January 2018 Communicator

The Communicator ~ January 2018

Church Life

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

Happy Anniversary, Alfredo!

On January 15, Jose “Alfredo” Mendoza will be celebrating 10 years of service to Sardis Presbyterian Church!

Alfredo handles much of the behind the scenes details, so we wanted to publicly acknowledge his tenure. He is a great mentor to the other Facility Team members and always willing to serve when asked. Thank you, Alfredo, for all you do.

Music Reading Class

In February, Jared will begin teaching a music‐reading class on Thursday evenings from 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. in the Administration Building Conference Room.

If you love music but feel like there is a barrier between you and participating in our music ensembles, this class is for YOU! Or if you would like to know more about the dots on the page, then this class is for YOU! If you are interested in signing up for this class, email Jared at jared.daugherty@sardis.org.

Ringing to the Lord!

Our two Handbell ensembles, Alpha Ringers and Coventry Ringers, need additional members. If you have thought about ringing bells, this could be your way to serve Sardis through the music ministry. A minimal amount of music‐reading ability is necessary, but we can teach you! If you’re interested, contact Jared at jared.daugherty@sardis.org.

Singing to the Lord!

Sanctuary Choir is always warm to accept new singers! There are exciting musical opportunities on the horizon. Join us on Thursday evenings from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. to get a sneak peek at what the spring may hold, including a choral work that has never been performed at Sardis. If you’re interested, contact Jared at jared.daugherty@sardis.org.

Church Closings

The church office will be closed on Monday, January 1 for New Years Day, and on Monday, January 15 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Any closings or delays due to inclement weather will be announced on WSOC, WCNC, and WBTV, in an email to the congregation, and on sardis.org.

2 The Communicator ~ January 2018

Church Life

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

Fobel Anniversary Scholarship Fund Update

The funds that were collected for Jane Fobel’s 20th Anniversary have been transferred to Friends of OFCB and have become the Bayonnais Education Foundation Fund; the amount transferred was $22,000. The fund will be the basis for a student loan program to enable students in Bayonnais to enroll in college. Students selected by the OFCB School will be eligible to apply for a loan that will be repaid when the student graduates and is employed. Pastor Actionnel Fleurisma has said of the ministry in Bayonnais. “If you are planting for a year, you plant grains. If you are planting for a decade, you plant trees. If you are planting for a generation, you plant people.”

Thank you Sardis for planting seeds that will grow people and enable young adults to make a positive impact on their community.

Meet the First Four Recipients:

Eliguens Chancy:

Féniel Chales:

Amicasler Jaccéan:

Norguens Sagis

Eliguens graduated at

Féniel had the fifth‐

Amicasler plays in the

Noudy:

the top of his class and

highest score on the

worship band at the

Norguens plays in the

is currently studying

National Exam. Féniel

Bayonnais Church and

worship band at the

Civil Engineering at the

is studying Engineering

is currently studying

Bayonnais Church. He

Université Notre Dame

at the Université Notre

Agronomy

the

is studying business at

Dame des Gonaïves.

School of Agronomy

the School of Business

in Port au Prince.

in Port Au Prince.

des Gonaïves.

at

November 2017 Haiti Trip

From November 9‐15, Sardis members traveled to Bayonnais, Haiti. Thanks to all of you who participated in the shoe collection. We took 85 pairs of shoes that the Deacons of the church who will distribute as needed. During the week we spent time with the nurses and met with 20 pregnant women to learn about prenatal care and delivery in their community. Our hope is to help make improvements in this area to decrease the maternal and infant mortality rates. We also met with a member of the agronomy team who discussed the poultry business and vegetable farming. A gift shop and mercantile are being built and will open later this year. Each of us brought back many memories of our experiences and the people we met. If you are interested in meeting your brothers and sisters in Bayonnais and being part of an amazing story of hope, watch for a 2018 travel date! Contact Pressly Gilbert or Brenda McKay if you have any questions.

The Communicator ~ January 2018 3

Church Life

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

Friendship Connection

Tuesday, January 16 Program at 11:00 a.m. and lunch at noon Sardis House

Lent Is Around the Corner

“The Care and Feeding of a New Pastor” led by members of the Pastor Nominating Committee

The season of Lent begins on February 14.

$10 per person

Special midweek studies are planned; check the February Communicator for details.

Register by noon on Friday, January 12

It’s Not Too Late to Make a Difference

www.sardis.org or 704.926.1590 Jeff Wilkinson, Chair Stewardship Ministry 2017

As I compose this article, it is Friday, December 15. The excitement of Christmas surrounds us. Friends and neighbors are preparing to spend time with their families, plans are being made for upcoming travel, and people are frantically trying to put that final stamp on what they hope will be a special Christmas. As you read this, Christmas will have come and gone. I hope each of you found the Advent season to be a special one, and you are reminded of the special gifts you received this year and in previous years – those special gifts that stand the test of time and generate memories and stories to be shared for a lifetime.

Just as those Christmas memories will stand the test of time, so too will those memories of how Sardis has impacted our lives. Thank you to those of you that made a pledge for 2018 so that the lives of those at Sardis, in our community and our world may share in your love of Jesus Christ. For those of you that have not yet made a pledge for 2018, please prayerfully consider making a pledge. It is not too late to make a difference for all of those around us. You may fill out a pledge card, or pledge online at www.sardis.org.

November Financial Highlights

November

November expected

This year so far

This year so far expected

Pledges, gifts, and other revenue

$167,772.93

$177,614.75

$1,794,114.26

$1,773,154.56

Expenses

$154,576.08

$150,505.02

$1,813,482.35

$1,848,611.07

Net Total

$13,196.85

$27,109.73

($19,368.09)

($75,456.51)

Annual Budget: $2,076,000

Our Church Family Our Christian Sympathy: to the family of Nancy Enochs; to Rev. Alice Johnson upon the death of her mother, Betty Johnson; to the family of Mike Denny; to Jeff Wilkinson upon the death of his father, Don Wilkinson; to Lucinda Myers upon the death of her mother, Betty Sigmon; to Harley Yancey upon the death of his brother, Michael Yancey; to Jane Gilbert upon the death of her brother‐in‐law and Sam Coleman upon the death of his uncle, Richard Scearce Jr.; to the family of Nancy Boyce; to Jo Ann Parry upon the death of her brother‐in‐law, David Moody; and to the family of Neal Huntley. Mr. Huntley served as the groundskeeper for the cemeteries for 40 years.

Congratulations: to Phyllis Thompson upon the birth of her great‐granddaughter, Mitchell Kathryn Thompson.

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

Lay Ministry

Thank you for making the 2017 Angel Tree another

tremendous success!

We appreciate all who participated. We even

had an exercise class that uses our facilities, contribute too. In all, our church made Christmas special for 164 angels from 79 different families at Rama Road Elementary School. In addition, we were also able to provide Food Lion Gift cards to all of the homeless McKinney Vinto families. This is just one of the many projects we support through the Planting Seeds of Hope.

Soup for the Sardis Soul

It’s soup season! Since September 2016, we have prepared 149 quarts of chicken soup with the help of 26 volunteers, both individuals and groups. Seniors, shuts‐ins, members, friends and neighbors who’ve had surgery, experienced a loss, or time of sadness have received a caring visit and a quart of soup. Ten quarts made by the Sardis Youth were sold at their Spring ‘17 Auction. Starting again in January 2018, there will be opportunities for new volunteers to cook or help deliver. This is a fun way to get involved and connect with your larger church congregation. Interested in getting involved? Contact Barbara Lansche at 704.974.1941.

2018 Room In The Inn Needs

RITI is grateful for all of the volunteers and donations during the cold days of December. Our needs for the new year are as follows:



Wednesday, Jan. 17: 1 male Social (7:30 p.m. ‐ 10:30 p.m.); 1 Owl (10:45 p.m. ‐ 4:45 a.m.)



Sunday, February 18: 1 male, 1 female Social



Wednesday, March 7: 1 Owl, male or female



Wednesday, March 21: 1 Owl, male

Volunteers for these positions are much needed, and much appreciated (register at sardis.org or email Marilyn Taylor at mtaylor6604 @gmail.com)! Peace and blessings from RITI.

Our Newest Mission Co‐Worker

Doug Dicks has replaced Kate Tabor in the Middle East to become the newest mission co‐worker supported by Sardis. Doug facilitates relationships between PC(USA) and the church’s mission partners in Israel and Palestine.

He cultivates connections that encourage Middle Eastern Christians and inspire U.S. Presbyterians. Christians in the Middle East work tirelessly for reconciliation and render valuable service to people of all faiths. In his role, Doug says he strives to express the broader Christian calling to “employ the unique gifts, talents, and skills that we possess to further God’s reign here on earth.”

We are excited to accompany Doug on his journey through our prayers and financial support.

The Communicator ~ January 2018 5

Youth ministry

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

Youth Bake Sale: Big Success!

Youth Sunday

The bake sale fundraiser for Sardis’ Youth programs was a

Youth Sunday is Sunday, March 4 and we are

great success and will help support the St. Louis Mission

looking for youth who would like to have a part

Trip, The Great Escape, and the Montreat Youth Conference.

in the worship service. If you would like to assist

Thank you so much to those who volunteered their time and

in either the 9:00 contemporary or 11:00

their baked goods for our sale. We had plenty of help to

traditional worship services, please contact

make everything run smoothly. Your support is greatly

Adrian Martin at adrian.martin@sardis.org.

appreciated by our youth and their families!

Sunday Night Fellowship

Our Sunday Night Fellowship program will resume on Sunday, January 7 from 6:00‐7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Dinner is served from 6:00‐6:30 with a separate Middle School and High School devotion and program following dinner until 7:30. Join us as we continue “Following Jesus” in 2018!

We hope all 6th through 12th grade students will join us for this meaningful time on Sunday evenings this year.

For more information, please contact Adrian Martin at 704.366.1854.

Middle School Snow Tubing

Summer Trips

The Middle School Youth will go snow tubing on

It is time to register for the summer trips to the

Saturday, February 3. If you would like to participate

Middle School Great Escape, High School St. Louis

in this event, please register with Adrian Martin by

Mission Trip, and High School Montreat Youth

January 21. The cost is only $35 and covers your

Conference. To register, please visit www.sardis.org/

tubing, lunch, and transportation. Come join us!

ministries/youth and use the online registration tools.

You may also grab a summer trips brochure from the

Jubilate Ringers and Agape Voices

Youth Room and register that way.

New Year Party

Youth (6th grade – 12th grade)

You will not want to miss out on these exciting and life‐ changing opportunities for spiritual growth during the summer!

On January 7 from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. we will have a New Year Party filled with games and activities to kick‐off the New Year and welcome new friends to youth music. We have enjoyed really beautiful music making in our time together during the fall. We are excited to see what more we can do together in our upcoming season. Please come and bring a friend.

If you have any questions, contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn.davros@sardis.org.

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“Let the little children come unto me.”

Worship Orientation

For our young people, at times what we do during worship can be confusing. So, during the month of January, we will hold worship orientation classes for our kindergarten through second grade students. They will gather for worship in the sanctuary at our 11:00 a.m. service and be dismissed to the Upper Room prior to the sermon. In the class, we will be learning about how and why we worship while we are worshipping. Students will return to their families in the sanctuary during the doxology. We look forward to learning and growing together in our worship of God. Contact Katie Harrington (katie.harrington@sardis.org) for more details.

Elementary Students Serve at RITI

January 7, 4:30 ‐ 5:30 p.m. in the Sardis House

For our elementary fellowship event in January, our students will be giving back! We will gather at the Sardis House at 4:30 p.m. to get it ready for our neighbors, and to prepare their beds, their lunches, and their dinners. Join us! Watch your email for a sign‐up genius on other ways you can help.

Children’s Choir New Year Party

(Kindergarten – 5th Grade)

We have had such a great fall season with the young voices at Sardis! We have been energized by the growth in children’s music and want to welcome even more of the children at Sardis and our community. Join us for a kick‐off party for the new season on January 10 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Choir Room located in the Administration Building. The evening will be filled with fun games and activities. If you have any questions, please contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn.davros@sardis.org.

Sardis Weekday School Updates!

SWS Registration

Christmas Pageant!

Registration for the upcoming 2018 ‐ 2019 school

Pictured are a few angels

year will take place in January. Currently enrolled

from the Sardis Weekday

families and Church members not currently

School Christmas Pageant on

enrolled may begin to register on January 2. Public

December 14! All of the kids

registration will open on Monday, January 22.

gave a great performance and

Contact Louise Lippi by calling 704.366.9681 or

certainly set the mood for the

emailing louise.lippi@sardis.org. Happy New Year!

holiday season.

The Communicator ~ January 2018 7

The Communicator

Non‐Profit Org.

Published monthly by

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PAID

Sardis Presbyterian Church

Charlotte, NC

6100 Sardis Road Charlotte,

NC

28270

www.sardis.org

8 The Communicator ~ January 2018

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