Dear Friends in Christ, It is hard to believe that we had such a hard winter when I look out my church office window and see the lush shades of green and bursts of flowers everywhere. This spring has burst forth into a thanksgiving chorus of creation! This winter in the midst of the blizzards, we sent out an invitation to share in a snow offering due to the fact that we missed 4 weeks of worship and our heating and snow plowing expenses were much higher than budgeted! 60 families/individuals responded with a grand total of over $7,000. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! These snow offerings allowed our congregation’s budget to stay in the black. What a delight it is to be a part of such a generous congregation of members and friends! As we see our snowbirds returning with each new week, the church calendar is beginning to fill up for the summer. Included in this newsletter is a summer calendar of events: Special programs in June on Environmental Stewardship, Wednesday Bible Study and Choir Practice, Tuesday Prayer Cloth Sewing Group, and lots more…Our church continues to grow this summer with nine teenage girls and four counselors from Arthur Cottage at Crossnore School; with five new full members and one baptized member who joined the church on Pentecost, and with the many new faces we see each Sunday morning. The Holy Spirit is blowing in us and through us as we listen and learn and live out the good news of the Gospel in Avery County and in the world! As I celebrate my first anniversary as your pastor, I am so grateful for all that God has done through us and to us this past year. Our new fellowship hall and church offices have opened up endless possibilities. We have welcomed over 30 new members, baptized two youth, started a youth group, supported those in need locally and globally, learned new worship music and liturgy, increased our choir, started ministry teams chaired by our elders, gained a volunteer parish associate, hired a secretary for one day a week, sponsored a Lenten series, offer Sunday School classes for all ages, started a new prayer cloth ministry, renovated our old basement space into new rooms for Christian Education, and the list goes on…I am thankful every day for the privilege of being called to Crossnore Presbyterian Church and I truly look forward to how God will continue to lead us in the coming weeks and months and years. I want to share a very special thank you to Jo Johnson and her daughter, Tasha, along with the women of the congregation for surprising me on June 5th with an elegant tea party in the fellowship hall—tables each uniquely adorned with different tea pots, china, and linen collected by Jo over the years. It was a surprise, so I showed up in shorts while everyone else was in party attire! I will never forget my first anniversary as your pastor and my own tea party! Now, back to business…Please prayerfully consider how you want to be actively involved in the ministry of this congregation. There are so many ways to share your gifts with one of the ministry teams:
Whether you have an hour or a day to share, God can use your gifts! Please talk to me or a session member to find out more about the ministry teams and where you might want to serve. May God’s Grace fill you with peace, joy, and excitement in this summer season! Pastor Kathy Campbell SessionDear Members and Friends, What a wonderful Spring/Summer we are having. Our woods are showing their beauty with the rhododendrons, azaleas, ferns and all the other things our mountains are famous for! We have had a very busy time since you heard from us via the “snowflake letter”. Your Session has taken its first training retreat and we are beginning to put into place many of the plans we made. If you are serving on a Team, thank you. If you have not yet been asked to serve, “stay tuned” and prayerfully consider stepping up and speaking with a session member about serving. As we know from Bible study, Jesus wanted all of us to be disciples and help spread the word of His love. Have you invited someone to come to CPC? Please do so. There are so many people in our area who need to hear about God’s love. If you have an idea for a ministry, please speak with Pastor Kathy or any Session member. We are continuing our work in the homeless community through WAMY and Volunteer Avery – having just recently heard about the needs of our county. We were represented at the February and April Presbytery Meetings and participated in the worship, Bible study and business of our Presbytery. Please consider attending the July Presbytery meeting will be held in Cherryville. More on that later. Two of our members who are going to be serving on Presbytery committees: Fred France was elected to serve on the Stewardship Committee and Lorraine Alls was asked to serve on the Committee on Representation. This means a lot to our church to have these people representing us on Presbytery committees. Our neighbor, Pineola Presbyterian, has a new minister, Keith Freeman, and we are hopeful that we might have some joint events during the summer. Rev. Maggie Lauterer (whom most of us know and who grew up in this church) was approved at the recent Presbytery meeting to stand as a candidate for Moderator of the General Assembly being held in July in Minneapolis. Maggie has served in several General Assembly related activities and has had great experience, not only as our Moderator, but serving on many committees and task forces. Our prayers are with Maggie as she approaches this tremendous responsibility, along with all the elected commissioners to the General Assembly. Please be in touch with any member of Session if you have new ideas that we might pursue. If you have an issue that you need to discuss, your Session members are also available for that as well I look forward to seeing all of those who return for the summer and to seeing all of you at our various activities this summer. In your service, Barbara Ross, Clerk of Session Meet Our New Members Lorraine Alls Shaquera Alls Katherine Andrews Lizzie Andrews Jim and Sandy Buckner Helen and Ralph Campbell Joanna Campbell Karl Campbell Ed and Dona Cox Steve and Brenda Eberhart Betty Redman and Fred France Dick Gryte Will Jordan Austin Martin Rob Martin Reenie Mashburn Fred McKaig Doug and Mary Noble Bill and Juanita Paul Hannah Robbins Susy Robbins Cathy and Ron Seeger Jim Taylor Elise Williams Jerry and Mary Ann Williams Building and GroundsOnce the New Fellowship Hall was built and activities held in the basement of the church could be moved there, it became important to remodel the basement to meet our current needs. The plan, approved by the Session on March 21 and presented to the congregation on April 25, comprises a central hall (entered through one door) with a choir room on the left, then a classroom, and the present storeroom at the back. On the right is the nursery (the old kitchen, with sink) and two classrooms. On the morning of April 26 superb volunteer help cleared the storeroom and other areas for the work to commence, and Eugene McCloud and two carpenters started the framing for the dividing walls. However, when the paneling was removed it was discovered that the back wall of the old kitchen was constructed exclusively of cinder blocks, and the area under the serving counter was two courses of cinder blocks. As too time-consuming and costly to remove, and impractical to continue that way, the plan had to be reversed, making larger rooms on the left side that had been anticipated. The work was inspected and the electricians started on April 30. Some of the old switches can remain, but new hall lights and some new room lights will be installed. The two walls at the very back, the storeroom one fully exposed, the other only partially, have been covered with drylock to reduce the humidity. The hall and its ceiling must be sheet rock. When the ceiling was torn off it was obvious that the floor of the church was sagging (which some people had noticed upstairs), so this was corrected in the support system framing the hall. The rooms are being made as sound proof as possible. All their walls will be paneled. The two dishwashers in the kitchen were given to the school’s sales store. While full completion of the project depends to some extent on the availability of the workmen, we hope the facilities will all be ready for use by late June. The group working on the project includes Lynn Andrews, Bill Bagby, Bruce Dyak and Ted Kidder. Ted Kidder, Building Team Chairman Youth GroupCrossnore Presbyterian Youth Group has had a couple of very busy months. Over the past several weeks and during the Lent Season, the youth group took part in various lessons and group activities with the theme of “growing closer to God.” The Lent season was the perfect time for the group to reflect on their personal relationships with others, to think on how they treat themselves, and to work on ways to strengthen their relationship with the Creator. On Easter Sunday, the group was able to hand out Easter Flower Pots to all the families in the church (60+ plus)! These flower pots were hand-colored and filled with candy, original origami from Will Jordan, and lots of love. At the end of April, the youth group took part in the Crossnore-Area Clean-up. This was truly an enriching experience. The group worked on two locations - a stretch of highway in the Town of Crossnore and also a stretch of trailways. They worked hard from 10am to noon and afterward, the group went to Boone for pizza and a movie. What a day of service, fellowship, and fun! We are looking forward to the next few weeks of Youth Group, as we begin a series of lessons on “Sacrifice and Service”. Please keep the Crossnore Presbyterian Youth Group in your prayers. God Bless! Shaquera Alls, Youth Director Prayer ClothsPrayer Cloths were used in Biblical times to be laid on the sick for healing and on those who had evil spirits in them to drive those spirits out. ACTS 19:11-12: God gave Paul the power to do unusual miracles, so that even when handkerchiefs or cloths that had touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and any evil spirits within them came out. Prayer cloths are used in contemporary times as an outward sign of faith that GOD is working in your behalf for healing and wholeness--a visible reminder each time you look at it, or touch it, that Jesus promised He would never leave you or forsake you. No matter what you are going through, GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON, and GOD the HOLY SPIRIT is always with you. I believe GOD gave me a calling to reach out and spread HIS gospel to all who will receive God’s grace by way of the PRAYER CLOTH Ministry. Free to all who will ask, PRAYERS for HEALING, in JESUS’ name. The Prayer Cloth Sewing Club meets each Tuesday at 10:30 am in the fellowship hall. Bring a snack! Bring a portable sewing machine if you have one. We still need cloth, thread, and other items. Lorraine B. Alls Children’s Sunday School“Ask and You Shall Receive” Luke 11:9 A few months ago the Christian Education Group suggested that the old church basement needed some renovation. That word reached Ted Kidder, Chair of Building and Grounds, who saw the problems and took the suggestion seriously. He quickly made plans and worked with Bill Bagby and other men in the church to take care of modifying the old space with a minimum of cost and disruption. At completion, all class rooms will have solid insulated walls, doors, storage cabinets/shelves, and new paint, and the Choir Room will be large enough to accommodate singers and their robes and music. They youth group will have room to spread out their bean bag chairs for their own meetings. Sunday School will have places for the Media Lab and shelves and tables for books and curriculum. Dr. Kidder, we are so grateful to you and those who joined with you to make this happen. You are a blessing with a hammer in one hand and a paint brush in the other! Betty Redman France Heifer Project Follow-Up“As daffodils and dogwoods bloom this spring, families in faraway villages look forward to a better tomorrow because of your generosity.” These words are in a thank you letter we received recently form Heifer International. The students and congregation of Crossnore Presbyterian and students from Meredith Cottage raised $482 to purchase four sheep during our Christmas giving emphasis. The four sheep which the students named Carmen, Carolita, Damon and Miguel, will help families have a better life. They will give hope to struggling families and continue giving as theses families give their first born from the sheep to other families in their villages. MusicMake a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Psalm 100:1-2 Our choir is growing! Welcome to new members, Steve and Brenda Eberhart, and from Arthur Cottage, Megan Dear, Jasmine Early and Courtney Looney. Also, many of the summer members have returned. Additional choir robes were purchased to accommodate the choir growth. We are learning new and exciting music for this summer. If you would like to join the choir, new members are always welcome. Music is an important part of the Church’s ministry – come be a part of the choir! I am very grateful to Ted Kidder and the rest of the Building Team for their hard work on the remodeling of the old fellowship hall. I am especially excited about our new choir room. – there will be lots of room for our expanding choir and robes. We have reinstated the “Hymn-of-the-Month” beginning in May. Each Sunday of the month the selected song will be played as prelude, offertory or postlude, or sung by the choir and/or congregation. This gives us the opportunity to learn new songs or to refresh our memories on those favorite old hymns. The Hymn-of-the-Month for May was Shout to the Lord.” and for June, Lord of the Dance. Both of these hymns are upbeat and enjoyed by young and old alike. If you have a suggestion for a Hymn-of-the-Month, please let me know. In March I attended a weekend music workshop in Hickory led by John Bell, a Scottish minister, composer, teacher and author. He had many wonderful ideas for the use of hymns in the worship service – some of which I hope to incorporate here using the choir and congregation. On Sunday morning, I attended Northminster Presbyterian Church and experienced an exciting and moving communion service. The music director of Northminster, Nathan Crabtree, directed the choir in one of his original compositions. Nathan has graciously given me permission to teach it to our choir. In August we plan to sing his anthem, This Time of Worship. We have raised enough money to purchase an African djembe drum to occasionally accompany choir anthems and hymns. This drum is played with the flat palm of the hand and has a muted, mellow tone. I would like to express our appreciation to the two anonymous donors who have given $220.00 for this project. If you would like to make a donation to purchase additional instruments to enhance our music program (finger cymbals, triangle, chimes or handbells) please mark the memo section of your check “for music program”. Kathy Hutcheson, Music Director Pictorial Directory Have you wanted to call or write a member/friend of the congregation and don’t have his/her information? This summer the Communications Team will be taking photos and getting updated addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses from our members and friends. This information will be used to create our own homemade pictorial church directory to be used by our congregation only. Information will be provided via the bulletin for photo dates in our fellowship hall. Four Can Soup Recipe (This recipe is from Volunteer Avery—we are collecting canned goods the second Sunday of each month for those who are in need in our country.) 1 15 oz. can of creamed corn 1 15 oz. can of corn kernels 1 15 oz. can of black beans 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic Open the cans and pour them into a soup pot. Cook 20-30 minutes on low until completely hot. Delicious! 4- 6 servings. Environmental Stewardship During the month of June, Crossnore Presbyterian Church is focusing on honoring God by celebrating and caring for God’s creation. Below is the list of programs we have scheduled. By the time you get this newsletter, there will still be time to participate in some of the events. The purpose of this focus is to be grateful for the natural beauty and diversity we enjoy, to understand our impact on the environment, and to discover new ways we can be stewards of God’s creation right here in the Appalachian Mountains and in the world. Sunday, June 6 10 a.m. Adult Sunday School--Land Conservancy led by Craig and Beth Weaver, Sundance Mountain Land Realtors
Sunday, June 13 10 a.m. Adult Sunday School- Appalachian Voice led by Austin Hall, Staff Member, who will discuss wind energy, mountain top removal, and current legislation affecting the NC Mts. Thursday, June 17 5:30 p.m. Family Night Dinner in the Fellowship Hall followed by a program on the Blue Ridge Wildlife Institute, Lees-McRae College, led by Nina Fischesser, the BRWI Director. Sunday, June 20 10 a.m. Adult Sunday School—the NC. Extension Service. Staff member, Adam Keener, will talk about local farmers’ markets, coops, organic options, & eco-friendly tree farms. June 26 and 27 Weekend Workshop and Worship On Celtic Christianity and Creating a Community Mandala: Leaders, Rev. Kathy Campbell and Caroline Garrett, Artist and Mandala Workshop Facilitator
Saturday, June 26- Workshop in Fellowship Hall (registration fee: $30 per person; $40 per couple—by June 23rd—includes materials and the book, Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements by Christine Valters Paintner) Need more information or a brochure: email Pastor Kathy at rev.kathy.campbell@gmail.com 10:00 am-4:30 pm - Exploring Celtic Christianity and Creating a Community Mandala using the four elements of nature—earth, air, water, fire. Sunday, June 27 10:00 am Adult Sunday School—Beauty in Our Own Backyard: The Glorious Diversity of the Northern Mountains of NC through Photos and Stories Presented by Dr. Michael Joslin. 11:00 am Worship Service in the Celtic Christian Tradition- Sanctuary Crossnore Presbyterian Church Calendar If you know of additional events, please email rev.kathy.campbell@gmail.com
Sunday, June 20 9:30 a.m. Choir- Sanctuary 9:45 a.m. Coffee and Muffins- Fellowship Hall 10:00 a.m. Sunday School for All Ages Adults: Adam Keener, NC Extension Agency 11:00 a.m. Worship 5:30 p.m. Summer Youth Group
Tuesday, June 22 10:30 a.m. Prayer Cloth Sewing Group- Fellowship Hall Wednesday, June 23 3:30 p.m. Prayer Time- Fellowship Hall 4:00 p.m. Bible Study- Gospel of John (Leader, Dr. Mickey Efird, Duke Divinity School) 5:30 p.m. Choir Practice- Sanctuary Thursday, June 24 4:00 p.m. Session Meeting, Conference Room Friday, June 25- Fellowship Hall 6:00 p.m. Potluck Dinner for Workshop Participants Saturday, June 26- Fellowship Hall 10:00 a.m. Exploring Celtic Christianity and Creating -4:30 p.m. A Community Mandala Using the Four Elements of Nature- Earth, Air, Wind, Fire (email rev.kathy.campbell@gmail.com for a brochure and registration information). Sunday, June 27 9:30 a.m. Choir Practice- Sanctuary 9:45 a.m. Coffee and Muffins- Fellowship Hall 10:00 a.m. Sunday School for All Ages Adults: The Beauty of the Northern Mountains Of North Carolina through Photos and Stories Presented by Dr. Michael Joslin 11:00 a.m. Celtic Christian Worship Service- Sanctuary Tuesday, June 29 10:30 a.m. Prayer Cloth Sewing Group- Fellowship Hall Wednesday, June 30 3:30 p.m. Prayer Time- Fellowship Hall 4:00 p.m. Bible Study- Gospel of John (Leader, Dr. Mickey Efird, Duke Divinity School) 5:30 p.m. Choir Practice- Sanctuary
Sunday, July 4- Communion/5 Cents A Meal Offering 9:30 am Choir- Sanctuary 9:45 am Coffee and Muffins- Fellowship Hall 10:00 am. Sunday School for All Ages 11:00 am Worship Tuesday, July 6 10:30 am Prayer Cloth Sewing Group- Fellowship Hall Wednesday, July 7 9:40 a.m. Choir Warm-up 3:30 p.m. Prayer Time-Fellowship Hall Sunday, July 10 7-10 am Crossnore PC Country Breakfast Sunday, July 11, Canned Goods for Volunteer Avery 9:30 am Choir- Sanctuary 9:45 am. Coffee and Muffins- Fellowship Hall 10:00 am. Sunday School for All Ages Adults: Presbyterian History 11:00 a.m. Worship 5:30 p.m. Summer Youth Group
Tuesday, July 13 10:30 am Prayer Cloth Sewing Group- Fellowship Hall Wednesday, July 14 3:30 pm Prayer Time- Fellowship Hall 4:00 pm Bible Study- Book of Acts (Leader, Dr. Mickey Efird, Duke Divinity School) Sunday, July 18 9:45 a.m. Coffee and Muffins 10:00 a.m. Sunday School for All Ages Adult Presbyterian History 11:00 a.m. Worship Service 12 noon Homecoming Luncheon 5:30 p.m. Mayland Fellowship – Dinner 7:00 p.m. Mayland Fellowship – Program with Chaplains Hartman and Willis
Tuesday, July 20 10:30 am Prayer Cloth Sewing Group- Fellowship Hall Wednesday, July 21 3:30 pm Prayer Time- Fellowship Hall 4:00 pm Bible Study- Book of Acts (Leader, Dr. Mickey Efird, Duke Divinity School) 5:30 pm Choir Practice- Sanctuary
Sunday, July 25 9:40 am. Choir- Sanctuary 9:45 am Coffee and Muffins- Fellowship Hall 10:00 am. Sunday School for All Ages Adults: Presbyterian Governance 11:00 a.m. Worship (Land Harbor Picnic- time TBA) 5:30 p.m. Summer Youth Group Tuesday, July 27 10:30 a.m. Prayer Cloth Sewing Group- Fellowship Hall Wednesday, July 28 3:30 p.m. Prayer Time- Fellowship Hall 4:00 p.m. Bible Study- Book of Acts (Leader, Dr. Mickey Efird, Duke Divinity School) 5:30 p.m. Choir Practice- Sanctuary
4:00 p.m. Bible Study- Gospel of John (Leader, Dr. Mickey Efird, Duke Divinity School) 5:30 p.m. Choir Practice - Sanctuary | |
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