“Hope Together, Grow in Faith”
March 2023
Minister’s Message
Revelation 5:6 “Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
This verse comes in the middle of a vision of a heavenly throne room. This vision is the anchor for the entire book of Revelation. Before things get really bad and readers are subjected to horrible forthcoming travesties, John wants readers to really be able to embrace, see and believe in the majesty of God. God’s majesty is imaged as a Lamb who has been subjected to suffering on behalf of the created world. John wants this Lamb to be seen as having ‘everything’ in his hands.
The psychological symbolism of the passages surrounding Revelation 5:6 is victory and hope. Victory and hope are purposely contrasted with the dark stuff so the light of God pops through.
Our church has been through so much recently. The world is going through so much as well. During Lent, embrace John’s beautiful revelatory image of the Lamb who has everything in your life and the lives of others in his hands. Know that the majesty of God will never go away. Amid troubles, there will be areas of victory and hope that will pop through.
Watch for them.
Rev. Rebekah Carpenter
PINE NEEDLE SALE!
SATURDAY, MARCH 18 & 25
PRICE: $5.00 PER BALE
$15.00 DELIVERY FEE (NO FEE FOR MEMBERS)
MINIMUM ORDER OF 15 BALES FOR DELIVERY
Children and youth news
Children’s Ministry
The Children of the church continue to teach our congregation with their willingness to participate in leadership on Sunday mornings. Their willingness to witness to their faith during worship by leading in drama, music, the reading of scripture, and leading us in calls to worship is inspiring! They have also answered the call to our Imaginary Trip to Jerusalem which continues through the season of Lent. They have exceeded expectations by their actions of intentional Christian practices each week recording their miles with the help of our wonderful Sunday school teachers and their faithful parents. What a testament to their faith! We will continue collecting our miles throughout March and hope that these young Christian Disciples show us how it’s done. Sunday school continues through March our start time is 9:45 am each Sunday morning on the third floor which they share with the Youth. We continue to study the Old Testament using the Holy Moly Bible Study curriculum from Sparkhouse Publishing House. These lessons are well written and have easy to follow instructions and our children love the lessons. The Children’s Ministry of the church is seeking additional teachers to lead our children and enable us to teach in a rotation that allows our leaders to attend adult Sunday school classes on occasion. Please prayerfully consider offering your gifts as a leader. Please see elder Karen or Jill Kimbirl if you have an interest and we invite you to come observe the class to see how enjoyable it is to lead our youngest disciples. The Children’s Ministry begins planning for the summer and has begun to explore options for camps as well as planning for Vacation Bible School. There are a lot of moving parts and work behind the scenes to accomplish all these things and we are asking for any assistance that folks feel called to. Stay tuned for dates of VBS and other dates of importance going forward. Please see below dates for March that should be of interest to you!
Youth Ministry (High School and Middle School)
The Youth Ministry of New Hope wants to send heart felt congratulations to Max Michaels and his family on his recent Ordination of Word and Sacrament Teaching Elder of the Presbyterian Church! The Youth of our church were an integral part of celebrating and leading during Max Michaels’ ordination service on February 26th and we are so excited to congratulate Max on all his hard work of study at the seminary and his work here. His deep and abiding Faith has led to his beautiful relationship with this group of Youth when he was their leader a few years ago! It has led to lasting friendships and a testimony of his commitment to God and the church. Congratulations Max!!!
The Youth Ministry enters March with excitement as we look forward to our major fundraiser our Pine Needle sale. All Youth are encouraged to help assist with the work involved in making this Pine Needle sale a success as their contributions reflect their ability to attend youth trips and extra events at little to no cost to their families. Youth, this is an easy way to help your church family see your faith through this fundraiser! It’s fun and we feed you, too! There are many jobs involved in this process. We need help with the young children while their parents are delivering the pine needles, we need young people to help with directions during delivery, and we need young people to unload the pine needles when we deliver them to the homes. Please mark your calendars for the following dates this month Saturday, March 18th and March 25th . Please arrive at the church at 8:30 a.m. each morning and expect to work most of the day. Breakfast and lunch will be offered to all volunteers and helpers. Please let Karen or Jill know that you will be in attendance. Again, please remember this fundraiser enables our Youth Ministry to have funds to go on retreats, fun trips, and overnight mission trips. Please make this a priority! Thank You!
March Calendar for Children and Youth Ministry!
Each Sunday in the month Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 11:00 a.m.
March 1st Multi-generational Bible Study including dinner 6:00-7:30 pm
March 5th VBS at Bradley Memorial Church (K-5 th graders) 2:45 – 5 pm March 12th (RSVP by March 1st to Jill) (Theme: Jerusalem Marketplace)
March 19th We can go to all or just one week of this wonderful program!
March 7th Youth and Children’s Ministry Committee Meeting 7:00 pm
March 18th Pine Needle Sale – arrive 8:30 am all day March 25th Pine Needle Sale – arrive 8:30 am all day
Dates of note for both Youth and Children’s Events this month:
Sunday, December 4th Advent Festival hosted by the Youth Ministry Committee 4:30 p.m. pancake dinner to be served along with beautiful crafts and fun intergenerational activities.
Tuesday, December 6th McAdenville Lights Hayride
Sunday, December 11th Christmas Party for Black Mountain Children’s Home
Wednesday, December 14th Martha’s Trouble Christmas Concert
Sunday, December 18th Children singing during worship
Sunday, December 18th Youth Christmas Party and dinner at Ms. Jill’s house 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 29th Youth and children backpack program extension and lunch to follow (adult drivers needed). 10:30 a.m. at FPC-Belmont (this is part of the backpack program that supports families in the counties public schools during school breaks).
Tuesday, March 7th at 7pm all are invited to attend the Youth and Christian Education Committee meeting.
A Note from the Finance Committee
God’s people faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. – 2 Chronicles 31:12
Thank you for your continued support of our church through your financial giving, prayers and gifts of time and talent. Our January income exceeded our expenses but due to the timing of when invoices were received, the expenses did not include gas, trash, janitorial and yard care.
Quarterly Quarters:
Our next Quarterly Quarters collection will be Sunday, April 2nd. The intent of this collection is to save your quarters (or change) during the year and we collect quarterly. This money is deposited into a restricted account and can be used for unexpected expenses as needed by the church.
“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” ~Max Lucado
Thank you,
Risa, Chair
Wanda
Harriett
Ray
Elaine George J Jimmy
Adult Education
We are looking forward to the return of Wednesday night Bible study on March 1st from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. This will be an inter-generational study led by Pastor Rebekah. A light dinner will be available starting at 6pm and Bible Study will be 6:30-7:30 pm. There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex for any individual or group that would like to sponsor a light meal for the Bible study. These studies will continue once a month on the 1st Wednesday of the month. You fill find a slip of paper in your bulletin to RSVP prior to each Bible study so we can get a headcount for the meals. Please join us for an inspirational message and fellowship.
We started February off with our journey to “Walk to Jerusalem”. Many thanks to Pastor Rebekah for all her support of this program and graciously sharing some of her sermon time with Barbara so she could inspire the congregation to participate in this journey. The first week we logged in 3,199 miles, almost halfway to Jerusalem, Week two, we made it all the way to Jerusalem. Now we will continue this pilgrimage as we wait for Jesus to arrive, his crucifixion, and that glorious day when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Thank you to everyone that is participating in this journey. The more we give our hearts to God the more we see him everywhere in the smallest happenings to the most magnificent sights.
The Stardusters Band performance was held on Tuesday, February 14th, 2023. We had a few cancellations due to illness but there was a total of 84 in attendance. Everyone enjoyed the music, food and fellowship. I would like to thank two members of the Adult Education team who worked tirelessly to make sure that this was a successful event, Rose Mary and Wanda, also Ralph worked right along with us to make sure everyone was taken care of (we may add him to our committee). Thank you to Harriett for checking the reservation roster as guests arrived. We couldn’t have done it without you too.
Sunday School
Sunday School is going strong! As a reminder start time is 9:45 a.m. If you are not currently attending Sunday School please join in one of our classes! The parlor class or“Gen X” class would both welcome your company! A note from the adult education committee
“Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:4
A NOTE FROM THE SERVICE COMMITTEE
Crisis Assistance Ministries
Pass the mustard!
Pass the ketchup!
This month we will focus on condiments; ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish and similar items. With the coming of spring its sandwich weather, and CAM is in need of all condiments. Let’s continue to generously provide these items that CAM needs most for the less fortunate members of our community. Our next collection day is Sunday, March 12th.
Tutoring
Out tutoring partnership with New Hope Elementary is off to a great start. In fact two more teachers have requested our help. If you like kids and like reading with them, you’re perfect. Your efforts can have a life transforming effort on young lives. Want to volunteer? Contact Tom!
Remember, if you need a ride to church, the doctor, or the store we have 5 members in the travel committee. Please don’t hesitate to let us know how we can help. For more information contact Tom.
NEWS FROM PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN
Dates to remember:
Circle # 3 will meet Monday, March 6th at 7:00 pm in the parlor.
Morning Circle will meet Tuesday, March 14th at 10:00 am
Presbyterian Women’s Coordinating Team will meet Monday,March 13th 7:00 pm
The NHPW Scholarship is offered annually in the amount of $1000.00 to a New Hope Church member. The scholarship will be split, $500.00 for each semester, fall and spring. The scholarship is available to students who have been accepted to their first year of college, Trade/Technical School, or community college. The application deadline is March 1. Applications may be obtained from the church office or Karen and may be submitted back to the church office or the NHPW Moderator, Jean. There is also scholarship money on the Presbytery level for anyone wishing to begin college.
New Hope’s two circles continue to meet monthly using the Horizons Bible Study series of lessons on SABBATH. If you are not a circle member and desire to be part of a group of strong committed Christian women who seek ways to serve, please let your desire be known. Your participation will enhance the work of the organization and add a new dimension to your personal commitment. Meeting dates and times are in the monthly newsletter and the weekly bulletin.
LADIES, Our 34th Annual NHP Ladies Event is fast approaching. Keep your eyes and ears open for our May 15th Event as plans unfold.
Preschool News
Fun happenings with the kids Monday, February 27th was Silly Sock Day, Tuesday was Hat Day, Wednesday was Wacky Wednesday, Thursday was Green Eggs & Ham Day.
Planning ahead for April they have the Bike-a-thon which is an awesome fundraiser and so exciting to watch, and the Easter Hat Parade and Party. The kids have such imaginations so the hats are always a delight to see.