Avondale eNews - June 19, 2024

Juneteenth Holiday

On this historic day, we remember and honor the declaration of emancipation of the last enslaved Americans in Texas (furthest state from Washington, DC where the Emancipation Proclamation was presented).

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor."

— General Orders, Number 3, Headquarters District of Texas, Galveston, June 19, 1865

As followers of Jesus we stand with all children of God to work for social justice. May we remember that freedom from the bounds of sin comes only through Christ's redemption and reforming of our hearts and minds. We are called to work for and stand for the freedom of our neighbors through love, service, and witness.

Read more about the Juneteenth holiday here.

Text Message Contact Updates

Within the week, Avondale will switch to a new SMS text message provider. Formerly, we used a service called Text-Em-All to send recorded voice messages and texts. Starting soon, we are moving away from the voice messages and will be sending text messages for major churchwide announcements from Constant Contact (which we already use as our email blast service). The cost of upgrading our Constant Contact account was less than the amount we were paying Text-Em-All. However, we will only send church-wide texts for major events or emergency communications. These would include a reminder of Advent and Holy Week schedules or interruptions to utility services as we experienced last week. Thankfully, the incorporated database within Constant Contact has many of your phone numbers. In order to receive these text updates, you will need to opt-in and ensure your accurate text-enabled phone number is listed. Please visit the link below to opt-in and/or ensure your phone is accurate.

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/i8ShNne

Please keep in mind we will still send the weekly e-News and other periodical announcements to your email. That is not changing, only the platform for text updates. Feel free to reach out to Matt Smith with any questions or help. communications@avondalepresbychurch.org

Upcoming Events

ASAP -- June 20, 2024, 12:00 noon

ASAP will meet June 20, 2024 in the Fellowship Hall at noon. Reservations for our Luncheon can be made by calling Brenda Coble 980-297-4997 by Tuesday June 18 at noon. Our program will begin around 12:30pm.

Popsicles on the Porch

Cool off and celebrate our nation's birthday with your church family. Don't rush off to the beach or mountains too quickly after worship on June 30! We will share some fellowship time and a sweet, icy treat!

Youth Work Camp

This Sunday June 16th, 7 youth and 3 adults headed north after worship to spend a week serving in St. Albans, WV. We will be hosted by First Presbyterian Church and work once again with West Virginia Ministry of Advocacy and Workcamps. So far we know we will be building a front and side porch on a house and then will progress to other jobs. Please pray for us, our host and all the people we meet this week as we serve, play, learn new skills and work to build the Kingdom of God. We will return Saturday afternoon with stories, skills, sore muscles and full hearts.

--Zach Chambers

VBS Registration

SCUBA -- Diving Into Friendship With God

SCUBA VBS is NEXT WEEK! We are so excited for your little fishies to learn about God's living water! Registration is full, but supplies are still needed. Could you help us float the bill? Dive into our Amazon wish list below to help out. Also please plan to get your feet wet immediately following worship on Sunday June 23 to help setup. Crabby patties will be provided for lunch. Tanks in advance!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/24IBRYPVUFI8R

Staff Updates

Please note that Pastor Jim and our Music Director Rich Stanley will be out of the office all this week June 17-22 as they attend the Presbyterian Association of Musicians

2024 Worship and Music Conference at Montreat.

The Avondale Church Office will be closed next Thursday in recognition of the 4th of July holiday so our staff can spend time with family.

Worship at Avondale

Coming up on Sunday, June 23rd, 2024

Join us for worship on June 23rd at 10AM. If you are unable to join us in person, please join us online as we Livestream via YouTube. You can also watch the archive of services on our YouTube channel via the button below.

"Avondale Presby Church" YouTube Channel

Worship Volunteer Opportunities

Sunday morning worship could not go as smoothly without help from our many volunteers. If you would like to be a part of the worship team to provide flowers, greet everyone entering the worship space, reading liturgy, or setting up the room please reach out to Lynn Wilkerson with questions. lbwilkerson@att.net

If you are ready to commit to certain weeks, please click the button below linked to our SignUp Genius page.

Worship SignUp Genius

Member News

Prayer List

Our Avondalers traveling for Youth Work Camp and Worship & Music Conference at Montreat; Dennis Brandau; Donnie Cates; Libby Stanley; Lindsey DeBorde; Amanda and Eric Shanks; Betsy and Rick Shanks; Corey, Jessica, and Griffin Shanks.

Connect With Us

Please do not hesitate to request prayers from Avondale for the joys or concerns on your heart. We encourage you to let us know of any sickness, crisis, or situation where we can provide support or care. You may contact Rev. Jim Ewing. We will keep prayer requests on this list for four weeks. Please let us know if you would like them extended.

Member Directory

Do you use the directory often? Do you prefer a paper copy? We can provide one.

If desired, please contact the office. We will print a copy and mail it to you. Or, open the UPDATED Directory here (same password as the website). Email Fay for a password, printed copy, or updates.