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Quarterly Issue Volume 3-2019
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Recap
by Kaitlyn Brown, Children’s Program Director Intern
This has been such a wonderful season of Summer Sizzle activities. It has been a time of growing in faith, serving others, and having fun for the children of EPC. We have been busy from Vacation Bible School, water days, day camps, and more! Our summer began with Vacation Bible School where we traveled with the Israelities out of Egypt through Bible study, crafts, song, and dance. Our preschoolers enjoyed Playground and Popsicles where they were able to spend time together playing at the church as well as enjoying a cool treat. The preschoolers
also had a blast splashing in the church fountain for water day! Trips to ParTee Time, Glazed Pottery, and bowling were a highlight of the summer for some of our elementary children. Basketball Camp was a great time for children kindergarten through seventh grade to learn new skills and enjoy a Bible study with new and old friends.
We finished off our summer with two day camps: Sprout and SOAR! The theme for day camp this year was Super Heroes. Throughout the week we learned about heroes in the Bible like Queen Esther who stood up for her people, the young boy who shared his lunch to help Jesus feed the five thousand, the widow who gave all she had, and Daniel who showed faith and courage in the lion’s den! We also learned how we can be real heroes too by showing kindness, doing the right thing all the time, and obeying God. Sprout was for children in K4 through 2nd grade. They participated in crafts each day and our week together included water day, a trip to the Presbyterian Home, and a trip to the Children’s Museum of the Upstate. The children had a blast! SOAR was for children in 3rd through 5th grade. Each day we talked about how to be a hero and how serving others was a big part of that. We served others this week by making care
packages, planting seeds for a garden at the church that can be shared with the community, visiting the Presbyterian Home, baking and decorating cookies for local police officers, and washing the church bus! To end the week, the children spent the day at SkyZone and finished off the week with a pizza lunch. It was a busy week of fellowship, learning, and serving others!
It has been such a joy to serve the children of EPC this summer! I have been able to learn and grow so much in my time here. I am extremely grateful to EPC for being so welcoming and so loving towards me throughout this summer. It has truly been a blessing to me to watch each of the children grow in their faith this summer. Thank you for making this such a wonderful experience!
EPCMiddle Mission Trip by Lindsey Odom
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ur middle schoolers spent a week in June serving the city of Asheville through Asheville Youth Mission. Every day, our middle schoolers would go to various mission sites within the city of Asheville, giving them the opportunity to serve and love the community of Asheville in many different ways! This summer was EPC’s sixth summer serving the Asheville community. This familiarity allows our middle schoolers to see the growth and change that takes place each year at the various mission sites that we served!
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sheville Youth Mission helps followers of Christ understand mission as God’s calling in the lives of all people to see justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly in faith. It gives youth the opportunity to step out of their current context to gain experience, serve and love one another, and to grow in their fellowship with each other. The interns at AYM are fabulous and go with us to our worksites as well as lead evening worship. This mission trip allows middle schoolers to serve humbly so that they will be opened to see how God is transforming the world and each of us all the time. Our week in Asheville allowed us to do exactly that by serving at different organizations such as The Lord’s Acre, Homeward Bound, Steadfast House, Bounty & Soul, Dr. John Wilson Garden, and Haywood Pathways Center.
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special moment I experienced on this trip was when we returned to a mission site called the Lord’s Acre. The Lord's Acre builds community by growing produce for those in need. They distribute their fruits and vegetables to a handful of local agencies completely free of charge. It was in the community garden that our middle schoolers got their hands dirty and learned about how the garden provides quality food to members of the community.
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ne of the core values at the Lord’s Acre is “Everyone is hungry for something, and everyone has something to give.” Our middle schoolers participated in activities and discussion and learned more about the different types of hunger. The first part of their core value that we learned about was how for some people, the garden serves as a way to feed families. For others, the garden is a place of stillness and peace in a world where those are becoming harder to find. Also the garden gives the possibility to grow through interacting with others.
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he second part of their core value, “Everyone has something to give” means that no matter who you are, everyone has talents, gifts, and abilities that are worthy of sharing. This could be something as simple as bringing the gift of friendship and conversation to the garden, which adds to the community.
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ur middle schoolers learned from their week in Asheville that they should meet people where they are, value whatever they offer to the community, and work alongside each other by sharing stories, wisdom, and humor because that is what forms true community, or “koinonia.”
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uring our time at Bounty and Soul, our middle schoolers received the opportunity to set up for a food market and run it for people within the community who couldn’t afford to buy groceries. Our middle schoolers met people from all walks of life — sharing stories, and forming friendships with them! Another place our middle schoolers enjoyed serving was Homeward Bound, an organization that works with the homeless. At this mission site, our middle schoolers were able to sort and organize housing supplies such
such as pots and pans, towels, and toiletries etc. We tackled organizing and cleaning large amounts of housing supplies while also getting to meet clients who came in to their warehouse to collect certain items.
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t was at these different places that our middle schoolers at EPC immersed themselves in missions, which allowed them to serve God and spread the love of Christ throughout the community of Asheville. At the end of every night, our group met for what is called “Back Home Time”. This time helped them reflect on their day as we gathered together to share a high and a low of our day, as well as a “where we saw God today” moment. Every middle schooler on this trip experienced God in different ways whether it was at a mission site or through a particular person. It helped them reflect on how they grew throughout this trip and were able to live as disciples of Christ. After this week of service, our hearts have grown in love and connection with the community of Asheville and we look forward to seeing it’s continued growth and returning again next year!
Student Reflections Every year I am on my toes with excitement for our mission trip to Asheville and this year is no exception. The day we started working was already throwing us into life changing and spiritual conversations and great community work. We started the day by talking about the roots to poverty, but mainly hunger. It really made me think about how there is so much more behind a person than that they are poor or that they are rich. Everyone has a story to how they are where they are. The next day my group (Easley 1) went to Bounty and Soul. That was probably my favorite place to go. We set up for a food market and then later got to run it. It’s amazing how many people you get to meet in one day. I would hear all kinds of life stories or cooking advice or even life advice. One lady had told me during a conversation to never let go of who I am (she was referring to how we were all kids running a food market for the less fortunate). Now although the advice seems like some moral from a movie it’s still great advice. That week I saw God continuously. He was in the people, in nature, in our hearts, he was everywhere. It’s amazing to see how he changes lives and inspires so many people constantly. - Mary Gray Cox (rising 9th grader) My experience at AYM was not only eye opening, but it was also loads of fun. The AYM staff are very kind and find a way to make things interesting. Going to different organizations and shelters really changed my perspective on homelessness. The AYM staff and workers at the organizations really showed me how faith plays such a big role in people's lives. I will always remember the week. - Taylor Dickson (rising 9th grader)
AYM was an experience I will never forget. It was very eye opening to things that I had never thought of before. It was so fun to learn through people who were so passionate about what they worked for. - Kirsten Miller (rising 7th grader)
This summer I had the opportunity to serve at AYM, Asheville Youth Missions, for a week. While we were there, we helped with a wide range of service activities including helping to organize donations for Homeward Bound, helping run a free food market at Bounty and Soul, as well as gardening, cleaning, and organizing the space run by the Haywood Pathway Center (a housing facility for the homeless). Every evening, AYM counselors would lead us in a small group session that tied in the work we had done that day to their theme "Worlds Apart", which talks about ways we can close the gap between people who are different from us and how we can use what we believe as Christians to break stereotypes that are often used against certain populations. We learned about how homelessness can occur from many different scenarios, and not everyone's struggles with poverty comes about because of addictions, unwise money choices, and other stigmas we often assume them to carry. I saw God in the many volunteers and counselors we worked with that week. Their hard work and dedication to the people of Asheville was inspiring, and because of them, I was able to walk away from this experience feeling like I was capable of making change happen. - Caroline Norris (rising 9th grader)
At Asheville we connected with many people and made many new friends. My favorite place had to be the Haywood pathways center, it allowed us to help those who need us directly. At the Haywood pathways center we helped clean rooms, worked in the garden, and we also helped to sort out their freezer which almost couldn't be walked into. P.S. we saw God in the garden - Thomas Willis (rising 9th grader)
Everyday at AYM, I learned about God and all the wonderful things he has created and how he put people in this community that are doing incredible actions and are creating a huge impact on not only the less fortunate, but all the people around them. - Lucy Sanders (rising 7th grader)
EPCHigh Mission Trip
by Lindsey Odom his summer’s mission trip took our high school youth along with six adult advisors to Puerto Rico. When we landed at the Puerto Rico airport, we were greeted by two interns from Experience Mission named Emma and Paige who directed us to the buses outside of the airport that took us to where we were staying for the week! We rode for two hours and we finally arrived at a home in Dorado, Puerto Rico. Our accommodations were owned by Hunger Corporation, a nonprofit organization that has mission projects in the Amazon, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The staff from Hunger Corp. and the interns from Experience Mission worked closely with us throughout the week as they assigned us different work projects and assisted and supported the youth in doing them!
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ur youth group was divided into two separate work sites for the week. Some of the various projects that we worked on throughout the week included: digging trenches to add wiring to a home, painting, tiling a bathroom, building a flower box, gutter work, and yard and debris cleanup etc.
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ne of the most impactful parts of the trip was interacting and forming relationships with the locals within the community. Although we were not prepared for the difficulty that we had in communicating with some of them; witnessing the joy that we brought to them was enough for each of us. For example, one of the days during this trip, our youth got to hang out with some of the local kids within the neighborhood. Whether it was playing basketball or playing on the playground, or even making bracelets with them, it was inspiring to see how our youth interacted with them and brought a smile to each one of their faces!
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ne of the highlights of the trip was meeting Lily, who lived around our mission sites and worked by cleaning the facility where we ate lunch. The memories our group hold from interacting with her are so inspiring and heartwarming because although it was difficult communicating with her at various times, she would try her best to use pictures or point to particular things to help us understand! Lastly, being able to witness Lily’s strong faith and hear stories of how the community came together during Hurricane Maria was truly remarkable!
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his was further shown later during the week when Lily walked us up to a cave in the neighborhood close to where our worksites were. This cave that Lily showed us was where 30 families sought shelter during Hurricane Maria. Lily told us they stayed there a couple days during the hurricane and after, and that they still go back-and-forth today to pray and worship God. This cave not only provided shelter during the storm, but it became a place of worship as they went there to commune and pray. Evidence of their strong faith in God was clearly shown by the writing on one of the cave walls, which said, Leighton getting a hug “Christo de Ama”. This from Lily, a local. means God is love. It was amazing to witness how even through great peril and destruction, they prayed and trusted God completely!
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e were absolutely blown away by the hospitality, love, humility, and kindness of the people that we met in Puerto Rico. Overall, it was a powerful experience getting to know others from a different culture!
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ften times when we go on mission trips to love and serve others, it not only changes those who we help, but it also changes us! For example, at Rafael’s house, our group worked on digging a trench in order to install wiring and bring electricity to the house. One amazing thing about this project was when Hunger Corp. told us that we were the first group to ever start a project and completely finish it! This brought tears to many of our eyes because it revealed how God worked in and through our youth to complete this project. Not only did our youth gain experience, but they developed willing hearts and minds to serve and love one another. It also changed Rafael in ways that he couldn’t even express as he was just so thankful for us and for God making this possible!
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n conclusion, this mission trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity as it gave us the chance to go out of current context to grow spiritually, grow in our fellowship with each other, and love and serve one another. God’s presence and love was known and experienced on every part of this trip! This trip not only allowed us to answer God’s call to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world, but it also allowed us to love God and love our neighbors within Puerto Rico. Lastly, this mission trip helped our youth understand that we are called to engage in mission wherever we are, and also work to spread the love of Christ with our words and actions each and everyday! Puerto Rico will forever be special to each of us!
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e are so thankful and blessed to have a church like Easley Presbyterian that is so invested in our youth and continually provides them opportunities to serve in unique places like Puerto Rico that allowed them to witness the amazing things that God is doing throughout the world!
Student Reflections As I sit and reflect on my time in Puerto Rico, my mind immediately began to think about playing basketball with Rett, Cameron, and Alison during our break at lunch. The first day we started playing, our advisor, Hector, joined in. My youth leaders say that interacting with the people within the community of San Juan, Puerto Rico is one of the most important things anyone can get out of a mission trip. I did not know Hector very well before this game, but once we started playing, I realized he was just like me in how competitive and eager he was to help those in need. I am truly thankful that I received the chance to meet and get to know someone like Hector and witness to how kind, patient, and loving he was with our youth group and showing us how to do particular tasks on the work site. He truly helped make this mission trip an experience that I will never forget. - Elizabeth Goodwin (rising 11th grader) Puerto Rico was a great experience and we all learned a lot from the people who lived there. Lily was a lady that we had met while in Puerto Rico and she was always spreading the love of Christ in every way possible. It was amazing to witness her strong faith and how she embraced us into her life even though there was a language barrier between us. Puerto Rico was an experience I will never forget as the community was so welcoming there and truly taught us to love and accept one another’s differences. From this trip, I learned that we need to be the hands and feet of Christ and spread the love of Christ in every way possible, especially in places like Puerto Rico as they experienced a traumatic storm that ruined homes and businesses, and didn’t receive much funding to help them rebuild and recover. - Alison Haefner (rising 11th grader) Puerto Rico was one of the most unique experiences of my life. One of the reasons our youth group loves mission trips so much is the complete immersion in a different place, and getting to know different people with different circumstances. Puerto Rico certainly gave us that culture shock in the best way. Not only did we work hard and connect with the people we met, we also used that as an opportunity to grow deeper in our faith and have meaningful discussions about our lives and beliefs. And of course, we had so much fun. We played games with the children of the community we were helping, we stayed up to watch movies together as a youth group, we laughed until our stomachs hurt. I just want to thank this church for giving me such amazing opportunities. These experiences are truly life-changing, and they mean more to me than I could ever put into words. - Scottie Greene (rising 12th grader) When our group pulled up to the worksite the first day, I truly didn’t know what to expect, but when I saw the basketball court underneath the sheltered area, I knew it would be a good week! Not only do I love basketball, but I knew this would provide a way for me to connect with the kids and adults in Puerto Rico. We ended up playing basketball every day during our lunchtime with the workers, but on Tuesday afternoon, we were given the opportunity to play with kids in the area. This was a highlight of the trip for me because although I could not understand what they were saying or even learn their names, I knew playing basketball with them made their day and witnessing the big smile on their face after making a shot brought me complete joy and was enough for me! - Rett Lister (rising freshman in college)
Puerto Rico was filled with fun memories that no one will soon forget, but there is one thing that is even more important than how much fun we were having: Faith. Every youth and advisor who attended this eye-opening trip was able to grow in their faith. Whether it was a big change or a small one, the people affected by Hurricane Maria helped us realize the bigger plan God has created for us all. Every work day I was blessed to be able to work alongside Christian, a Puerto Rican man who works with an organization called Hunger. Christian is a walking sign that God is always with us. He would crack jokes and make fun of my Spanish skills so much that I can hardly believe we got any work done. Surprisingly, we nearly finished tiling the entirety of the bathroom. He taught me and guided me through the gentle process of tiling until I was a master — well, I’m not quite a master yet but I’d say I’m pretty good at it. God showed his presence through everyone we met in La Hormiga, the sector in Dorado we were working at. The faith of the people in Puerto Rico affected by the hurricane is far greater than what is generally expected. They have been through the worst possible tragedy they could have ever imagined, yet their faith has only grown in recent years since Hurricane Maria. I have learned so much about the person I want to become after meeting some of those people. I have grown dramatically in my faith since the trip, and I plan to continue to trust God and believe that He is there with me through everything. - Gracelyn Latham (rising 10th grader) Within our week spent in Puerto Rico, our eyes were opened to many barriers that we do not often have at home. A large barrier of lifestyle, and the most noticeable being a barrier of communication. Even after combining thirty-six youth’s minimal understanding of the Spanish language, we were not prepared for the difficulty we would have communicating with the locals. However, just as easily as we had realized this, we soon realized that there is no barrier to joy. The joy in our hearts and the joy in everyone else’s in La Hormiga was something that could not be withheld by any barrier. God’s love knows no boundaries - Augusta Roach (rising 11th grader)
Adult Advisors
Montreat Youth Conference by Lindsey Odom
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n July, 34 high school youth, 5 chaperones, and 2 cooks attended the Montreat Youth Conference. The theme of the conference was “Let Love Lead”. Through daily keynotes, small groups, worship, and “Back Home Time,” youth have learned about how God leads with love and how we as followers of Christ have a role to play in putting the love, which Jesus teaches us, into practice. The high school youth had multiple opportunities at Montreat to reflect on some ways in which they can share God’s love with others by engaging with scripture passages such as: the Greatest Commandment, the Creation story, Jesus, the woman & the alabaster jars, Jesus and Zacchaeus, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the Reluctant Messenger, Jesus and Peter, and the Resurrection of Jesus.
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outh had a great time doing energizers and singing a mix of classic and contemporary worship songs to get their mornings started at Montreat. During their Back Home Time, our youth reflected on a particular quote from Jerry Cannon’s sermon, “The reason for love is God. The revelation of God is Jesus Christ, and the realization of love is humankind.” Back Home Time provides an opportunity for our youth to gather to recap and further engage and discuss what they had learned as well as grow closer as a group! It was during Back Home Time that our youth engaged in deep meaningful and theological conversations of faith and grew in their understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was amazing to be with this group and witness the depth of their faith, and how eager they were to come back after worship and gather as a group to discuss and further grow in their faith and conversations with one another!
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ontreat was an amazing week as it allowed youth to grow in their knowledge and understanding of faith and be surrounded by supportive friends, advisors, and chaperones who invested in them all throughout the week. Lastly, Montreat provided our high school youth with a week of growth and renewal equipping them to share God’s love in every way possible!
There’s a reason why this youth group looks forward to Montreat as one of the best weeks of the year. It’s where we can feel comfortable surrounded by a church community, it’s where we can dive deeper into our faith, it’s where we can make new friends and strengthen our bonds with old ones. We laugh and cry and have meaningful discussions. We carry on traditions like pows and wows, warm and fuzzies, and cooking pazookie for dessert on our last night. We get to know each other better and, in turn, get to know God better. At Montreat, I’ve grown closer to the people I now consider my best friends, and I know that I wil remain close to them for the rest of my life. At Montreat, I’ve made memories that I wil never forget, and I know that I wil treasure them long after leaving this group. I miss Montreat all year round. I look forward to it for months. And I have the time of my life when I finally step back into it. I truly just want everyone to know how meaningful this trip is for us, and how deeply we’re surrounded by love, faith, and friends. Scottie Greene (rising 12th grader)
Baptisms
The Sacrament of Baptism was administered to Carson Wells Martin on June 23, 2019. He is the son of Zachary and Mary Katherine Martin.
The Sacrament of Baptism was administered to Jase Holmes Dockery on August 25, 2019. He is the son of John and Kristi Dockery.
Congratulations! Congratulations to
Lindsey & Mark Dolgin on the birth of their daughter
Madison Stone born July 21, 2019 Grandparents: Phil & Sue Barker
PW Attention Women of All Ages! Are you looking for Bible study, fellowship, good times, growth and support from our circle of EPC women? Look no further! Join a circle! There’s one waiting for you. Imagine a group where you can have Bible study, share joys and concerns, and have love and support from fellow EPC women. You’ll find that there is a place for you. Check out a circle in September. We would love to have you join us! FROG meets on the second Thursday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in Room E203 at the church. Journey meets on the third Sunday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in a member’s home or the church library for a potluck supper. Joy meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in a member’s home or the church parlor.The May and December meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. Sisters in Christ meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in a member’s home or the church library. Wednesday AM meets the second Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the church library. WOW (Women of the Word) Circle is a new circle this year that will meet on the third Sunday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the church.
School Supplies for UCM Our Summer Mission Project is collecting school supplies to share with United Christian Ministries. Please place items in the Church Parlor.
Amazing Grays
Coming up... September 19 Chatooga Belle Farm and Lunch October 17 Sassafras Mountain Overlook and Highlands – shopping and lunch @ Wild Thyme
Calendar of Events
September 1 Church-wide Breakfast @10:00 am WW resumes September 4 September 8 Rally Day @ Arran Farm September 15 EPCHigh parent/youth meeting September 22 Guest Speakers: Les & Cindy Morgan September 25 Blood Drive September 29 Equipping the Saints begins October 13 Communion Education for 3rd Grade Middle School Retreat @ Bonclarken October 18-20 October 27 Trunk or Treat November 27 NO WW December 1 Advent Wreath Workshop Community Advent Services December 1 December 4 Gift Making Workshop for Children December 8 Lessons & Carols Service December 11 Children’s Choir Nativity December 18 Church-wide Christmas Caroling December 24 Christmas Eve Services December 25 NO WW December 29 Church-wide breakfast January 1 NO WW January 8 WW resumes February 12 Rise Against Hunger February 26 Ash Wednesday Service March 20-22 EPCHigh to Mini-Montreat April 5 Lenten Music Service April 5 Palm Sunday Lunch & Egg Hunt April 8 NO WW April 9 Maundy Thursday Service April 10 Good Friday Service April 12 Easter Services/Church-wide Breakfast April 15 NO WW April 26 Confirmation Sunday April 29 Children’s Choir Musical May 6 Last WW - Fellowship Event May 3 Youth Sunday May 17 Graduation Sunday