|
Welcome to our weekly e-gram! Read on to discover what’s happening in our church family this week and beyond.
Church News
|
|
Image: Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, Heinrich Hoffman, 1889
SUNDAY PREVIEW: JESUS AND THE RICH MAN
Sermon Theme: How Much Is Too Much?
Scripture: Mark 10: 17 – 31
This Sunday we will take a look at one of the more challenging stories in the gospels. A rich man came to Jesus, asking how to get into the kingdom of God. Jesus instructed him to sell all of his possessions, give all the money to the poor, and follow Jesus. The man went away grieving because he had too many possessions, and could not give them up. What do we make of this story today? What would you do if Jesus asked you to give up everything? Is it possible that Jesus asks too much? We will explore these and other questions in worship this week. See you Sunday, in person or online!
|
|
|
SUNDAY SCHOOL RETURNS THIS SUNDAY, OCT. 13!Now that the building is repaired, we are ready to restart Sunday school! The adult and youth classes will meet at 10 am starting this coming Sunday, October 13. The adult class will continue their study on the minor prophets; Rev. Teresa will lead this week’s study. The youth class will take a look at a new curriculum. We hope you will join us for Sunday school starting this week.
|
|
|
TRUNK OR TREAT IS COMING!On Sunday, October 27, we will host our annual Trunk or Treat celebration for the community. We need lots of volunteers to make this event successful. Here’s how you can help:
- Volunteer your trunk. We need lots of trunks (and people) to hand out candy. You’re encouraged to wear a costume and decorate your trunk in a fun theme. A sign-up sheet will be at the church starting this Sunday, Oct. 6.
- Donate candy. Even if you can’t be at Trunk or Treat, we would love donations of individually wrapped candy. Bring all candy donations to the church by Sunday morning, October 27.
- Help publicize. Spread the word to everyone you know. Grab a few cards at church on Sunday and hand them out. Call or text people you know with kids and invite them to come. Share information on your social media.
- Pray. We need people to pray for the success of this event, and for the safety and fun of all those involved. Please include Trunk or Treat in your prayers, especially on Sunday, October 27.
We had more than 100 kids (and their families) at Trunk or Treat last year; let’s make this year’s event even bigger! Thanks for your help and support.
|
|
|
|
DONATE TO HURRICANE HELENE RELIEF
Last week, Hurricane Helene devastated parts of Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and western North Carolina, including our Disciples conference center at Christmount. As we all look for ways to help, here is advice shared by Week of Compassion:
- Pray: Pray for those who lost family members and property, and for the emergency response teams working hard in these areas.
- Give: Donations to Week of Compassion will help with immediate and long-term recovery. You can donate online at https://www.weekofcompassion.org/give.html. Designate your gift for Hurricane 2024 to ensure that it helps with hurricane recovery.
- Stay: As tempting as it might be, don’t go to the affected areas to help out right now, unless you are trained with specific skills and are working with an organization that needs you. There will be plenty of time to go help out with longer-term recovery after the immediate needs are met and it’s safe for more people to travel there.
|
|
|
JOIN THE ANNUAL APPLE TRIPThe annual apple trip is planned for Thursday, October 24. We willmeet at the church at 10 AM and leave between 10:15 and 10:30. We will travel I-985 to Mickey Pigg’s BBQ in Alto, GA. We will eat lunch there and then travel to Jaemor Farms to check out the apples, vegetables, ice cream, etc. Hoyt and Marilyn will drive and can carry 8 additional people. If you want to drive yourself, that would also be great. It’s a fun time of fellowship open to anyone who wants to come; we would love to have you join us. Contact Mary Jo Alvord or Marilyn Parks to let us know if you plan to meet us at the church.
|
|
|
LET’S EAT! AT FRONTERA GRILL ON OCT. 15Let’s Eat! will meet on Tuesday, October 15 at 6:30 pm. This month, we are eating at Frontera Grill, 1430 Five Forks Trickum Rd SW, Lawrenceville, GA 30044. Join us for food and fellowship. Please let Anna Harrison know if you plan to attend.
|
|
|
SPECIAL WORSHIP AND HARVEST MEAL ON NOVEMBER 3!Sunday, November 3 is a special service for Lawrenceville First Christian Church. We will celebrate the installation of settled co-ministers Rev. Teresa Bensch and Rev. Diane Bales. We will also mark All Saints Sunday, when we will remember four members of our congregation who have joined the great cloud of witnesses in the past year (Nettie Patterson, Lorena Patterson, Martha Erb, and Wes Morgan). Interim Regional Minister Rev. Joan Bell-Haynes will bring us the morning message and will install Teresa and Diane. We will have several guests in worship that Sunday, and we hope you will plan to be there!
After worship, the CWF/DWF will hold their annual Harvesl Meal fundraiser. The women of the church need your help to contribute to the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, ham, plates, cups, napkins, utensils, and drinks will be provided. Please volunteer to bring a favorite Thanksgiving side dish (green beans, sweet potatoes, squash casserole, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, fall salads, cakes, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, or anything else that says Thanksgiving dinner to you). We will have a sign-up sheet at church on Sunday, Oct. 6. Please sign up to bring food items and to help out with set-up, receiving food, and cleaning up after the meal. Thank you for your support.
|
|
|
DISCIPLES WOMEN RETREAT POSTPONEDWe are so sorry we had to cancel our Fall Retreat. We are earnestly looking for an appropriate venue with location, pricing, and availability (that also has something more than camp cots as few of us have the knees and agility for bunkbeds!) for what might be a late winter/early spring Crazy Love event with all, or most, of the same format and schedule. We have talked about trying to avoid hurricane seasonal together for our biggest event and our only fundraiser of the year. Hopefully, we will be successful in finding and securing something soon; please know that there are several great locations that haven’t been damaged but are still doing clean-up and not taking calls for new events at this time. Here are a few particulars we want to share:
- If we are successful with a Feb/Mar timeframe, we will likely move our Spring Conferences to Fall.
- If you don’t want to hold on to your Auction Items, you may want to have a local auction to benefit GA DW. One church has done this already (in advance of the retreat planned) and it was well received, fun and easier than bringing tons of baskets with them. Of course, you can still bring them to a rescheduled event.
- We would like to keep your registration $ until we know what will we be doing. Please keep in mind that between our on-site donations and our auction, our retreat keeps us financially viable, so please give as generously as you can while we shift plans.
- If you had not registered for the retreat at Epworth, you will still be able to register for the rescheduled time.
- We will be having a Zoom meeting to share our new Covenantal Relationship Agreement with the Region and our revised Rules of Procedure (revised to address the changes since 2010). We would love your attendance and plan to host two meetings to accommodate as many women as possible.
- Please encourage all your friends to follow our FB page.
Lainie Jenkins, Director
GA Disciples Women Ministries
|
|
|
PRAYER GARDEN WORK DAYS CONTINUECalling all gardeners! Work to clear the ivy from the prayer garden will continue this Saturday morning. Thanks to all those who have helped out the past two weeks, including Dennis, Frank, and Tadd. Jeanie Morgan is planning to be there again this Saturday morning, but she can’t do it all alone — she definitely needs help to get the work done. All volunteers will be greatly appreciated. If you can help out, for an hour or the whole morning, we need you! Please bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated. Reach out to Jeanie if you have questions or need more information.
|
|
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS IN OCTOBER
Sunday, October 13
9 am: Choir practice
10 am: Sunday school
11 am: Worship
Monday, October 14
6:30 pm: Outreach team meeting on Zoom
Tuesday, October 15
6:30 pm: Let’s Eat! at Frontera Mexican Kitchen, 1430 Five Forks Trickum Rd SW, Lawrenceville
Thursday, October 17
6:30 pm: Finance and Facilities team meeting on Zoom
Sunday, October 20
9 am: Choir practice
10 am: Sunday school
11 am: Worship
Sunday, October 27
9 am: Choir practice
10 am: Sunday school
11 am: Worship
4:30 – 6 pm: Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot
Check the calendar of events on our church website at https://lawrencevillechristianchurch.org/calendar/ to stay updated on what’s happening in our church community. If you have events to add, go to https://lawrencevillechristianchurch.org/event-form/ and complete the form. The password is LFCC2023Event. If you have problems with the form, please contact JT Clements or Rev. Diane.
|
|
|
|
THIS SUNDAY’S WORSHIP LEADERS
Greeter: Libby Ballew
Scripture: Beth Thompson
Communion Meditation: Jimmy Peeples
Elders: Tadd Huff and Elizabeth McElhanon
Deacons: Dennis Higdon and Jeanie Morgan
Communion Preparation: Elizabeth McElhanon
*If you are interested in serving as a worship leader or greeter, please contact Rev. Diane or Rev. Teresa.
|
|
|
|
E-GRAM DEADLINE
Thanks for all your contributions to the e-gram. Please email any information for next week’s e-gram to Rev. Diane (diane@lawrencevillechristianchurch.org) no later than Tuesday at 5 pm. If at all possible, please send e-gram information by email rather than text; it may get lost in incoming text messages.
|
|
|
|
LECTIONARY SCRIPTURES FOR OCT. 13 AND OCT. 20
The Revised Common Lectionary is a three-year cycle of weekly readings used by many mainline Protestant churches in Canada and the United States. The lectionary readings will shape much of our preaching, and may be helpful in your own Bible study and devotional life.
Sunday, October 13
- Job 23:1-9, 16-17
- Psalm 22:1-15
- Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
- Psalm 90:12-17
- Hebrews 4:12-16
- Mark 10:17-31
Sunday, October 20
- Job 38:1-7, (34-41)
- Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c
- Isaiah 53:4-12
- Psalm 91:9-16
- Hebrews 5:1-10
- Mark 10:35-45
|
|
|
|
ZOOM LINK FOR WORSHIP AND CHURCH MEETINGS
For Sunday worship and other online meetings, use this link:
https://zoom.us/j/6284633067?pwd=YzVMN0EwQUVrb0FRM1phVkZEUjZFQT09
For those who DIAL IN, Call (646) 558-8656
Zoom Meeting ID: 628 463 3067
Password: 1234
|
|
|
THE LAWRENCEVILLE CO-OP NEEDS GREEN BEANS!As always, the Lawrenceville Co-op needs our donations of money, food items, and personal care items to help those in need in Dacula and Lawrenceville. In an effort to fill their empty shelves, they have asked supporting churches to collect a specific item. LFCC’s job is to bring canned green beans to restock the food pantry. Thank you for your generous donations that help keep this vital ministry running – we donated 274 pounds of food to the co-op this month!
Most Needed Food Items
The co-op’s food source has been out of food for several days. All non-perishable items are needed but these are the most critical items:
- Rice
- Mac & cheese
- Applesauce
- Canned pasta
- Oatmeal
- Peanut butter & jelly
- Canned green beans
- Canned corn
- Canned beans
- Canned mixed vegetables
- Canned tuna
- Canned fruit
- Canned chicken
- Canned soup
- Dry pasta
- Pasta sauce
- Instant potatoes
- Cereal
Most Needed Personal Care Items
The co-op has asked that we prioritize the food items above. If you want to donate personal care items too, these are most needed:
- Size 3 and up diapers
- Feminine pads
- Adult diapers size S-XL
|
|
|
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
REGIONAL AND GENERAL CHURCH NEWSKeep up with the latest news going on in our region and our general church. Click the links below to find the latest news within the Disciples!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Each Monday at 6 pm, wherever you are and whatever way is comfortable for you, we pause and pray for our church. If you have conflicts with this time, whatever time is comfortable for you, payse and pray for your church. Below is the church’s prayer list you can use. You are welcome to make up your own prayer list as you pray.
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. ~ Colossians 4: 2
Celebrations
- Rev. Dr. Diane Bales had a birthday yesterday
- Maggie Westbrook’s birthday was yesterday
- Dennis and Betty Higdon are celebrating their anniversary on Wednesday, October 16
Weekly Prayers
- For our co-ministers, Rev. Teresa Bensch and Rev. Diane Bales
- For the upcoming events this fall, including Trunk-or-Treat, co-minister installation, All Saints’ Sunday, the Harvest Meal, and more!
- For the Regional Minister Search Committee and their prayerful work
Immediate Needs (names in bold are newly added or updated)
- Connie Thompson (Rod Baker’s sister in Nebraska, recovering from knee surgery)
- Family and friends of Karen Svendsen Werner and John Werner (friends of Nancy Groves)
- All those dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene
- Week of Compassion staff, who are supporting hurricane recovery on behalf of the Disciples denomination
Ongoing Needs
- Our country and our world
- Our members and friends at home, including Odessa Adams, Gen Ashby, Barbara Bagwell, David Chamberlain, Bessie Kirby, Bill Phyfer, Bob Powell, and Patricia Saturday
- Our family and friends with ongoing health challenges
- Students/teachers/administration of Gwinnett County Public Schools and Winder-Barrow Public School
- Faculty, staff, and students at Apalachee High School
- Rev. Teresa Bensch (recovering after redo of left knee replacement)
- Karen Jensen (recovery from broken ankle) and Andrew Jensen (caring for Karen during her recovery)
- Dorrie Toth and Tom Toth (recovering from surgery)
- Ada Mullinax (dealing with health challenges and upcoming medical tests)
- Eva Krahwinkel and Neva Maffett
- Larry Roberts (brother-in-law of Kim Peeples, Sanford Thompson, and Marilyn Parks)
- Rev. Theresa Bailey (LFCC supply preacher in 2023; multiple health concerns)
- Brenda Sizemore (widow of Disciples minister Rev. Roger Sizemore; health concerns)
- Linda Kellman and Ann Kellman (Ada Mullinax’s sister and sister-in-law)
- Chris Klimshuk and her sister Veronica (Veronica is recovering from heart surgery)
- David Chamberlain (long-term hospital stay)
- Grace Aguwa
- Peg Morgan
- Carrie Toth (Dorrie Toth’s daughter)
- Suzy Santoro (Anna Harrison’s daughter)
- Sue Ragsdale (Jeanie Morgan’s friend)
- Connie Worrel’s sister Pat
- Jeanie Morgan’s sister, Judy
- Rev. Peggy Edge (Anna Harrison’s sister)
- Sadie Severt (Harrison family friend)
If you have an update to the prayers and concerns, please let Rev. Diane know (diane@lawrencevillechristianchurch.org).
|
|
|
|
|
That’s all we have for this week! Please be in prayer for the church and everyone in it, that we continue to do what the Lord has called us to do. God bless you all!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
