Â
Â
Dear Church Dear Church Family, As most of you know, Rob Huckaby is leaving BUMC to become Chief Operations Officer at Lake Junaluska. I'm pleased to announce that Leslie Hotzfeld, our Director of Discipleship and Administration, will become Executive Director as of January 1st. When our Staff Parish Relations Committee considered our administrative leadership needs, it became clear that Leslie was the right person for this job. Leslie has worked faithfully and effectively on staff at BUMC for sixteen years. Before that she had significant business experience. Leslie has demonstrated leadership talent, administrative acumen, and people skills, and she knows how to get things done! She has a positive attitude, is deeply spiritual, and knows our church culture. For many years Leslie's contributions have been highly valued and she is well respected by both the staff and the congregation. Please be in prayer for Leslie as this transition occurs and join me in wishing Rob and Susan the very best as they undertake their new endeavors. I deeply appreciate the many of you who have already turned in your financial pledge cards for 2013. These are uncertain economic times in our country and in the world. But such times give us an opportunity to reflect upon our greatest priorities and values. In spite of our current economic anxieties, it brings great joy to me to give my tithe to God through BUMC. I hope you will join me and many others in making a generous commitment to our ministries for next year. We have significant ministry opportunities and needs for 2013, so it's crucial that all our members and
friends step up to the plate financially to accomplish God's work in this place. You can make your pledge at one of our worship services (extra pledge cards are available at Guest Services in the narthex), through the mail, on the phone (call Lisa Gray, Director of Finance at 324-8201), via email to Lisa Gray at lgray@bumc.net or online by clicking here. We are hoping to have most of our pledges turned in by December 9th when we will consecrate them to God's service. This will also help our Finance Committee finalize our ministry budget for 2013. Last weekend we completed our "Real Life Ahead" discipleship emphasis. The theme was service to God through our church and community and beyond. A special thanks goes to Rev. Eric Burton-Krieger for preaching last weekend. Kaye was scheduled to do so but her brother became critically ill. I had already scheduled commitments late in the week, and had speaking responsibilities during the 9:45 and 11:00 Sunday school hours, preventing me from preparing or preaching the weekend message. So Eric, who has shepherded our entire "Real Life Ahead" emphasis, was kind enough to fill in as our preacher and did a great job. If you missed last weekend, and would like to fill out a service commitment card or review our service catalogue, please click here. Thanks to all of you who faithfully responded to God's call throughout this special fall focus on Christian discipleship. This weekend, we are in for a special treat. "Hearts in Motion" will be singing a concert at our Saturday evening service (IN THE SANCTUARY NOT THE CHAPEL), our 8:30 Sunday service, and our Awakening service at 9:50. Although they will sing a couple of songs at the 11:00 service, we will still have a traditional worship service with a sermon. So you might want to attend on Saturday evening, or 8:30 or 9:50 to enjoy the concert, and also attend at 11:00 for a regular worship service. I asked Shannon Garrett, our Director of Music and the Arts, to share information about "Hearts in Motion." His paragraph follows. "Hearts In Motion" consists of 20 young singers from Oslo, Norway. They have become one of the busiest and most renowned groups in Norway, often singing at the invitation of HRM King Harold and HRM Queen Sonja at the Royal Palace. For the past 5 years, HIM has been the special guest choir at the Nobel Peace Prize Awards Ceremony and Concert. HIM have a standing invitation to sing with Barry Manilow in Las Vegas and have also toured and recorded with Stevie Wonder. HIM toured in the U.S. most recently in 2009 with
rave reviews and return invitations to Nashville's First Lutheran Church, Woodbine Methodist, Christ Church, and The Seaman's Church in New York City, to name a few. They will be touring the U.S. in November 2012 in support of their newest release "This Is Christmas." The tour will bring them to New York and Nashville. Joining them on their 2012 Tour is beloved Norwegian recording artist and Nashville resident, Solveig Leithaug. Solveig moved to Nashville after marrying well known Nashville music executive, Jim Chaffee. (Shannon Garrett) We realize that school is out this week and many people will be traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. But if you are in town, you absolutely do not want to miss this special time at BUMC. I hope to see you this weekend at one of our four worship services. And I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving. I am grateful to God for the privilege of serving with you in this place. Finally, it was good to receive the following twelve new members: Holden Basseen; Bryce Johnson; Nick Wing; Roger Johnson; Brent, Christina and Luke Robinson; Tyler, Lindsay and Jack Bloomer; and Byrd and Jeannie Baggett. Welcome to our church family. In Christ's Love and Service,
Martin