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PASTOR’S PAGE Dear Friends, On June 14, we held a conversation about Thyatira’s ministry to and with our young people. The result of the meeting was the formation of a team that will begin to think more deeply about youth ministry in our context. One of its first tasks will be to do a little study and engage in some conversation about the purpose and possibilities of this special kind of ministry. In my space in this month’s newsletter, I’d like to share an article about youth ministry that is representative of the kind of conversations this group will have. If you would like to be part of this conversation, please let me know. When I survey the state of youth ministry, it seems shallow, confused, and perplexed. There is no doubt that we’re in the midst of a revolution. The Church, contextually, must think through realistic and measurable steps in order to develop and build lasting, impactful, and sustainable youth ministry. Setting the Church up for success in youth ministry will be a rigorous learning experience. The uniqueness of each congregation—shaped by location, population, and culture—suggests that one size does not fit all. Over the past 20 years, youth-centered programs have become the standard model of nearly every church’s youth ministry. But from church to church, these programs must be anything but standard.

Every youth leader has their own priorities, skills, ideas, and strategies, and it’s not always clear what “works” and what doesn’t. Cookie-cutter approaches to youth ministry have proven to fail teens and leave them lackluster in their beliefs and unprepared to defend their faith. Teens are attempting to learn faithfulness in a rapidly-changing, post-Christian culture where they are rethinking the institutional Church as a place to help them arbitrate life.

Just what, exactly, is youth ministry for? What is considered healthy youth ministry? What is successful youth ministry? Is youth ministry relevant? These questions linger in the hearts of many congregations and youth leaders and can’t be answered easily—nor can they be ignored. I surmise that the problem is not necessarily youth ministry in its current programmatic model. Instead, the problem seems to be leaders not modeling a faith that leaves youth yearning to grow as followers of Christ.

Teens desire depth and tangible relationships that push them to be more like Christ. If youth ministry is to outlast this devastating culture, there must be a shift in the focus and aim of youth ministry. This is where sound theological education plays a critical role in the direction and shape of youth ministry and youth leaders.

Theological institutions must avoid thinking in terms of replicable programs, but rather they must build strategy around evangelism, discipleship, and Scripture. Teens tend to respond well to strategic opportunities that get them involved and active in their faith. The survival of youth ministry is not found in programs but in sound biblical teaching and proclamation of Scripture.

Article by the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Brooks, retrieved from http://iym.ptsem.edu/ready-aim-focus/

July 2017 Newsletter Volume 40, Number 7

Rowan Helping Ministries West Needs to Stock the Shelves Please bring donations of canned goods and other imperishable food or a cash donation to help provide for families in need.

Vacation Bible School Children

Each Wednesday in July, Thyatira's young disciples (and their friends and neighbors!) will learn about Superheroes of the Bible. Classes are available for children nursery to 5th grade (rising 6th graders). This year, we will be pre-registering attendance to make better preparations. Light supper will be served at 5:45 pm. The program begins each Wednesday in July at 6:30 pm. Evening ends at 8:00 pm.

Adults On the Wednesday evenings of July, while the children are enjoying Vacation Bible School, Thyatira’s adults will be blessed by Vision Bible School. This is a chance to prepare for Thyatira’s D-Day (Discernment Day) that will take place on September 9. In this four week series, we’ll watch and discuss some amazing films about seeing – with our eyes, our hearts, and our faith – that can transform the way we view the world, our community, and our church. Even if (or espe-cially if) you have seen these films, please join us! July 5 – “Celebrate What’s Right With the World” July 12 – “The Man Who Planted Trees” July 19 – “Lars and the Real Girl” (will begin promptly at 6:00 pm) July 26 – “Salt of the Earth” (will begin promptly at 6:00 pm) For more information contact Lydia Richmond.

Volunteer Opportunities Nursery

Are you interested in serving in the nursery during worship? We are currently seeking volunteers to serve in a nursery rotation. We need a minimum of 2 people per week to volunteer. Because we at Thyatira like for our children to experience worship as much as possible, and due to limited space, volunteers should expect to supervise children under 3 years old only. All nursery attendants should be in the nursery by 10:45 am on Sunday to relieve the nursery Sunday School teachers and to allow for drop off before church starts at 11:00 am. The nursery is located at the top of the stairs in the educational building. Contact Abby Covington to sign-up or for more information.

The Happy Place The Fellowship Committee is seeking volunteers to host Happy Place. The Happy Place offers time for us to come together as a family before Sunday School begins. A Happy Place Host arrives a little early to setup coffee and treats, welcomes guests, and tidies up. Contact Juanita Turner 704-433-1317 to sign-up or for more information.

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PRAYER CONCERNS

Brightmoor Nursing Center: Frank Fuller Lutheran Home: Mullie Varner Rebecca Morrison C/O George Calhoun: Mary Alice Calhoun White Oak Manor, Charlotte: Ruby Erwin At Home: JoAnn Kerr Ted Deal OC Shoaf Bill Feimster (recovering from surgery) Millicent Hoffner (recovering from knee surgery)

Bill Hall, recovering from a heart catheterization procedure Ronney Steele, gaining strength at home The family of Stephanie Palmore (daughter of Paul and Linda

Gaylor) whose brother-in-law died unexpectedly this week Ada Jo Sloop, safely arrived in Uganda to begin her service

with the Peace Corps Phares' daughter-in-law's father, Guy Schenck has been diag-

nosed with cancer in his eye and has several very serious deci-sions to make

Norma Lauder is recovering from a serious hernia surgery Gary Hensley, friend of Charles Newsome, recovering from

prostate cancer surgery Father of Michelle Patterson, Pete Adkins is undergoing treat-

ment for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Ashley Wilkie, recovering from automobile accident Maddie Patrick, 7-year-old from Port Orange, Florida has liver

& bone cancer, friend of Sharon Deal Bo Deal, with ongoing medical issues A friend of Phares, Cindy Pope, being treated for some serious

health issues Bill Bergstrom is being treated for leukemia Sharry Davis is being treated for cancer Millard Goodnight, undergoing cancer treatment Dana Milam’s friend, Stacia Henry in Jamaica Nell Fuller’s niece, Mary Jo Wood, is undergoing cancer treat-

ments Drema Clemens’ mother, Bertha Warden Millicent Hoffner’s brother, Joe Kerr Mike Hawkins who has RA Former member, Pat Hall Debbie Belk, a friend of Joyce Caldwell Jimmy’s mother and father, Ernestine & Bill Hoffner Paul Rogers’ daughter and family

GENEROSITY UPDATE

For the month of June we came in at 79% of the monthly goal.

JULY SCHEDULES LITURGISTS: 2 - Janet Lambert 9 - Bill Hall 16 - Flora Calderón-Steck 23 - Doug Patterson 30 - Melissa Kluttz USHERS: Eddie Bell, Ryan Sloop, Jeremy Deal, Richard Luther, Steven Wetmore NURSERY ATTENDANTS: 2 - Selena Bell, TBD 9 - Lydia Richmond, TBD 16 - Abby Covington, Ben Watts 23 - Deb Edwards, TBD 30 - Nora Dellinger, TBD

JULY BIRTHDAYS 1 Sarah Waller 3 William Feimster 5 Beth Bates 6 Emory Graham 8 Buddy Erwin, Flora Calderón-Steck 9 Abby Covington 10 Mitchell Seaboch, Steven Wetmore 11 Keith Townsend 13 Becky Daniel, Kitty Harris 16 Julie Bigsby, Gerald Hargis 17 Nell Fuller 19 David Beard, Trisha Belk, Nora Patterson, Ben Watts 20 Ruby Erwin 23 Cam Hall 24 Joyce Caldwell 27 Koen Franz, John Parish 28 Adam Hall 29 Jay Bates, Jill Townsend 30 Selena Bell

Congratulations to the Newlyweds!

Wedding of Kira Andre and Steven Wetmore was held on Saturday, June 10.

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Framed Prints For Sale To Benefit Thyatira

Juanita Turner’s daughter has 2 large framed prints for sale, $20 a piece. She would like to donate the money collected to Thyatira. If you would like to add one or both of these tall sailing ship prints to your collection please contact the church office or Juanita. The prints are available to view in the Fellowship Hall.

Summer Sunday Schedule The schedule for summer will be as follows: 8:30 Outdoor worship (Sundays in July only) 9:30 Children’s Choir Happy Place (on the patio during July) 10:00 Sunday School for all ages 11:00 Worship in the Sanctuary Join us in the cool of the morning for outdoor worship during the month of July. We’ll meet on the patio near the front of the church for informal worship. Chairs will be provided, but feel free to bring a lawn chair for greater comfort. The Happy Place will also be outside in July, weather permitting, so come at 9:30 and enjoy some coffee, a donut, or some fruit with your brothers and sisters in Christ!

Vacation Bible School for chil-dren and Vision Bible School for adults will take place each Wednesday night in July begin-ning with a meal at 5:45 pm

Homecoming is August 13 Rally Sunday is August 27 D-Day is September 9

Scoutmaster Greg Hager will be taking 10 scouts to Camp John

J. Barnhardt July 2-8. Chase Hovis and Mason Stoodley earned their Eagle Scout

Awards this spring. Currently, we have four boys working on their Eagle projects. Our Troop will not meet during the month of July, but any

young men interested in joining should come on August 7 at 6:30 PM. If you have any questions, call Greg Hager at 980-234-0104.

We are grateful for the support of Thyatira Church!

Dear family at Thyatira, Thank you for hosting the fundraiser on Saturday June 24th. God was abundant in provision for his ministry among the Alagwa People through this wonderful meal fundraiser! We thank each one of you for the continued prayers, financial support and

commitment to making the Good News of Jesus Christ known among people that have never heard. While we don't have final departure plans finalized yet, we are an-ticipating departure sometime after August 20th and before August 31st. Please continue to lift us in prayer as we work through this transition as a family. It is only by Faith that anyone ever comes to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And it is only by Faith that we can be mes-sengers for our risen Savior, Jesus. May we all seek Him as we share His Good News! Joyfully serving Jesus! The Raymer Family

Pictured to the left: Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts during retirement ceremony on Sunday, June 4. They retired 29 US Flags and 5 NC flags. Thanks to Jon McCachren and Greg Hager for organizing!

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PARISH NURSE NEWS

A Celebration of Independence and Service

July is the month that we celebrate our independence, and it provides a wonderful opportunity to recommit to our country and our God through service to others. Psychology Today states that service to others is part of our biological design and is probably key to the survival and well being of our species. God created us as beings who can help others prosper, and through service prosper ourselves. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”- Ephesians 4:11-12. For each of us, there is an avenue of service. Everyone decides when and how he will serve while recognizing methods and avenues of service change with age and life circumstances. Each person's service encourages others to serve. Never discount the power of peer pressure or peer motivation. Blood donation is one of the vital avenues of service, and one for which most of us qualify. Each two seconds someone in the United States needs blood. The Red Cross needs to collect a minimum of 44,000 units of blood to fill the demands in a typical day. Blood's main components are red cells, plasma, and platelets. These are used to treat many different illnesses and conditions. The donation of whole blood is the most common type of blood donation, but the components of blood may be given separately. The best type of donation for each individual depends on blood type, physical characteristics, personal preferences and the availability of convenient donation opportunities. Giving the “right type” of donation helps ensure the best use of your valuable contribution. Blood (whole blood) Donation This is the most common type of donation, during which approximately a pint of “whole blood” is given. The blood is separated into transfusable components-red cells, plasma, platelets and/or cryoprecipitated AHF. This type of blood donation takes about 8-10 minutes, although the entire appointment may take an hour. You are eligible to donate whole blood every 56 days. (O Rh negative blood may be received by all other blood types.) Platelet Apheresis Platelet donations are collected at select Red Cross Blood Donation centers only. During this type of donation, an apheresis machine collects the platelets and some plasma and returns the red cells

and most of the plasma back to the donor. Platelets are vital elements of cancer and organ transplant treatments, as well as many surgical procedures as they

help prevent massive blood loss. A single donation of platelets collected by apheresis can constitute one or several transfusable units, while it takes

about four to six whole blood donations to constitute a single transfusable unit of platelets. The donation takes several hours for the entire process. Platelets may be given every 3 days, but not more than twice a week, or 24 times in a year. Call 1-800-Red-Cross to find platelet apheresis donation opportunities near you. (located in Winston-Salem and

Charlotte) Plasma Apheresis Plasma is collected at the same time as the platelet donation and is collected only at select centers. During this donation the blood is collected by a machine, which separates the plasma, red cells and platelets and

returns the red cells (and platelets) back to donor. While donors with Type AB blood can only give red cells to other Type AB recipients, they are the universal plasma

donors. The “right type” of donation for the AB donor may be an apheresis donation of plasma or plasma and platelets.

The donation takes approximately 2 hours. Only special centers collect these donations (refer to last bullet statement under platelets).

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PARISH NURSE NEWS A Celebration of Independence and Service - continued from page 6

Power Red Power Red is done with the help of an apheresis machine which collects the red cells but returns most of the plasma

and platelets to the donor. Red cells are the most transfused blood component, and certain blood types are often in short supply. Power Red from O donors and donors with Rh negative blood types play a very important role in maintaining blood

supply levels. Donors need to meet slightly higher hemoglobin and body weight requirements in order to be able to give a Power

Red. Power Red takes approximately 30 minutes longer than a whole-blood donation and allow you to give two units of

red cells. Available at most donation centers and some blood drives. Donors are eligible to give Power Red every 112 days. Below are certain common conditions/situations that donors ask about: Flu vaccination: You can donate if you are feeling well. Infection: You must be infection free. Pregnancy: Women who are pregnant should not donate. Tattoos: Restrictions concerning tattoos and piercing have changed. Check with the local Red Cross about these

restrictions. Cancer: Certain Cancers require a 1-year wait after treatment. Be prepared to discuss your specific type of cancer

with the donor specialist. Some medications have restrictions for blood donors, these are listed on material given at donation centers and blood

drives. The chief purpose of giving blood should be its benefit to others, but there are positive benefits to the donor. Each time you donate blood you receive a mini-checkup with a measure of your temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and hemoglo-bin levels. Also, after your blood is collected, it is sent to a lab where it undergoes 13 different tests for infectious dis-eases. Any life-long donor of blood/and or platelets will tell you that they have no idea how many people they have helped, who they were, or where they lived. They only know that for them it was a relatively easy gift with little cost while for the recipient of the blood the donation was a gift beyond price. If you are not already a blood donor, consider partic-ipating in this service that blesses so many.

Mill Bridge Fellowship With a heavy heart the Mill Bridge Senior Fellowship/Friendship Club have disbanded as of June 12, 2017. We had many great times and the club has been meeting for many years. We would like to thank Glen and Georgia McCorkle, Jim and Ruth Albright, Bob Freeman, and Tom Turner for all their support. If at anytime someone would like to restart the club they can get in touch with me (Juanita Turner), Pastor Stacey, or any member. Thanks for the memories!

Homecoming We have many more things planned and we will be letting you know

about those soon. Of course, the big thing in August is Juanita’s birth-day (just kidding), but there’s also Homecoming and we are expecting a big crowd. You might think you won’t know anyone from the past, but it is a great time to hear stories of what went on before you came. Start

planning your favorite dish now!

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

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July 2017 Newsletter

Join us in the cool of the morning for outdoor worship during the month ll meet on the patio near the front of the church for informal

VBS is coming! Please register.

We are asking families to register before VBS starts so we can plan for numbers. You can do this in one of two ways.

1. Go to this website: http://bit.ly/thyatiraVBS17

2. Fill out the form below and turn in to the office or offering plate on Sunday.

Child Name ______________________________________________________

Parent Name ______________________________________________________

Grade for 2016-2017 Circle One below:

Nursery Preschool Kindergarten 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Phone Number ______________________________

Email _____________________________________

ADULTS: We will have a class for you as well, led by Pastor Stacey. Please plan to attend. Know someone who would like to attend who doesn't receive this newsletter or doesn't attend the church? We'd love to have them! Please share this form with them! See page 2 inside for more VBS information.