The Disciple Newsletter
February 2022
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Troop Carrier Or Luxury Liner?
Then Jesus said to his disciples “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9: 37-38
In David Platt’s excellent book Radical, he tells about how in the late 1940’s, the United States government commissioned William Francis Gibbs to work with United States Lines to construct an eighty-million-dollar troop carrier for the Navy. The purpose was to design a ship that could speedily carry fifteen thousand troops during times of war. By 1952, construction on the SS United States was complete. The ship could travel at forty-four knots (about fifty-one miles per hour)and she could steam ten thousand miles without stopping for fuel or supplies. She could outrun any other ship and travel non-stop anywhere in the world in less than ten days. The SS United States was the fastest and most reliable carrier in the world. The only catch is, she never carried troops. At least not in any official capacity. The ship was put on standby once during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, but otherwise she was never used in all her capacity by the U.S. Navy. Instead the SS United States became a luxury liner for presidents, heads of state, and a variety of other celebrities during her seventeen years of service. As a luxury liner she couldn’t carry fifteen thousand passengers, instead she could only carry two thousand passengers. Those passengers could enjoy the luxuries of 695 staterooms, 4 dining salons, 3 bars, 2 theaters, 5 acres of open deck with a heated pool, 19 elevators, and the comfort of the world’s first fully air- conditioned passenger ship. Instead of a vessel used for battle during wartime, the SS United States became a cruise ship for wealthy patrons who desired to coast peacefully across the Atlantic.
His point to the story is that the church of Jesus Christ has been designed for battle; a spiritual battle. The church can stay busy with all kind of activities but if we are not making disciples of Jesus Christ our number one priority (Matthew 28: 16-20) we have drifted away from our true purpose in the world. Jesus says that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. He calls us to pray for laborers to be sent out into this great harvest of human souls touched by the love and power of God. Let’s get to work!
Grace and Peace
Pastor John
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February is the month of love. What is Biblical love? Is it just a feeling? Nope! Feelings come and go.
Biblical love, the kind of love God has for us and wants us to have for Him and one another, is a choice. When we truly love, we choose to make someone more important than ourselves.
We show God our love by choosing to spend time in prayer, reading God’s Word and listening to Him, even when we want to get started on our to-do list.
We show our kids that we love them by choosing to have a tea party or play Legos with them and listening to them, even when we have so many other “important” things to do.
We show our spouse that we love them by choosing to respect them and listen to them, even when we don’t agree with them. We also show our kids that we love them, by working hard to have a good relationship with our spouse.
We show strangers that God loves them, that they are important to God, by choosing to let someone go in front of us, even when we’re in a hurry.
Love is a choice. It’s not always easy to make the choice to love, but the Holy Spirit is always ready to help us choose to make God and others the most important to us. Did you also notice that "listening" is a common way to show someone they are important? We don't all have the same gifts, strengths, resources or talents, but we all have ears.
God chose to show His love for us by sending His Only Son to die in our place so that we could live for Him. This month let’s choose to love – to make God and others more important than ourselves.
Kim Garland
Children's Director
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As we begin a new year, we have been faced with a challenge of how to restart or reboot our services and programs. I believe we have been given a golden opportunity to assess how we go about making disciples. May we all use this time to identify ways that we can better serve our purpose as God's people. As HYM or Higgins Youth Ministry, we have been asking those same questions. So we decided to use this time as a time to reinvent the way that we approach our youth ministry. We are starting fresh with new ideas and a completely new program. We want our program to meet the needs of not only the youth within our congregation, but those in the community. We are taking the first part of this year to plan and design a curriculum that is based on answering questions about Christ and who Jesus is. With any startup there is planning and time that has to be taken to ensure a successful launch. We hope to develop a strategy for reaching youth age kids not only inside our church walls but in our school systems. I have faith that through this time of pruning that God will restore and grow our program. We have lots of big ideas and plans and we aim to do a better job at keeping our church informed and fully aware of what we have going on. We will be developing a calendar that is interactive that has all of our activities, times and requirements that will be accessible to each of the congregation. We want our church and youth group to thrive, not only thrive but be equipped to go and make disciples for Jesus. For this reason HYM will not meet until the first week in March. In this time we will be planning, praying and seeking guidance on how to execute this new and revamped youth program. Jordan and I are beyond blessed to have the opportunity to serve in this ministry. We thank each of you from the bottom of our heart for your support and prayers. We love you all.
Jake & Jordan Honeycutt
Youth Leaders
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Scouting Update
On Sunday, February 13, we are recognizing the Scouting programs sponsored by our church. The Scout Troop and Cub Pack each had a successful year in 2021.
Troop 502 has experienced another outstanding year. We were able to attend Camp Woodruff this summer in the Greater Atlanta Council, Winter Camp at Camp Barstow in the Columbia Council, as well as bike the 20 mile long Virginia Creeper Trail late last fall. Our Scouts learned important skills by obtaining merit badges and life skills through ranks. Covid has not stopped the education process as many merit badges are now offered online with local instructors and the camps fill in the merit badges for courses like swimming, wilderness survival and others that require a hands on element. We were able to continue our year round camper status requiring at least one night camping each month and have plans in place to do the same in 2022. We are planning on visiting the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, TN, sleeping in the Ripley’s Aquarium overnight, camping locally out near the Wilson Boundary at the head of the Cane River, as well as continued our tradition of being the head of the Christmas Parade.
A special thanks to Brian Schwock, our Scoutmaster, who works to keep the program running and the scouts advancing.
Cub Scout Pack 502 has 21 Cub Scouts going forward into 2022. The Scouts have had a busy first semester, August- December 2021. The dens have been working on loops and pins each month. The Lions, Tigers, Wolves, and Bears have earned 4 of 6 of their required loops plus 1 elective loop as of January 2022. The Webelos and Arrow of Lights have earned 3 of 5 required pins and their 1 elective pin. The year’s community service project was participating and helping at the local Heroes Flag Ceremony on the Burnsville Town Square. The Cub Scouts handed out bulletins and helped guide visitors to their seats. The Scouts attended both Flag events and the DAV Veterans Day ceremony where they handed out homemade thank you cards and flags to local Veterans. Our Cubs also participated in a night to honor local Fire, EMS, Police, and Forest Service personnel, hosted by the Burnsville Fire Department. Our Cub Scouts will finish all requirements for advancement by May 2022.
Many thanks to Kayti Ledford, our Cub Scout leader, who works hard to keep the program coordinated and running smoothly.
Submitted by: Bill Watkins, Sponsoring Organization Representative
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LIBRARY NEWS
Several books have been donated to the library recently. We will be reviewing two of them this month.
“True Stories of the Miracles of Azusa Street and Beyond”, by Tommy Welchel is a very interesting book about a revival that lasted 24 hours a day for 3 ½ years. The author was a young boy at the time and many years later he wondered what
happened after the revival to all the healers who had participated in it. The event began in 1906 when William Seymore, a black preacher from “somewhere East”, came to Los Angeles. As he was riding on a bus, he felt the Lord tell
him to get off the bus. He did. Then the Lord directed him to a fine house in a very upscale white neighborhood and told him to knock on that door. With trepidation, he did and when asked if they could help him, he told them he was told to come here and offer his services as a preacher. They had just been praying for a way to enthuse “the locals”. The result was the Azusa Street Revival. As time passed and word got around,
people came from everywhere. And miracles happened. For 3 ½ years, people came by the hundreds, thousands by the time it was over. Pastor would say a few words and then they opened the rest of the time for healing. The varieties of healing knew no bounds. There were even tongues of fire over
the building and sometimes a mist inside. It was like Pentecost all over again. In fact, many of the healers, when the revival was over, started churches many of them mega churches, and the Pentecostal Church was born. Tommy Welchel wondered what happened to those who had been healers and
began going around finding them and interviewing them. This book is their story in their own words written down by Welchel.
I was curious enough to wonder if there really was such a revival and found it on Wikipedia. Amazing reading if it is true, and just as amazing a read even if you don't believe it possible. Also interesting that his being black in a time even more racist than we have now was of no issue at the Azusa Revival. In 1909, William Seymore prophesied that another revival far greater in power and influence than Azusa Street would be sent from heaven again in a hundred years. Only this time it would be worldwide. We are in that '100 year' period.
The next book is: “The Apostle” A Life of Paul, by John Pollock who has written several early Christian biographies. I read this book not long after reading Azusa Street which I thought of as I read about Paul and his companions performing miracles
as they traveled. It covers Paul from his time as a Pharisee until his death. The book fleshes out the stories in the bible by recounting events going on at the time and, in many instances, why Paul was where he was at any particular time. It just
made the events seem more real. And his opinions clearer. I found myself always wanting to read just one more chapter before putting it down. Chuck Colson said “Reading “The Apostle” was one of the most significant experiences in my Christian growth”.
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Dessert Maker Sign-Up for Tuesday Night Meal Ministry
Click here to sign-up to bring a dessert for the Tuesday night meals. Three dessert makers are needed each Tuesday, so gather those special recipes and get cooking! Email- HenkelAG@outlook.com or call April at 850-228-1228
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Online Giving is
Available!
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Higgins is offering online giving through EasyTithe!
Try it now, online or through the mobile app!
Please contact the office or send us an email if you have any questions. dbranton@higgins-umc.com
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Addresses
Some of the Higgins family may have moved, but they are still in our hearts. Send them well wishes!
Jack Myers
The Blake @ Charlottesville,
250 Nichols Court,
Apt 215
Charlottesville, VA 22901
NEW NUMBER: 434-995-8027
NEW ADDRESS:
Mike & Mollie Lawrence
8033 Rossini Way
Lake Worth, FL 33467
Allen & Bevo Peterson
491 Blackberry Drive
Mineral Bluff, GA 30559
Bev Hunsucker
870 Oak Meadow Drive
Apt. 3332
Franklin, TN 37064
Cell: 828 230-1787
email: bevbhuns
@gmail.com
New Address:
Sam & Ethel Nash
780 Ledgestone Ct.
Tega Cay, SC 29708
Armin & Renee Wessel
562 Lake Serene Drive
Winchester, VA 22603
Jerry Ezzelle
Yancey House #412
6 Cooper Lane
Burnsville, NC 28714
cell-208-3276
Estelle Sheldon
c/o Judy Sheldon
2936 Rogers Avenue
Ellicott City, MD 21043-3316
College address:
Cole Shehan
102 West Wilson Street
Campus Box 1520
Wingate, NC 28174
YOUTH NEWS
The Youth is in need of volunteers to prepare food for them on Sunday afternoon. You can contact Jake (208-3126) or Jordan (208-2877) if you would like to help with this.
The 2nd Sunday in EVERY month, the youth will participate in packing bags for "Feed-a-Child" during youth time.
American Red Cross
Media Release
Contact: Gail Barksdale, Account Manager American Red Cross (828) 676-7811
Blood cannot be manufactured or stockpiled and can only be made available through the kindness of volunteer donors. During this blood crisis, the Red Cross asks the country to roll up a sleeve to help ensure people in their communities receive the care they need. Make an appointment to give blood or platelets as soon as possible by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS(1-800-733-2767).
February 2022 American Red Cross Blood Donation Opportunity in Yancey County:
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
01:00 PM – 05:30 PM
Higgins Memorial Methodist Church, Fellowship Hall
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Birthdays:
02/02 - Kim Garland
02/03 - Joyce Coons
02/03 - Mike Pelton
02/03 - Marilyn Scarborough
02/03 - Jeanne Tyner
02/03 - Sonya Vess
02/04 - Celia Eckert
02/13 - Cliff Schoen
02/17 - Betty Ann Young
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02/19 - Williams Fender
02/19 - Denni Kay McCurry
02/20 - Traya Hollady
02/22 - John Fowler
02/25 - Aaron Murdock
02/25 - Bob Plati
02/26 - Lowell Eckert
02/27 - Jimmy Ray
02/27 - Jeanne Styles
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Anniversaries
02/01 - Earl & Betty Young 69 years!!
02/09 - Daniel & Emilie Pinho
02/09 - Bob & Suzi Plati
02/14 - Charles & Elaine Dellinger
02/14 - Tim & Jane Faulkner
02/23 - Dan & Melissa Wahlers
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Your Prayers are Greatly Appreciated
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16
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SHUT-IN'S: Jerry Ezzelle, Jerry Helsher, Shirley McAllister, Louise McClure, Ada Lee Hipps and Elizabeth Westall
- Family of Gene Ledford in his passing
- Vicki Tedder, health issues
- Betty Ann Young, home
- Claudette Carroll, shoulder surgery
- Charles & Becky Gillespie, home
- Bob Proffitt, health issues
- Mary Nelson, health issues
- Bobby Jack McAllister, Yancey House
- Mary Ann and Garland Wampler, home
- Keiko Willis, breast cancer (Charlie's sister-in-law)
- Doug Zillweger, home
- James & Judy Byrd, health issues
- Deena Bingham, home
- Marcia Schoen, facial spasms and trigeminal neuralgia
- Rhonda McCall, missionary to Ukraine
- The Kohman Family, MTI
- Your church staff
- Dr. John Fowler and his wife, Liz
- Jonathan Taylor, U.S. Army (grandson of Charles & Nancy Williams)
- Michael Bingham, U.S. Marine
- Ellis Jackson, U.S. Navy
- Logan Eckert, U.S. Navy
- James Adam Click, U.S. Marine
- FOR OUR NATION/LEADERS
- For children in foster care and foster parents
- Pray for those who don't know Jesus.
- Pray for those looking for a job/employment.
- Pray for caregivers: Those caring for the elderly, parents, children, etc
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November Minutes
(No meeting in December)
Higgins Memorial United Methodist Church
Administrative Council Meeting, Monday, November 22, 2021, 5:00 p.m. ~~ FLC, Higgins UMC
In Attendance:
Russ Darnall, Chair, Admin. Council
Rev. John Fowler, Senior Pastor
Dorene Branton, Financial & Membership Secretary
Kim Garland, Staff, Director of Children’s Ministry
April Henkel, Recording Secretary
Sharon Honeycutt, Christian Education
Wanda Proffitt, Finance
Dennis Smith, Member at Large
Charlie Willis, Facilities
Donna Woodie, Family Life Committee
Randy Woodie, Family Life Committee
Guests in Attendance: None
Absent: Andrea Bailey; Leigh Bennett; John Bennett; Peirce Bingham; David Cort; Teri Darnall; Marvin Holland; Sue Holland; Jake Honeycutt; Jordan Honeycutt; Jeff Reynolds; Wade Shehan; Jim Swaim; Brian Turner; Sonya Vess; Renee Weeks;
Kathy Williams
1. Call to Order & Devotion. Chair Russ Darnall called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.; the meeting was held in the FLC of Higgins UMC. Members received the agenda and financial report in advance via email. Russ Darnell welcomed members to the last official meeting of 2021 (no meeting in December unless needed); Tom Trimble will assume the position of Chair in January 2022.
· Reflections from the Chair: Russ shared reflections of his last 5 years as chair of the Council, noting his gratefulness for working with a great group. Higgins is very generous and loving and gives much to the community. If Higgins had a brand, it would be supporting our community. Committees and staff are strong, talented and committed people. He also noted a strong desire among the church family members to grow spiritually and he encouraged the leadership to support their growth. He has observed an ugly divisiveness in the country and in our denomination. Some have left Higgins for one reason or an opposite reason, and yet in spite of this, we are loving. The SALT Sunday School Class was an example of greatly varying member opinions, but always Christ-centered. At Higgins, when we say all are welcome, we mean it. Russ closed his remarks with prayer.
· Response: Members around the table expressed their appreciation to Russ for his service and his leadership. Dennis Smith noted that in his 50 years of church council work, he’d never seen a chair do it better than Russ.
2. Approval of the September 23, 2021 Minutes. The minutes were emailed to members prior to the meeting.
● ACTION: Dennis Smith moved the minutes be approved; second by Wanda Proffitt. MOTION CARRIED.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
3. Pastor’s Report. Pastor John described how refreshing it is to again be worshiping together. He commented on the great witness and outreach of Higgins through several community missions: the upcoming Higgins Thanksgiving Dinner for the community, where 1,500 families are expected to receive meals (drive through again this year, due to Covid); 451 shoeboxes collected for Operation Christmas Child; the Angel Tree for Yancey Foster Children (31 children); and the Encouragement Ministry’s cards and gifts. The Choir’s special music will be December 12th at the 11 a.m. service, and the Children will perform on December 19th (both services). A Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols Service will also be held. ACTION: None.
4. SPRC Committee. Russ reported for SPR Chair Wade Shehan, who was unable to attend: The SPRC will meet next in December. Pastor John will be retiring in June 2022. ACTION: None.
5. Finance Committee. Finance Chair Wanda Proffitt reported. With no inside worship for much of 2021, income is down. Higgins’ investment in improving technology has had many benefits and will continue to benefit the Church into the future. As anticipated, reserves were needed this year to meet expenses ($82,671 in Reserves used); we are fortunate to have the funds set aside to meet this need. Several Trustee projects have been completed with designated funds. We are already seeing increases in end-of-year giving. Apportionments have been paid (amount decreased by action of the District). Staff continue to keep expenses as low as possible. The Audit was completed earlier this year (Audit of Agreed Upon Procedures) with no noted deficiencies. Audits are conducted every other year. ACTION: None.
6. Family Life Committee: Co-Chairs Donna and Randy Woodie reported highlights. The Schoen’s, leaders of the Cards for the Military program, are stepping down due to health issues; new leaders are needed (Donna will handle it for the remainder of 2021). The Meal Ministry for those coming home from the hospital or others needing short-term meals are addressed as needs arise; Donna asks for volunteers to prepare and deliver meals as needed. The Tuesday Evening Meal Ministry is taking a break in December, resuming in January. She noted more than half of the recipients are not from Higgins, but are referred by members. The meal is sometimes secondary to the visit by the volunteers, who may also complete a simple household chore. The Encouragement Ministry led by Bonita Wiedenhaupt has assigned partners to the list of folks needing a friendly visit/call/card. These volunteers will deliver Christmas gift bags in December. A churchwide brunch will be held December 19, 10:00 a.m., in the FLC. The Committee meets again December 6. Randy and Donna are stepping down as Co-Chairs of the FLC at the end of the year; the Council extended heartfelt thanks for their leadership and service. ACTION: None.
7. Christian Education Committee. Chair Sharon Honeycutt reported. Small Groups will begin December 1st on Wednesday’s from 6:30-7:30; it will be an Advent study using Right Now Media. Sharon and Kim Garland will provide childcare. This will be promoted community-wide. ACTION: None.
8. Missions Committee. Chair Peirce Bingham was unable to attend. On his behalf, Russ reported the “Rise Against Hunger” event resulted in 20,000 meals packed. This year’s event was held in Spruce Pine location; several Higgins members participated. Celebrate Recovery continues every Wednesday. A new attendee, who is soon to have a baby, was given a baby shower by CR with help from Higgins. Regarding the Floyd House, Missions is working with the Finance Committee at possible grants to help cover costs of renovating the Floyd House since it is such a key resource for groups meeting community needs (AAA, Celebrate Recovery, Boy Scouts). Sharon Honeycutt reported for the Angel Tree Committee (Sharon, Cheryl Munyan and April Henkel); 31 foster children were all adopted on the Sunday the tree was presented. ACTION: None.
9. Trustees. Chair Jeff Reynolds was not present. Charlie Willis reported on heating and air problems in the Family Life Center building, which are currently being addressed. Meanwhile, he is still waiting on contractors for the work to be done on the upper parking lot by the playground. Trustees meet next on November 29. ACTION: None.
10. Lay Leader. David Cort was not present. No report.
11. October Charge Conference: Russ reported the Charge Conference was held October 10 via Zoom. He thanked those who participated. A copy of the Charge Conference minutes was available for review. ACTION: None.
12. Worship Committee. See Pastor John’s report (see #3 above).
13. Kathy Williams – Office Operations & Communications. Not present.
14. Andrea Bailey – Music Ministry. Not present.
15. Teri Darnall, RN – Faith Community Nurse. Not present (medical leave).
16. Jake Honeycutt – Youth Ministry: Not present.
17. Kim Garland – Children’s Ministry. Kim reported on the Living Inside Out (LIO) program. It is a great group of 16 children. For Advent, she is giving each child an Advent kit with Advent activities to do each day, including a craft and a devotion. ACTION: None.
18. Renee Weeks – Music Ministry: Not present.
19. Dorene Branton – Office Administrator: Nothing additional to report.
20. Charlie Willis – Facilities. See Charlie’s updates under the Trustees Report (#9 above). Also, he reported 451 shoeboxes were collected for Operation Christmas Child, only two less than last year’s total.
Adjournment. Russ thanked everyone for attending and participating, and thanked all for another great year. With no further business to conduct, the meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m. Pastor John closed the meeting in prayer.
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101 North Main Street P.O. Box 85,
Burnsville, NC 28714
(828) 682 2835
Office Hours
Monday - Thursday
8:30-4:00
Friday
8:30 - noon
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