St. John's Family News
Week of July 24-30, 2023 | Vol. 82 Issue 29
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In this week's Family News (Scroll to Learn More):
- Sabbatical Scribbles
- Welcoming Dr. Lillian Quackenbush
- Worship This Summer
- Breakfast
- Wonderful Wednesdays
- Pride Festival and Parade Volunteer Sign Up
- On the Way
- Softball Continues
- Women's Retreat Coming Soon
- Prayer List
- Financial Update
- Minister On Call Schedule & Staff Contact Info
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Sabbatical Scribbles
by Dennis Foust
When I return from my sabbatical weeks on Sunday, August 20, it will be so good to see our children and youth again.
Although I have missed each of you, the smiles and energy of our children and youth renew my spirit. It will be good to begin my first Sunday back in Broach Hall during a breakfast for our rising Kindergarten and First Grade Students.
One of the joys of this sabbatical has been the opportunity to have uninterrupted time with our two granddaughters. Ava is now eight and Eleanor is five. Their imaginations seem to have no limits. They just assign me an identity in their stories and I get to use all my dramatic experience and stage voices. I’ve been able be with them at the beach, in the pool, on the miniature golf course, in the ice cream shop, in the bowling alley and in the movie theatre. We’ve played games, told stories, taken walks and enjoyed conversations. They have just moved from High Point to Mt. Airy, North Carolina where our son, Caleb, begins serving as senior pastor of Piney Grove Baptist Church on August 6th. I’ve been able to tell the girls about the moves of my childhood and how I made new friends in each place. We have discussed their excitement about their new schools and being children of a pastor.
These conversations with Ava and Eleanor have also caused me to reflect on my childhood and what it was like to be the child of a pastor. Because they are moving to a new town, I have remembered my childhood friends in the various towns and cities where I lived. And I have considered how consistent participation in church ministries shaped every dimension of my life. My spiritual journey began on the first Sunday after my birth when my mother handed me off to Mrs. Poole in the church nursery. With each move and with each friend and with every experience in Sunday School, children’s choir, Vacation Bible School, church camp, mission education, mission trips, etc. my walk with God took shape.
Our St. John’s children and youth are entrusted to us. Our families with children and youth are needing us to help them shape the lives of their children. Kheresa and Haley need each of us to determine how we can invest in the spiritual growth of these young lives.
When I return from my sabbatical weeks on Sunday, August 20, it will be so good to see our children and youth again. And it will be good to see how you are teaching and caring for these young followers of Jesus in our church family.
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Welcoming Dr. Lillian Quackenbush
Interim Minister for Worship & Music
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On Sunday, August 6, we will welcome our new interim Minister for Worship & Music, Dr. Lillian A. Quackenbush. She will lead our rehearsals, Sunday worship, and assist with worship planning.
Lillian is a highly regarded conductor and music educator with an illustrious career spanning several decades. As the Groh-Darr Endowed Chair of Choral Studies at Columbia College and later as Professor Emerita, she shaped young musicians and fostered a love for choral arts. Lillian also founded and lead the Sandlapper Singers, a prominent professional ensemble. She has served in a variety of leadership roles in churches including Midland Park United Methodist (Charleston, SC), Main Street United Methodist (Columbia), Union United Methodist (Columbia), Shandon Presbyterian (Columbia), and most recently as a substitute director at First Presbyterian (Charlotte).
She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of South Carolina and is the founder and director of the Shamrock Singers at Aldersgate CCRC, where she is held in high esteem by several SJBC members.
We look forward to welcoming Lillian very soon!
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Join St. John's for Worship this Summer! | |
On Sunday, we welcome Dr. Steve Harmon to the St. John's pulpit!
In addition to being the spouse of Rev. Kheresa Harmon and father of their 17-year-old son Timothy, Dr. Steve Harmon is Professor of Historical Theology at Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity and pastor of Sunshine Church in Bostic, North Carolina. He previously served on the faculties of Campbell University Divinity School and Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, and as visiting professor at Duke Divinity School and Lutheran Southern Theological Seminary.
Dr. Harmon is the author or editor of eight books, including most recently Baptists, Catholics, and the Whole Church: Partners in the Pilgrimage to Unity (New City Press), Seeds of the Church: Towards an Ecumenical Baptist Ecclesiology (Cascade Books, coedited with Teun van der Leer, Henk Bakker, and Elizabeth Newman), and the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Baptist Studies (Oxford University Press, co-edited with Paul Fiddes, David Bebbington, and Elizabeth Flowers). He has represented the Baptist World Alliance in ecumenical dialogues with the Catholic Church (for which he is Co-Secretary), the Anglican Communion, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and on the World Council of Churches Commission on Faith and Order.
We are looking forward to his message on Sunday!
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July 30 - Dr. Steve Harmon
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August 6 - Rev. Sabrina Gilcrest (Right Moves for Youth)
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August 13 - Dr. Larry Hovis (Executive Coordinator CBF-NC)
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A Special Breakfast for Kindergarteners and 1st Graders
Sunday, August 20
Rising kindergarteners, first graders, and their families are invited to a breakfast in their honor on Sunday, August 20 at 9:15am in Broach Hall.
Breakfast is free, but reservations are required. Please register on Realm by August 17.
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Wonderful Wednesday Finale
Big Air Trampoline Park!
Sign up by August 2
Let’s jump for joy at Big Air Trampoline Park (2408 Sardis Rd N, Charlotte, NC 28227) on Wednesday, August 9 at 4:00 p.m.! Register on Realm here, or contact Kheresa, by August 2.
The cost is $23.00 per jumper, which includes Big Air reusable socks.
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Charlotte PRIDE Parade and Festival
Coming August 19 & 20
SIGN UP BY AUGUST 1 FOR A FREE T-SHIRT!
Want to tell Charlotte that "God Loves Everyone"?
Come volunteer at the St. John’s booth at Charlotte Pride on Saturday or Sunday. You can also join us in shouting it on the parade route on Sunday.
If you are volunteering at the booth, you will have either a minister or church staff member with you at all times. Time slots for volunteering at the booth are as follows:
- Saturday Aug. 19: 11:30 to 3:00; 3:00 to 6:30; 6:30 to 10:00
- Sunday, Aug. 20: 12:00 to 3:00; 3:00 to 6:00
Sign up to volunteer by August 1 and get a free tie-dye "God Loves Everyone" t-shirt. If you sign up to volunteer after August 1 t-shirts will be $20. Shirts can also be purchased at the booth on the day of, for $30.
If you have any questions please contact either Amanda Morrison or Todd Stillerman.
amorrison@sjcharlotte.org
stillerman@gmail.com
Sign up to volunteer by clicking below:
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On the Way- August Outing
St. John’s Retired Adults & Friends
For August will have lunch at Captain Steve’s Seafood in Harrisburg (5645 NC Hwy 49) on Wednesday, August 23 at 11:45am. You can either meet us at the church at 11:00 am or at 11:40 at Captain Steve’s. Please let Lee Gray LGray@sjcharlotte.org know if you plan to attend, and if you will join us at the church or meet us at the restaurant.
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Softball Continues!
Softball is going great! All games are at Providence Baptist Church, 4921 Randolph Road.
The schedule for the next few weeks is as follows:
- Monday, July 31 6:00 pm vs PBC Blue
- Wednesday, August 2 @ 7:10 pm vs PBC White
- Monday, August 7 @ 6:00 pm vs PBC Red
- Wednesday, August 9 @ 7:10 pm vs PBC White
Come on out to Providence Baptist and support the team!
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Save the Date: St. John's Women's Retreat
Saturday, November 4, 2023, at Bragg Farm
Fall Retreat for St. John's Women & Friends
Fitness trainer and Spiritual Director Mary Apicella to lead us in "Embodied Faith." Watch for more details to come! You won't want to miss out!
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Prayers, Thanks, and Celebrations
- Arnold Philemon, Jack Crymes, Tommy Almond, Fan Watson, Stacey Almond, Mary Rickenbaker
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Financial Update
2023 Budget: $1,153,000
Actuals through June:
- Income $555,516
- Expenses $554,114
- Surplus (Deficit) $1,402
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Staff Contact Information
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Rev. Haley Blackwell, Minister for Youth & Young Adults - 704-333,5428, ext. 2013; 620-515-3558 (cell)
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Rev. Dennis Foust, PhD, Senior Minister - 704-359-7234 (cell); 704-333-5428, ext. 2012
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Rev. Lee Gray, Minister for Congregational Care - 704-333-5428, ext. 2015; 704-451-1309 (cell)
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Rev. Kheresa Harmon, Minister for Children & their Families - 704-333-5428, ext. 2018; 910-890-3392 (cell)
- Lillian Quackenbush, Interim Minister for Worship & Music
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Jessica Borgnis, Academy of the Arts Director
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Mallory Brown, Media Coordinator - 704-477-3349 (cell)
- Chloe Hall, Children's Choir Director
- Noel Lance, Organist
- Dr. Matthew Manwarren, Associate Organist
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Amanda Morrison, Ministry Coordinator - 704-333-5428, ext. 0
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Lydia Olmsted, Weekday School Director - 704-333-5428, ext. 2039
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