POINSETTIAS – ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY DECEMBER 12. We are almost in the Christmas season, and it’s time to think about ordering Poinsettias in memory or honor of a loved one. The cost this year is $13.45 per plant. When placing your order, if paying by check or some other form of payment, please indicate that it is for a Poinsettia and also include the name or names of those that the Poinsettia is in memory or honor of as well as who is giving the plant. Please CLICK HERE for an order form to print and fill out. You can place the order in my box outside the office or mail it in.
A couple of weeks ago I challenged the congregation to join me in closing down “Pandemic Church” and step into the Advent Season with anticipation that God is preparing us for something new. This Wednesday, Nov. 30th, we’ll gather together to look back (hindsight), engage in conversation about this present moment (insight) AND offer a heartfelt prayer of communal closure (foresight).
For those of you aware of our creative Maundy Thursday Services…..this week’s Dinner church will feel familiar.
1. The rhythm of this week’s dinner church is unique in that the majority of us will be eating in the physical sanctuary and remaining in that space throughout the evening. 2. Preschool – 1st grade will eat and meet in their usual space. 3. It’s really important for folks to RSVP by 7 p.m. (Monday evening)
STAGGERED SEATING FOR PIZZA DINNER
5:45 – 6 p.m. Anyone that arrives in this window will begin eating when they arrive.
6:15 – 6:30 p.m. Second seating begins.
UNIQUE PROGRAM: Ending and Preparing Well.
6:00 p.m. – 6:20 PM Video presentation (some of us will be at the table and others in the pews)
6:20 – 6:45 PM Group Dialogue (“ “ “ “ “ )
6:45 – 7:30 PM “Exploration” and dialogue with smaller groupings
HELP NEEDED
8:00 – 9:00 PM I need about 5-7 folks to stick around and help disassemble the sanctuary installation.
I hope you’ll consider joining us….even if you’d rather just wait to eat supper until you get home! It’s really important for folks to RSVP so that we can figure out the logistics and order the right amount of food.
Tonight’s Zoom Meeting, regarding Fire Protection, has been postponed.
The decision to postpone tonight’s zoom mtg. is based on updated information our lay leadership received this morning. Thanks for your flexibility and also for helping us put the word out to your classes, committees, teams, and small groups.
We’ll reschedule the meeting after we’ve explored the info we’ve just received.
Background: During this past summer our church leadership agreed for the Building & Grounds Committee to focus energies on safety and security for all of our facilities for at least six months, with the idea to begin outlining a staged process of implementing safety measures. Our work began during the summer in conjunction with TCCC and Noah Rogers, safety expert from the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
As a result of our assessments, the Building & Grounds Committee and the TCCC Director are recommending a Stage 1 of activities that highlight our need to protect the children that we serve every day in our facility. We have already:
● Updated interior door locks to enable an emergency lockdown (funded by TCCC).
● Fixed the door closer on the front door to ensure it closed securely each time the door was used. (Funded by TCCC)
● Changed the door codes for all parties- parents, staff, and church and plan to routinely do this as well as in the event of a staff member leaving, etc.
● Revisited the church’s role in providing spaces for classrooms in the event of a weather emergency or other event that requires relocation from the Williams Building to the main church building.
● Began working with the City to determine if we can add a screen around the mulched playground area.
● Considered a schedule for routine emergency training for the staff.
The next steps in our Williams Building Stage 1 are to install a new, monitored fire panel and to upgrade the access security and intercom system. The fire panel is our first priority based upon our discussions with a number of professionals. We have obtained a proposal that will provide fire protection on all levels of the Williams Building, covering materials and installation at a cost in the range of $40,000-$45,000 (allowing for contingencies in the event of unexpected costs). TCCC is preparing to cover 2/3 of the cost (for the space that they occupy) and TBC is being asked to cover 1/3 (for the space that we occupy). Costs related to security measures applicable to childcare are planned to be covered by TCCC.
We are continuing our due diligence in the event we can find a vendor with a system adequate to meet our needs at a lower price.
We will be holding a Zoom meeting on Monday, November 21st at 7pm for you to ask questions and to provide you with more proposal details. We are hoping that you will join in this discussion so that you have an awareness of potential steps for the main church as well as the building where the child care center is located. We believe that this kind of discussion is helpful prior to a church-wide vote regarding such an investment.
Here is the Zoom link information for the meeting:
Background: Around 2004-2005 Barbara Spain led the way for an engineering review of the entire main church facility to determine the best approach to provide heating and air conditioning. As a result of that analysis, the congregation agreed to install five York HVAC systems in 2006-2007. These systems have served us well. Based on their age, we are now in need of repairing and fixing them to properly maintain heating and cooling.
Back in April-May of this year you may recall that we replaced the HVAC systems that service the Choir/Youth Room areas and the Blue Room/Welstead classroom area, replacing the same kind of York system that services the Community Room area now. The HVAC system that services the Community Room area has a leak in the coil. Repairing the leak would cost over $5,000—more money than is reasonable to spend on such an old system. We attempted using a sealant refrigerant in the coil to repair the leak; that attempt failed.
Vassars Services is recommending and we are asking for your approval to replace the interior unit of the system that services the Community Room area at a cost of approximately $9,000. This work will be scheduled to be completed as soon as your vote of approval is received.
Note: The technicians believe that we will probably get another two-three years of service from the exterior unit of this system, understanding that it does not have the roof exposure that the two systems have that were replaced earlier this year. Therefore, we will monitor this system closely. We urge that we move forward right away with this replacement request to be sure we continue to meet the FDA requirement of keeping food in this area at 72 degrees F.
This expense and required funding has been approved by the Administrative Board. Voting is open now and will close on November 20, at 3:00 PM. You must be a member of TBC to vote and you may only vote once. A paper ballot will be available in the back of the Sanctuary on Sunday, November 13 and Sunday, November 20, for those who do not wish to vote electronically.
The Administrative Board is bringing the following recommendations to the members of the church for your vote. Voting is now open and will close on Sunday, November 13, at 5 PM. You must be a member to vote and are only allowed to vote once. A paper ballot for those of you who do not wish to vote electronically will be available in the back of the Sanctuary on November 6 & 13. Recommended for the Board of Deacons – John Burgess, Bill Gradwell, Jerry Jones, Carol McMurray.
Recommended for the Nominating Committee – Mary Jo Dailey, Nathan Hatfield, Linda Southworth, Tori Tyndall
Our 4th Quarter Business Meeting was held Sunday, October 30, 2022, in the Fellowship Hall and via zoom. Thank you to all who were in attendance either in person or virtually. If you missed the business meeting, CLICK HERE for the recorded video of the meeting.
If you still need a copy of the Quarterly Report, please CLICK HERE.
Earlier this fall the youth group kicked off a new weekly program with high aspirations and minimal fuel to make the engine “go”. Long story short, after a couple of weeks of experimentation, it became pretty clear the most recent reboot of our youth program isn’t sufficient.
WE MAKE THE ROAD BY WALKING.
Good News:
God is doing something exciting in our experimentation and intentionality. We’re feeling encouraged to see our students integrating into the specific spaces of belonging we’re building for intergenerational Discipleship. We’re seeing God at work in and through the lives of those participating in Community Ministry (Saturdays), Dinner Church (Wednesday evenings), and Woven (Sunday mornings). God is bearing fruit in the deliberateness of our relationship building, through the continuity and deliberateness in our holy conversations.
Challenging News:
1) The identified need and desires we’re seeing in our younger youth are radically different from what we’re seeing and hearing from our older youth. This has always been true AND there is a palpable and definitive tension unique to the moment.
2) The vast majority of the adults in our congregation, including many parents of our children and youth, do not express feeling called or remotely equipped to disciple children, youth, or adults.
3) We have not been able to identify a core group of adults to make a weekly investment in the intentional discipleship of children and youth. Yes, there are individuals but no core groups of adults. We have no reason to believe this will change anytime soon.
4) Families with children/youth are in constant motion. It was true long before the pandemic began and it’s even more true now. We have no reason to believe the pace of life is going to slow down anytime soon. We have no reason to believe that “church” will ever be the center of family life again nor should we assume the church should be the center of family life again. The road ahead doesn’t resemble the place we’ve come from.
5) We can’t seem to put down the baggage of the past (discipleship as a program) which gives us little or no capacity in the embracing of discipleship as a deliberate form of relationship building with Christ at the center.
6) The Church is adrift. We have not come together to identify our priorities and we can’t make critical decisions together until we discern our priorities together.
None of us, myself included, saw the missional drifting when it first began; we can’t identify when it actually began. We certainly didn’t make a conscious decision to drift. Let’s be clear, no parent, leader, partner, community or organization drifts away from purpose….. on purpose. When we drift, and all of us do, we don’t usually know it’s happening. Maybe it begins when we get ahead of ourselves or a little full of ourselves? Maybe it happens when the tired sets in? Maybe it happens when we get scared or overwhelmed? Maybe it happens when grief claims our focus? For whatever reason, we’re all prone to gently drift asleep at the wheel. If only the awakening would be so gentle.
For the record, we have not come together to make a collective decision to radically change course and nobody has deliberately sabotaged our vessel. We fell asleep at the helm and we’ve been awakened by a crisis.
1) We didn’t see the need to recommit to our priorities, or discern new priorities during our chapters of thriving.
2) The lack of seeing the need to clarify our priorities gave each of us, individually and as little groups, silent permission to determine our own priorities.
3) A church full of individuals, boards, official and unofficial committees, each determining their own priorities, is a church adrift.
4) The wake-up call continues to be painful.
The most obvious proof of our missional drift is our lack deliberate walking with children, youth, and their families. Judy, April, a couple of lay leaders, and myself are not able to do this on the church’s behalf. As it relates to ministry with children, youth, and their families, we must clarify what we’re trying to accomplish. We must receive the resources God is providing for the purpose of equipping. We must embrace our commission to make Disciples.
Great news:
1) The leaders of the church are actively creating a plan to bring all of us together so that we can actively discern what God wants us to prioritize. Your voice is needed. More importantly, your listening heart and ears are needed! Mark your calendars for a church-wide spiritual renewal weekend, January 13-15, 2023 and pray for our leaders as they help prepare the soil.
2) In the meantime, as it relates to children, youth, and their families, we’re creating new spaces for you to make an immediate investment. The table you choose to sit at, the attitude you arrive with, your motive for participating, the risk you take in sharing, your gentle listening, makes more difference than you know.
3) We don’t have to succumb to either/or thinking. It is entirely possible to remain a committed member of a class/group AND also participate in intergenerational spaces of belonging. Venturing out of your regular class/group, once a month, is healthy and undergirds the priesthood of all believers. What a gift it will be to return to your group the following week, to testify in what God is doing in the life of your church. We urge you to carve out time, at least once a month, to participate in in one of our new spaces of belonging (Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, and/or Saturdays)
3) Whoever said that what God wants is for any of us to put church at the center of our lives? Jesus certainly never said that. He speaks of himself as God’s Temple, continually moving in the neighborhood. God wants us to put Christ at the center of our the totality of our lives. What a tremendous opportunity we’ve been given to help families learn to disciple one another so they might share God’s love with those they are actually “doing life with”… on the sidelines of sports fields, on field trips, at work, and all of the gazillion places they find themselves on any given day.
5) And then there’s this…… best news ever…..God is with us AND for us. Drift is inevitable AND God is faithful. We may have wandered but the Spirit guides. The crisis we’ve brought on ourselves in missional drift brings opportunity for Jesus to help us find our way again. Our intentional walking in these last two months of the calendar year could very well determine whether or not we thrive in the year that follows.
We have some amazing kids in the life of this church. Their parents, surrogate parents, and grandparents are also pretty amazing. Don’t even get me started on the newcomers that have only recently found an home in our little corner of the world. Each and every one of us, a child of God, full of holy potential, yet-to-be-discovered wonder, and renewed purpose. Each and every one of us with a part to play.
We make the road by walking.
Yours in Christ, Sterling Sterling W. Severns, Pastor
Hello Youth Families: This year’s CBFVA Fall Retreat is happening November 11-13 at Eagle Eyrie in Lynchburg. This event is open for all middle and high school students (and their friends)!
The cost to attend is $95/person but we have scholarship funds available for those that may need it. The deadline to sign up for the Fall Retreat is Friday, September 30th. Payment is due by the time we leave for the retreat on November 11th. Please complete the form by CLICKING HERE for each youth who plans on attending. There may be more forms to fill out for CBFVA in advance of the event, but we will get those you when we have them.
