Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

Grace HillsBaptist Church

PO Box 807

4320 Pumping Station Road

Appomattox, Virginia 24522-0807

434-352-8847, fax: 352-8849 *

To view the newsletter in color, please visit our

website

OnFacebook:
If you do not wish to be on our mailing list, or if someone would like to be added, please let us know!

If you would like to receive our newsletter via the internet instead of by snail mail, please advise.by email*.

(*You need the capability to open Microsoft Office 2010 documents [.docx] or Adobe [.pdf]

On August 12, 2017, a large protest took place in Charlottesville. Prompted by the proposed removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, white supremacists and self-described Nazis came into town to march, shouting racist epithets and anti-Semitic slogans. Counter-protestors from local churches and civil rights groups, as well as outside groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa, also marched in the streets of Charlottesville. Clashes inevitably occurred, and at the end of the day dozens of people were injured and one counter-protestor, Heather Heyer, was murdered. Two Virginia state troopers who were helping with the police response also died in a helicopter crash.

Public discourse in the intervening weeks has been harsh. President Trump and former President Obama have been blamed, Nazis and counter-protestors alike have been vilified, and otherwise friendly neighbors have been at each other’s throats. I even heard a friend, a self-identified Christian, claim that the people on the other side should have been shot. Battle lines have been drawn, and it appears that our culture is continuing to tear itself apart. In the face of such division and hate, what can we as Christians do? What can we as Christ’s church do?

First, we can be clear on this fundamental truth: God is not racist, and thus the church should not endorse or even tolerate racism. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans that “there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him” (Rom. 10:12). He goes further in Galatians to say “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). The book of James calls favoritism a sin (James 2:9), and the book of Revelation tells us that at the end of all things, in God’s perfect kingdom realized on earth as it is in heaven, people from every nation and tribe and tongue will be joined together before the throne of God (Rev. 7:9-10). If we pray every week, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” then racism has no place in the life of the Christian or the church, and we need to say so.

The second way we can respond is to actually do what Jesus commands us to do: love our enemies. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his followers, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt. 5:43-44) Far too often, the world says that those who are different than us, those who oppose us, and especially those who hurt us are to be struck back at hard. Jesus does things differently. We are to love those who are opposed to us. I’m not quite sure what that looks like when you’re talking about street fighting and Nazis, but it at the least means not hating our enemy’s guts, seeing them as a child of God even when we don’t respect their ideas, and not seeking their harm. We don’t have a choice in the matter – it’s what Jesus explicitly told us to do.

A third and final way that we can respond to the tragedy of Charlottesville is to do what we can to actually live out our faith. I can’t tell you how often I’ve lamented the state of things in the world, in our country, in our society. I also can’t tell you how often I’ve heard members of our church say the same thing. But what are we doing about it? Most of the time, in fact, we do the exact same thing as everyone else; we divide up into sides, cut ourselves off from the other, and demonize anyone who is different than us. That’s how the world works, and we go right along with the world. But what if we didn’t do that? What if we actually lived differently – pursuing the good of everyone, loving our enemies, standing up for the weak, supporting initiatives that promote unity and justice no matter who suggests them? What if we stopped identifying as liberals or conservatives, Republicans or Democrats, and just identified as followers of Jesus? Would we do things differently? I sure hope I would – and I sure hope you would as well. It’s not an easy thing to do – Jesus tells his disciples that following him is like picking up our own cross and following him to death (Mt. 16:24) – but it is the path of Christian faithfulness. And do you know what? When we live that way, when we set aside our other allegiances and identities and strive to live like Jesus, we find that other people notice, and we’re making a difference in our own little corner of the world.

A few weeks ago, events in Charlottesville highlighted yet again the sinful divisiveness of our society and the fundamental evil that is racism. In the face of such evil, the church and the Christian has a responsibility to live as the people of God. How are we living out our faith? What are we saying? And what are we doing to try to heal our community and our world?

In Christ,

Adam

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

Music Notes for September

I hope that you enjoyed hearing Tracy Johnson sing as much as I did (August 13). What a treat to have her singing in worship;

what a delicious joy to have had the excellent choirs in the loft each Sunday in August as well. Thank you, choir members.

On September 24th Margaret Davis will play service music from the organ; the choir will sing "What a Friend" on the 17th. On the tenth

day of the month the sanctuary space here at 4320 Pumping Station Road will be quiet, but the spaces at Fairview Christian Lake and Campground

will be throbbing with worship and activity. Gene Williams will accompany worship music with acoustic guitar. We will ALL be singing.

Worship will begin at 11 a.m.( no Sunday school for that day) and lunch will follow at 1 p.m.

Keep singing

Nancy Williams

MILITARY LIST

We pray for all who are serving or have served America.

We forever thank youand we honor you for your service!

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

MajorFranklin Jennings, Jr.

Marshall Woods

Trip Green

F. C. Tracy Carter

James Ryan Boone

Travis Beasley

Michael Warre

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

Continuing Care List...

Appomattox Health & Rehab: Merlie Reynolds, Helen Dunstone

Babcock Manor: Joyce Webb, Clarine Mays

Bentley Commons: George Richards

Heritage Green: Vicki Jamerson

James River Rehab & Asst’d Living: Linda Dixon

Leisure Park: Betty & John Roberts

Valley View Retirement Community: Rebecca Dickerson

The Woodland: Garland Doss

At Home: Jim Childress, Kaye Wilson, Beth Payne, Thelma Trent, Nathan Norman, Wilsie Puckette, Ginny Brown,Newton Tolley, the Harrison Family, Gary Huddleston, Carolyn Kreidel, Ruby Williams, Melvin Walker, Phil Jones, Celeste Turner, June & Ed Brown, Bolly Carter, Nabeel Quareshi,Renneth Marston, Carlton Harris, Richard Jeff, June Chenault, Crystal Herndon, June Page

Appomattox Health and Rehab. --The monthly birthday party at the AH&R center is held on the second Wednesday of each month at 10am

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

HAPPENINGS at the Good Neighbor Information and Help Center

Mark your Calendars- September 25, 2017

Good Neighbor Event Coming Soon: Top 5 “Needs to Know” for Appomattox Senior Citizens- Remembering What’s Important for the Golden Years

Location: Appomattox Inn and Suites Time: 11- 2:00

Interested? Grace Hills members may contact Bill Houchens to register by September 10. $10 fee includes a box lunch. Make checks payable to GHBC, designate for GNHIC Registration/Lunch

Program includes speakers:

Legal Issues- Wills, taxes, health care directives, etc.
Keeping the Mind and Body Alert
Safety- Scams and other “Bewares”
Money now and Estate Planning
Insurance Essentials

On the Mountain with the Master

September and October Wednesdays, 7pm

using Matthew 5 – 8

( Nancy and Janice )

including glimpses of the Holy Land

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

Excellent speakers are currently being scheduled for the Good Neighbor event. Also, local agencies, organizations, and vendors will be sponsoring this event and providing important up to date information.

Other GN happenings recently:

Thanks to Earl and Mary Dickerson for the donation of furniture items to be distributed to several needy families. (Thanks Bill Slagle, Gene Williams, Kenneth Marston, and Bill Houchens for transporting.)
Thanks to GN Council members and Nancy Williams for providing rides to medical appointments.
Thanks to Joe Sayre who helped provide a hotel night for an individual in a difficult situation.
Appreciation is expressed to Monica for assistance in communicating about the Senior Fair.
Many thanks to all of you as we continue to support our special family.

We seek your prayers and are grateful for so many blessings. --The Good Neighbor Team

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

The Appomattox Baptist Association will once again be hosting our event to fight hunger, Rise Against Hunger (formerly Stop Hunger Now) on October 22, 2017 at Calvary Baptist Church. The event will begin at 3 pm and our goal is $7000.00 to fight hunger. Mark your calendars and we will share more information later

Notes from theHospitality Committee

The Sept. 10 Annual GHBC Church Picnic will be held at the Fairview Christian Church’s Youth Camp on Promise Land Road. Directions and times will be mailed. Please bring a side dish or a dessert to go with Baked Ham and Fried Chicken. Bring your lawn chairs, sports equipment, insect spray, friends and anything else you need to have fun in the outdoors. Dress casually. We will not hold any services at the church that Sunday, but will hold a lovely outdoor worship and praise service at the park before our mid-day meal. You do not have to make a reservation for the picnic….just show up with a dish to share and ready to enjoy the day!

Please remember to call the church office to place your name on the Standing Reservation List for Wednesday Night Dinners. We are starting a new season and the old list will be retired. There were a lot of names on it who forgot to call when their plans changed last year, so we will not put you on the new list unless you tell us to. And PLEASE remember to let us know if your plans to attend dinner change--so we can fix the right amount of food. We don’t want to waste the precious blessing of a meal, or be unable to provide enough for all who show up.

Your 2017-2018 Hospitality Committee

Ellen Jamerson, Linda Lipscomb, Margaret Davis, Hank Davis, Jimmy Lipscomb

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

Grace Hills Early Learning Center

contact information:

(434-352-2273, fax: 434-352-4422)

Reminders:

GHELC is closed Sept. 4 for Labor Day

GHELC Council meeting, September 12, 4pm

Fun Music begins Sept. 6…every Weds., 9am

Chapel begins Sept. 18, 9am
------

Member Reminders

Don’t forget to regularly review and update your personal information that is on file at the church whenever something changes for you and your family. Phone numbers, mailing/residence addresses, e-mail addresses, emergency contact information for yourself and your family, changes of family member status, and special achievements, etc. Let us know of anything you would like kept on file at the church that would help your pastor, deacon and staff know you and your family better. The information is not shared outside the church without your permission. There are forms in the church lobby for this purpose, but you can send an email or a written note in the office just as well--at any time.

Newsletter Information Due Date

(Information submitted after the due date delays processing and distribution)

The next Newsletter Information Deadline is Wednesday,September 20, 2017 at 5pm. Please have any information to be included in the next Newsletter to the GHBC Office by 5pm on the deadline day! All Member/Committee/Class input is welcome! Remember your church activity and related digital pictures are also welcome for inclusion. Email them to with the caption you desire. GHBC Calendar information for the next month is due by 5pm on the last working day before the Church Council meeting (usually the first Tuesday) in the month prior to the event, so it can be presented at Church Council. Please remember to tell the Office when a meeting is scheduled or changed before the Bulletin due date. Bulletin information is due in the GHBC office by 5pm, every Wednesday. Times VA newpaper news must be in the GHBC office by 12pm Friday every week for their next issue. ABA Newsletter articles must be in the GHBC office by 5pm the 15th of every month. GHBC Newsletter Information must be in the GHBC Office by 5pm on the Wednesday before the last Sunday of the month, unless that Sunday is a holiday or very close to the end of the month—then, the info. would be due 5pm Wednesday--2 weeks before the last Sunday. Please make all submissions separately and in writing for each publication (mark each submission with which publication it is for & begin/end publication dates: bulletin (date), calendar (month), newsletter (month), etc.) Email is preferred.Thanks for your cooperation

Grace Hills Baptist Church Newsletter September,2017 Page 1 of 4

Please address all mail to our PO Box 807, Appomattox, VA 24522. No mail should come to the street address.

Add the colors of Fall: