Indoor worship services in the sanctuary will resume this Sunday, October 11th. The services will be held at 10:00 a.m. and will be limited to a total of 50 people, excluding worship participants. Attendees are asked to register in advance. Please click here to register. Face masks and social distancing will be required. We will also resume nursery care and Children's Church.

Click here to read the full document with actions approved by the Session at their October 3rd meeting.

Philippians 4:1-9. Paul tells us, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.” In the church, we do not need to be somber; we can celebrate and experience joy in our lives. Paul dealt with so much hardship, yet he discovered true abiding joy in Jesus Christ. That same joy can give us strength and hope today. 

           I’m looking forward to gathering together with our church family in the sanctuary this weekend. The COVID-19 Task Force, Worship Committee, Building and Grounds Committee, and the Session have been busy making preparations to help keep everyone safe. We continue to keep President Trump and all those who have contracted the virus in our prayers. The recent infections of the President, the First Lady, and many other White House officials are reminders of just how contagious this virus is and how important it is for us to take proactive steps to keep ourselves safe and well. 

           To protect ourselves, we all need to practice social distancing and keep at least 6 feet apart from each other. Every other pew in the sanctuary will be blocked off to help maintain social distance as we are seated. We all need to remember to wear our masks that cover our nose and mouth. If you need a mask, the church will provide some on a table in the gathering space. We also need to wash our hands regularly—the church has recently purchased and installed two hand sanitizer dispensers that have sensors so they are touch free to help keep our hands clean. For those who need to remain safe at home, you continue to be an important part of our church family. We remain committed to live streaming our worship services each Sunday morning at 10:00 am. If you don’t see the service live, it is available on demand on our church’s website and YouTube page. We have dedicated a great deal of time and energy in recent weeks to address the technology problems that we have been facing. We hope that this will result in better audio and visual quality. Thanks for your understanding and we hope that you will see the positive results in the coming weeks. 

           At Bible Study last week, we talked about how the Ten Commandments are more than just a list of dos and don’ts. They give us a vision for how to live: a way of looking at the world and our lives in light of God’s truth. Enfleshed.com is a spiritual website that has written a remix of the Ten Commandments that help us see the broad implications of those commandments. I will share with you what we discussed at Bible Study.

Original Commandment Enfleshed.com Remix

1st: You shall have no other gods before me. Practice loyalty to the sacred.

2nd: You shall not make idols. Remember every image of God is only a glimpse.

3rd: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Do not use God’s name to do harm.

4th: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Do not allow productivity to dominate life.

5th: Honor your father and mother. Care for those who have cared for you.

6th: You shall not murder. Do not be unnecessarily destructive.

7th: You shall not commit adultery. Be faithful to the commitments you make.

8th: You shall not steal. Do not take what does not belong to you.

9th: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Do not hinder justice from coming to fruition.

10th: You shall not covet. Do not use power over others to get what you want.

           Thinking about the commandments in this new way helps us understand the spirit of these laws. As Jesus himself taught, it isn’t enough for us not to murder. When we have hatred in our hearts, we are violating the spirit of that commandment. When we are being unnecessarily destructive, we are destroying the goodness of God’s creation. While few of us are tempted to worship other gods, we make many decisions throughout our day where we are not putting our loyalty to God first. Our Christian faith calls us to seek first the kingdom of God and the Lord’s righteousness. God deserves our best and deepest loyalty, not our leftovers.  

           Dear God, we give you thanks for our Outer Banks Presbyterian Church family and for the opportunity to gather for worship this weekend. Uplift our spirits and unite us as your people, O Lord. God, you are our rock and our salvation all the days of our lives, including during these difficult times. We thank you for giving us the Ten Commandments. They teach us how to live and how to love you, O Lord, and our neighbors. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.   

There will be a Congregational Meeting immediately following the October 11th worship service. Please stay seated at the end of worship. The purpose of the meeting is to hear a report from the Congregational Nominating Committee, including their recommendation of three individuals to serve on the Session's Class of 2023. The nominees are Bev Jones and Maggie Snyder for 3-year terms and Elder Bobby Gentry whose current term would be extended by 1-year.

Question: What are the big guidelines for worshiping together safely with up to 50 people inside our sanctuary?

Answer: This coming Sunday, October 11, 2020, will be the first time we are invited to worship together in a large indoor service with up to 50 people. In anticipation of this wonderful chance to worship our God with many others in our church family, here are some thoughts for you:

Sunday school will continue to meet by Zoom. We are studying Jason Boyett's book 12 Major World Religions. Now that the church is resuming in-person worship services, our meetings will be at 8:30 via Zoom.

We had our annual Shot Clinic on Sunday, October 4, 2020. Thank you to Bev Jones for her tireless work with Walgreens and the congregation to make the clinic a success!

The youth group is once again sponsoring Trunk or Treat on Sunday, October 25, from 5:00-6:00 PM. Due to COVID, many other Halloween events are cancelled so this is a real need in our community. This year's event will be a drive-thru activity, where children remain in their vehicles and church members distribute candy, dinner, prizes, and church information through the windows. There are many ways for you to be a part of this fun, socially distanced event! Please use this link to reserve your parking spot and sign up to donate items!  https://forms.gle/Kf9QCNKHHzbEUvoA8

The Faith Knitters started their knitting and crocheting sessions on September 22^nd. Beginning in October, Faith Knitters will meet on the 2^nd & 4^th Tuesdays of each month at 10:00 am at the home of Bill Pratt in Martins Point. If you would be interested in joining this group of ladies who knit or crochet prayer shawls we would welcome you with open arms. This group is made up of beginners as well as experts so you would fit right in no matter what your skill levels are. For more information call Barbara Nock at 252-255-5979.

Email: office@outerbankspresbyterian.org

Website: www.outerbankspresbyterian.org

You may reach office staff at 252-441-5897 or by sending an email to office@outerbanksbrebyterian.org