September 21, 2009

Fall Concerts for the HCN Worship Choir and Band are scheduled for this Sunday, September 27, 2009, at 9:00 and 10:30 AM in The Center. Please notice that second service meets at 10:30 AM and not 10:15 AM for this one week. Policemen will be available to direct our entry and exit to and from the parking areas to Saundersville Road. Music offers a wonderful opportunity to worship the Lord and to reach out to others who need an entry way into the church. Invite your unchurched neighbors, co-workers, relatives to attend one of the concerts with you on Sunday. Then trust the Holy Spirit to speak and draw them to Christ. No Sunday School Classes meet on Sunday.

Sam Green, Pastor of Worship at HCN, was admitted to Centennial Medical Center on Friday, September 18, 2009, to begin chemotherapy for the diagnosis of acute leukemia. By Day 14, the leukemia should be in complete remission and the next stage should bring a bone marrow transplant. Two of Sam’s brothers were tested on Friday as possible donors. The Green family is writing a blog to document this journey. Check it out at www.samandthegreens.com. Pray for Sam.

Thanks to every person who is stepping up and accepting the responsibilities we rarely think about because Sam cares for them so ably and completely. Thanks to Tammy Tarter for leading the choir. Thanks to Richard Knox and Dorinda Biggs for leading congregational singing. Thanks to the Choir and Praise Team and Band and Instrumen-talists for staying the course and providing the ministry of music for Sunday mornings.

Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom regarding how we proceed with music leadership in Sam’s absence. Filling roles for one or two or three weeks is one thing. Filling that place for months or seasons is another thing. While Sam gets well, the church continues to worship and to find and to do God’s will. When Sam is ready and able to return, his place will be reserved and waiting.

Welcome to the fifteen newest members of HCN who joined at the close of worship services last Sunday: Jo Apple; Sam, Angela, Kenzie, and Rebecca Eiseman; John and Melinda Knott; Susan Pilgreen; Keith, Stephanie, Chelsea, and Christian Rhodes; Brandon Shepard; Myrna Shurtleff; and Eddie Witkowski. They were born in Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, and Alabama. Their spiritual backgrounds include the Church of Christ, Cumberland Presbyterian, Presbyterian Church of America, Methodist, Southern Baptist, and Free Will Baptist. One has been here five years. Some have been here five weeks. One is a senior high student. One is a university student. One is a nurse. All claim the name of Christ. We are better because we belong to each other and bring to the body the gifts which glorify Christ and his church.

If you are thinking about or planning to participate in MissionAfrica 2010, the next meeting takes place in The Sanctuary this Sunday, September 27, 2009, at 4:30 PM. It is time to discuss deposits and dates for the first deposit. Reservations have been made by World Servants at the Serena Mara Lodge in the Serengeti to close our two week project.

Robin Jewett is an instructor in the Physician’s Assistant program at Trevecca Nazarene University. She and her students volunteer for health related seminars and health fairs at the Mercury Courts across from the university on Murfreesboro Road. Two weeks ago, Robin issued a challenge to her students to stock the pantries at Mercury Courts with a One Ton Grocery Run. She thought the health of the residents would improve if they were eating a healthy, consistent diet. On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, at 12:30 PM, that challenge resulted in 4,332 pounds of food being delivered to Mercury Courts. Congratulations to Robin and to the Trevecca PA Students for stretching beyond themselves and then delivering the goods.

Fall Festival Fish Fry is rushing toward us on October 25, 2009. Wayne McNeese needs a crew of people who have outdoor fryers to volunteer cooking fish, hushpuppies and fries. Start talking to Wayne. More than six hundred people ate with us last year.

In Christ Jesus,

Pastor Howard