Midweek News June 26, 2024
June 26, 2024
Announcements and Items of Interest
This Sunday, June 30, is our annual “Celebration of God’s Creation” Worship Service in the church’s upper parking lot. The animal ambassadors, along with the staff from May Wildlife Rehab Center at Lees-McRae College, will be joining us for outdoor worship. You can come at 10:30 a.m. and meet the owls, hawks, eagles, birds, and squirrels before 11 a.m. worship. Please bring a chair and something cool to drink and your donations for Food for People and Pets and Daily Change.
The Church Choir meets at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday in the sanctuary for practice before worship. All are welcome to join!
The Knitting and Crocheting Group meets in the fellowship hall on Wednesdays from 1- 3 p.m. Come and enjoy some great fellowship and make winter hats and scarves for the homeless in our area. You can also bring any craft to work on. Contact Janis Kenyon for more information. (828) 898-3339.
Our Wednesday Bible Study Group will resume next Wednesday, June 26, at 3 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Rev. Maggie Lauterer will be leading a 4-week study on John Philip Newell’s book, The Rebirthing of God: Christianity’s Struggle for New Beginnings. The walls of Western Christianity are collapsing. In many parts of the West, that collapse can only be described as seismic. There are three main responses or reactions to this collapse. The first is to deny that it is happening. The second is to frantically try to shore up the foundations of the old thing. The third, which I invite us into, is to ask what is trying to be born that requires a radical reorientation of our vision. What is the new thing that is trying to emerge from deep within us and from deep within the collective soul of Christianity?" In the midst of dramatic changes in Western Christianity, internationally respected spiritual leader, peacemaker and scholar John Philip Newell offers the hope of a fresh stirring of the Spirit among us. He invites us to be part of a new holy birth of sacred living. To reserve a book, email
The next CPC Women’s Gathering will be held this Thursday, June 27, 4-6 p.m., at Jane Sowder’s home. The daylilies will be in full bloom to stroll through and enjoy! Please bring something salty or sweet to share and your beverage of choice.
Next Summer Series Program: This Tuesday, July 2 , 7 p.m., Church Sanctuary Dr. Jim Goff, a scholar of American religious history at Appalachian State University, will present “Elvis and Religion.” Dr. Goff will discuss Elvis Presley’s complicated and contradictory relationship with his Christian faith. Elvis was raised as a member of the Assemblies of God Church and was enamored by the rhythms and the message of gospel music. His earliest musical heroes were gospel singers, both Black and White. As his musical career took off, Elvis was both influenced and haunted by the decidedly evangelical and Pentecostal strictures of his youth. Despite his hedonistic lifestyle, he never completely abandoned his Christian beliefs. On the day of his untimely death in 1977, Elvis was reading a book titled A Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus and listening to a Christian album by the Stamps Quartet titled “Sweet, Sweet Spirit.”
Update on the CPC Mission Project: UnDue Medical Debt: So far, our donations for the final $4,000 have come to $600. This amazing non-profit called “Undue Medical Debt” helps wipe out medical debt in the United States. In fact, this non-profit has wiped out 12 billion dollars of medical debt for over 70 million people in all 50 states in the past decade. We have an anonymous donor who is giving $10,000 to help pay personal medical debt in Avery, Mitchell, and McDowell Counties. The Session has approved giving $1,000 which will come from monies already collected in the mission fund. With $11,000, we can wipe out over 2 million dollars of medical debt in the three counties and completely cover the unpaid medical debt in Avery County. The Session has set the goal at $15,000, which means we only have $4,000 left to raise before the end of 2024. This will wipe out over 3 million dollars of medical debt and may completely cover the unpaid medical debt in all three counties. To qualify for this program, people’s income must be below the poverty line or meet a ratio of their debt to their income. If you would like to make a donation to UnDue Medical Debt, please make your check out to “Crossnore Presbyterian Church” and designate for UnDue Medical Debt. The church’s mailing address is P.O. Box 386, Crossnore, NC 28616.
Update on the CPC Roof Replacement and Sanctuary Repairs: Time to do a “Happy Dance.” The Roof Committee received approval from the National Historic Preservation Fund for the color of our roof tile! The roof tile will be ordered this week and we are on our way to beginning construction in the Spring of 2025. The photo shows the color of our roof tile. Thanks to everyone who has contributed funds, time, expertise, and prayers for this long journey that will continue through next summer. Our roof funds are still earning over 5%. Our construction manager, Mike Gragg, is working on getting bids for all the different construction pieces.
The next Mayland Fellowship Gathering will be held on Sunday, July 14, at Fletcher Presbyterian Church, 1578 Cow Camp Road, Newland, NC. This is CP Roger Wise’s congregation. Dinner at 5:30 p.m. followed by a business meeting. At 7 p.m., Dave Cohn, the Director of Holston Center and Camp will give an update on Holston Center programs and events. Everyone is invited!
Update from WAMY- one of our non-profit partners in mission: “Thank you for the World Changers Project with your donation of $1,000. We have received all the funding needed to offer 14 home repairs during the week of July 8th. In Service, Allison Jennings, WAMY Director of Development.”
The Congregational Fellowship Committee needs volunteers to host Coffee Hour after worship on the first and second Sundays of the month this summer. If you would like to help, you can choose a date or two or serve once a month. Please contact Gayle Culbreath at:
Feeding Avery Families really needs volunteers to help distribute food on Wednesdays. Please check out their volunteer page: www. feedingaveryfamilies.org. Volunteers are also needed at Reaching Avery Ministry (Ram’s Rack) next to the Dollar General in Newland. They need help from volunteers to assist in the thrift store. You can show up and they will put you to work! Mon-Fri: 9:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Sat: 9 a.m.- 3 p.m.