The Communicator | August 2019

The Communicator ~ August 2019

Church Life

Ministry is about life in Christ which affects everything we do.

Welcome, New

Sardis Members!

Janet and Ron Ford

Membership Exploration Class

Interested in becoming a member at Sardis or just want to know more about us? Join us for our ʺMembership Explorationʺ class! Come chat with Dr. Joe B. Martin on Sunday, September 15 at 10:00 a.m. in the dining room. Find out how Sardis is committed to equipping its members for Godʹs Mission.

Courtney Dameron & Justin Trice

Questions? Contact Laurie Hoots at imahoots2u@gmail.com or 704.641.1542.

College‐Age End of Summer Sizzle and Splash!

Let’s get together on Friday, August 2 from 6:30‐8:30 p.m. at the home of Mary and Ray Boardman (3408 Walston Lane) to celebrate the summer! Please bring a friend, your swimsuit, and an appetite as we grill out. For questions and to RSVP, contact Julie Lueck at 704.364.8130 or jbug.lueck@gmail.com.

Are You College or Military Bound?

Would you like to have a church mouse while you are away at college? A Sardis Church Mouse is an anonymous Sardis member who writes to you, and sends care packages and notes of encouragement. You thank them for things received by dropping them a note, email, or text. For more information about the program, or how to sign up, please contact Georgia Pressly at 704.516.6276.

2 The Communicator ~ August 2019

Church Life

Ministry is about life in Christ which affects everything we do.

Join a Women’s Circle! Study, Fellowship, and Service

New This Year: An Introduction to the Year’s Study – Tuesday, August 13, 10:00 a.m., in Room 210

All women are invited. If you are already in a Circle, this will prepare you to begin strong in September. If you have never been in a Circle, this is an opportunity to meet the Circle Chairs and see if being in a Circle is a way your faith will be nourished.

Jane Fobel will provide background information and an introduction to the study of the Ten Commandments which will be used by the two morning circles and the study of Simon Peter which will be used by the evening circle. The study books for each study will be available for purchase. Questions? Contact Jane Fobel, jane.fobel@sardis.org, 704.366.1854.

Circles will begin in September Time Circle #3 First Tuesday of the Month

Topic

Presbyterian Women’s Bible Study Chair: Lorinna Lowrance Love Carved in Stone: A Fresh Look at lawlowrance@gmail.com

10:00 a.m. in the Church Library

the Ten Commandments Study Books are $10

Circle #4

A Video/Book Series Simon Peter: Flawed but Faithful Disciple by Adam Hamilton Books are $12

First Tuesday of the Month 6:30 p.m. in the Dining Room Circle #8 Second Tuesdays of the Month 10:00 a.m. in the Church Library

Contact

Chair: Mary Hendrick sjhmeh@msn.com

Presbyterian Women’s Bible Study Chairs: Bev Naumann & Janet Ford Love Carved in Stone: A Fresh Look at Bev: jnaumann@carolina.rr.com the Ten Commandments Janet: ronjanford@yahoo.com Study Books are $10

Our Life Without Sardis? That Just Won’t Work… Cindy and Max McLeod

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like without the aspects of it you consider important – your family, your education, your career, and friendships? What would your life be like without your Christian faith, your Sardis church home, and our Christian fellowship? For us, growing up at Sardis gives us a different perspective. Being at Sardis is all that we have ever known. God joined us to be together, to be married here, and to continue our lives in this place. Our faith has strengthened our marriage with God’s help and grace. Christian educational opportunities and our time in worship have expanded our faith journeys. Cindy’s work as the Parish Aide and in the Sardis Weekday School along with our volunteer activities such as Room In The Inn have expanded our discipleship to God.

Sardis has a long history of giving to those in need both around the world and locally. We should always strive to do more to spread love and caring as the mission of our church. With God’s help, we can accomplish great acts of kindness and caring. The Stewardship Ministry asks for your time, talents, and gifts to God to enhance your faith journey and to Build God’s Kingdom.

The Communicator ~ August 2019 3

Church Life

Ministry is about life in Christ which affects everything we do.

Cars for Families Forward Charlotte

It’s easy to take for granted having a car. You wake up in the morning, get ready for work, get in your car, drop your kids off at school or day care, drive to work, drive home, then do it all over again the next day. But what if you didn’t have a car? What would your morning routine look like? Do you have a friend who can give you a ride wherever you need to go? Do you live close enough to public transportation for that to be an option?

This is a challenge many families in the Families Forward Charlotte program face everyday, especially Sasha. She is a single mother of six, with three of her young sons still living at home. She was in an abusive relationship for 20 years before finally gaining the courage to leave and start completely over. It’s been hard for her to maintain steady employment being a single mother with little kids at home. She has worked diligently with her Family Liaison to figure out how to secure childcare and a job, but Sasha does not own a car. Every day she has to walk to the bus stop to ride the bus to and from work. The missing key to her puzzle and her family’s stability: a car.

If you or anyone you know has a car they are willing to donate, please reach out to Families Forward Charlotte today. Your donation will make the difference for someone like Sasha and help them get one step closer to gaining independence and breaking through the cycle of poverty. Info@FamiliesForwardCLT.org

Thank you so much for the incredible kindness and welcome you all have shown me in my first weeks as a part of the Sardis Presbyterian staff! I am deeply grateful for every card, gift, drawing, email, and visit. You all have beautifully demonstrated Southern hospitality, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this community. I look forward to getting to know you and your stories in my time here! ‐Sarah Dianne

Session Highlights can be found at www.sardis.org under the News & Events tab.

June Financial Highlights Thank you for contributing to Christ’s work through Sardis Presbyterian Church

June

June expected

This year so far

This year so far expected

Pledges, gi s, and other revenue

$126,831.84

$138,200.00

$1,005,921.52

$1,009,950.00

Expenses

$181,149.62

$184,920.94

$931,372.78

$971,152.86

Net Total

($54,317.78)

($46,720.94)

$74,548.74

$38,797.14

Annual Budget: $2,004,300

Our Church Family Congratulations: to Mary Lou Mason upon the birth of her great‐grandson, Smith Edward Navarro; and to Victoria and Wes Kepley upon the birth of their son, Brody Knox Kepley, Andrea and Joel Kepley are the grandparents.

Our Christian Sympathy: to Sara Martin upon the death of her mother, Diane Eaton.

4 The Communicator ~ August 2019

The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.

Missions Ministry

Give One Day Meal Packing

Ending Hunger

We have great news! The 30,000 Rise Against Hunger meals you packed during our Give One Day event in April have been sent to Nicaragua to benefit Rise Against Hunger’s partner, ORPHANetwork!

ORPHANetwork is an organization that nourishes lives through food assistance and other services in Nicaragua.

Thank you for your support Sardis!

Looking for Rama Road Elementary School Homework Helpers

We are only a few weeks away from school starting! Sardis’ Homework Helpers program will be starting up in September.

Are you willing to volunteer to spend 1.5 hours once a week ‐ either on a Tuesday or a Thursday afternoon ‐ helping a first, second, or third grader at Rama Road do their homework?

This opportunity is not only rewarding, it is lots of fun! The only qualification needed is a willingness to help and care.

This opportunity is open to all, including high school students. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Pam Stirling at auferngoldens@gmail.com, or 703.727.5763.

The Communicator ~ August 2019 5

Youth ministry

“…set an example for the believers…” 1 Timothy 4:12.

Youth Summer Mission Trips and Conferences

Come hear the Youth Ministry share about their summer mission trips to Daytona Beach and Charlotte and conferences sponsored by Montreat for both high school and middle school on Sunday, August 4 during the Sunday School class time. The presentation will be from 10:00‐10:45 a.m. and the entire congregation is invited to come learn how our youth are growing in their faith and serving others because of it.

Volunteer in the Youth Ministry

Youth Ministry Fall Kick‐Off

Do you have a passion for working with young people,

The Youth Ministry Fall Kick‐Off will be Sunday,

walking beside them in their faith journey? The Youth

August 25 from noon until 2:00 p.m. Lunch will be

Ministry is looking for volunteers for the 2019‐2020

served, and both parents and youth will learn

academic year to work in our different programs. Do you

more about what we will be doing this fall.

love youth? Do you love God? If you said yes to both of these, then you are perfect for the Youth Ministry!

The Youth Ministry Fall Kick‐

Off is for the entire family, so

Please e‐mail Director of Youth Ministry Adrian Martin at

bring younger siblings and

adrian.martin@sardis.org for more information.

parents!

Youth Cooking Camp

Join Chef Ron from the Community Culinary School of Charlotte for the fourth annual Youth Cooking Camp! This camp is open to all youth (grades 6th‐12th) and you will learn the basics of cooking and kitchen safety and by the end of the week, know how to prepare several different dishes, which will be served at the closing banquet.

The camp will be held August 12—14 from 9:30 a.m. ‐ noon. The cost is $50 (contact Adrian Martin about available scholarships). To register, please visit www.sardis.org. Hope to see you there!

Youth Summer Blog

Read up on what the Youth Ministry has done this summer on their blog!

Check it out at

sardisyouth.blogspot.com :) 6 The Communicator ~ August 2019

“Let the little children come unto me.”

VBS—We Couldn’t Have Done it Without Y‐O‐U!

This year’s Vacation Bible School was a huge success! 140 children joined our volunteers and staff as we explored together the theme of To Mars and Beyond. We owe a HUGE thank you to our many volunteers. VBS truly would not be possible without them!

Anne Shoaf, Paige Hudson, Lin Leslie, Hayley Brownlee, and Kaycee Mumma led our 3 year old group.

Pam Stirling, Dean Calhoun, Kelly Dyer, Carson Brown, and Sydney Brownlee led our 4 year old group. Our preschool storytellers were Kristi Gallimore and Kelly Dyer. Our preschool art teachers were Susie Porter and Deborah Barkley, assisted by Eli Martin and Vince Stewart. Gloria Hall led preschool music. Jon Hansen, Allison Koch, Lin Leslie, and Jackson Powell worked with the preschool recreation.

We are so grateful for our many elementary shepherds and leaders: Sherry Grieco, Janice Abluton, Mary Abernathy, Daly Borders, Brendan Salema, Beth Jackson, Carolyn Eichenbrenner, Jewell Leslie, Whitney Shedd, Campbell Barnhill, Lindsey Nolan, Trey Dean, Brooke Johnston, Sue Docherty, Caroline Alba, Owen Lueck, Lissa Archer, Tim Eichenbrenner, Jack Brown, Micah Martin, Hope Borders, Kathleen Ramirez, Brenda McKay, Connor Davant, Glenn Crossley, and Alexander Johnston.

Our daily snacks were prepared with love by Valerie Hetherington, Beth Parrish, Jan Torrence, Susan Hudson, Sue Chowning, Vicka Conder, and Linda Tucker. Elementary recreation was led with great energy and enthusiasm by Adrian Martin, Wayne Docherty, Christa Sumwalt, Brenda Gajowski, Ginger Obringer, Molly Herr, Sarah Carpenter, Caden Chowning, and Richard Waller. Our elementary storytellers were Becky Cathcart, Kelly Hames, Georgia Pressly, and Nancy Finlayson. Elementary art was led by Diane Strawn, Brooke Neal, Telitha Hight, Vicky Hovis, Sharon Schwenk, Jewell Leslie, Brenda Gajowski, Catherine Newman, Isabel Kaeppler, Mallory Koesel, Sadie Cassio, Julia Smith, and Savannah Stewart. Amie Davidson, Jared Daugherty, and Mary Claire Davidson led music for our elementary schoolers.

Thomas Wilkinson helped with both photography and the AV and Technological side, along with John Nipe. Our praise band was made up of Anna Carpenter, Lauren Daugherty, and Steven Pappas. Big thanks to Jessica Watts, Stephanie Vanderford, Liz Hansen, and Katie Harrington who were this year’s directors. Huge thank you also to Joe B. Martin, Jared Daugherty, and Sarah Dianne Jones for taking on the stage leadership!

Happy Summer At Sardis Weekday School!

The SWS Summer Program is having a blast! We are dancing, exploring and making friend connections.

The Communicator ~ August 2019 7

THE COMMUNICATOR

Non‐Profit Org.

Published monthly by

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Sardis Presbyterian Church 6100 Sardis Road

Charlotte, NC

Charlotte, NC 28270

Permit #1059

www.sardis.org

ELECTRONIC SERVICE REQUESTED

sardis

Community Picnic September 7 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

South Lawn (Francis Property)

You are Invited...

Food Music Games Fun Bring your lawn chairs and a nut-free dessert to share!

8 The Communicator ~ August 2019