The Bethany BeaconThe Bethany Beacon

Bethany Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Arapahoe, North Carolina 28510

Bethanyarapahoe.org

“Finding the Way of Christ at the Crossroads.”

PO Box 156

Arapahoe NC 28510-0156

NON-PROFIT

ORGANIZATION

U.S. FEES AND

POSTAGE PAID

ARAPAHOE NC

28510

PERMIT NO. 1

DecemberDecember

20132013

Watson’s Word Watson’s Word By Merritt WatsonBy Merritt Watson

In the Life of the Church

DECEMBER

1 Future Story Response 11:00

7 Youth Meeting 9-12:00

8 Jericho Ringers @ Silver Hill

13 Group #5 @ Kelly’s 7:00

14 Jericho Ringers @ Spirit of Christ-

mas in Oriental

15 Fishes & Loaves

Caroling 3:00

CMF/CWF meeting 6:00

17 Jericho Ringers @ Grantsbrook

21 Watson Family Gathering 12:00

22 Children’s Program 7:00

24 Christmas Eve Service 8:00

25 Christmas

28 Breakfast and remove the

Decorations 9:00

29 5th Sunday Dinner 12:15

Diaconate meeting 7:00

JANUARY

4 Bethany Gospel Group at the

Pamlico Union Meeting at New Hope

Christian Church in Reelsboro 10:00

FLOWER CALENDAR

December

1 Advent Flowers

8 Advent Flowers

15 Advent Flowers

22 Advent Flowers

29 Mary Puckett

January

5 Helen & Herb Purser

12 Kathy Schmidt

19 Sara & Simon Spalding

26 Pat & Gene Stilley

Becky Badger

Phillip Banks

Evelyn Beeman

Tembra Bennett

Trisha Bennett

Velna Bennett

Donnie Bishop

William &Joan Blair

Judy Bowen

Albert & Joy Boyd

Ruth Abby Brackner

Donna Bridges

Edwin Cahoon

Naomi Cahoon

Tim & Joy Carawan

Milton Dixon

Jimmy Dunlap

Beth Ensley

Casey Fisher

Charity Garrison

Hal Gordon

Diane Greene

Floyd Hardison

GR Harper

Joan Harper

Nancy Harris

Scott Harris

Hilda Holton

Sandra Holton

Ted & Dot Jennings

Diane Kelly

Cecila Kibbe

Ingrid Lollis

Betty Morris

Ann Oliver

Peggy Potter

Mary Puckett

Ray Puckett

Randy Regal

James Rowe

Caleb Schmidt

Sarah Smith

Mary Ann Sugg

Randy Thompson

Doris Tippett

George Vendrick

Rachel Vendrick

Ann West

Theresa Williams

Military

Brandon Bennett

Spencer Bliss

Please Remember in

Your Prayers: At the Crossroads 8126 NC Hwy 306 S Arapahoe, NC 28510

REGULARLY SCHEDULED

ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

Weekly Sunday: Sunday School, 9:45 am;

Worship, 11:00 am

Tuesday: Chancel Choir—7:00 pm,

Jericho Ringers - 7:45 pm

Wednesday: Gospel Group—7:00 pm

Monthly 1st Sunday: Elders, BH, 7:30 am;

Official Board, FH, 7:00 pm.

3rd Sunday: CWF/CMF, FH, 6:00 pm.

5th Sunday: Covered Dish Dinner, FH,

following worship service.

*Any changes to regularly scheduled ac-

tivities and events will be noted in the cal-

endar below.

BH=Bethany Hall; FH=Fellowship Hall;

PL=Parking Lot; S=Sanctuary December Birthdays

Decemberr 2013 Decemberr 2013

Serving in

December January

Elders Mac Harris Chris Watson Julia Peterson Doug Brinson

Deacons Annette Aldridge C Pam Hardison Guy Cowell Rebecca Cowell Tommy Banks Jennie Adams

Deaconess Jennie Adams

Acolytes Parker Watson Katie Bennett Matt Bailey Susannah Spalding

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths

A new year has begun for Bethany Christian Church. This may sound to you like a premature announcement. January 1st is still some 20 days in the future,

but on the church’s calendar a new year has already begun. For the church a new

year always begins on the first Sunday of Advent and that was December 1st. In the

thinking of those who arranged the church’s liturgical calendar, the coming of Christ

is the beginning of all things new. It is his advent that marks a new day, a new time,

a new year in the life of the church and because his coming is for the life of the

world, it is in that sense also a new year for the world. So, on the church’s calendar

a new year has already begun.

But this is not all that I mean when I say a new year has begun for Bethany

Christian Church. It has also begun for us in another way. It has begun for us in our

journey of transformation. We have entered a new phase of our journey, which by

the way will never be complete. We will always be moving towards the goal of our

being fully in Christ. As Paul said to the Philippians, we have not arrived but we

press on towards the goal for the prize of the higher call of God in Christ. But even

so we recognize that something recognizably new has happened among us. Its tim-

ing appropriately enough was also with the beginning of Advent. It was the presen-

tation of our Vision Team of the future story of our congregation.

The future story the Vision Team wrote was based on many months of proc-

essing ideas generated in our prayer triads. And of course it was not simply a matter

of writing a final report. Through it all there was also an intimacy of communion

with God, both theirs and ours, as we sought to discern the future to which God calls

us. Their presentation was thus not a road map of how we get to the place in the

future we want to be. Rather it was intended to be provocative and stimulating. It

called for us to think about the different areas of the church’s life and gave to us vi-

sions of what that life could be in the not-so-distant future. Woven throughout their

presentation are ways we can grow in our relationship with God and with one an-

other.

The Vision Team made quite clear that the work of becoming what God

wants us to be is not over with their report. It has in fact just begun. The real work

is ahead of us. They have called for us not only to think about possible ways we can

become more passionate about the things God is passionate about, but also to imple-

ment new ways God’s passion for the world can be lived out in our life together as

church. The visions of the future presented to us will only be as good as we with

God’s help make them to be.

So for us a new year has begun. We, of course, are not talking simply about

365 days. It may take a little longer than that. We are thinking more of a new era, a

new time, a new season of opportunity. Will it be a new season of discovery, excite-

ment, adventure, and accomplishment? We believe very much that it can and will

be. And we invite you to join with us in this journey. Feel the joy of the Lord’s

Advent. A new day has begun.

Merritt

1 Erica Morris

2 Polly Surprenant

MaryAnn Sugg

4 Dawn Acuna

5 Evelyn Beeman

Terry Cannan

8 Sarah Brinson

11 Del Lee

Mary Puckett

Mary Minnich

12 John Cannan

13 Sarah Kistler

Zahm

14 Ted Jennings

18 Cathy Cahoon

21 S. Paul Hardison

26 George Vendrick

Luke

created

his

own

tree.

26 Hal Gordon

28 Katie Bennett

29 Zeb James

31 Mary Kate

Parrish

December 1, 2013

The official board of Bethany Christian

Church met on Sunday, December 1, 2013

at 7:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall. There

were fifteen members present.

In the absence of board chair, Mac Harris,

the meeting was called to order by Chris

Watson. Rev. Merritt Watson lit a candle

representing God in our midst followed by

prayer.

The minutes of the November meeting

were read and approved.

Financial Report

Copies of the treasurer’s report were dis-

tributed. Randy Beeman, treasurer, called

attention to the fact that the $25,000.00

from the estate of Lea Banks was still

reflected in the General Income column,

but would be corrected before the next

report. Following comments and ques-

tions, the report was accepted as pre-

sented.

Elders Report

Doug Brinson reported the elders had a

small attendance at their meeting this

morning. They discussed all those on our

prayer list. A lot of time was spent dis-

cussing how to encourage visitors who

attended our services to continue their

attendance

Diaconate

Christine Beeman reported the Diaconate

will meet at the end of December and will

elect new officers at that time.

Youth

Chris Watson reported the youth met this

afternoon to begin practice on the Christ-

mas program and will concentrate their

efforts on the play for the rest of the

month.

CWF

Christine Beeman thanked everyone for

helping with the Harvest Dinner. It was a

great success with a profit of around

$1600.00.

CMF

Bossy Hardison reported one of the com-

munity Eagle Scouts had contacted the

CMF about helping with the design of the

planned columbarium as part of his Eagle

Scout project. He also stated the CMF

will elect new officers at their next meet-

ing.

Worship

Annette Aldridge stated due to the fact

that new members were not yet appointed

the committee has not met. The board

thanked Annette for the beautifully deco-

rated table in the sanctuary at the Thanks-

giving in the Morning service.

Budget

Christine Beeman passed out printed cop-

ies of the proposed 2014 year budget. She

stated the proposed budget amount is basi-

cally the same as last year’s with a few

tweaks in some of the line items. After

questions and discussion, a motion was

made by Doug Brinson and seconded by

Garland Cahoon that the proposed budget

be accepted as presented. Motion passed.

The proposed budget will be presented to

the congregation for approval on Decem-

ber 15.

Stewardship

Merritt reported that the return of commit-

ment cards has been very low and disap-

pointing thus far.

Property

Christine Beeman reported the property

chairman has repaired two of the three

doors that needed attention.

Chairman’s Report

Chris Watson reported that Mac Harris,

Board chair, is pleased that the congrega-

tion affirmed the Future Story at the con-

gregational meeting this Sunday.

Old Business

The question was raised as to how long the

regional Capitol Campaign continues.

Merritt stated it is a five year campaign

and is now in its fourth year.

Chris presented the slate of officers for the

year 2014 as follows:

Chairperson Emily Harper

Vice Chair Mac Harris

Clerk Linda Watson

Treasurer Randy Beeman

Secretary to Treasurer Kelli Bailey

A motion was made by Rebecca Cowell

and seconded by Annette Aldridge that the

new slate of officers be accepted as pre-

Board Minutes (unapproved until January 5, 2014)

Minister

Merritt Watson minister@ bethanyarapahoe.org

Board Chairman

Mac Harris

Secretary

Renée Midyette

Choir Director

Sara Spalding

Bell/Chime Choir

Director

Sara Spalding

The Bethany Beacon

Published on the first Thursday after the first Sunday of each month by Bethany Christian Church

(Disciples of Christ) Post Office Box 156, Arapahoe, NC 28510

Vision and Mission Statement

Our highest aspiration is to love God with our

whole being and to love our neighbors as our-

selves.

Our mission is to enable people to know Christ

and to strengthen their personal relationships

with Him.

Gospel Choir

Director

Simon Spalding

Communications

Director

Mac Harris communica-

tions@bethanyarapahoe.org

Editor

Jennie Adams

jennieka-

dams@gmail.com

Bethany Christian Church

(Disciples of Christ)

www.bethanyarapahoe.org

Page 2 Page 3

Bethany News and Views

Bethany office phone number 252-249-0266 Office hours

Tuesday—Friday 8-12:00

sented. Motion passed. The new officers

will be presented to the congregation for

approval on December 15.

New Business

Chris Watson presented a request from our

local Boy Scout troop to be chartered by

Bethany Christian Church beginning in

January, 2014. Chris stated the troop lead-

ers met with him and Merritt Watson to

present their request and go over “The An-

nual Charter Agreement”(attached). The

charter requires the church to provide an

organization representative and Chris Wat-

son has agreed to fill that position if the

request for a charter is approved. A mo-

tion was made by Garland Cahoon and

seconded by Rebecca Cowell to approve

the Boy Scout request to be chartered by

Bethany Christian Church. Motion passed.

Minister’s Report

Merritt commented on (1) completion of

the fall veggie garden and expressed spe-

cial thanks to Dave Bailey and Mac Harris

for their leadership and hard work. Bossy

Hardison commented a special thanks is

due to Don Lee farms for providing the

land for the garden (2) the inspirational

presentation of the Vision Team last Sun-

day (3) the good attendance at the

“Thanksgiving in the Morning” service on

Thanksgiving.

There being no further business to conduct the

meeting was adjourned with a prayer circle

and comments and prayer by our minister.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Watson, Substitute Chair

Linda Watson, Clerk

Farewell 2013 Fall Garden! Farewell 2013 Fall Garden! November 26th was the last day in the Garden. Almost 275 pounds of produced was picked and packed and delivered to the Religious Community Services center in New Bern, just in time for the busy Thanksgiving needs of their soup kitchen.

The Operation Veggie Box garden produced almost one ton of vegetables, well over 200 boxes delivered to families who needed the food. “The original vision had hoped for 600 pounds in 100 boxes, but the Holy Spirit blessed us greatly. The garden has been a blessing not only to those who re-ceived the vegetables, but to those who helped in the garden” plowing, planting, watering, weeding, picking and packing the veggies for delivery. “Thank God for this wonderful experi-ence”.

The OVB team leaders wish to thank everyone who participated in the Fall garden. “May

you be blessed and may you come back to help in the Spring.” Bethany thanks David

Bailey and Mac Harris for their leadership.

Youth ProjectYouth Project

Kelli Bailey announced that the Youth are sell-ing Christmas Yard signs ($20) and magnetic

bumper(?) s t ickers ($5.00) to announce your belief in the season.. Emily Harper has 2014 Calendars and Note pa-per available also. All can be found in the Nar-thex of the church. Please think about help-ing the youngsters out with their fundraising project.

On Friday, November 29th, over 20 of Bethany’s members met to

adorn the church for the Christmas season. Annette Aldridge

and Terri McCotter were co-chairs of the Decorating Committee,

ably helped by Kelly Jones, Meredith Beeman, Linda Watson,

and Juanita Arrington. From the feast of chili at the beginning,

through the hanging of all the greens (and golds and reds), to the

careful placement of decorations on the Christmon Tree and the

Children’s Tree, to the dedication service led by Rev. Watson at

the end, the evening was blessed with the Christmas spirit.

Hanging of the Hanging of the GreensGreens

Margaret Harrell’s Utterly Delectable Chews (Rave reviews from the Hanging of the Greens evening)

Mix together with 1 box of brown sugar:

3 eggs 1 stick of butter 2 cups of self rising flour 1 cup of nuts (pecans?)

Place in a 9 X 9 or larger baking dish and put in 350 degree

oven for about 30 minutes. Easy Peasy Delicious!

Youth Alert Practice for the Children’s Program will begin Sunday the 8th at 12:15 after church, beginning with a light meal. See full practice schedule below.

Dec. 8 The Jericho Ringers have been invited to perform at Silver Hill Christian Church. 3:00

Dec 14 The Jericho Ringers will ring out at the Spirit of Christmas in Oriental.

Dec. 15 Come go Caroling! A group of singers, and non-singers, enjoy visiting those in the church who might not be able to attend other events. Both ends of the notes enjoy the outing. 3:00

Dec. 22 Children’s Christmas Program This is a Bethany tradition updated to fit the times. Emily Harper informed the Beacon that this year’s play takes place in a Christ-mas Tree Lot. Perhaps not all trees are as lovely as the ones on the right, but each has a place to celebrate Christmas. We’ll enjoy the performance and the good eats after the program. It is also a time to remember the wonder of children’s joy as a visitor makes a stop. 7:00

Dec 24 Christmas Eve Service Please gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of our Lord in a spiritual celebration ending with a unifying circle as we sing Silent Night. 7:00

Dec 28 Breakfast before the Decorations are removed. Food First. 9:00

So Much to Celebrate this MonthSo Much to Celebrate this Month

You’re invited to enjoy every eventYou’re invited to enjoy every event

Sunday Dec. 8 12:15 Pizza’s before practice.

Sunday Dec. 15 12:15 Light meal before practice.

Friday Dec. 20 11:30 1/2 day of school. Light meal before practice.

Sunday Dec. 22 4:00 Program Day. Last minute assurances.

Children’s Program Children’s Program

Practice SchedulePractice Schedule

Each practice should

last a couple of hours.