This Sunday, the Rumple Youth will lead us in worship. Alongside the leadership of Lindsey Eaton, the Youth have crafted special words for the sermon, practiced liturgy and prayers, and designed worship to help us celebrate the love of God. You will hear special music from Sam Rex on trombone, and see beautiful cover art for the bulletin created by Ellee Bishop. What a gift to have a wonderful group of young people who will share their talents in worship! We hope you’ll make sure to be here to support the leadership of the Rumple Youth and to hear their insights.

Also, on Sunday morning, we welcome back our 2023 Visiting Scholar, Dr. Brennan Breed, during the Sunday School hour. He will continue the conversation about biblical covenant and invite us to think deeper on our obligation to the world around us.

Even as we experience the first Sunday of Kathy's sabbatical, there is much happening at Rumple! Keep reading to find more ways that you can engage with Rumple in this season.

Rumple's Pastor, Kathy Beach, is on a three month sabbatical. She will return to the office on Monday, July 29. If you have a pastoral care concern please contact Dave Henry or Stephanie Hankins or this week's elder on call: Jenny Apker thru May 4th, John Calvin May 5-11th.

Kathy's sabbatical blog 2024

The session’s stated monthly meeting was held at FARM Cafe on April 22, 2024, with Renee Bowman giving a brief history of how FARM serves those who are food insecure in the High Country.

The meeting focused on staff, clergy, and session responsibilities while Kathy is on sabbatical April 29-July 28). A detailed set of plans are in place and Rumple staff are well prepared for any situations that may arise. 

Committee reports were given by six elders representing those groups. Christian Education has made plans for outdoor family friendly at early services June 1, July 7, August 3, and September 1. Finance reported another very strong month of giving and noted that we are well ahead of projected giving versus expenses. Personnel reported that custodial services are currently being provided by a local cleaning services company while long-term options are being considered. Scholarship Committee reported that three Harper Banks Scholarship recipients have been selected. The Worship Committee has been in discussion about handicap parking on Main Street. The Building Committee reported that the structural issues with the new staircase have been resolved and that the architects have started their work on the plans for the new building. 

In a called meeting on April 28, session confirmation welcomed confirmation class members Ellee Bishop, Sheridan Brasier, and Kate Rex. The confirmation candidates were sent to break-out groups with the elders, who questioned the candidates and heard their statements of faith. Following examination and vows, the three were confirmed as full members of Rumple.

Session welcomed David Headen and Amanda Mlekush; following their reaffirmation of faith and promise to be faithful members of Rumple they were approved for membership by unanimous vote.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Mayfield, Clerk of Session

Please keep in your prayers:  Patti Curtis' mom, Sally, surgery on May 3; Family of Ruth George on her death; Jim Ruff; Rene Cuthill; Sam Reep; Molly Bowden; Lou, friend of Debra and David Brenner; Celeste, friend of Bill and Janet Goodman; Mary Ann Baggstrom’s sister, Connie; Leslie Novilla’s brother, Denny; Sarah Settlemyer’s friend, Theresa; Bill Hall; Barbara Leon’s former pastor, Jackie; Jean, Sherry Wilson’s mom; Cullie Tarleton; Walt Baggstrom’s brother, Bob; Charles Coley; Betty Coffey;Marion Stadler; Sylvia Kiker; Lynn Henderson’s mother, Frances; Lucy Aldridge; Linda Jerger. Email Jessica, office manager in the church office to be added to the email group that receives regular prayer updates from the Rumple family.

VBS REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church and St. Mary of the Hills have partnered once again to offer Vacation Bible School to rising Kindergarteners thru 5th grade. This year, our VBS theme is “Hometown Nazareth,” where kids explore Jesus’ hometown and get a taste of what life was like in Nazareth in Biblical times. They’ll also be fascinated and engaged by stories of Mary. There’ll be fun and games, Nazareth market shops, and more.

VBS will be held at St. Mary of the Hills Monday through Thursday, June 17-20. It’ll begin at 9 am and end at noon Monday through Wednesday and will be held from 9 am to 1 pm on Thursday. Transportation assistance will be available for children who might need to go to daycare or somewhere similar after VBS each day. Just let us know what you need, and we’ll do our best to help make VBS an option for your child.  

Fill out the form here to register your child(ren). If you have any questions, reach out to Lindsey Eaton, Rumple’s Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries or Lindsey Herring, St. Mary’s Director of Christian Formation. 

Youth Sunday

Rumple Youth will be leading the service This Sunday, May 5th. They've worked diligently to prepare for this, so please come show your support! We will also recognize our only senior youth, Wyn Vickrey. This is a special day for our youth, so come join in the fun!

JOIN RUMPLE FOR Sunday morning worship May 5th at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary or live on our webpage or YouTube channel. Bulletins are available on the church website.

Know that each Sunday our worship service is livestreamed. If you are feeling under the weather, you are encouraged to stay home and worship online for the health and safety of others.

All previous online worship services can be found on YouTube.

Two Summer Worship Services starts Sunday, May 26th at 8:45 am and 11am.

Parking is at a premium in Blowing Rock in the summer months! In order to be sure there is plenty of space for visitors and guests, and while construction is going on, please consider attending the 8:45 service this summer and only driving one vehicle per household to Rumple each Sunday.

The annual Mother's Day Breakfast at Rumple is on Sunday, May 12th. Come enjoy a light breakfast and some wonderful fellowship from 10:00-10:45 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. You do not have to be a mother to attend. Everyone is welcome to come enjoy food, fellowship, and to give thanks for all mothers.

Blowing Rock Cares Food Pantry

To assist the construction crews getting in and out of the building, we have eliminated the two shopping carts by the back door. We are now using a large tub with a lid for all food donations. The tub is marked Blowing Rock Cares and is located at the top of the ramp near the rear door. If you are leaving a food donation, please make sure the lid is secured to the tub. Also, as we look forward to summer and students being out of school all day, we are trying to add easy to microwave breakfast and lunches for kids at home all day. The following is a list of items that would work for that purpose:

Instant Oatmeal

Cereal

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Chef Boyardee, Hormel, or Dinty Moore Microwavable bowls

Microwavable Mac and Cheese

Canned Beanee Weenee

Microwavable Popcorn

Crackers

Fruit cups

DID YOU KNOW?

Don’t toss it, fix it! Did you know that our own Andy Groothuis founded the non-profit organization, REPAIR HUB,

in 2019? As noted on the organization’s website, the mission of Repair Hub is to prevent items from entering the waste stream, preserve the art of repairing, and build community through

service. Skilled volunteers provide repair services at no charge, although donations are accepted to sustain the organization. The team is dedicated to helping you repair broken or torn household items such as costume jewelry, clothing, bicycles, toys, small appliances, wooden items, knife sharpening, lamps…just about anything.

The next Repair Hub event is scheduled for Saturday, May 25, at the Watauga County Public Library from 10:00am to 1:00pm.

NOTE: The focus of the May event will be on sharpening gardening tools such as pruners and shovels and fixing electrical items. There will also be a sewer that will repair items by hand, such as gardening gloves and aprons. Watauga Library has a seed bank so you will have an opportunity to select seeds for your garden. This is an ongoing program provided by the library. A Master Gardener will be on hand to help answer your gardening questions. For more information, click here.