Thyat i r a P resby te r i an Church a t M i l l B r idge

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Must See Annual Meeting

While Presbyterians are generally fond of meetings, Annual Meetings are notoriously unappreciated. Unless there is a significant item to be voted on, Annual Meetings are mostly seen as a necessary evil designed to delay lunch. Everyone can read the Committee Reports in the printed Annual Report, so why should they be rehashed from the microphone?

This year, however, you will NOT want to miss Thyatira’s Annual Meeting which will be held on January 27. That’s because the meeting will feature a presentation of the preliminary recommendations of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee which has worked long and hard with the data you have supplied through our interactive meetings and surveys.

Not to give away too much in advance, but the Steering Committee’s recommendations include ministry-related renovations to the Mission Resource Center and changes to some aspects of our worship…

So that we will have plenty of time for this presentation, and because it is directly related to our living out of the Gospel imperative, the Session has authorized us to combine our worship for the day and the activities of the Annual Meeting. This “worshipful work” format means that we will not need to keep you for the additional time needed to make a thorough presentation following worship. Fear not, our morning worship will still be worshipful. It will simply not be overly long!

Therefore, with nothing to prevent anyone from attending, we humbly request ALL Thyatirans to attend on January 27 so that we can get the same information out to as many people as simultaneously as we can. Our recent worship survey showed us how challenging congregational communication can be; despite persistent efforts to share our progress on Thyatira’s developing mission and vision, more than 1/3 of survey respondents say they remain unaware of, or unclear about, this process.

Congregational support for even our church’s smallest and most humble endeavors is vital to their success. For the bigger, strategic, life-giving ministry changes the Steering Committee is proposing, we need everyone to be aware, informed, and participating in the process.

In addition to a written report outlining the proposed changes, there will be a thirty day comment period before Session formally takes action on implementing any of the recommendations. This will be your window of opportunity to share your feedback on the information shared at the January 27 meeting.

Please make every effort to be present at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 27 as we take a look at our next steps in becoming the Good News Capital of Western Rowan County!

Peace, Stacey

January 2019 Newsletter Volume 42, Number 1

Who

Can’t

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More

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Prayer Concerns

Please keep in your prayers the Session and Staff of the Church, as well as all who faithfully serve one another and our community through the ministries of the church.

Carillon: Mary Moon

At Home: JoAnn Kerr

• Fred Stamper recovering from a heart attack • Drema Clemens’ brother, Arthur Warden • Joy Steele, recovering from surgery • Joel Wilkie, hospitalized • Norma Lauder, facing health challenges • Brian Waller recovering from shoulder surgery • Ted Deal • Communities affected by California fires, and

Hurricanes Florence and Michael • Harold Sechler • Bill McLaughlin • Edna Stamper • Pam Poteat Clough, friend of Joyce Caldwell • Joyce and Danny Caldwell, facing health challenges • Julie, a co-worker of Jada, diagnosed with cancer • Mike Hawkins’ mother, Elizabeth, at Genesis • Linda Gaylor’s mother, Barbara • Ada Jo Sloop, serving in the Peace Corps • Bill Bergstrom is being treated for leukemia • Drema Clemens’ mother, Bertha Warden • Millicent Hoffner’s brother, Joe Kerr • Mike Hawkins who has RA and osteoporosis • Paul Rogers’ daughter and family in

Pakistan • The Raymer family serving in Tanzania,

Africa

In Sympathy

We extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Carol Graham following her death on December 11.

Liturgists:

6 - Flora Calderón-Steck 13 - Melissa Kluttz 20 - Bill Hall 27 - Leigh Anne Wetmore Nursery Attendants: 6 - Jessica Swanson, Melissa Kluttz 13 - Alice Sloop, Robin Luther 20 - Abby Covington, Karen Townsend 27 - Carly Moore, Debbie Edwards

Ushers: Mike Hawkins, Captain Bill Bergstrom Jeremy Deal Steven Wetmore Thank you to all our volunteers! If you would be interested in being added as a liturgist or nursery attendant please contact the church office or put a note in the offering plate.

January Schedules

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1 Janet Lambert

2 Carly Moore

Josh Daniels

7 Paul Gaylor

Lauren Luther

8 Raymond Harcum

9 Alexandria Bouk

12 Michelle Patterson

13 Ryan Sloop

14 Linda Gaylor

Melissa Waller

Mark Seaboch

23 Mariah Watts

24 John Cocca

25 Belinda Raymer

26 Glenn McCorkle

Jon McCachren

Ashley M. Wilkie

27 Jennifer Parish

29 Jeremy Thompson

January Birthdays

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY For the month of December, we received 75% of our anticipated offerings. For the year, we

reached 78% of our anticipated offerings. Thank you for your continued support and helping us bring good news to our community by staying up-to-date

with your estimated giving.

PHONE PRAYER CHAIN

If you, a family member, or friend would like to be added to our Phone Prayer Chain, please call Jim Albright at 704-279-3317. Whatever your prayer need is, finding peace of mind provides a foundation of strength to face any situation. Your request is a sacred trust and is kept confidential among our prayer list members.

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In lieu of the Sunday morning breakfast in January, we are having a special “Breakfast for Dinner” event on Wednesday, January 16 at 6:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. This is a free event and all men of the church are invited to attend and bring guests. We will discuss ways to include more of us in Men of the Church activities and allow you to see what takes place at our normal meetings.

2019 Book Club Reading List and Dates

Meetings are held at Thyatira starting at 7:00pm on the dates listed below. Our Book Club is open to everyone in the church, and reading is strongly suggested although not required. Contact Lydia Richmond with any questions.

February 22- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens April 26- (date may change due to spring break) Becoming by Michelle Obama June 28- Inspired by Rachel Held Evans August 23- Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood October 25- It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn December 6- I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

MEETING REMINDER *Be Seen *Be Connected *Be Informed

Deacons: Our next meeting is Sunday,

January 6 at 9:00am.

Finance Committee: Next meeting will

be Thursday, January 10 @ 7:00pm.

Preschool Board: We will be meeting on

Thursday, January 24 at 5:30pm.

Session: Our monthly meeting is scheduled

for Sunday, January 13 at 8:30am.

Youth Meeting: Our next meeting is

Sunday, January 6 at 5:00pm.

Do you write your own prayers or know someone who does and want to share them with us all? Kitty Harris and Phares Sechler are gathering prayers you have written to make a booklet of prayers. If you are interested in

submitting your prayer(s) for the booklet please send it to the church office or give to Kitty Harris or Phares Sechler.

Time for Tutoring

“Research has shown that well-designed tutoring programs that use volunteers and other nonprofessionals as tutors can be effective in improving children's reading skills. Students with below-average reading skills who are tutored by volunteers show significant gains in reading skills when compared with similar students who do not receive tutoring from a quality tutoring program.” (from “Evidence That Tutoring Works,” by the Department of Education, Washington, D.C.)

There may be no better way to help a young mind flourish than through personal, one-on-one tutoring. Through the years, Thyatira has impacted hundreds of these young minds, and we are getting ready to do so with yet another group.

Tutoring this year will run from January 29 through April 16, giving Mt. Ulla Elementary students 12 weeks (plus a pizza party celebration!) to catch up, get ahead, or simply reinforce what they are learning in school.

This year, we will be expanding the Tutoring Program in two significant ways. In conversation with Mt. Ulla Elementary Principal Brenda Sokolowski, we learned that to support the school district’s emphasis on reading, our help tutoring students from Kindergarten to Grade 5 (instead of just grades 3-5 as in the past) would be a great benefit. In addition, Principal Sokolowski recommends that we offer tutoring to any child who wants it, instead of only those coming recommended by a teacher.

All of this means that WE NEED YOU!

Tutors are needed from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays, although you only need to tutor once a week. Training is provided, and no experience is required. We simply need you to show Christ’s love to a child by spending this invaluable time with them.

A Community Open House will be held on Tuesday, January 15 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. if you still need more info to help you decided whether to join the fun.

To Sign up or for more information, please contact Abby Covington at abbykcovington@gmail.com or 704-640-4909.

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What we were up to in December: • Cancelled Service day due to weather. • Big Music Sunday: fundraising meal for

service project-profit of $300. Thank u! • Several youth went Christmas Caroling.

What is coming up: • Youth meeting on January 6th • Service Sunday on January 27th

Middle & High School Advisor Team Head Youth Leader: Ben Watts Administrative Leader: Melissa Waller Advisors: AJ and Caroline Waller, Nora Dellinger, Ryan Sloop, Jay and Mandy Bates, Brian Waller

We rejoiced on Monday, December 24 as we witnessed the baptisms of the following babies:

Abigail Deal, daughter of Klancy and Jeremy Deal

Parker Hoffner, son of Katie and Brandon Hoffner

Grayson Wilkie, son of Ashley and Robert Wilkie

Riley Wilkie, daughter of Ashley and Robert Wilkie

Dear friends,

In a blink of an eye December has come and gone. The children and I worked very hard and diligently to prepare for the Joy Gift Program. I am proud of each and every one of these fine young disciples for the work they did. This program was complete with carols, scriptures, and storytelling. My thanks to Alex Bouk and Chloe Patterson for narrating the program.

Thank you to parents and grandparents for making a priority to see their children come to practice. In a way this is an investment in their personal well-being.

Many thanks to Ron Mercer for his many years of accompanying us on the piano. Ron, the kids and I will miss you, but wish you well.

Last, a big thank you to Candace McKnight. Candace serves as crowd controller, photographer, and secretary.

Practice will resume January 13. We will start on new songs for a new year.

Love to all,

Ms. Millicent

Congratulations to Trevor Mervine, who has earned his Eagle rank and was recognized at the Court of Honor in December.

We have a group of Webelos who have earned their Arrow of Light awards and advanced to the Boy

Scouts. As we have a group of new scouts, this is an excellent time for other interested boys to join the troop.

Scouting for Food drive is coming up in February. Please consider donating your extra non-perishable food to our collection.

Thanks to the congregation for their support this year.

Troop 476

2019 offering envelopes are available for pickup in the hallway outside the church office. If you would prefer to have yours mailed, please call or email the church office.

Carewear will meet Tues, January 8 from 10am-4pm in the conference room. After January we will meet every 1st Tuesday of the month in the Fellowship Hall 10am-4pm. Please stop by any time during these hours on the work days. If you have any questions, please speak to Alice Sloop.

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Two Year Old Class: The month of December was extremely short. The little ones did a FANTASTIC job with the Christmas program. They truly worked hard. We are so very proud of each one of them. Then they got to enjoy SNOW days!!! The class ended the month with a Christmas pajama party, with parents in their pajamas too. They enjoyed decorating cookies and making ornaments together. I sincerely hope that each one of you had a Blessed and Merry Christmas. Happy New Year 2019! Can't wait to see all the little ones smiling faces in the new year. Blessings to all!

Three Year Old Class: Bravo for a great performance of "Someone Has a Birthday" by all the preschoolers. I am very proud of each one. The children made a gift for their family, a Thankful Tree, a Jesus necklace and a nativity craft. They decorated the letter "J" and added a jingle bell. For "K" they made a kite and the tail spelled out their name. Our wish for everyone is to have a very Happy New Year.

Four Year Old Class: December was filled with the sights and sounds of the Christmas season. On December 6 the children presented their Christmas program, “Someone Has a Birthday”. They did such a great job singing and acting out their parts. It really put us all in the spirit of the season. Despite the snow that kept is out of school for almost a week, the students still managed to make ornaments, reindeer hats, reindeer chow, handprint Santas and beautiful gingerbread houses. We read stories and sang songs about Santa and his reindeer, but focused our attention of the real meaning of Christmas—Jesus our Savior’s birth in Bethlehem. We look forward to a wonderful Christmas break and wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Child Safety Lunch and Learn

In 2017, the Session approved a comprehensive Child and Youth Safety Policy so that our members and the community at large can be assured that we have done whatever it takes to make sure Thyatira is a place children can be safe from harm of any kind. One of the provisions of the policy is that any person working with minors at Thyatira must participate in at least one training program every two years. On Sunday, January 13, at a Lunch and Learn following

worship, we will be hosting Beth McKeithen, Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Rowan, who will help us understand what child abuse is, how to spot it, and how to respond to it. This event will be free of charge and childcare will be available. Please make every effort to join us for this event that not only helps us fulfill our policy, but helps us be greater advocates for the children to whom Jesus said, “Let them come to me.”

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Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a type of depression experienced by some individuals as the seasons change. Cold, rainy weather and an absence of sunlight lead some people to develop unusual feelings of fatigue, social withdrawal and lack of concentration. Although many recognize mild reactions to these weather conditions, few have reactions so extreme that medical treatment is necessary. But, the “winter blues,” even in a mild form,

leave individuals looking for ways to lift their spirits. Many articles suggest that food selection can have positive results when seeking ways to combat the “blues.” All of the following foods are recommended: dark chocolate, leafy green vegetables, eggs, yogurt, nuts, berries, and oranges. It is also important to seek opportunities for more sunlight exposure and exercise.

Whether it’s control of our diet and exercise, or being sure that we use medication and equipment properly, each of us has an important role to play in our own health care.

Monitoring blood pressure at home. Checking blood pressure at home is an important part of managing high blood pressure (hypertension). To get accurate blood pressure readings at home follow the following suggestions:

• Prepare properly- avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco for ten minutes before measuring your blood pressure. Avoid measurements for two to three hours after strenuous exercise.

• Dress right- remove any thick clothing like a sweater or jacket. Use a cuff that fits snugly on your upper arm. Digital monitors with automatically inflatable cuffs are easy to use and generally accurate. Wrist and finger monitors aren’t recommended.

• Get comfortable- Sit in a comfortable, upright position with your back supported, both feet firmly on the floor and arm resting at the level of your heart. Don’t cross your legs or ankles.

• Put your cuff on- usually on your non-dominant arm- and wait five minutes before taking the first reading. The lower edge of the cuff should be an inch above the bend of your elbow.

• Measure and repeat- Take a reading and then wait a minute or two and take another. Be sure you’re following the directions for your specific monitor. You might want to do a couple of sets of measurements each day at different times.

To be sure that you are getting accurate readings, take your monitor to your doctor’s office annually to be tested for its accuracy.

Metered dose inhaler techniques. The metered dose inhaler is one of the most common types of inhalers used in treating airway disorders. However, it’s estimated that fewer than half the people who use them do so correctly. Here are some tips:

• Shake the inhaler well and attach a spacer. A spacer is a 4 to 8 inch plastic tube that may be hollow or have a one way valve. A properly used spacer maximizes the amount of medication reaching the lower airways and greatly decreases the amount deposited in the throat.

• With upright posture, deeply breathe in and out a few times- Stop exhaling just before your lungs are completely emptied and hold your breath. Place the spacer between your teeth and close your mouth around the end to form an airtight seal.

• Inhale the medicine slowly- inhale slowly as you squeeze the inhaler once or the number of puffs in your instructions. Be sure to inhale slowly as if you were sipping soup. After inhaling hold your breath for about five to ten seconds before exhaling.

Rinse your mouth- After using the inhaler, gargle with water and spit it out. This helps prevent thrush.

Clean your spacer by washing the plastic in soapy water at least once a week. If any problems develop, contact your health care provider.

www.Healthletter.Mayo Clinic.com, Healthcalendar,2019

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Thyatira Presbyterian Church At Mill Bridge 220 White Rd. Salisbury, NC 28147-5606 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

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January 2019 Newsletter