Thank you to all who have donated to The Help Center Christmas Basket collection.
25 boxes of tea have been brought to the church since the call went out yesterday, far exceeding the 15 boxes needed to reach the goal of 90!
The CBPC family is so generous! Thank you for making Christmas brighter for those in need.
Streaming TV services have formed the habit of often making a particular show available all at once. You don’t have to wait for them to be aired one-by-one, you can just sit down and watch them all. The advantage of doing that is that you don’t have to wait for the next episode to come out, which formerly would be a week or longer, depending on the time of year.
We will have started Advent on Sunday, November 28th, so we’ll already be into our new church season by the time you read this. For 2022 we’ll have the gospel of Luke as our focus. You’ll be able to follow along in worship and glean more from the time together if you “binge-watch” (so to speak) Luke 1-2 outside of worship. Here’s how you can do that: pick one of the following (or feel free to do them all).
Read Luke 1-3 on your own at home. Easy peasy, we’re talking one cup of coffee or tea per chapter. First few minutes of three breakfasts or three lunches, and boom. You’re done. Another way is to take turns reading a paragraph at a time at a family meal, or having one person read the chapter to the folks while they eat.
I’ll TOTALLY read the whole thing to you. Click the links below.
Luke, Chapter 1 (8 minutes)
Luke, Chapter 2 (6 minutes)
Luke, Chapter 3, genealogy not included (3 minutes)
Watch this brief Summary Video of Luke 1-2 on YouTube. It only covers Luke 1-2, but it’s still very well done. The video ends at about 4 min 20 sec, the remainder is the creators letting folks know how to support their work financially. They gotta make a living, too.
Why is it important to engage with these stories inside and outside of worship? Other than just the usual personal discipleship growth reasons, we don’t really hear these stories much at all this time of year. Many of them are left out of the Revised Common Lectionary we read from on Sundays (Zechariah and Elizabeth are almost entirely omitted), and the stories are left out of our usual cantata and Christmas pageant storytelling. Christmas Eve’s reading of Luke 2:1-20 is pretty much all we get, or perhaps all we tend to remember.
Another casualty of these stories getting left out is that we miss the SONGS! Luke 1-3 has four songs, sometimes called canticles (fancy churchy Latin word meaning “song”). These passages from Luke are frequently set to music, and there are versions of them in our hymnal. You can also find other versions and performances of them on YouTube.
Song of Mary (The Magnificat), Luke 1:46-55
Song of Zechariah (The Benedictus), Luke 1:67-79
Song of Simeon (The Nunc Dimittis), Luke 2:29-32
Song of the Angels (The Gloria, a.k.a. Gloria in Excelsis), Luke 2:14 (Think of that last one like an angelic praise chorus.)
I hope that you’ll find time to gather around this first part of the gospel of Luke in the coming weeks during the season of Advent. Doing so will greatly enrich your experience of Sunday worship, and it will be a way for you to rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing if your schedule across the next few weeks feels very full.
Have a blessed Advent!
Jonathan Bowling
Pastor, Carolina Beach Presbyterian Church
Presbyterian Outlook Webinar, Dec. 9, 7pm (or view the video replay after the event)
60-minute webinar including a presentation and a Q&A
In “Glimpsing imago Dei: Photography as a spiritual practice,” participants will explore how to better use their cameras and smartphones to create images that illustrate the majesty of the created world and its inhabitants. We’ll discuss composition, technique and equipment, and look at images that stoke inspiration. We’ll share in a time of fun discussion around the joy of photography and how it intersects with faith.
You must register to participate. An on-demand replay will be available after the live event for those who register. There is a $10 registration fee.
Here's a little evening inspiration shared by Bettie Slusser. This is an AMAZING performance by an adult choir (up in the front of the sanctuary of this church in Virginia) AND a children's choir up in the antiphonal choir loft (balcony). The song? How Great Thou Art. This performance gave me goosebumps. I hope you'll enjoy it, too.
Worship Video for Sunday, March 15. Readings: Romans 8:31-39 and John 4:5-15, 27-30, 39-42 (The story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well). All services were cancelled due to the outbreak of Coronavirus COVID-19.
I've put this video together for all who would like to have a time of worship at home using this abbreviated order that's similar to our Sunday worship service. I hope it's a blessing.
You may also be interested to hear/view the music to the song "Jesus Gave Me Water" by Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers. The Gaither Vocal Band also has a video performance of the song. This song does an excellent job of both telling and interpreting the story of Jesus and the Woman at the Well.
Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers
Images used in Video during Gospel reading:
Stone well - aiglenoirdz from Morguefile.com
Water is Life - AmyFisherLittle from Morguefile.com
Water Jar - albertinis69 from Morguefile.com
FREE concert at at CBPC
performed by the Girls’ Choir of Wilmington
Sunday, April 19, 2020, at 4pm in the sanctuary.
Stay afterward to help package diapers for the Lower Cape Fear branch of the Diaper Bank of North Carolina. For more information, contact the church office.
Save the date for the annual Youth Cornhole Tournament, March 29 after the 11:00 a.m. worship service. Fun, food and more. All proceeds are used to support the Summer Youth Camps. Stay tuned for more details on how to join in the fun!
The Fellowship Committee will host a day trip to the Cameron Art Museum on Thursday, March 19th. Those interested in participating can call or email Carole Rogers or contact the church office. Participants can meet in the church parking lot at 9:30 a.m. or go directly to the museum and meet the group at 10:00 a.m.
On exhibit are the Louis Belden Modernist Collection; photography by Phil Freelon, “Unfolding Noguchi,” a paper sculpture exhibit, and the permanent Claude Howell exhibit.
Admission is free to museum members and $8.00 for nonmembers. After we tour the exhibits at our leisure, we will have lunch in the museum cafe. Salads, soups, and sandwiches usually run from $10 to $15.00. Carole will collect the admission fee in advance.
The following Sundays in 2020 CBPC will have one, combined 10:00 A.M. Worship service
(nursery available; no Sunday school). Please mark your calendars.
Sunday, February 2, 10:00 A.M.
Sunday, March 1, 10:00 A.M. with Communion
Sunday, May 31, 10:00 A.M. with Communion
Sunday, October 4, 10:00 A.M. with Communion
Sunday, November 29, 10:00 A.M. Hanging of the Greens
Sunday, December 27 – 10:00 A.M.
Save the Date!!! Sunday, April 19, 4:00pm
CBPC will once again partner with the Girls Choir of Wilmington for a concert followed by a diaper wrapping mission project in the Fellowship Hall for the Lower Cape Fear branch of the Diaper Bank of North Carolina. You are invited to attend the concert and participate in the mission project afterward.
Linda Lorah (Commissioned Ruling Elder) will lead a Lenten study each Wednesday, starting Feb. 26 (thru April 8) from 2:30-4:00. A Time to Weep, by Sister Joan Chittister, will be the topic of study. Linda has a few copies of the booklet, if you are interested. The group will meet in the Sun room. You can read more about the study or purchase a copy at this link.
Wednesday, February 26, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of Lent. We will have a 7:00 P.M. Worship service which will include the imposition of ashes for any who would like to come forward to receive it.
“Ashes have a long history in biblical and church traditions.
In Scripture ashes or dust symbolize frailty or death (Gen. 18:27), sadness or mourning (Esther 4:3), judgment (Lam. 3:16), and repentance (Jon. 3:6).
Some traditions also have considered ash a purifying or cleansing agent. All these images are caught up in the church’s use of ashes as a symbol appropriate for Lent.
…The ashes, which often are the burnt residue of the previous year’s palms from Palm Sunday, are often mixed with a little water and carried in a small dish. As the leader goes from worshiper to worshiper, or as worshipers come forward, the leader dips a finger in the moist ash and makes a cross on each person’s forehead (the “imposition,” [meaning “to put or place”]), saying words such as “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,” or, “Consider yourself dead to sin and alive in Jesus Christ.”
—From The Worship Sourcebook, © 2004, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, p. 541-542
It’s coming on Tuesday, February 25, 6:30 P.M. Bring your favorite covered dish to share. Please use the signup sheet on the table across from the office to let the F&H Committee know what you’ll bring.
Mardi Gras! A parade of children would be so fun! Kids are invited to participate in a mini-parade in the fellowship hall. We’ll have some festive beads, feather boas, and colorful costume masks for the kids to choose from if they’d like. Mark your calendars and plan to come for some food, fellowship, and fun.
Festival of Hymns Sunday, February 23rd at 4pm at Church of the Servant.
The Choir of Carolina Beach Presbyterian is joining the Choir of Church of the Servant (Episcopal) for a Festival of Hymns.
This will be a glorious event celebrating hymns and Psalms from the late 300’s to the early 1960’s. It is a service you don’t want to miss. We hope everyone will come up South College Road that Sunday afternoon to hear this great service.
Church of the Servant is at 4915 Oriole Drive. (Directions from Carolina Beach)
Follow S. College Rd. to Jeff Gordon Chevrolet,
Turn right on Oriole
The church is just past Racine Drive, turn left into the 4th driveway. Contact the church office if you have any questions.
Boy Scout Troop 210 is holding their annual pancake breakfast in the fellowship hall on Saturday, February 15, from 7am - 11am. Tickets are only $6 each and can be purchased from the Bowling/Harris/Clamme families or at the door. If you cannot attend, but would still like to support the event (i.e. purchase a ticket for someone in need or make a donation), please see Pastor Jonathan or Jason Clamme.
(Photo by davidpwhelan at morguefile.com)
Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday Supper, Tuesday, February 25, 2020, 6:30 P.M. Bring your favorite covered dish to share. Please use the signup sheet on the table across from the office to let the F&H Committee know what you’ll bring.
The Soup Supper, hosted by the Presbyterian Men’s Fellowship, will be Wednesday, January 22 at 6:00 P.M. in the Fellowship hall. Invite a friend or neighbor.
Join us for delicious home-made chicken and beef soups, desserts, and fellowship. Please sign up to bring a dessert if you can. The sign up sheet is on the table across from the church office.
Bible Study on Exodus 1-15. Wednesdays at 6pm in the Session Room.
On Jan. 8th we'll wrap up our study of the birth narrative in Matthew 1-3 (with John the Baptist) and then shift gears on Jan. 15th to a study of Exodus, about God bringing the people out of Egypt. Please let Pastor Jonathan know if you would like to participate so you can receive a booklet.
Familiarity with Exodus 1-15 will enrich your experience of the stories of the New Testament, especially the stories of Holy Week.
Saturday, Nov.16, 10:30am-4:30pm at Winter Park Presbyterian Church here in town (See contact info below). All they ask is a $12 per-person donation to offset lunch costs.
As a widow and Certified Grief Recovery Specialist, Donna Marie Todd understands the life-changing impact that grief has on our bodies, minds, and souls. This day-long retreat was created for widows, widowers, those who have lost children or parents, care-givers, and those who have received life-changing medical diagnosis. In a fun, laughter and tear-filled day, they claim their stories, learn proven techniques for releasing stress, discover new ways to care for themselves, and find authentic community created from deep sharing and loving acceptance.
Winter Park Presbyterian Church
4501 Wrightsville Ave
Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 791-5893
Do you love to put up the Christmas wreath and tree and hang the garland? Here is a chance to get started even before the Thanksgiving turkey is in the oven! After 11:00 worship on November 24th we will begin the process of decorating the church to be ready for Hanging of the Greens Service at 10:00 on December 1, the first Sunday of Advent. Please plan to stay for 45 minutes or so to help prepare the church for this wonderful season. We think you can be home before the 1:00 football games start! Many hands make light work!
