

Sermon - "Peace Be with You" | Scripture reading - John 20:1-31

Rev. Brandon Davis, Pastor

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

Comments: We have set our YouTube channel to accept comments. If you are viewing, we ask that you say hello or to let us know you are there so we can count you as part of our attendance.

ELDER OF THE MONTH - KAREN CLARK

SPECIAL NEWS AND INFORMATION

LENTEN / EASTER THOUGHTS

“Easter” comes from an old English word related to dawn and shining. At Easter we stand in light of the resurrection to see a new creation, transformed by the grace and glory of God. We celebrate the presence and power of the risen Christ in his church, proclaiming the Good News through Word and deeds. We rejoice in the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is the “Lord and giver of life.” In the fullest sense, Easter is a new way of life, in which we are “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” So come and share in the mysterious hope in the promises given: Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.

Yours In Christ,

Brandon

HOLY WEEK SERVICES

Holy Week services include a Maundy Thursday Love Feast (potluck dinner and service) on April 6th at Covenant PC Fellowship Hall. The Good Friday service on April 7th at WAPC. Both services begin at 6 pm. We look forward to having you join us.

An offering will be taken at both services that is designated for the Presbyterian Hunger Fund. Your financial support enables the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) to witness to the healing love of Christ and to bring hope to communities and individuals struggling with hunger. By providing access to more and better food; standing in solidarity with economic and environmental justice campaigns; and creating more livable environments for all, your gifts to the Presbyterian Hunger Fund help to end hunger worldwide and care for all God’s creation.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS

The Adult Sunday School class is currently reading and discussing Adam Nicolson's book, "God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible." They hope to conclude their study in April.

The class as selected Philip Yancey's book, "Vanishing Grace: what ever happened to the Good News?" as their next title, which they begin reading and discussing on Sunday, April 30th. You should have plenty of time to secure your personal copy and join them in class. Good used copies can be found on Amazon, as well as BetterWorldBooks.com.

The class meets in the Poteat Library at 10 am. If you wish to join the class there is always room for one more.

FOOD, FOOD AND MORE FOOD

The Lunch Bunch / Meal Schedule for APRIL

April 9 @ Red Meze Downtown (109 Buffalo Street)

April 16 @ Southern Craft BBQ (601 Spring Street)

April 23 @ Bella Vita's (2927 North Roan Street)

April 30 @ Fellowship Potluck Lunch (Cinco de Mayo theme)

At our Cinco de Mayo Fellowship Potluck lunch we will be receiving an offering that will go to Latin America and Caribbean (General Support).

Funds given to this PC(USA) project will be used to further the work of World Mission among our partners in Latin America and the Caribbean. The funds will be used where the need is greatest so that they will have the greatest impact. (E864600)

IF ANYONE HAS SUGGESTIONS FOR LUNCH BUNCH DINING IN 2023, PLEASE CONTACT THE CHURCH OFFICE SO IT CAN BE ADDED TO THE LIST!!

Please note: our annual Church in the Park Father's Day service and picnic will return this year on Sunday, June 18 at the Meredith Pavilion / Winged Deer Park. Southern Craft BBQ has been selected as the food provider.

CHURCH DIRECTORY UPDATE

We appreciate all of you who have submitted your information to the church office for updating our church directory. However, there are still a few others who have not responded. Please do so at your earliest convenience or before the April 16th deadline.

SAVE THE DATE

There will be a wedding shower for Alynda Worrell in the Fellowship Hall on Saturday,

May 6th, beginning at 2 pm. The wedding of Alynda and Alec Welch will be on Saturday, June 17th in Hillsville, Virginia. Everyone is invited. Go to their website for more info: https://www.theknot.com/us/alynda-worrell-and-alec-welch-jun-2023

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE COMING WEEK

Thursday, April 6, 2023 - MAUNDY THURSDAY

10 am April PW meeting in the Fellowship Hall

6 pm Maundy Thursday Love Feast / Potluck Supper and Service @ Covenant Presbyterian Church

Friday, April 7, 2023 - GOOD FRIDAY

6 pm Good Friday service in the Sanctuary

Sunday, April 9, 2023 - EASTER SUNDAY

10 am Adult Sunday School - reading "God's Secretaries" by Adam Nicolson

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

12:30 pm Lunch Bunch @ Red Meze Downtown (109 Buffalo Street)

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

3 pm Green Team (via Zoom)

7 pm Session Meeting in Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

4 pm Meditation Circle (via Zoom)

6 pm Chancel Choir rehearsal

Sunday, April 16, 2023

10 am Adult Sunday School - reading "God's Secretaries" by Adam Nicolson

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

12:30 pm Lunch Bunch @ Southern Craft BBQ (601 Spring Street)

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

4 pm Meditation Circle (via Zoom)

6 pm Chancel Choir rehearsal

Saturday, April 22, 2023 - EARTH DAY

11 am Earth Day walk @ Sycamore Shoals State Park

Sunday, April 23, 2023

10 am Adult Sunday School - reading "God's Secretaries" by Adam Nicolson

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

12:15 pm Coffee in the Library

1 pm Lunch Bunch @ Bella Vita's (2927 North Roan Street)

FINANCIAL UPDATE

GENERAL FUND: YEAR TO DATE:

[2023 Annual Budget - $ 177,600

Budget through April 7, Week #14 ($47,815)

Receipts $ 82,110.49

Disbursements -$ 42,521.67

Balance $ 39,588.82

We will be receiving the ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING special offering

on EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 9th.

We hope that you will give to One Great Hour of Sharing, and join in God's call to share our read with the hungry, to aid and shelter people overcoming catastrophe and conflict , and to resource communities working to cast off the bonds of poverty and oppression.

APRIL BIRTHDAYS

April 10 - George Rolling

April 22 - Mike Miyamoto

April 23 - Theresa Lura

April 24 - David Wood

April 25 - Maggie Lauterer

ALSO NOTE: THE 2023 FLOWER LIST IS AVAILABLE ON THE BULLETIN BOARD IN THE SIDE ENTRY FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE IN REQUESTING CHANCEL FLOWERS.

Request Chancel flowers

THOUGHTS & PRAYERS

For Friends

The Davis and Helms families in the loss of Ginger’s brother, Larry Ray Davis (pancreatic cancer); Susan Turner Sally Gerhardt (in rehab); Beth Gerhardt's friend Teri Chapa and son, Ormar Torres; Jonathan Sharp; Michelle Browning's step-father, Rick Elm; Fred Burrell; Janice Hollingshead; Don Loughry; George, Jo & Nikki Rolling; Rev. Maggie Lauterer; Sue Shanks' friend Judy Klein; Sarah Suptin; church neighbor, Dorothy Harvey; Kelly Hodges.; Heather Hughes; Edna Campbell.

Update on Sally: Sally remains in rehab to build up more strength and confidence in moving around. She' is still at Givens Estates (Skilled Nursing & Short Term Rehabilitation), 600 Barrett Lane, Asheville, NC 28803 and in Room 208 with phone 828-552-5829 for now. (Her cell is 423-302-9084). She appreciates, cards, phone calls and visits.

Prayers for others

Continue to pray for the recent wave of tornadoes across the United States; and the four major ongoing international crises: the Turkey-Syria earthquake; Sao Paulo, Brazil flooding; the Horn of Africa hunger crisis and the Ukrainian Humanitarian Crisis. These emerging crises also need our prayers: the armed conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Yemen; Syria; South Sudan; Burkina Faso; and gang violence in Haiti; the aftermath of tropical cyclones; flooding; forest fires; and earthquakes around the world. Additional prayers for the women of Afghanistan. And especially prayers for our nation and for strength, endurance, faith and courage for all.

CENTER FOR DISASTER PHILANTHROPY - https://disasterphilanthropy.org/

UN OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS (OCHA) - https://reliefweb.int/

INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE - https://rescue.org

US FEMA - DECLARED DISASTERS - https://www.fema.gov/disaster/declarations

GLOBAL DISASTER ALERT & COORDINATION SYSTEM (GDACS) - https://gdacs.org

Prayer Requests

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

Our own Stephen Shanks and Annaleise Helm Jones

during worship several years ago. Always a delight !!

GREEN SPACE

A remote camera that captured images of an endangered Florida panther strolling through a solar energy center in rural Hendry County is showing that it is possible for renewable energy projects to be designed in ways that allow wildlife to continue to share the landscape. The Florida Power and Light Company partnered with Defenders of Wildlife to install wildlife-friendly fencing at several sites to ensure that panthers, deer, and other animals can travel through their habitat. The company has pledged that future solar-energy centers in panther country will also incorporate this fencing.

"Habitat destruction and fragmentation are the greatest threats facing Florida panthers," says a Defenders representative. "But we believe that both clean energy and wildlife habitat goals can be met when planners take a proactive and collaborative approach right from the start." (GSN #143)

WALK AT WINGED DEER & BEYOND

It was a brisk but sunny afternoon for our leisurely walk at Winged Deer Park to view the bluebells. Everyone is looking forward to our next walk at 11 am on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22 at Sycamore Shoals State Park in Elizabethton. Take highway 321 toward Elizabethton. The park is about 8 miles from the church. Turn left into the park from the highway and follow the road past the fort, on your left, to park by the tennis courts. The entrance to the park is just before you get to Sycamore Shoals Hospital. .

VIRTUAL CREATION ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK

NEW ZEALAND - THE LAND OF DIVERSE BEAUTY

Scenic Scenes (October 2021 | 28:42 min.)

New Zealand is a country of stunning and diverse natural beauty. From the rolling hills of the North Island to the snow-capped peaks and glaciers of the South Island, there’s nothing quite like New Zealand, land of great contrasts and diversity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFthf3jZvBM

IN THE POTEAT LIBRARY

NOTE: The books donated by Sally Gerhardt are currently in process; those books not being added to the library collection are being placed on a book truck in the Heritage Room for your browsing and taking. 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.

The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins

By Burton L. Mack

(226/MAC)

When Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels, modern scholarship suspects, they began with two sources to which they added their own material: the Gospel of Mark and a second source called "Q" (from Quelle , or "source" in German). Mack (New Testament, School of Theology at Claremont) identifies from within the gospels themselves what a Q document might have looked like.

Deducing three stages of an emergent text, he isolates what may be the earliest version of Jesus' words and their impact on the community before an organized "church" adapted them to its own purposes.

Deftly written, this book reads like a good mystery, saving the payoff of Q's impact on Christianity for its final chapters. However, Mack mutes the fact that Q is a hypothesis, and not a universally accepted one, which dilutes the persuasiveness of the book. There is an early layer to the gospels; what it might look like is the conjecture Mack delivers. Still, this is readable and recommended to the theologically curious.

REMINDERS

Congregational Concerns / Prayer Requests - Please contact the church office or Sherry Bailey with information.

Flower List - The 2023 Flower List has been posted on the bulletin board in the side entry. Please sign up to sponsor flowers for our weekly worship services in honor or in memory of loved ones.

Arrangements are $65 each.

Liturgists - We are always looking for new people to be liturgists. Please contact the church office, if you would like to volunteer.

e-Avenue deadline - Please submit information to church office (office@wataugapc.org or 926-7942) at any time and for the May issue of the e-AVENUE, no later than Friday, April 14tth. This includes team and committee meetings, news, planned events and other newsworthy items.

Facebook - Please remember to friend and follow our Watauga Avenue Presbyterian Church Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/Watauga-Avenue-Presbyterian-Church-94712920937/ ]. All news and events will be reported there.

Photos needed - We welcome contributions to our Facebook page via your comments and photos of church events and activities. Please also submit your photos to the church office for archiving. It will be wonderful to have a visual record of all of the positive things that Watauga Avenue Presbyterian Church does for our community.

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

Visit our website

Established 27 September 1892, Watauga Avenue Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ. Reformed in theology and Presbyterian by way of organization, it is related to Holston Presbytery, the Synod of Living Waters, and to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)