What's Happening This Week - August 14

We share our love and sympathy with Betty Lane and Karen Rice and their families on the death of their father, Karl Kendrick, on August 11. There will be a private family graveside service next week. At a later date, we will come together to celebrate Karl’s life.  If you would like to send cards to Karl’s daughters, their addresses are below.

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Betty Lane

528 Wyndham Drive

Fuquay Varina, NC  27526

Karen Rice

515 Marlowe Road

Raleigh, NC  27609

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OAKS ROAD ACADEMY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
School will be re-opening soon.  Centenary's volunteer program will be changing in some ways since under present guidelines, we cannot go into Oaks Road. We can, however, do many things to show our support. It is time for purchasing school supplies.

Listed are this year’s needs: 

Highlights.       
Earbuds
Glue sticks
Pencils 
Scissors 
Any cleaning supplies

If you are uncomfortable shopping for supplies, you may write a check to Centenary and write supplies in the memo space.

A second request is that our congregation write  notes of encouragement to the teachers and staff. This is going to be a difficult transition. We need Centenary to let them know that we are thinking of and praying for them and their challenges You can turn your notes into the church office.

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Disciple I Bible study will begin meeting on Monday, August 17 at 10:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall. Books are in the church office. The first chapter assignments should be completed by Monday. Please wear a mask.

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Bible Studies Offered

Dear Centenary friends,

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Summer is almost over and it's time to start making plans to participate one of Centenary's Bible study for the fall of 2020, Max Lucado Life Lessons from Hebrews: Over the past few years we have spent time in the New Testament with visit to the Old Testament in the Book of Psalms and Genesis. This study covers the 13 chapters of Hebrews in 12 study lessons.  The Book of Hebrews was written for Jewish believers who were torn between their new faith and their old ways. We today are faced with a similar circumstance of not being able to attend church functions in person and getting the full impact from in person contact with our ministers, staff, teachers, and choir. We can be tempted in this environment to neglect our faith and slip back into the ways of the world. This Bible study and others being offered open the door to keep in contact with other church members and being focused on the word.

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So, mark your calendars for the fall startup coming in September.  Please see below your options for participating in our Fall 2020 study of Hebrews.  All study groups are currently co-ed.  Feel free to contact the facilitator(s) of any group that interests you. Book will be available at the church and the facilitators will have copies of the book at the introductory session. In addition, there is A Bible Commentary on Hebrews by N T Wright “Hebrews for Everyone” used by the facilitators and if you are interested you can obtain a copy. We have used commentaries by N T Wright on many of our previous Bible Studies and his insights are extremely helpful.

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Due to the Covid19 virus, the lessons will be conducted on a teleconference package Zoom until things improve. Zoom is a free software package which runs on smart phones, PC’s, and tablets. if you are not familiar with the package which is free, we will help walk you through getting setup and connected to a test conference. We used  Zoom last spring on the Genesis study when the virus started, things went extremely well and the participants were able to see each other and participate in a discussion.

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Bible Sessions:

Sunday Evening Study Group at the Mangum's / Sundays at 6pm, starting September 12th. Contact the Mangum's at: vabmangum@juno.com

Thursday Evening Study Group at the Hunts / Thursday's at 7pm, starting September 17th. Contact the Hunts at:  jhunt515@yahoo.com

or 336-543-7582

ATTENTION PARENTS

Good Afternoon Children's Choir Family,

Good news! I have a plan in place for CUMC Children's Choir through Christmas Break. I reached out to a good bit of you last week asking for feedback, and almost everyone responded that they would prefer to meet in person in smaller groups, for shorter lengths of time, taking the necessary precautions. Therefore, I am so very excited to announce that we will be having our first Wednesday choir practice on Wednesday, September 16th! I feel beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make music with your children again! 

We will meet in two small groups on Wednesdays at 4:30-5:00 and 5:15-5:45. One group will meet in the sanctuary, and one downstairs. The children will be checked for temperature, use hand sanitizer at the start and end of choir practice, wear masks when they are not singing, and practice social distancing. But, none of these things will keep us from praising the Lord with songs and stories! 

Click here to print a sign up sheet. Please fill it out and return it to me electronically (or put it in my box outside the church office) at your earliest convenience. Once I have these forms returned, I will create and send out a schedule that works best for everyone. I have not made a final decision as far as church performances. However, I am leaning toward creating a fun video here and there, during our time together on Wednesdays, to present to our congregation. 

This is brand new territory for me, and I promise to do my best for you and your children to have a positive experience. Any and all suggestions and ideas are more than welcome. Feel free to call or text me anytime. I look forward to another great year of walking together with the Lord, and singing all the way! 

Peace in Christ, 

Dora B Bullock

Director of Children's Music

252-548-1926

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The Church Office 

is open from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. 

There will still be only one person in the office 

and you will need to be buzzed in.

Our church is moving to a new kind of church record keeping solution called Realm®. It offers some exciting opportunities to support the way you are involved in our church as well as helping us to stay on top of all that is happening in our congregation. Not only will this improve work life for our ministry staff, it will make it easier for our church family to connect with each other, keep up with what’s going on, and grow as a connected community of believers. Stay tuned.  More information to come.

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WOW! We are overwhelmed by your generosity and faithfulness. Thank you! Thank you! Because of you, Centenary has been able to remain active and involved around New Bern and around the world. A couple of highlights from the first half of this year:

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• We have been able to send in 70% of our Conference giving already. That has allowed the North Carolina Conference to be involved in disaster relief following Hurricane Isaias, support new churches and strengthen existing churches, as well as provide opportunities to youth around North Carolina.

• Our Youth went to Ocracoke Island and assisted in recovery for persons hard hit during Hurricane Dorian.

• We provided VBS home kits for over 100 children and families.

We are so grateful for your commitment to the mission and ministry of Centenary UMC.

Stephen Ministers will meet on Monday, August 17 at 6:30 PM. Pastor Tom Greener will be the speaker. The topic will be activities during the Covid 19 pandemic and looking toward the future.

GriefShare -The GriefShare program is now being conducted virtually, so all you need is a laptop, tablet or cell phone to participate, and it is easy to do. You can join us at any time. GriefShare is a support group for people who have lost a loved one: spouse, family member, relative or friend. It is open not only to Centenary members, but our entire community as well…ALL ARE WELCOME!! If you know of someone who is hurting, please invite them. For more information, please contact Pam or Ron Bonina at 252-497-8489.

If you are home and need a meal, the Caring Cooks have prepared meals in the freezer in our kitchen. You are welcome to come down and pick up what you need. If you need meals delivered, please contact Dawn Ferreira at 252-289-5630. 

Daily Encouragement messages - We are happy that many of you are finding the Daily Encouragement messages helpful. If you know of a church member or neighbor who does not have email, we urge you to share these messages with them-by printing them and delivering them to that person’s home and leaving it where they can find them or call them and read to them. This will help us all stay connected to each other even when we can’t be together. 

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Craven County Partners in Education Stuff the Bus
To assist students and teachers, Partners in Education (PIE), in partnership with Craven County Schools, will have a bright yellow school bus and colorful totes set up in front of Staples in New Bern on August 15, from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Generous shoppers can donate school supplies for students who have been identified as in-need by their school counselors and principals. A school supply list is available by following this link or you can visit individual school websites for their lists. If you are not comfortable shopping, you may donate funds thru the PIE website.