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Bon Air Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

August 2011

What a great church!

As I watched and listened at the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) I just felt so proud to be part of this really wonderful church. We are a church that embraces all people. We are a church that seeks to listen to one another and to extend respect to people regardless of whether they agree or disagree with us on difficult issues.

I really enjoyed hearing some great preaching! I was nurtured, inspired and challenged by extraordinary messages of God’s Word. I was so thirsty for living water. Week after week I pray that God will be able to use my life and my words to bring his holy presence into the lives of those who gather to worship. I always pray that God’s holy purpose, mission and calling will be revealed despite the flaws of the messenger. I can’t begin to tell you how refreshing it is to my thirsty soul when I sit and listen. What a privilege it is to be quiet and to receive.

In a workshop I listened to people who took risks; I heard church stories of great courage. I was particularly struck by one man’s testimony. He talked about how his small church filled with elderly people tackled some really challenging social justice issues. People from all different walks of life, with all different kinds of perspectives listened and spoke with an attitude of love and a commitment to Christ and to his church. Throughout our history this is what the Disciples have always affirmed.

We work for Christian unity and give thanks that the fabric of our lives is a many colored weaving.

I also want to tell you how grateful George and I are to you for all of your encouragement and for the many ways you have shared this exciting time in our lives. We have enclosed in this newsletter an invitation to our wedding. We love you and hope you will be able to celebrate with us our special day. You are so important in our lives. The wonderful ladies of our church are helping with the reception, so if you are able to attend and could let Becky Harvell or Laura Hollis know of your plans to be with us that would be a big help. Thanks again for all your love.

Shalom, Cindy

Bon Air Christian welcomes new members!

Hannah Carden is the daughter of Alice and Terry Carden. She just turned ten on May 29th and has a sister, Lily, who will be four on July 19th. She attends St. Catherine’s School in Richmond and will be in the 4th grade when returning in the fall. Her favorite subject is Physical Education. Her favorite artist is Justin Bieber and on t.v. she enjoys watching “Shake It Up”. She really likes reading and her favorite book is “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. She plays the piano and in her spare time, she enjoys tennis and playing outside. Her favorite color is pink. The family has 2 dogs and 1 kitten.

Anne and Maddie Rucker are the ten year old twin daughters of Tammy Rucker. They have a sister, Emily, who is five. They will enter the 5th grade at Robious Elementary School in the fall. Annie likes Math and Maddie likes Math and Reading. Annie’s favorite color is pink. She likes soccer and in her spare time, playing with her sisters. Maddie’s favorite color is purple. She also likes soccer and her favorite food is pizza. She enjoys playing with her pets (2 dogs; 3 kittens; 1 really old cat; and 1 1-year old cat).

We welcome Blanton Parrish to our church family. Blanton was born in Richmond and grew up in Indiana and Lynchburg. Both of his parents are Disciple ministers. His dad, Ed Parrish, retired from the ministry last year and his mother, Glenna Tibbs, is a minister in Florida. His sister is Catherine Tejnecky. He and his wife, Laura, have 2 children; Samantha, who will be four in September, and Blake, who turned one on June 23rd. Blanton attended Lynchburg College and majored in Religion and History. He is the Manager of O’Charley’s Restaurant, Mayland Drive and Gaskins Road in the West End. In his spare time he enjoys playing golf and spending lots of time with his family.

We welcome Ted and Patti Sellman to our church family. Ted was born in Dearborn, Michigan and Patti was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They have been married for 72 years and have one son, Dr. James Sellman, who is a psychiatrist in Richmond. Ted and Patti have lived many places, but settled here in Richmond (in Salisbury) to be near their son and his family. They have 2 grandchildren, Michael, who works for Morgan Stanley and lives in New York City, and Jeffrey, who is working toward becoming a sports doctor and lives in Philadelphia. Ted is a retired manager for J. C. Penney. Patti worked for 20 years as a buyer for Sears. They both attended a teaching college in Greeley, Colorado. They enjoy golfing and visiting the mountains in New Mexico.

We also welcome George Smith to our church family. We are thrilled that he and our minister, Cindy, will be married here on October 8th! George is originally from Versailles, Kentucky, where he and Cindy attended Junior High and High School together. He now resides in Fredericksburg and works for the Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. He served in the Army for 35 years and retired as a Colonel. During his time in the military, he lived in many, many locations. He has three sons and one daughter. He also has one granddaughter and awaits the birth of his second grandchild in February. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University with a BS in Education. George has a pilot’s license, so in his spare time he loves flying. He also enjoys bicycle riding. We are delighted to see the happiness that both he and Cindy have found together and we pray God’s continuous blessings be with them always.

“CWF Work of Our Hands” – Silent Auction

Do you draw, paint, sew, cook, arrange flowers, make jewelry? Do you perform a special service that others may enjoy or need? Do you have a vacation space that you are willing to share? Do you have a skill or hobby that you are willing to teach? Then, the CWF Work of Our Hands Silent Auction team needs you!

The event will take place the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Donations of time and talents are needed. Please contact Rose McCaferty if you are interested in volunteering to help with this project. Money raised helps to support Nature Camp, the CWF Spring Project and the Week of Compassion.

BACC has received the following thank you note:

Dear Church Family,

Bruce and I thank you for your prayers, cards, calls, visits and food following the mini-stroke that Bruce had in June. He is up and around, but the stroke did leave him with increased problems with balance, speech and thought processing which originally occurred with a stroke over a year ago. We are learning that each day is a gift from God and we most receive it with joy. Your love and care have helped us through so many difficult times in recent years. Thank you all so very much.

Jane Miller

Virginia Capital Campaign “Together in Ministry, Forward in Faith”

The Virginia Capital Campaign is an initiative inviting individuals in Virginia Disciples churches to give to the shared ministry of our region. Virginia Disciples work together. It is who we are. This invisible cord of covenant relationship is our unbreakable tie that binds. This relationship calls us forward in faith to do the ministries we best fulfill together.

“Together in Ministry, Forward in Faith” is the Capital Campaign for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Virginia to provide for ministry over and above the capacity of the Regional annual operating income. The campaign is a 3 year challenge for churches in Virginia to help raise $1,277,500 for the region.

Five projects to stabilize and enhance the ministry we share include:

← Craig Springs Camp and Conference Center: Make urgent upgrades to Central’s kitchen, the water system and Oak Lodge.

← Regional Endowment: Build a firm foundation to serve our congregations.

← The Care Fund of the Summit: Endow financial assistance for Virginia Disciples to retire here.

← Regional Office building Retire the mortgage to free up budget funds.

← Ministerial Recruitment and Enrichment: Recruit clergy and provide continuing education for licensed ministers.

If you would like to serve on this committee or would like to learn more contact the church office or Cindy.

Congratulations are extended to Sean and Alison Hylton upon the birth of their daughter, Bridgette Sloane who was born July 6th. She weighed 8 lbs 8 ozs.

BACC has received the following thank you note:

Dear BACC,

Thank you so much for letting the Friends United with the Richmond Shelter (FURS) borrow some tables for a fund-raising event on June 18th. It was a successful event that raised money for an all volunteer organization whose main purpose is to find permanent homes for animals through the Richmond Animal Case & Control.

Thank you,

Janie Severance

Parents Morning Out

Parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers may drop off their children Wednesday, August 10th at 9:00 a.m. in the church nursery. Please let Shirley know you will be coming. The cost is $10.00. Parents can pay Shirley when picking up their children.

Men’s and Women’s Retreat at Craig Springs – September 9-11thThe Christian Church in Virginia

Men’s and Women’s Retreat at Craig Springs will be September 9 through 11th. The theme is “Suffering, Evil, and the Goodness of God: Why is there suffering in the world and how is it possible to trust God in the face of it?” The retreat leader will be Rev. Bill Moore, minister of Bedford Christian Church.

The cost to attend the full retreat is $100.00. The retreat begins at 3:00 on Friday. Dinner is at 6:00 p.m. The retreat ends with lunch on Sunday.

Registration forms are available in the church office. To register, send a check with completed form to the regional office by August 31st.

For more information contact Sue Gordon at the regional office at 434-846-3400.

Book Sale

Due to popular demand the book sale is back. Please bring in those books that are collecting dust on your shelves and get yourself some new summer reading. There is always a demand for children’s books and also DVD’s.

There is one table set up in the Hallway Mezzanine. The money will be used to complete the Library Victory makeover.

Congratulations to the Whites on their new book “Let Go to Grow”

Let Go to Grow is the groundbreaking new book by Doug and Polly White that explores how the role of the owner must change as a business grows from a one-person startup to a multimillion-dollar enterprise. They analyzed more than 100 companies to learn why some businesses thrive and others fail to reach their potential. They found that as a business grows the owner will have to let go of certain responsibilities. If the principal doesn’t do this, he or she will unwittingly become the constraint to further growth. Equally important is that the owner will have to acquire new skills to deal with an ever-increasing set of challenges as the enterprise expands. Let Go to Grow outlines what small business owners must do to succeed and explains how to do these things. It is available exclusively at Doug and Polly’s website: .

You are invited

Reverend Cynthia K. Stratton and Colonel George Smith (U.S. Army Ret.)

request the honor of your presence at their marriage on Saturday, the eighth of October two thousand and eleven at one o’clock, Bon Air Christian Church

Reception to follow at the church. Please rsvp to Becky Harvell at 272-6228 or Laura Hollis at lollihollis@

Church board meeting

Please take note that the official board will meet on August 14th at 11:45. If you are an elder, deacon or committee chair we do need you to be present at the meeting so that we can be faithful and responsible in conducting the important business of our congregation.

Committees at work

The stewardship committee has been hard at work preparing for our fall stewardship focus. Many people think only about money when they hear the word stewardship. Our committee will remind us that being a good steward is about how we live all of our lives and is our basic calling as Christians. We appreciate all the work the committee does to help us to be God’s holy vessels.

The nominating committee is made up of Jean Turlington, Joe Bancroft, Cindy Johnson, Susan Baum, and Cathy Vaden. We are grateful to them for their conscientious work on our behalf to invite members of our church to serve as leaders.

The church in community committee will be feeding the men’s homeless shelter on the first Saturday of August. Dee Drezek is the chair of the committee.

A Message From Our Missionaries Dawn & Jon Barnes

 

…have just realized it has been well over a month since we have mused about Mozi! Sorry for the delay but hope you are well. And for those in the USA...hope you are surviving the heat wave and enjoying some of the summer! We here in Mozi are thoroughly enjoying our "winter” - low of 50 or so in the a.m. and lovely 70's during the day.

- Jon finally obtained his visa. The other 3 of us had ours for well over a month and they couldn't seem to produce his for some reason. Finally had a friend of a friend (isn't this always the case?) who works at immigration who did her own investgation. Within 48 hours and a few $ later, we had the visa. So now all 4 of us are legal in the country...until next May!

- Our language course ends next week. It has been a long 11 week course, but we have learned so much and come a long way. Still a LONG way to go as well! …We can understand so much more and can formulate sentences, so we will get there! The kids are also taking classes at school and so exciting when we start speaking to one another in Portuguese! 

So that is work life. Personal life... we took a quick trip to Swaziland and met up with our other GM colleagues from Durban, Scott Couper and Susan Valiquette with their 2 kids, Micah and Maddie. It was so great to see them after over a year and Swazi is a stunning country! We have made some good friends in our complex and so thankful to have good neighbors. Many folks have been out of town the last couple of months as the American School and others have been on holiday, so it has been a bit quiet. We are meeting more and more parents at the kids school and that is always nice. We have taken several little excursions around town in an attempt to get to know more about the city and history. The kids enjoyed the train station and fort most recently. But the fav was trying freshly squeezed sugar cane for the first time along the sea! =) Our kids have a school holiday for the month of August. We are planning a few days away into the mountains of South Africa for hiking and bit of country life, as well as a dental cleaning and eye exam in the city of Nelspruit!

 …On 29 June I lost my 93 year old Grandmother, Sybil Pugh, in South Carolina. I was beyond blessed when my cousin assisted me in skyping into the funeral. It was so nice to "see" and talk to my family and to be there for the service. She was a grand woman of deep faith who lived life to the fullest and I am so thankful for all of the 39 years that I had with her! Just after that my dad started having strange pains and today got the diagnosis of gastritis. So my prayers go to him for a quick healing. These are the times when it is super hard to be so far from home!

Peace and love from us all,

Paz e amor para todos!

Dawn

General Assembly Report

It was my privilege and pleasure to represent Bon Air Christian Church at the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) held in Nashville last month. As this was my first time to attend a General Assembly, it was a bit overwhelming, but it was a good experience for me as I learned more about our church and the many good things it is doing, heard good speakers and great music, saw old friends, and made new friends.

As the Assembly opened with worship Saturday night, a Christ candle was lit and raised over the stage, and it stayed lit each time we gathered in the assembly hall, symbolizing that Christ was in our midst, watching over us. At the end of the closing worship Wednesday night, the candle was lowered, indicating that we are to take Christ into the world with us.

Good music is always a part of large Disciples gatherings and the Nashville Assembly was no exception. We heard music by a guitar ensemble, several area choirs, the all-assembly choir, the Cherry Log Christian Church choir, the assembly youth choir with over a hundred participants, and a concert by Disciples musicians Andra Moran, Gabe Dixon, Craig Wiseman, and Michael Morton.

During the business sessions we passed resolutions condemning anti-Muslim speech and activity in the United States and Canada, calling for advocacy on behalf of the Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding the extraction of mineral wealth used in consumer electronics, celebrating and reaffirming our commitment to the vision of planting new mission, concerning moral injury and spiritual care in time of war, concerning human trafficking education and advocacy, concerning justice in education reform, and opposing bullying in schools, the church, and the community.

Sharon Watkins was re-elected to another six-year term as General Minister and President after a stirring speech in which she said the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was alive and well and working to spread the Gospel in spite of decreasing funding and membership.

I participated in two resource groups - “Christian-Muslim dialogue here and around the globe,” and “Missionaries Testify.” The Christian-Muslim dialogue called for education about Muslims by Christians and about Christians by Muslims and dialogue between the two groups at local levels. In the Missionaries Testify group several of our missionaries who are on furlough told about their work.

The exhibit hall displays offered opportunities for learning about the various organizations of our church by talking to the folks who lead and work in those organizations and by gathering materials.

I came home from the General Assembly very tired but with a feel-good attitude about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Brenda Kidd

Please bring canned spaghetti sauce and canned pasta products for

our food collection for the Bainbridge Center. Thanks.

[pic]

Attention all groups and folks supplying food each evening for Vacation Bible School. For planning purposes an estimate of attendance will be provided on Wednesday, August 3rd. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Andee Kirk 929-2270 or 330-9275. Your support for Vacation Bible School is greatly appreciated!

September’s Book Club Meeting

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is the book for the September meeting.

The story is about Henry Lee, a Chinese-American in Seattle who, in 1986, has just lost his wife to cancer. After Henry hears that the belongings of Japanese immigrants interned during WWII have been found in the basement of the Panama Hotel, the narrative chronicles the losses of old age and the bewilderment of youth.

Henry recalls the difficulties of life in America during WWII, when he and his Japanese-American school friend, Keiko, wandered through wartime Seattle. Keiko and her family are later interned in a camp, and Henry, horrified by America's anti-Japanese hysteria, is further conflicted because of his Chinese father's anti-Japanese sentiment. Henry's adult life in 1986 is also part of the story and shows Henry's difficulty in communicating with his college-age son, Marty, with Henry's own alienation from his father, who was determined to Americanize him. The wartime persecution of Japanese immigrants is presented well.

The meeting date is September 15th at 7:00 pm. We will meet in the church. Andee Kirk has 3 copies of the book which she will gladly share with anyone who is interested in reading the book. She can be reached at 929-2270 or 330-9275. The Book Club is not meeting in August.

What BACC Means to Me

Carol and I have lived in Richmond since 1988. We’ve come to really appreciate the Richmond area and its residents. We had always belonged to very large church congregations. This didn’t seem to make a difference for most of our life since we were always busy with kids and careers. There came a time when we wanted something more from a church. We wanted to feel more personally connected with other members. The members at the congregations where we belonged all cleared out quickly after services. We grew up in a small town and folks stayed and socialized after services. After a personal invitation from Jamey Davidson, whom we had known since he went to high school, we decided to try BACC.

As soon as we entered the sanctuary and were greeted by nice folks with smiles on their faces, we knew it just felt right. The members were all so friendly and welcoming without any pressure. We especially appreciate Cindy’s sermons. They are so insightful and Carol and I often talk about the message on our drive home from church. BACC is made

up of all types of folks and ages. We really like the youth ministry at our church.

We are active – Carol is a CWF and Membership Committee leader. I currently serve as an elder and am a member of the “Romeos” breakfast on Wednesday mornings. We both agree that God has richly blessed us by leading us to BACC.

Bob McGowan

Thank you!

Thank you to Paula Craft, Kathy Morton and Barbara Bancroft for helping to clean, organize and freshening up the Christmas decorations. If you missed the day look for other opportunities coming this fall!

Youth help others through mission

The Bon Air Christian Church youth will be taking off for Blackridge, Virginia to serve others on their mission trip. They will leave July 27th and return July 31st. They are in our thoughts and prayers as they minister to others.

Your Invited To Shake It Up Café – Monday, August 8th ~ Friday, August 12th

Your children, grandchildren or neighbors won’t want to miss the exciting week at Vacation Bible School! It is not too late to get registered.

We welcome all children age 3 or older who are toilet trained, through rising 6th and 7th graders for our middle school group. Look for registration forms on the bulletin boards or stop by the church office or call the church office 272-6228.

We do take an offering daily at VBS and we invite your child to participate by bringing a small offering on one or more days. This year, since our program has a cooking theme, we will be collecting items to donate to our local food bank. We are suggesting items for each weeknight, but anything would be appreciated.

Monday ~~ canned veggies

Tuesday ~~ peanut butter

Wednesday ~~ canned fruits

Thursday ~~ pasta

Friday ~~ soups

Also, be sure to remember each day there is a special color for you to wear.

Monday ~~ Orange

Tuesday ~~ Green

Wednesday ~~ Red

Thursday ~~ Purple

Friday ~~ Blue

Looking forward to seeing all our young folks and friends

Why did I join the Church Book Club? – by Andee Kirk

The reason I joined our Book Club is the same reason most people join, I enjoy reading. And I enjoy time in fellowship with other church members and friends. It is great way to share books that have taught me new things and expanded my horizons. I love sharing my favorite books and reading new books, I may have never picked up. We all take turns suggesting books to read, so we read fiction, nonfiction and books that are on the bestseller’s list. We try to find books that are in the local library to avoid the expense of having to buy the books.

I have not been much of a fiction reader most of my life. For some reason I am usually drawn to nonfiction books. Two of my favorite nonfiction books, that our Book Club has read are “Same Kind of Different As Me” by Ron Hall and Denver Moore and “The Day The World Came To Town 9/11 In Gander, Newfoundland” by Jim Defede. The “Same Kind of Difference As Me” opened my eyes to the fact, a thirty-year black man who left his home in Louisiana during the 1960s had no idea he could have gone to a colored school, gone to a trade school, or joined the army. He did not know anything about World II, the war in Korea or the one in Vietnam. When he left home he never had gotten a paycheck even though he worked all his life in the cotton fields. I just could not believe and still find it hard to believe people in the USA still lived like this in the 1960s.

When I read “The Day The World Came To Town 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland” I realized that I never thought about what happened to all the airplanes that were not allowed to land during 9/11. It also, made me realize even more that our news media just loves to report negative things or we as people want to hear about terrible things. Here is a story about people who showed basic goodness during 9/11 and I never heard about it on the TV! This book made me feel so much better about the human race.

Since I have joined our Book Club I have learned about other members’ life experiences and grown to love the people in our church even more. If you have never been to a Book Club meeting you ought to try it. You just may like! You just need to read one book a month and be willing to share your own thoughts. That is only 12 books a year! The members of the book club would like to grow!

We would love for you to join us ~ we meet on the third Thursday, every month at 7:00 pm.

Please make the following additions to your church directory:

Ted & Patti Sellman

13311 Kingsmill Road

Midlothian, VA 23113

804-379-0556

Blanton & Laura* Parrish

(Samantha & Blake)

649 N. Pinetta Drive

Richmond, VA 23235

804-350-8520

blantonfparrish@

Tammy* Rucker

Maddie, Anne, Emily*

1531 Warminster Drive

Midlothian, VA 23113

379-6959

trucker@

George Smith

1300 Kenmore Avenue

Fredericksburg, VA 22401

808-561-8413

Christian Men’s Fellowship to provide dinner at Vacation Bible School

The men’s group will provide dinner for Vacation Bible School on Friday, August 12th. If you are interested in helping with the dinner, please contact Frank Clark at 804 712 1231 or email him at virginian44th@

JOY Group

No JOY meeting in August. On Sept. 20, Joe Love will present a travelogue of his trip to Israel. There will be Pot-Luck Luncheon following his presentation.

Nursery Helpers Needed

If you are interested in helping Shirley with the infants and toddlers during the early or late worship services there is a sign-up sheet posted outside the room. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Family Concerns

- Our sympathy is extended to Ruth Fraker upon the death of two of her brothers last week.

- Kim Teachey is recuperating well following his surgery and is cancer free.

- We continue to pray for all our friends who are undergoing treatment for cancer: Kevin Stargell, Stacey Price, Susie Smith; Brand and Debbie Inlow’s friends, George & Vicki Coleman; Frank Clark’s uncle, Robert Nichols and Frank’s sister, Cindy Middleton, Joe Edwards’ sister, Jeaneen Lile and the Ver Beeks friend, Benjamin Byers.

- We pray for Bob Barden who has emphysema and for Cathy Wheless who has a ruptured disc in her thoracic spine. We pray for Gerry Roppe′; Arlene Blythe’s mother, Margie Best; Chris Verheul; Peggy Hill; Dottie Edwards’ brother, Clyde Toon, Jeanne Tyson’s friend, Deborah who is having heart problems and Mary Ann Casdia’s granddaughter, Daisy Hansen.

- We pray for Jay Saldana (Bill & Shirley Heath’s son-in-law) who is in Pakistan; Rob Atherton who is deployed on the USS Howard and Keith Hagen, Mark Burkhalter’s son who is in Iraq.

SERVING SCHEDULE FOR AUGUST 2011

August 7

Elders: Bill Heath, Lloyd Thacher

Deacons: 9:15 Guy Barker (P), Cynthia Lehan; 10:45 Pete Landergan (P) Julie Coleman, Kitten Whitlow, Michael Whitlow

Worship Leaders: 9:15 Paula Craft 10:45 Joan Mielke

Acolyte: 9:15 10:45 Taylor Brooks

Storyteller: Deb Romig Helper: Gina Mattes

August 14

Elders: Gail Macfadden, Jon Ver Beek

Deacons: 9:15 Steve Blythe (P), Arlene Blythe

10:45 Kitten Whitlow (P), Michael Whitlow, Jasmine Heath, She Hollifield

Worship Leaders: 9:15 Gail Macfadden 10:45 Shea Hollifield

Acolyte: 9:15 10:45

Storyteller: Cathy Law Helper: Suzanne Dale

August 21

Elders: Doug White, Sandy Collins

Deacons: 9:15 Joe Smith (P), Polly White

10:45 Karson Clark (P), Cindy Cochran, Joe Love, Polly white

Worship Leaders: 9:15 Doug White 10:45 Jerrell Todd

Acolyte: 9:15 10:45 Ben Pace

Storyteller: Helper: Marie Boger

August 28

Elders: Steve Goff, Bob McGowan

Deacons: 9:15 Jasmine Heath (P), Casey Kirk

10:45 Michael Whitlow (P), Kitten Whitlow, Josh Vaden, Karson Clark

Worship Leaders: 9:15Killeen King 10:45 Kitten Whitlow

Acolyte: 9:15 10:45

Storyteller: Cynthia Lehan Helper: Cathy Law

Offering: Doug and Polly White

Ushers/Greeters: 9:15 Tom Snodgrass & Sara Reese

10:45 Shirley & Philip Burkhalter

(P) denotes communion preparation

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