This coming Sunday, there are two opportunities to grow in faith and knowledge at BPC…
- The Feasting on the Word Sunday School Class – at 9 AM in the “Living Room,” which is directly below the Sanctuary, next to the Choir Room (the Living Room used to be called The Library). We are starting a new Sunday School class for Adults. This new weekly gathering will focus on the day’s scripture readings and draw connections between scripture and our lives. There are no prerequisites aside from a desire to learn and grow in faith and knowledge and spend quality time with some quality people.
- The Matthew 25 Forum will be held at 11:15 AM in the Fellowship Hall. BPC is a “Matthew 25 Church,” part of a denomination-wide effort to increase church vitality and decrease poverty and racism. This Sunday, come to Coffee Hour and stay for a 25-minute discussion on our Talents as individuals and as a congregation.
This week, there are multiple opportunities to give support to Hurricane Helene victims. . .
As many of you know, there has been horrific flooding from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and parts of South Carolina and Georgia. In some places, the devastation is unimaginable. Thankfully, there are helpers on the ground in local communities and regionally. I want to let you know about some specific ways that we can help the helpers:
- Give a gift to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), which approves grants and has deployed response teams to affected areas. PDA is filled with experts on long-term recovery who seek to walk with people months and years after a disaster. BPC has had a long relationship with PDA’s work in Louisiana, New York, and Puerto Rico. PDA is on the ground offering help. Give HERE.
- Give a gift to the Black Mountain Presbyterian Church (BMPC) in Black Mountain, North Carolina, on the eastern edge of some of the worst devastation. In the days following Helene, BMPC has fed up to 1,000 local people daily. BMPC is located on the road to the Montreat Conference Center and has years of experience in offering help to those in need, especially feeding hungry people in the Swannanoa Valley (which includes the communities of Swannanoa and Asheville). BMPC is a coordinating place for other Presbyterian helpers in the area. Give HERE.
- Write a check to Bedford Presbyterian Church and designate that gift for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance or Black Mountain Presbyterian Church. We will make sure that it gets where it needs to go. There are other organizations (World Central Kitchen and the American Red Cross, to name two more) and ways to give, but these are two that I know are doing good work – regionally and locally – in a hard-hit area.
In addition, we are kicking off a season of giving for our Thanksgiving Ministry (providing gifts of food and grocery cards for local families through our Deacons), AND next week, we will be kicking off our Stewardship Season of “Grace and Gratitude.”
Thank you for your commitment to growing and giving as a congregation. I am so thankful for the ways that God’s grace is evident in our growing and giving together!
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Week: “For the Kids (And All God’s Children Say. . .)”
- Read Mark 10:13-16
- Read Mark 9:37
- Read or sing Hymn # 456 – “Listen, God is Calling”