News and Notes - October 13, 2021

Happy Wednesday High Places,

Happy to announce a few wonderful things this week, beginning with our return to the Jollay home for our main meeting, food, and fun. On Sunday, October 31st we will be heading back their place, right on Melton Lake, for some Halloween fun. "Monsters on the Melton" will be our theme and will also be how we wrap up our series on Antifragility.

We're hoping for a "Monster Cruise" that Sunday afternoon for our children and their friends, but to pull this off we will need some help. We will especially need children's sized life vests, so if you have these on hand, or maybe tucked away in your garage, please let either myself, or Kady Marcotte know. Also, if you have a boat and are willing to gently chauffer a few children to "Meet the Monsters" along the banks of Melton Lake, we would love your help. The cruise for kids begins after lunch that Sunday.

Please continue to keep our Mountain Movers kid ministries, and Kady, in your prayers. Children are being bombarded by so much these days, much it being displaced adult anxiety. Pray for our children to play, have fun, and enjoy life -- and to the degree we are each able, let's all do the same! Kids need play, and grown-ups do too. Let's have wonderful, playful Halloween this year. Thank you Lloyd and Stacy Jollay for sharing your home and dock with us!

I am also excited to announce that after quite a bit of deliberation, we will again be offering Thanksgiving Day meals. Like last year, they'll be carry out rather than "dine in." And like last year, we will need some volunteers to help make to-go bags, and serve as runners to the cars. I believe last year we easily served over a 100 vehicles, not sure how many people total, but typically we serve around 250-300 meals each Thanksgiving. We do this around the lunch hour so that our volunteers can schedule a Thanksgiving Dinner with their families. If you would like to help this year, please contact Trina Baughn -- trina.baughn@gmail.com

Bible study returns tonight (Wednesday) at 7:00 PM in the movie room as we talk a little more deeply about "Antifragility." This week we will review things from Sunday, which is probably especially needed due to Xfinity dropping services in our area last week. Sorry for those who missed it, I will try to do a quick recap tonight before our discussion -- and an even quicker recap this Sunday.

October and November tend to be busy times for our church and our staff. They are also important times to build our relationships through the holidays, both by becoming stronger family units for those who have families near, and also by being a good family to those who need one. The Bible is very clear in a great many places that God is supremely interested in how we treat "widows and orphans." What widows and orphans have in common is a special need for family because they've lost something (if not all) of theirs. The church is equipped by the Holy Spirit to provide family for those who need it most. I hope to speak more about this in the month of November.

Many blessings to you all. For those travelling to or back from fall break, our prayers are with you for safe travels. For the many who are experiencing hardships right now, we pray for you. And for all those we've missed since the pandemic began, we send you love and hope to see you return again soon.

David

Wind extinguishes a candle and energizes fire... Be the fire and pray for the wind. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb