Newsletter week 9.6.15 - Piney Grove Baptist Church of Mount Airy

+
Piney Grove Baptist Church
278 Piney Grove Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
PERIODICAL
Church Staff
THE GROVE
Rev. Mark A. Reece, Jr., Pastor
Rev. Kermit Gray, Pastor Emeritus
Rev. Santiago Reales, Associate
Pastor of Hispanic/Latino Ministry
Paul Danley, Minister of Music
Marcus McGill, Minister of Youth
Scottie Isaacs, Ministry Assistant
Dawn Marion, Pianist
Ivy Head, Organist
Tommy Haymore, Videographer
278 Piney Grove Road
Mount Airy, North Carolina
27030
(336)356-4196
www.pgbcmountairy.org
THE GROVE is published weekly by the Piney Grove Baptist Church, 278 Piney Grove Road, Mount Airy, NC.
POSTMASTER send change of address to THE GROVE, 278 Piney Grove Road, Mount Airy, NC.
Volume X, Issue 37, September 6, 2015
Community Events (Continued from Page 6)
**********************
Growing in Christ Together
Piney Grove Baptist Church
278 Piney Grove Road
Mount Airy, North Carolina 27030
Weekly Newsletter
September 6, 2015
Volume X, Issue 37
.
Birthdays
This Week
Today’s Sermon
“Joseph’s Journey:
Watching God Work”
Genesis 45:1-15
September 6
Eric Mauldin
Pat Hooker
Cody Norman
Activities Today
9:45 AM Sunday School
11:00 AM Worship Service
12:30 PM SEEDSyouth
Fellowship: Out and About
3:00 PM Christmas Cantata
Rehearsal
September 7
Kristie Wright
September 8
Dan Dollyhigh
Shane Dollyhigh
The Week Ahead
Monday, September 7
Church Office Closed for
Labor Day
September 10
Leah Riggan
Wednesday, September 9
6:00 PM Children’s Ministry
Meeting
6:15 PM ESL Class
6:30 PM Worship Seeds with
the Pastor
6:30 PM G.R.O.V.E. Kidz
6:30 PM SEEDSyouth
7:30 PM Choir Rehearsal
Website
Emily Settle will be accepting donations for her team in honor of her daddy,
Doug Simpson. If you would like to make a contribution, please contact Emily.
Church Office Closed
The church office will be closed Monday, September 7, 2015, for Labor Day.
Sermon videos can be
viewed via PGBC website
or at www.vimeo.com
and type PGBC
in the search block.
Apps are available
for Smartphones and iPads
to view the videos.
Page 8
Saturday, September 12
9:00 AM 2015 Surry County
Walk to End Alzheimer's at
Riverside Park
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM “Tearing
It Up” Mobile Paper
Shredding sponsored by
Blue Ridge CareNet
Counseling Center
Page 1
Dates to Remember
September 6
Christmas Cantata Rehearsal
September 7
Church
Closed for
ChurchOffice
Conference
Labor Day
September 9
Children’s Ministry Meeting
ESL Class
September 12
Surry County Walk to End
Alzheimer’s
September 13
Deacon Election
The Atkins, Lewis, and Hardy
Reunion
September 14
Ordination Council Meeting
September 15
Deacon’s Meeting
September 16
ESL Class
Church Council
Youth Off-Campus Special
Work Project
September 20
Homecoming with Guest
Preacher Rev. Kermit Gray
Christmas Cantata Rehearsal
September 27
Ordination Service for
Marcus Elijah McGill
October 17
Wedding Reception for Mark
and Katy in Piney Grove
Baptist Church Fellowship
Hall
Stewardship Report
Week #49
Budget:
$211,681.00
YTD Goal:
$199,468.71
Budget
This week
YTD
$4,070.79
$2,960.69 $189,544.44
Over/(Under) ($1,110.10) ($9,924.27)
Sunday School Attendance
Last Sunday – 104
Student of the Week
Mitchell Brown
P.O. Box 654
Buies Creek, NC 27506
Deacons of the Week
Dawayne Bonds, 671-9833
Tim Creed, 374-4153
Person of the Week
Gary Kidd
254 Phillip Branch Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
Children’s Ministries/Mission
From the Pastor – Rev. Mark A. Reece, Jr.
G.R.O.V.E. Kidz
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Children’s Bible Study, Crafts,
Games, Music, and FUN!
G.R.O.V.E. Kidz meets the 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd Wednesday nights of each month
Kid’s Café
Kid’s Café will begin Monday, October 12, 2015.
A day for registration will be announced soon.
These groups will meet each Monday and Tuesday afternoon from
4:00 PM until 5:00 PM in the Piney Grove Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.
For Children Grades K-5
This is a FREE service to the children of the Piney Grove community.
If you’re available from 4:00 PM until 5:00 PM on
Monday and Tuesday afternoons, this mission is for you.
Tutors needed!
If you plan to be a tutor for Kid’s Café this year,
please contact Eileen Kidd at 386-8938 and let her know your plans.
Youth Ministry – Marcus McGill, Youth Minister
Youth Meetings
Sunday, September 6, 2015
12:30 PM SEEDSyouth Fellowship: Out and About
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
6:30 PM SEEDSyouth
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
6:00 – 8:00 PM Youth Off-Campus Special Work Project
Missions
20/20 Vision Fund
Technology Upgrade Proposal
There were 150 envelopes mailed.
Currently, we have received 37 back,
representing 24.67%.
Total Amount Received: $8,761.54
(Continued on Page 3)
Page 2
We have two more Sundays designated for exploring and
reflecting upon Joseph’s journey. It’s a good time to pause and reflect
upon something that we often miss when we’re reading a narrative that
we presume to have a clear hero and clear villain. Joseph was pretty
human, wasn’t he? On one hand, we’ve seen the best of Joseph. He was
faithful to God when the possibility of adultery was before him. He was
faithful to God in the prison and used his gifts of interpreting dreams to
release two from behind bars. He was kind enough to serve his brothers a
fine meal on their second trip to Egypt. He didn’t kill them the moment he saw them, on
their first trip and in a moment of heartbreak and fury he could’ve very easily done just
that. Joseph becomes an image of forgiveness and reconciliation, and rightfully so.
At the same time, everything about Joseph’s character hasn’t been so flawless. In a
superb commentary, Dr. Cameron B.R. Howard writes, “Rather than reconciliation, Joseph
meets his brothers with manipulation. He pretends not to know them, accuses them of
spying, throws them all in jail for three days, and demands that after they take their grain
home, they return to Egypt with Benjamin, their youngest brother. He even has Simeon
bound and held in Egypt to guarantee their return (42:24). He sneaks the money they paid
for the grain back into their sacks, surely a gesture of generosity but understood by the
brothers, terrified of the powerful governor and racked with guilt, as a sure indication that
stealing will be added to their spying charges. Citing the loss of both Joseph and Simeon,
Jacob refuses to allow Benjamin to return with the brothers to Egypt until the family is out
of food again and left with no other choice. The emotional roller coaster continues for the
brothers in chapters 43 and 44, when Joseph feasts with his family, including the newly
favorite son Benjamin. Rather than reveal his identity now, Joseph has his own silver cup
slipped into Benjamin’s sack, setting him up for a charge of stealing. Judah, who, at Genesis
37:26, lobbied for selling Joseph rather than killing him, steps in to plead for Benjamin’s
release for the sake of their father Jacob, whose ‘life is bound up in the boy’s life’ (44:30). It
is at this point, with Jacob’s life on the line, that Joseph makes himself known to his
brothers.”
Joseph is so human, isn’t he? I don’t know about you, but I would’ve probably
needed some time to work through the raw emotions that surely never left him after he
found himself in that pit in Canaan. This traumatic experience shaped the way that Joseph
saw the world and his trust levels were surely at an all-time low. I don’t know why he did
the things that he did. There are great questions that we can ask of this story. Why would
Joseph waste he and his brothers’ time by sending them away only to have his servant
usher them back to Egypt? Why would Joseph hide excess goods in their packs, not once,
but twice? Why did Joseph conceal his identity for so long? Well, these are answers that
I’m not comfortable giving concrete answers to. However, I am very comfortable stating
that Joseph was human and imagining how each one of us could’ve reacted in a similar way.
Joseph seems to have struggled with trust. He made them prove themselves. He
also seems to have gotten a little vengeance. But through it all, the holy family will still find
themselves together again. Joseph was indeed a Godly example and true inspiration at
various points in his life. We have celebrated those moments. But he was also deeply
human. Acknowledging the totality of his life narrative teaches us that at times Joseph
partnered with God and at other times he did some strange and manipulative things.
Ultimately, Joseph isn’t ultimately responsible for the reunion of the family of Israel. His
lack of virtue at various points illustrates how easily he could’ve messed up the reunion.
Ultimately, God is working through these strange events and through Joseph’s behavior
that has been at times virtuous, and at other times deplorable, God has been drawing the
family together. Perhaps Joseph’s manipulative tactics can be seen as roadblocks that God
and to work around to reunite the family as opposed to events that God saw necessary for
the reunion of Israel’s sons. Indeed, this is not really a story about Joseph and his brothers.
It’s a story about the providence of God that includes rich lessons about how humanity
sometimes responds favorably to the voice of God and at other times, questionably.
Nevertheless, God can and will prevail and that is the rich truth in this timeless narrative.
Thanks for being such a great church. May God richly bless you all in the week to come.
PRAYER LIST
Nursing home and
long-term care
Nancy Edwards
Gladys Hooker
Melba Wright Hutchens
Roshell Mayes
Claude Branch
Home or hospital
Lloyd Hayden
Dean Branch
Linda Hodges
Avis & Hilda Huff
Phyllis Hewitt
Lonzo McHone
Roger & Norma Draughn
Charles & Blanche
Brintle
Grover Haymore
Rodney Brintle
Banner Combs
Josie Woodruff
David White
Cecil & Faye Beasley
Todd Brown
Leona Huffman
Bobby Draughn
Roger Smith
Rev. Jimmy and Helen
Rogers
Seth Beacham
Michael Stephens
Patti Miller
Ricky Draughn
Junior Sawyers
Norma Simmons
J.W. & Joan Branch
Susan Johnson
Elsie Hayes
Ernest Brackett
Gladys Collins
Billie Mae Davis
Doug Smith
Anne Sechrist
Luke Dollyhigh
Dawn Marion
Jeff Lawrence
Faye Danley
Ginger Welch
Sheila McCraw
Military
MM2 Lammon, Andrew
USS Theodore Roosevelt
(CVN 71)
RX/RM FPO AE 095992871
e-mail:
Andrew.lammon@cvn71.navy.mil
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Matthew Boss
Please contact Scottie Isaacs
to add or remove names
from our prayer list.
Phone 356-4196
Page 7
Missions (Continued from Page 2)
Backpack Ministry
This year our backpack ministry will be helping
White Plains Elementary School, Rockford Elementary School,
and Dobson Elementary School.
The backpack storage bin is near Marcus McGill’s office door.
Any donations will be greatly appreciated.
Watch The Grove for upcoming needs for our backpacks.
Many blessings and thanks for your help as we feed
children in our community.
Eileen Kidd
Discipleship
Worship Seeds with the Pastor
Wednesday, September 9, 2015, from 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Text: Genesis 50:1-26
Attention: College Students
All college students, including those attending Surry Community College, are
encouraged to submit their mailing address for the 2015-2016 school year to
Scottie Isaacs, Ministry Assistant. This information will be used as we select
a “Student of the Week” for our weekly newsletter.
Family Reunion
"The Atkins, Lewis, and Hardy Reunion" will be held
Sunday, September 13, 2015, from 1:00 until 4:00 PM
at Piney Grove Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.
Everyone is invited.
Please bring a covered dish, pictures, and lots of memories.
Sing for the Season!
Join the Sanctuary Choir for
this year's Christmas cantata,
"Breath of Heaven"
First Cantata Rehearsal ~ Sunday, September 6, 2015, at 3:00 PM
Care Package for Andrew Lammon
and the USS Theodore Roosevelt
Andrew Lammon is currently aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Persian Gulf as part of a long-term
deployment, which is coming to a conclusion in the coming months. We would like to send him and his
crewmates a care package in appreciation for what has been a long and challenging deployment. Please place
your food and snacks in a box in the narthex labeled “Andrew Lammon: USS Theodore Roosevelt.” Foods such
as canned or jarred foods, like Pringles, salsa, nuts, and trail mix, that aren’t easily crushed into a million little
crumbs, are desirable. Beef jerky, granola bars, gum, and non-melting candy serve as good items, as do foods
that come well packaged, like Oreos, Little Debbie snack cakes, Moon Pies, and packaged fruit pies. If you’re
sending things that might arrive as pancakes, consider putting them in a small tin to protect them. The most
popular edibles are homemade cookies and single bottle-sized drink mixes such as Gatorade or Crystal Light.
Page 3
DEACON NOMINATIONS
The following individuals were nominated for a three-year term on our diaconate.
Bryson
Cornett
Eddie
Draughn
Dennis
Miller
Debbie
Post
Kathy
Robertson
Rickey
Sawyers
Kathy
Simpson
Joey
Tucker
DEACON ELECTION
On Sunday, September 13, 2015, you will be given the opportunity to vote for four (4) of the eight (8) nominees.
The four (4) individuals receiving the highest number of votes will serve a three-year term on our diaconate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------According to our church constitution, an individual must be a church member for one year to be eligible for
nomination as a deacon. The deacon nomination and election process is for church members only.
FROM CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
Section 3. Right to Vote. Such members as are in “full and regular standing” shall meet the following
requirements: (1) shall have attended at least twelve (12) Sunday school and/or worship services within the
past twelve (12) months; and (2) shall have contributed something to the support of the church. Those who fail
to meet these requirements may present their reasons at a church conference. If the reason is satisfactory to
the church it may, by majority vote, declare him in “full and regular standing with voting privileges”.
The Diaconate Covenant
In August of 2011, the Diaconate adopted the following covenant as an accountability guide between deacons
and the congregation. As you consider who you will nominate to serve as a deacon, please do so with the
following covenant in mind. The expectations listed in the covenant below illustrate the qualities and
disciplines that a person should possess when being nominated as a deacon at Piney Grove Baptist Church.
Thank you for your prayerful commitment to this selection process. With strong servant leadership, we will
continue to build a strong servant church.
1.
Deacons should maintain the Biblical qualities offered in the Piney Grove Baptist Church
Constitution.
2.
Deacons should actively attend Sunday school and make a good effort to attend Bible Study.
3.
Deacons should be active in worship.
4.
Deacons should be active in a missions group.
5.
Deacons should contribute financially to the work of the church through the giving of tithes and
offerings.
6.
Deacons should be present at Diaconate meetings/functions and actively execute ministry
expectations.
7.
Deacons should practice confidentiality.
8.
Deacons should keep the best interest of the church above their own.
9.
Deacons should be forgiving and non-judgmental.
10.
Deacons should be persons of upright character and integrity before God and men.
Page 4
Condolences
Our love, prayers, and Christian sympathy are extended to Tim Hagwood
and family on the death of his father, Ray Gordon Hagwood, Sr.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our love, prayers, and Christian sympathy are extended to Janet Sutphin
and family on the death of her uncle, William R. “Widgie” White.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our love, prayers, and Christian sympathy are extended to Minerva Hicks
and family on the death of her aunt, Alma Frances Nichols Vernon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our love, prayers, and Christian sympathy are extended to Linda Hodges and family on the death of her
brother-in-law, Charlie Austell, who died Saturday morning, August 29, 2015. Linda left Monday for Indiana,
where he and Linda's sister, Kay, lived near Covington. Our church family's prayers for Linda's sister and family, as
well as Linda's safe return, are gratefully requested.
Notes of Thanks
Dear Piney Grove Baptist Church,
Thank you so much for your donation to the Plainsmen Pack Program. Your contribution will be used to
purchase food to fill the backpacks. We are so fortunate to live in a community with supportive and caring
individuals.
Jennie Smith, Counselor
Dear Piney Grove Baptist Church,
Thank you so much for your generous donation to our backpack fund. It’s much needed and greatly
appreciated!
Rockford Elementary School Gators
Celebration
Page 5
Community Events
Blue Ridge CareNet Counseling Center
announces
It’s the safest, most effective way of eliminating the threat of identity theft!
Bring your personal, confidential papers
to be shredded by our mobile truck.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
9:00 AM ~ 12:00 PM
Corner of West Lebanon Street and North Main Street
beside Homeway Furniture
We can help you…
go from this…
to this!
Donations will be accepted. Please make checks payable
to Blue Ridge CareNet Counseling Center.
Proceeds will go to the counseling center.
For more information about this event, please call 789-3007.
Race for the Cure®
Susan G. Komen® Northwest NC needs your help! Our signature fundraiser and
community outreach event, Race for the Cure®, is on Saturday, September 26,
2015, in downtown Winston-Salem. Please support this event, which helps fund
mammograms and other non-medical treatment services for local women that
otherwise cannot afford them. Here are two ways you can help:
1. Register for the race by creating a church team. It’s a wonderful way to show support for survivors and
your local Susan G. Komen Affiliate. Seventy-five percent of money raised by teams stays local to fund
mammograms, breast health education, and non-medical treatment services.
2. Sign up a group from the church (Sunday school class, youth group, etc.) to volunteer for our race. We
need “Cure Leaders” to be stationed along our race route to cheer all racers/walkers as they go by.
Many are our local survivors!
You can register or sign up a group to volunteer by visiting komennorthwestnc.org and click on either the race
link (register your team) or the “Get Involved” link (click on Group Volunteer Application). If you have any
questions, please call Komen Northwest NC at (336)721-0037. Remember, money raised here stays here! The
power of partnership will make an impact in the lives of many…join us!
(Continued on Page 8)
Page 6