Dear Family,

Joan Stuart was called home today to live with God in His heavenly kingdom.  Joan struggled with some health issues recently, but we take comfort in the fact that since Jesus rose from the dead and lives today, Joan lives as well.  There will be a memorial service to celebrate Joan’s life this Saturday, August 24, at the church at 4:30pm.  Everyone is invited to attend.  Please remember Chuck and his family in your prayers.  I also invite you to pray the following prayer with me:

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for Your loving kindness shown to Joan and to all Your children, who having finished their course in faith, now enjoy life in Your kingdom.  Be with Chuck and his family in their grief, that they may know the comfort of Your love and peace.  Amen.

In God’s Service,
Pastor Bill

Our new parking lot adjacent to our current parking lot is ready to be used.  It still needs another layer of stone and it will be paved near the time the new building is completed, but the weight of the construction vehicles would damage the lot if we paved it now.

Temporary striping will be painted on the stone to identify parking stalls and driving directions.  The new parking lot will be similar to the current parking lot as it will be a one-way loop with diagonal parking, both left and right.  It will eventually have two entrance/exit locations, one near the site exit drive close to Hwy 42 and the other near the front of the new building.  The North-west half (back end) of the current parking lot will be permanently closed.

Many things will not change.  Our Site Entrance and Exit from Hwy 42 will remain the same.  The South-east half (nearest Hwy 42) of the current parking lot will be mostly unchanged.   We will continue to use our “Drive-thru canopy,” but the handicapped parking will be moved to the section between the islands in front of the canopy.  Cones will be placed where needed to redirect traffic.

Attached is a sketch showing how we will initially access and use the parking lot and drive pattern with only one entrance/exit.  The dark shaded area is the new parking lot.  A second sketch will be distributed prior to the availability of the second entrance/exit.  We will try to have some people on site to guide you on Sunday morning.

God’s Blessings, Pastor Bill

I invite all of you to join us in the sanctuary for this special presentation this Sunday as you will see and hear some incredible stories of how our youth grew in their faith and encouraged each other at this very special event.  The National Youth Gathering takes place every three years and if you have a student going into 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th grade this fall, they will be eligible to attend the next National Youth Gathering in the summer of 2022.  We know where the next Gathering will be held, so join us this Sunday for this special presentation and to hear where the 2022 Gathering will take place.  Hint: The next Gathering will be held in a large city where more than 145 different languages are spoken, located southwest of North Carolina.

Dear Family:

Jason Pischke was suddenly called home last week to live with Jesus in His heavenly kingdom.  There will be a memorial service to celebrate his life on Saturday, June 22, at 3:00 pm.  Everyone is invited to attend.  Please keep his wife, Tonya,  their children, Justin, Jacob, and Jessica; and their entire family in your prayers during this difficult time.  I also invite you to pray the following prayer with me:

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for all the mercies You granted to Jason during his earthly life, especially for calling him to faith in Jesus.  Comfort his family and friends as they mourn his death with the hope of the glorious resurrection and a happy reunion in heaven.  Amen.

In God’s Service,
Pastor Bill

Tonight will be the last “Family Night” of the season.  We will be serving hamburgers and hot dogs from 5:30pm – 6:30pm.  Please consider bringing a side dish to share.

Bible study will begin at 6:45pm.  Children in grades Pre-K through 5th grade will be outside on the playground from 6:45pm – 7:30pm.

We will also be electing members to serve on our church council for 2019-2020.  The following individuals have agreed to serve on the church council:

President: Donna Harlow
Vice President: Jack Tucker
Education: Beth Otto
Property: John Neuner
Open Arms: Wendy Huff
Social Ministries: Teresa Bauer
Elders: Robert Bennett, Brad deCathelineau, Chuck Fox, Ron Harrison, Tony Swann

I look forward to seeing you this evening.

God’s Blessings,
Pastor Bill

Dear Family,

I would like to invite you to our Open Arms Christian Child Development auction this Saturday, May 4, from 5:00pm – 8:00pm at the church.  This is the only fundraiser that Open Arms does each year and it is a lot of fun.  The theme this year is “Disney” and auction items include:

• Disney tickets
• Signed football from the Carolina Panthers
• Restaurant gift cards
• Themed Gift Baskets for adults and children, such as movies, cooking, reading, and Disney
• Children’s Artwork
• Items from the Carolina Hurricanes

You will be amazed at all of the auction items and there will be a huge spread of food to enjoy.  Child care is available, which includes a hot dog dinner for the children.  Feel free to come dressed as your favorite Disney character.  I hope to see you sometime on Saturday night.

God’s Blessings,
Pastor Bill

Reminder: There will be no Family Night activities tonight, April 17th.

Dear Family:

Here is the schedule of worship services for Holy Week and Easter:

1) Thursday, April 18, at 7:00pm – “Maundy Thursday.”  The word “maundy” is a Latin word that means “to mandate.”  In this service we will remember our Lord’s Last Supper with His disciples when He created or “mandated” Holy Communion.  We will the end the service by stripping the altar as a reminder of when Jesus was stripped of His dignity as He was betrayed and arrested late that evening.

2) Friday, April 19, at 7:00pm – “Good Friday Tenebre Service.”  The word “tenebre” means “darkness.”  In this service we will look at how heaven and earth intersect at the cross of Christ.  The lights will slowly be turned out during this service and we will leave in darkness and silence to contemplate our Lord’s suffering and death for us.

3) Easter Sunday, April 21:

7:00am: “Sunrise Worship” – This service will begin outside in our memorial gardens at the front of the church under the “He Is Risen” plague.  After some Scripture readings, we will then move inside to the sanctuary for the rest of the service.

9:00am: “Praise & Worship” – This service will be led by our praise team with contemporary Christian music.

11:00am: “Traditional Worship” – This service will involve traditional hymns on our organ along with our choir.

Communion will be served at all three services and Easter Breakfast will be served from 8:00am – 9:00am.

There will be no “Family Night” activities tonight, April 17, or next Wednesday, April 24.

In God’s Service,
Pastor Bill

Hello Everyone:

Next Sunday, April 21, we will have our annual Easter Breakfast from 8:00 – 9:00am and we need some help.  We are looking for volunteers to bring different food dishes such as cheese and crackers, deviled eggs, fruit tray, vegetable tray, casseroles, small sandwiches, bagels, etc.  We will also need some help setting up and cleaning up.  If you can help, please contact Teresa Bauer as soon as possible at:

Teresa Bauer
919-631-4491 (call or text)
tbauer@apexhaust.com

Thanks,
Pastor Bill

Dear Family:

Our construction company has informed us that they plan to start construction on our new building next week, so we will do a special groundbreaking celebration this Sunday, March 17, at 10:00am on the property next to our parking lot.  Everyone is encouraged to bring a shovel with them as we will all turn some of the ground marking the official start of our construction.  A representative from the construction company will also join us for the groundbreaking event.  I realize this is short notice, but we were just informed a few days ago of the plans to start construction next week.  This will be a very special event and I hope you will join us.

Back on July 31, 2005, a group of us gathered on our property to officially break ground for our current facility and I thought you would like to see the attached pictures from that special day.

God’s Blessings,
Pastor Bill