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GOOD TIDINGS

The Weekly Newsletter for Park Road Baptist Church

January 24, 2024

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State of the Church (and a Potluck)

This Sunday, January 28, we hope you will come to church with a dish or two to share and plan to stay after worship for our annual State of the Church meeting in the Community Center. Bring a casserole or two and/or a dessert – make it, bake it, or buy it – just bring some food with enough for some extras. We will share food and fellowship at noon followed by some business. The “business” portion of the meeting will also include an opportunity for you to sign up for one of 24 teams that do the work/ministry/mission of the church.

Here's how Sunday will flow:

9:45a – Connection Groups (including Ana Karim’s PR University class called “A Pentagon of Wellness.”)
11:00a – Worship
Noon – Potluck Lunch
12:30p – Meeting - Agenda:
Video Review of ’23
Vote on Mission budget allocations
“State of the Church” Address
30 second “Elevator Speech” preview of each Team
Let the Sign-ups Begin! (Everyone will have an opportunity to find a place to serve in the work/ministry/mission of the church.)
Sendoff: Imagine the “State of the Church ‘24”

We will be finished by 1:30p, and it will be a day well-spent at church: education, worship, fellowship, business, and opportunities for service. That’s what it means to be a part of a church. Here’s a quote I read this week that says it all for me:

“I’m not all that interested in future church trends or new growth techniques. For 2000 years, the most relevant church has always been the one gathering around a table, caring for the neighborhood, following the words and ways of Jesus.”

(Dan White, Jr., pastor and church planting specialist)

Join us this Sunday as we officially kick of this new year, hoping and praying that we will become that “relevant” church for 2024! - Amy

PRBC Cuba Team Update

Our team has returned from five days in Cuba! We were happy to take pillowcase dresses for the girls, tennis balls for the boys, lots of over-the-counter medicines, a large coffee maker and matching t-shirts for the children who participate in worship. We also contributed $3000 from our church mission budget, which is adequate to assist their church for a year! Mostly, we began some new relationships, and renewed longstanding friendships with the people of Carlos Rojas! Thank you, Park Road, for being faithful to this vital partnership!

Sunday Worship

January 21, 2023

2023 Monthly Mission Offerings

Every month at Park Road, a different charitable organization benefits from our monthly mission offering. Your generosity has made it possible for us to support the following organizations during the past year:

January – Refugee Support Services - $996
February – Foster Village Charlotte - $279
March – Project 658 - $644
April – Baptist Peace Fellowship (Bautistas por la Paz) - $361
May – Charlotte Family Housing - $430
June – Baptist News Global - $802
July - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation - $1036
August – East Lake Initiative - $470
September – PRBC Teachers - $1101
October – Crop Walk - $309
November – Rise Against Hunger - $1051
December – San Dotson and Kim Christman (Cuba) - $802

Our offerings have provided a total of $8,281this year for these organizations to help them serve their respective communities. Thank you, Park Road!

Deacon of the Week: Max Carroll

I joined Park Road Baptist Church in the fall of 2003 after having been invited by Michael Simmons to attend a service. My church affiliations prior to that were Southern Baptist in Mississippi and Georgia and Metropolitan Community Church of Charlotte. I have been retired since 2007. My career was primarily with Bank of America and its predecessors. I have been divorced since 1986 but am very close to my three adult children and six grandchildren ranging in age from 12 to 21. Since my retirement, I have stayed busy doing volunteer work at Park Road Baptist Church, PrimeTimers of Charlotte, and Villa Heights Community Organization. At Park Road Baptist Church, I am serving my second term as deacon, leader of the VSP (Very Special People senior adult group), Assistant Church Treasurer, and member of the Abundant Grace Connections Group. I am a member of PrimeTimers of Charlotte (CLTPT), which holds its monthly meetings in the Community Center. CLTPT is a social organization serving the greater Charlotte area. It offers many opportunities for social, educational, and recreational activities for mature gay and bisexual men. Finally, I am Treasurer of Villa Heights Community Organization and serve on the Board.

Fun Food Friday - SouthEnd

Join us on Friday, February 16, as we continue our quest of all the best and most interesting places to eat in Charlotte. For our next outing, we will head to SouthEnd. Hawkers Asian Street Fare is on Camden Road. SouthEnd is trendy, the hang out for GEN Xers…, so we will meet at Hawkers and bring up the average age but show them that the Baptists like to have a good time, too! Meet in the parking lot at 11:15a or at Hawkers restaurant at 11:30a. Please let us know either way, if you plan to attend. You can sign up in Helt Hall on Sunday or email the church office info@ParkRoadBaptist.org

A Day in the Life of Park Road

On Tuesday evening, as I was leaving a church meeting, I passed by our gym, which was bustling with basketball practice, and then stopped by the chapel to enjoy a little bit of symphony music. It’s like this nearly every day of the week. Our campus is full of life! I am so grateful for the vision, which was adopted many years ago, encouraging us to make our space available. I cannot imagine doing church any other way. – Russ

Youth, Children, and Families Corner

Children's Ministry Leaders Retreat

"We had a great time gathering to reflect, imagine, and offer feedback about our children's ministries. I really appreciate this group for being like the people who had such a great impact on themselves as children. Some snuck out before I took the picture, but big love and gratitude for these leaders." - JD

January 31 - Worship Wednesday
July 8-12 Unidiversity Camp - Please let JD know by the end of January if your student plans on going to camp! 🙂

January 12 - Charlotte Checkers Hockey Game at 7p - For Youth, Children, and Families.
July 16-19, 2024 – Camp Prism – Any student who will complete third grade this year is invited to sign up for Camp Prism. This week is a wonderful time with our students, and JD would love all our current 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to be there. Please make sure to let JD know by the end of January if your student plans on going to camp.

First Wednesday, February 7

It’s already time to sign up for our First Wednesday – meal and vespers, for February (time flies!). Tam Gordon, our church cook always prepares a wonderful meal, but the reason to come is to sit together, enjoy the fellowship, and participate in a time of vespers (worship/dialogue) together. It’s a great mid-week retreat – and we finish in time for Sanctuary Choir rehearsal (We’d love to have you!) You can sign up for dinner in Helt Hall on Sunday Mornings or by emailing the church office at info@ParkRoadBaptist.org

Dr. Jemar Tibsy at Covenant Presbyterian Church - February 10 & 11

Covenant Presbyterian church is excited to welcome speaker, author, and historian Jemar Tisby. Dr. Tisby will talk extensivley about racial justice, U.S. history, and Christianity. Tisby is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the Church's Complicity in Racism , and brings over a decade of experience teaching and presenting to universities, corporations, congregations, and community organizations. His writing has been featured in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, and the New York Times. He's a frequent commentator on outlets such as NPR and CNN. Tisby earned his PhD in history and studies race, religion, and social movements in the 20th century. For more information and details please click here: https://www.covenantpresby.org/tisby