All Saints Day: 1 November 2007

Saintly Living

 In the early morning as I was getting our children’s breakfast ready before school, I heard on the radio a powerful story attributed to Mother Teresa:

 

One night a man came to our (convent) house and told me, "There is a family with eight children. They have not eaten for days."  I took some food with me and went.  When I finally came to that family, I saw the faces of those little children disfigured by hunger.  There was no sorrow or sadness in their faces, just the deep pain of hunger.  I gave the rice to the mother.  She divided the rice in two, and went out, carrying half the rice.  When she came back, I asked her, "Where did you go?"  She gave me this simple answer:  “To my neighbor-they are hungry also!”

 

I was not surprised that she gave, because poor people are really generous.  But I was surprised that she knew they were hungry.  As a rule, when we are suffering, we are so focused on ourselves we have no time for others.

 

In these simple words, Mother Teresa shows us one image of saintly living…a life focused outward rather than fixated on the self.  Come this Sunday to Beloved’s All Saints Celebration.  Hear where your destiny lies as a saint of God.  Discover what our Lord Jesus considers a life of success and how many people are praying you will be successful!

 

J. Derek Harbin, priest

 

     

 

A Special All Saints Need…Beloved’s Jan Floyd (a native of Wales with the lovely accent!) is a certified Nurse Midwife and has countless opportunities to minister in the name of Jesus to those she serves.  Here is an opportunity for us, as her community of faith, to tangibly join her in this ministry. 

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

This is a request for your help to assist a young, pregnant woman who is in my practice. For obvious reasons, I cannot relay the circumstances that surround her, but I can vouch for her quiet determination and grace, as she struggles valiantly to deal with formidable challenges, alone, in a strange place. Her baby is due November 22nd and she has very little ready due to financial constraints. She does have a job, which barely cover her living expenses and despite her quiet determination, as her due date draws near, I can see that she is feeling overwhelmed.  God has been very clear to me with this young lady but, although I have initiated communication with support services, they are slow to respond because of demand. I have prayed much for her and asked God to lead me. He led me to you all. I have spoken with Father Derek and Clifford and they are, as always, very supportive. I also asked "Mary" [so called by Clifford] if I could reach out to my community of faith—to each of you. Her quiet tears of gratitude were very moving. I also invited her to join our family for worship Nov 4th. I know that you will make her feel welcome. She needs all the love and support that we can give and if you are at all able to help in a practical way, I would be very grateful. To learn more, contact me here.

 

Your sister in Christ,

Jan Floyd 

 

Around Beloved…All Saints Sunday is this Sunday!  During this service, we will baptize Meghan Shaughnessy as our newest sister in Christ and will remember those who have died and gone to God’s heavenly feast since last year’s All Saints celebration.  There is no Christian Formation because of the Baptism reception that will follow worship.  Don’t miss this very special event!

 

 

Beloved Women's Fellowship will meet on November 14^th from 7-9 at Beloved Garden. For those who would like, take out food will be ordered from a neighboring restaurant. At this meeting we will spend some time making simple items to sell at the Beloved Christmas Workshop to be held after worship and Christian Formation on December 9th. Come and enjoy fun and fellowship with the wonderful women of Beloved! Please come or you will be missed!

 

 

Simon Evening of Giving is at SouthPark Mall on Sunday, November 18^th.  For every $10 ticket to this event we sell, our church keeps $7.  The remaining $3 will go to the Simon Youth Foundation, which provides support and resources for at-risk children.  Packets containing tickets and additional details for this event continue to be available to COB participants after worship or by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

Mark your calendars for December 1!  Come to A Beloved Evening with Friends and Family.  Relax over dessert and beverages in a cabaret atmosphere.  Laugh with your sisters and brothers in Christ.  Be moved and inspired by the Beloved Band and the theatrical talents our special guests—Friends of the Groom—a professional theater company from Cincinnati, Ohio dedicated to communicating the Christian message to adults and children in unexpected, entertaining and challenging ways.  Celebrate our blessings and hear where Beloved is going in the future.  With such a mission focus, it is important that you are there! 

 

Though not all our active congregation is present in worship each Sunday, we hope to see up to two hundred adults and children present for this special night!  Of course, friends are welcome as well and free childcare will be offered for those

children under 6 who might prove distracting to others. 

 

Here are the details: Saturday, December 1^st from 7-8:30pm @ Providence Presbyterian Church.  For more information, speak to Ben Copeland, Craig Doyon, Harris High, Tony Hodgson, Dick Reif or Fr. Derek.  Don’t miss the inaugural offering of what we expect to become one of Beloved’s annual highlights of the year!  Reserve your spot today!!  

 

Before the Friends of the Groom perform at our Saturday, December 1^st Beloved Evening with Family and Friends, they will offer a drama workshop from 2-4pm for the Charlotte community called Beyond Bathrobes: Drama and Storytelling for the Church.  This is a workshop for any adult or youth who likes, or thinks they would like, to express their faith creatively.  Those who come will be invited to participate in a variety of drama and storytelling activities, including five ways to perform a story in worship and creative uses of drama in worship.  Pre-register by clicking here.

 

Friends of the Groom is a professional theater company dedicated to communicating the Christian message in an entertaining and challenging format. The inter-denominational group is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and normally travels in teams of two or three. Since 1980, they have performed plays, led retreat weekends, and conducted workshops in thousands of locations from Anchorage to Canterbury.

 

 

 

 

On Sunday, December 9 following Worship and Christian Formation, Beloved’s Fellowship Team will host a Brunch followed by a Christmas Workshop and Cakewalk.  The focus of the Christmas workshop will be small handmade items that children may want to buy for their parents, siblings, or perhaps teachers.  Some creative members of our congregation have also made items that the adults will be interested in purchasing, as well.  There will also be simple gift-wrapping available for their purchases; donations for this wrapping station would be most appreciated.

 

Volunteers from our church are preparing some delicious brunch food. The menu will consist of homemade breakfast casseroles, assorted fruit, croissants and mini muffins, cheese grits, juice, and It's a Grind coffee. Make your paid reservation early beginning on Sunday, November 4th. A member of the Fellowship Planning Team will happily assist you. The cost: Adults $5, ages 3-10 $2.50, and under 3 are free. All are welcome on Dec. 9 but paying ahead will allow the "cooks" to determine how much food to prepare.

 

To top off the morning, there will be a Cake Walk with items donated by the wonderful cooks at Beloved. If you have not volunteered your culinary talents, please contact Betsy Fox.

 

We are very excited about this event and look forward to your participation.  Please be there!

 

 

 

Beloved eNews publishes each Thursday.  News and calendar information should be submitted via email by the Monday preceding the publication date.

 

 

October 28…Attendance: 85; Worship Offering: $1,956.  Income needed for ministry each week: $5,500 (fully funded) à $4,400 (requiring other funding sources i.e. fundraising events).  The financial goal of Church of the Beloved is to reach self-sufficiency (i.e. pay all expenses without income from outside sources) by 12/31/2008.

 

 

Scripture Readings for November 4…Ephesians 1:11-23 & Luke 6:20-31

 

Serving at God’s Altar on November 4…Complete setup/complete teardown: Angel Army Team #3; Acolytes: Victoria Floyd, Brian Sanniota, Jack Sanniota, Katie Sanniota; Offering Basket Passers: Joseph Duty, Gabi Leinenkugel, Carter Ricket, Madelyn Ricket; Offering Tellers: Craig Doyon (head) & Roey Southard; Presenters: Dave & Mary Ann Cash; Altar Bread Baker: Catherine Atwood; Lay Eucharistic Ministers: Bud Moore & Janie Wooten; PowerPoint: Kevin Krantz; Reader: Liz Wilson.

 

 

 

In our Prayers…click here

 

Upcoming Calendar...click here