Give Thanks for What We Have

The Red Oak Christian

Vol. XXXVIX October, 2014 Number 10 MINISTER’S MOMENT

“ Give Thanks For What We Have”.  Stewardship is the spiritual and daily practice of living into all that we have.  Stewardship is the heart and body and mind agreeing that we have enough alright. Stewardship is taking what we have, giving thanks for what is in front in us and knowing we are blessed and thus can share without fear.  Stewardship is living the faith in grace and love not in fear and scarcity.  Stewardship is our outward sign to the world that we trust God with our lives and with all the things surrounding our lives and that we have plenty for God is a God of plenty.

Jesus took whatever he had around him in the moment and in full trust of God’s power offered up the gifts in thanks and then shared with all, even you and me. This October we are going to ask each household to do three things: 1. Give thanks for all you have- 2. Trust God that all you have is enough- 3. Share your abundance with the world-

In October the worship experience will be centered on Giving Thanks For What We Have. Through videos, personal testimonies, scripture, music, and sermon, the story of Giving Thanks and Having Enough to Share.

Each time we meet, we will give thanks for the blessings that overflow in our lives and we will share how we are able to give knowing we will still have enough.

In His Grace,

Pastor Craig

On October 26 the Stewardship Committee will host a Stewardship Soup and Sandwich lunch after worship service. Homemade Vegetable Ham Soup, Chili, Pimento Cheese Sandwiches, Chicken Salad Sandwiches and Ham Biscuits. The committee will prepare the lunch and we ask the members to bring a simple dessert to share. If you can help set up and serve on that day please let Lisa Allen know at [email protected] or 252-531-3348. There will be a door prize provided and you get your ticket for the entry when you get your plate. Please plan to attend.

Pastor Appreciation Day has been scheduled for Sunday, October 12. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend. We will be serving a covered dish luncheon on that day so please plan to bring a salad, side dish, or dessert. A table will be set up for cards and gifts for our church pastor. - Worship Committee

CWF Bazaar News

The fall general meeting of our CWF has been scheduled for Monday, September 29th at 6:30 pm. Please plan to attend and bring a salad, side dish, or dessert for this dinner meeting.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn……….. Fall is here, and with it comes preparations for Red Oak’s traditional Fall Bazaar. Every season has its own special charm, but none is more enjoyable than the autumn season. Summer comes to a close, days are shorter and cooler, and as the leaves on the trees begin to turn—we enjoy the handiwork of Mother Nature. Crisp autumn days, golden pumpkins, footballs, and flowering mums are everywhere. It may be the end of summer, but it is also a beginning of a new season. So it is time to begin plans for our upcoming Bazaar on Saturday, November 1st. There is a lot to be done before we begin serving our “famous” chicken salad luncheon on that day. The “Helping Hands” circle recently met on Monday, September 15th, and the meeting was well attended. Thanks to all the members who came out on that day. Volunteers have already been enlisted to help with our fall event, and we welcome all those who want to help. The Fall Bazaar has enable the group to make many purchases for Red Oak Christian Church over many years including the fellowship hall chairs, church windows, shutters, and a large donation toward the audio-visual system. That’s a lot of chicken salad!

For anyone with crafty ideas, please begin making handmade items to stock our bazaar tables on Saturday, November 1st. We always have a nice array of creative and attractive items to sell along with all those beautiful cakes and other baked items. We may be repeating the Bazaar “boutique” idea from last year, and if anyone has anything to contribute, please plan to bring the items to the church by Friday morning, October 31. The craft sale and the bake sale help to boost our profits for the day. The group has already discussed several projects that we hope to work on in the near future. Anyone wanting tickets to sell, please contact Ellie Boyd. The more tickets we sell, the better we will do on Saturday, November 1st.

Cake Baking Contest Winners are: 1st place- Letha Edlin 2nd place- Catherine Kirby-Grove 3rd place- Lisa Allen

Money raised at the Cake Auction OVER $400!

With your support and participation, we can make a significant difference in the lives of the nearly 1 billion worldwide living in poverty. Funds raised by the 2014 Greater Greenville CROP Hunger Walk will be used in partnership with Church World Service to fight hunger and malnutrition in both our local community and around the world. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds collected directly benefit our local community, this year assisting Third Street community Center and Greenville Harvest in establishing and maintaining community gardens. WALK DATE: October 19, 2014

WALK TIME: 3:00 p.m. – registration starts at 2:30 pm

WALK LOCATION: Third Street Community Center, 600 W. 3rd Street, Greenville (community garden location along route)

Registration forms/donation envelopes are available in the narthex. If you have questions please contact the church office or Pastor Craig.

We welcome back Irem Ozay and Katie Nolan. Choir Rehearsals are now immediately after Worship on Sunday, in the Choir loft. We are singing some great songs of the faith and the choir NEEDS YOU to come and join us.

There will be a Camp Caroline workday on the 11th of October. There will not be a CMF meeting at the church so please make a note on your calendars for the clean-up day. A sign-up sheet is available in the narthex. The Camp Caroline News, August 2014 edition and the Jack & Gladys Lee Memory Porch Pavers forms are available in the narthex. Stop by the bulletin board area to see what’s going on.

Camp Caroline Building Fund Phase II Pledge Card

Name ______Address/City/Zip ______Phone______Email ______Congregation ______To assist with the ministry at Camp Caroline I (we) hereby commit a total of: $______to be paid in the amount of : $_____ One Time gift $ _____Monthly $ _____Quarterly $______$_____Annually Beginning ______Signature ______Checks should be made payable to: Christian Church in North Carolina, PO Box 1568, Wilson, NC 27894 Please contact Lisa Tedder at 252-291-4047 if you would like to make a gift of stock.

All the thermostats in the church have been programmed to have the temperature at a comfortable level for the majority of participants at the time the event begins. Upon initial entry into the area, the temperature may seem extreme; however, as doors open and close and the area becomes populated, you will find the comfort level increasing. Once the event is over, the program will return the temperature to a more economical level. It is the intention of the property team that this programming be comfortable for the congregation, reduce humidity and heating and cooling costs and prevent members from having to make extra efforts to see that thermostats are set and reset. We ask that if you are cold natured, you consider that when selecting your clothing for the church event, make use of the pew blankets if needed and allow the property team to make the necessary adjustments to thermostats. Thanks, Carla Smith, Team Leader ROCC Property Team

Red Oak's annual Halloween Party will be held again this year at the home of Jerry and Carla Smith, on Saturday, October 25th starting at 5:00 p.m.

Kids from 1 to 100 are invited to dress up in your funniest or scariest costume and come out to carve pumpkins, compete in the egg toss, take a horseback ride, a hay ride and, of course, have your costume judged by the most knowledgeable and professional judges we can find . If you're not up to the more physical activities, just come and enjoy sitting by the fire, drinking hot cider, "chewing the fat," and being part of the cheering section. There will be a caldron of chili, hot dogs and other goodies to be enjoyed by all. Please bring a bag of candy to be distributed to the kids. Last, but far from the least, when the hour of darkness is upon us, we will take a walk into the haunted forest to see what the ghosts, ghouls and swamp monsters are up to. Hopefully everyone who goes in will come out alive?!?!?!?!?!

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD October 5, 12, 19, 26 The CWF would like to invite every man, woman and child in our church to join in this year’s exciting outreach of Operation Christmas Child. This “Shoe Box” project of Samaritan’s Purse has touched the lives of millions of children with God’s love. The boxes sent by our church may be the only gift a child will receive for Christmas. In order for a child to receive a box by Christmas, it is essential that our boxes are filled and dropped off at the church office no later than Sunday, October 26. HOW TO FILL A SHOE BOX - Use a regular size shoe box or use the ones available in the Narthex. If you choose to wrap it, wrap the lid separately. Wrapping is not required! - Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or girl and their age category: (2-4), (5-9), or (10-14). - Fill your box with a variety of gifts: Small toys, school supplies, hygiene items, hard candy, gum, sunglasses, flashlight, ball caps, socks, hair-clips, small picture books, etc. - You may enclose a note to the child. (If you include your name and address, the child who receives your box may write you back) - Place a check for $7.00 payable to Samaritan’s Purse in your shoe box to help cover shipping and other cost. DO NOT INCLUDE: - Used items, toy guns, knives, or other war-related items, chocolate or perishable items, liquids of any kind, medicines of any kind and breakable items. - A label for your box and additional information will be in the brochure you will find in your church bulletin. - Remember this year’s Operation Christmas Child. Have your shoe boxes ready no later than October 26. If you have question you may contact Nannie Sue Fields at 355-5698 or Clara Faye Whitley at 321-1941. LET’S HAVE GOOD PARTICIPATION IN THIS WORTHWHILE PROJECT THIS YEAR! THESE CHILDREN NEED US!

 The Christian Women’s Fellowship will have a dinner meeting on September 29, 2014 at 6:30 pm.  There will be an Elders’ meeting Sunday, October 5, 2014 at 8:30 am.  Youth group meets Sunday, October 5th at 4:30 pm.  The Christian Men’s Fellowship will make plans to go to Camp Caroline for a clean- up day on Saturday, October 11, 2014.  Pastor Appreciation month is October and we will be honoring Pastor Craig with an appreciation lunch after worship service on October 12, 2014.  The Helping Hands circle will meet on Monday October 13th at 10:30 am.  The Crop Walk is scheduled for Sunday, October 19th. Registration begins at 2:30 pm.  Lynwood Stocks, Hildegarde McLaughlin and Keely Stuckey will prepare a meal for the homeless on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 (fourth Wednesday) at 6:00 pm.  Anna Gaylor and Sandy Smith will serve a meal at the Ronald McDonald House on October 22, 2014.  The Hookerton District meeting will be held on October 23, 2014 at Wheat Swamp Christian Church at 6:00 PM.  Our annual Halloween party is planned for October 25, 2014 at 5:00 pm at Jerry and Carla Smith’s home. Great time! Great chili!  On October 26 the Stewardship committee will host a Stewardship soup and sandwich lunch after worship service. Please plan to attend.  Articles for the November newsletter are due no later than October 27, 2014.

PRAYER CONCERNS: Rena Manning, Wayne Mills, Sandra Ferrell (Kim Carter’s mother), Don Jackson, Letha Edlen, Patti Motts (Suzanne Allen’s Oregon grandmother), H. C. & Willard Kinsaul, Wanda Barnes, Ed & Joann Cavenaugh, Mike Rasberry, Shemar Jordan, Lee & Georgia Price, Pattie Mercer (Lou Joyner’s daughter), Grace Pate, Ruth Haddock, Lou Joyner, Frances Stocks, Cathy Trujillo

Serving Schedule for October 2014 ELDERSHIP Carla Smith, Captain & Sandy Smith

DIACONATE Clara Faye Whitley, Charlene Savage, Nancy Hardison, Ashley Rivera

COMMUNION PREPARATION October 5 – Clara Faye Whitley October 12 – Charlene Savage October 19 -- Nancy Hardison October 26 – Ashley Rivera

CHILDREN’S CHURCH Sarah Pittman – First Sunday Libby Letchworth – Second Sunday Lizzie Allen – Third Sunday Sara Elks – Fourth Sunday FEED THE HOMELESS Lynwood Stocks, Hildegarde McLaughlin and Keely Stuckey RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE Anna Gaylor and Sandy Smith

NURSERY CAREGIVER Lillian Barnett SOUND BOARD- SUNDAY MORNING Suzanne Allen

PREACHING TEXTS FOR October, 2014

October 5 “And When He Had Given Thanks: Part 1” Psalms 42 John 6:1-13

October 12 “And When He Had Given Thanks: Part 2” Psalms 43 Mark 14:22-25

October 19 “And When He Had Given Thanks: Part 3” Psalms 44:1-8 Luke 23:44-48

October 26 “And When He Had Given Thanks: Part 4” Psalms 44:9-16 Matthew 10:1-14 Year-To-Date Stewardship Report Let these words from the scriptures guide you as you consider your financial gifts to the church in support of our programs and ministries: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21. The following figures are given for your information from January 1 through September 21, 2014. Remember, faithful Christian stewardship is not based on the Church’s need to receive, but upon our need to give as Christ commands. Total funds needed for 2014...... $ 167,964.00 Received for General Fund...... $ 96,644.19 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (II Corinthians 8:9)

◄ September ~ October 2014 ~ November ► Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 Bible Study 6pm

Anna Gaylor Hildegarde McLaughlin 5 World Communion 6 7 8 9 10 11 Sunday Bible Study 6pm Camp Caroline Reconciliation Workday 9:00 AM – Special Offering 3:00 PM

Elders Mtg 8:30 am Youth gp. 4:30pm Alton Hedgepeth Suzanne Allen Joyce Worthington ◄ September ~ October 2014 ~ November ► Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 12 13 Columbus Day 14 15 16 17 18 Bible Study 6pm Pastor Appreciation Helping Hands Lunch 10:30 am Pattie Worthington Jessica Rivera Grant/Candy Boswell Lou Joyner Paula Main 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Crop Walk Feed the Homeless Hookerton District Registration 2:30 6:00 pm Mtg-Wheat Swamp Halloween party PM Bible Study 6pm 6:00 pm 5pm

Mike/Sandie Worthington 26 Youth Week 27 28 29 30 31 Halloween Notes: begins Bible Study 6pm

H.C./Willard Ben Stocks Kinsaul