August 30, 2006

Anniversary Issue

With this issue of Beloved eNews, we begin the second year of this communication tool for those outside and inside of Beloved.  Church of the Beloved emails over 300 households each week with about half going to people all over the region, state and world who are either interested in or who desire to pray for our congregation’s ministry.  In essence, Beloved eNews is a communication tool aimed for Beloved’s “customers” (those who find us on the web, those who are exploring Christian faith, those considering Beloved, and those attending worship) as well as our “employees” (those who worship and serve our “customers” and this community in the name of Jesus after having completed Orientation).  Our goal is to provide timely information about Beloved and spiritual enrichment that makes the truths and practices of Christian spirituality accessible to seekers of faith, no matter where they are on their faith journey.

As we begin a second year of eNews, how are we doing?  Please tell us how this email update has been meaningful, or if there’s anything else we can do to make it better.  Click here to share your experiences.  Your feedback and ideas about eNews are very important to us.  Thanks for your time! 

J. Derek Harbin, priest

FaithQuest to Begin Soon…This after-school or weekend faith enrichment process is the perfect way to deepen your child’s faith and is offered as the primary means of deep faith formation and  small group relationships for the children of Beloved and interested children in the wider community.  Sessions are available for those who are toilet trained through age 15.  2006-2007 FaithQuest begins the week of September 10^th.  Scholarship for those with financial need is available as is bartering of material making in trade for tuition.  For more information, click here.

It’s Kairos Cookie Time…Twice a year, folks from Beloved join other Christians in baking cookies for Kairos, a faith-sharing, evangelistic weekend for prisoners in the Kershaw Correctional Institution.  Each weekend needs about 48,000 home-baked cookies!  Homemade cookies are a tangible expression of Christian love and an indication of God’s concern for a group of men who seldom encounter either in the course of their daily lives.  Many of them have not had a visit from family in years. 

Beloved’s own Rick Jordan will be leading this fall’s Kairos weekend.  Our congregational goal, (which has always been exceeded!), is to bake 150 dozen cookies for this fall’s evangelistic event.  This could be a great family or small group activity!  Pray as you bake that God will use your loving sacrifice to shine the Light of the Beloved into the dark corners of the prison.  On Sunday, September 17^th, we will offer a prayer of blessing over both the cookies and for the witness of Rick and his team.  The Beloved community is encouraged to pray the following weekend for the Kairos retreat for God’s Holy Spirit to empower Rick and the entire team as they minister in the name of Jesus.

Cookie storage boxes and recipe guidelines will be available after worship for the next several Sundays.  Please bring these filled cookie boxes back to Sunday worship on September 17^th.  Questions?  Contact Rick.

Parish Picnic at Cane Creek Park…Save Sunday afternoon, September 24^th on your calendar for Beloved’s 6^th Annual parish picnic in Union County’s beautiful Cane Creek Park.  Food, fellowship, paddleboats, horseshoes, miniature golf, games and more will be available.  This is a great opportunity to get to know more folks at Beloved and to pray about who God might be asking you to invite to meet the Beloved Community at a fellowship event.  More details will be coming soon.

TV Raffle…The Funding Team plans to hold the Plasma TV raffle in September at a time and place soon to be determined.  If you have unsold raffle tickets, stubs and/or money, please turn them in to Fred Mellon, Scott Sanniota or Kris Leinenkugel as soon a possible.  All funds raised from the raffle will support the “divine provision” portion of Beloved’s ministry budget.  Questions?  Contact Fred.

Simon Evening of Giving…This year’s Simon Evening of Giving at South Park Mall will be held the evening of Sunday, November 19^th.  What does your ticket buy?  Exclusive access to South Park Mall for discounted shopping, drawings for prizes and absolutely fabulous food!  Those who attended last year continue to talk about what a wonderful event this is!  By mid-September, Kris Leinenkugel and the Funding Team will have Simon Evening of Giving information and ticket packets ready for distribution.  All proceeds from the ticket sales benefit the Simon Youth Foundation for At-risk children and the “divine provision” portion of Beloved’s ministry budget.  Questions?  Contact Kris.

New Webpage…Check out the new Beloved Band page in the Worship and Music section of the Church of the Beloved website and learn some fun trivia about Chris Allen, Brad Link, Shana Blake, Scott McCloud and Dan Hood’s passions and interests that you may have never known before!  To view, click here.

Blessing of the Backpacks…A big thank you to the Human Needs Outreach Team, the Marketing Team and all who served in making the Blessing of the Backpacks and the collection of school supplies for A Child’s Place possible!  Sixteen heaping boxes of supplies were collected for homeless children in our community.  Forty-five children as well as teachers, adult students and home school educators came forward to be blessed, representing 21 different schools in our community.  A large photo of Ella Abbey, Toni and Dick Reif’s granddaughter, appeared in the Local News section of Monday’s Charlotte Observer and more images are slated to appear in tomorrow’s edition in the new South Neighbors section.  The Community Resources Director at A Child’s Place, Cheryl Carrothers, who wedged the visit to our congregation into her busy calendar the week before the collection said, “This was no mistake coming here today; it was wonderful.”

In our Prayers…We offer prayers of intercession for Bishop Gary Gloster who begins six weeks of radiation treatment for Prostate Cancer at Duke Medical Center…for Jennifer Sanders who is recovering from dental surgery…for those who have died or have been traumatized by the escalating violence in the Middle East and around the world...for those serving in Iraq, especially Ron, Marilyn Doyon‘s brother-in-law & Scott, Dan Hood's brother...for Brandon and Tanna, children of Dick Reif‘s employer who were critically injured in an auto accident...for Jacqui, niece of Deb and Dan Blackwood who is fighting breast cancer...for Harriett, Kathy Raynor‘s mother who has cancer...for Jessie Powell and Janie Lownes...for Emily, Nancy and Tony Hodgson's granddaughter...for Ed and Jean, Dick Reif's parents who are in declining health in Oklahoma...for Bucky, Sherrill Lowder's neighbor, who has lung cancer...for Cyteria Knight as she seeks permanent employment...for the staff and students of Community House Middle School.

Upcoming Calendar…click here