Monthly Recap
(With so much happening at CBC, we find it helpful to "review" God's work. Each month we will provide an update on this page).
May Recap
(A brief summary of the work that is happening through CBC. Thankful to Joyce Beales for providing this testimony each month.)
Among the changing months, May stands confessed the sweetest, and in fairest colors dressed!
–James Thomson, Scottish poet (1700-48)
Warmer weather has arrived—finally! Songbirds are darting hither and yon scratching around for bits and pieces of suitable nesting materials and spring flowers are popping out all over the place. Temperatures, now comfortably in the 70’s, will soon be heading upward right alongside the humidity! With the warmer days of spring, our thoughts naturally turn toward summer and summer activities. … speaking of activities, the church calendar is chocked full of appealing prospects. Check out our website. Find a place and plug in—it will be like a pebble tossed into a quiet woodland pool, waves radiating outward. That could be us—touching others with the love of Christ!
Before we leave spring behind for the blush of early summer, pause with me a moment as we thumb through our collection of stories to see how CBC has engaged with our partners and neighbors during the past month. We welcome Megan Hawkins and Steve Mcclure, our newest members to the CBC Church family!
On May 2nd, we hosted the youth version of the National Day of Prayer right here in our worship center, with speaker, Traci Davis, Youth Director at Culpeper United Methodist Church. The first Saturday in May, the Blue Ridge Chorale presented their spring concert. The Church Softball Team is off and running with Dave Mullins back on the coach’s bench. Scouts say we have some more ‘young guns’ on the CBC team this season in addition to returning veterans from last season.
Sunday, May 20th, we hosted a screening of the Oscar award-winning documentary, Heroin(e), from filmmaker, Elaine McMillion Sheldon. This short film documents how two gutsy women are fighting opioid addiction in their town of Huntington, West Virginia. Jan Rader, the town fire chief, and Patricia Keller, Judge of the Huntington Drug Court Program fight drugs with compassion, with hope, with community, with justice—and, yes, with Narcan. These two women, like other experts in the field, believe the opposite of addiction is community and are committed to using their positions as a springboard to offer a hopeful alternative.
Pastor Hans and some of our senior adults made the CDC Fun Day a smashing success for all the children. There were lots of balloons to toss, a cake walk, freeze dancing; even the Barrell Train was here chugging around the parking lot with lots of laughter and giggles and good-natured horseplay. You might want to keep this in mind for next May because these little folks enjoy spreading their fun around with adults who can really appreciate their fun-loving nature!
Ann Luckinbill, conducted our Family Wellness Seminar, Building Resilience and Self Esteem for Life, Tuesday evening, May 22nd. This helpful study, designed to help kids make wise decisions, build on their strengths, deal with stress and develop skills to navigate a complex world, addressed many of the pressures children and youth face such as peer pressure, media messages, academic performance to name just a few. Look for future educational seminars throughout the summer. The June topic is dementia. Read more about that on the facing page.
Late in the month, we hosted the REVIVE Training, the Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education (OONE) Program for the Commonwealth of Virginia. This program provides training to professionals, stakeholders and laymen about how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose emergency with the administration of naloxone. Virginia is currently under a public health emergency as a result of the opioid addiction crisis. Naloxone, a prescription medication that’s been used by emergency medical technicians and emergency room doctors for decades, is an opioid antagonist drug that reverses the effects of opioids in the brain. Folks, the opioid crisis is real and affects us all. We must begin the difficult conversations to overcome this scourge. Ask God where He needs you to help!
Fifty-four four and five-year-olds graduated from our Child Development Center this spring! Their commencement included songs and recitations of Scripture before their diplomas were conferred, followed by a reception in the Worship Center.
Those who live on in our Memory:
April Recap
(A brief summary of the work that is happening through CBC. Thankful to Joyce Beales for providing this testimony each month.)
Well, it looks as if we may actually have a real spring this year! The weather was characteristically fickle for April—even some snow flurries, and let’s not forget the wind! The Easter flowers are fading, but the flowering shrubs and trees are an exquisite cloud of pastels worthy of an impressionist painting…and why shouldn’t they be…they’re complements of the Master Artist!
The CDC expansion is in progress, and the contractor is on site! This is an exciting time in the life of the CDC as well as our church family. During the construction, we will lose some entrances – specifically the second and third floor back entrances [the CDC and Choir entrance].
Residents of The Culpeper and some of our hardiest members helped Pastor Hans celebrate Easter during a cool sunrise service, and they enjoyed a great breakfast as well. Our Easter weekend was unique with 5 churches, 7 services and 3 languages celebrating the Risen Christ. We were excited to welcome the official inaugural service for City on a Hill church in their new digs—our worship center and to once again have the men and women from the Culpeper jail for a special service on Saturday.
The first Saturday, we hosted the MS Walk, and our own Janet Driggers, a team leader, secured $9,188 in donations. The following Monday, April 9th, we hosted a noon prayer service for Lanny and Sheila Horton. Folks from throughout the Shiloh Association came together to pray and walk along with Lanny and Sheila as they face the rigors of chemotherapy in their battle against esophageal cancer. We also hosted the Walk for Life to benefit the Pregancy Center, a Red Cross Blood Drive, a Family Education Seminar ,2 livestream financial seminars with Dave Ramsey and a Reverse Job Fair.
The Leadership Council has approved a multi-church community weekend event, Experiencing God, September 7-9, 2018. Details are still in the works, but we are excited about what God will do in our community through this weekend—start praying now. The Leadership Council also approved $2,000 from our Benevolent Fund for “First Call for Help” that coordinates benevolence work among churches in our community. This will help First Call for Help to continue.
CBC had the distinct pleasure to welcome The National Brass Quintet along with Randy Sheets for a delightful concert April 15th. These guys were Ahhhh M A Z I N G! and treated the crowd to a variety of music genres. A crowd favorite was The Tin Ear Rag, a fun composition by James Barnes, with crowd participation, complete with a cameo-juggling act featuring Chuck Seipp!
Near the end of the month, our senior adults took a Mystery Trip. Pastor Hans was tightlipped about the whole thing, keeping the destination a big secret known only to himself and the bus driver. Guess where they went! First stop—Caledon State Park located in King George, Virginia, with lunch at Wilkerson’s Seafood Restaurant, located in Colonial Beach.
We teamed up again this year with the child development center on April 28th for the annual Touch a Truck family event. This affair is a kid’s dream! And…there were some pretty big kids there, too! On display were an assortment of tractors, construction equipment, police cruisers, fire trucks, and rescue equipment as well as lots of other interesting vehicles, all just waiting to be clambered over and touched by eager little hands to the tune of oodles of laughter and squeals from excited little people.
Late in the month, representatives from CBC, City on a Hill and The Love Church met with Richard Brooking from the Town Police to discuss safety strategies for the facilities. We plan to continue to work with the CDC and local law enforcement about weekday enforcement.
Meanwhile back at the Church, amidst all the clutter of construction and renovations, staff finished planning the summer calendar, and let me tell you it is chocked full of great activities for everyone. Check the website for updates about how the construction progress is going as well as dates and times for ministry activities—and plug in to what God is doing!
Fourth Quarter, 2017 Recap
By the time you read this, the New Year’s parties will all be over and for some, possibly only a hazy memory, except for a few extra pounds. 2017 will be in our rear view mirror, with 2018 stretching out before of us—a blank canvas. As believers, we are fortunate that we can look back over the past weeks and months and see God’s brushstrokes all over our story. And, how great is that! So before we leave 2017 behind entirely, let’s take a quick look back at some highlights.
The pipe organ and carillon restoration concluded, and we celebrated with the Seipp/Sheets Duo Trumpet and Organ Recital at the end of October. WOW. Listen folks, this was a superb concert by two top musicians! If you missed it, Randy and Chuck gave a five-star performance. AND…the entire restoration project was completely funded from the generous gifts of our church family and friends!
Deferred maintenance was another area where we finished the year strong accomplishing $216,110.57 in deferred maintenance projects in 2016-2017. Below is a list of some of the big-ticket items:
· $68,650.00 Schantz Pipe Organ Restoration
· 6,435.50 Carillon Project
· 13,670.00 Roof/Gutter Repair
· 9,325.00 Heat Pump Replacement
· 4,300.00 Parking Lot Crack Repair
· 14,450.00 Seal/Repaint Parking Lot
· 23,189.98 CDC Playground Equipment
The complete list of deferred maintenance projects is found on our website.
We celebrated 30 years of Mission Trips through CBC with Roger T. Clatterbuck at the helm. Here’s a recap of the impact these folks have made:
· Repaired and helped to build 139 homes
· Helped to build/repair 24 churches
· Helped to build/repair 6 other projects
What a record! Thank You for that long-term commitment!
Financial Peace, a class designed by Dave Ramsey to help folks maximize their dollars and take control of their money, has had two successful semesters and a new semester begins in February 2018. Way to Go! Skip and Lou Price lead this informal, fun group. Keep your eye on printed and social media for dates and times for the next class.
Our GriefShare Team has had active groups through the fall and a special seminar for the holidays designed to help individuals who are grieving a loved one’s death to cope with their loss as well as the stress of the holidays and at the same time offer hope for the future. The next group begins in February 2018. Check the website for further details.
‘The Masks We Wear’ art exhibit, on display at CBC November 9-15, moved to the Culpeper Public Library for two weeks at the end of November. This project involved folks of all ages to raise awareness of domestic violence, and promote prevention and early intervention through community education and awareness in partnership with SAFE.
Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Shoe Box Gifts, one of our long-time ministries, was a smashing success netting 110 boxes taken to Open Door Baptist Church, the local drop off center. Children in developing countries are the recipients of these gifts that are tools to open the door for presentation of the Gospel.
Drums Alive, a national program that combines movement with the power of drumming, now offers classes at our campus. This is a whole-body work out and a powerful stress reduction tool to maintain mental balance. Public classes are available Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the 6:15 p.m. time slot.
The Flower Team worked their magic again this year and beautifully transformed the sanctuary in preparation for celebration of Christ’s birth. My, it was beautiful! Check out our facebook page for lots of photos.
And who can forget the many musical programs during the month. Alex Smith and the Spotsylvanians kicked off the season in early December with their Christmas concert; then came the Blue Ridge Chorale celebrating their 50th Anniversary Concert, “Alleluia,” featuring well-loved songs from many of their concerts during the past five decades. Mid-month we celebrated Christmas with all of our musical groups. Of course, the Christmas Eve Candle Light Service was a beautiful celebration encompassing three churches, two languages and six pastors! Over 700 folks filled our sanctuary. As we departed the sanctuary during the brief “snow flurry,” it was delightful to hear the carillon pealing out “Peace on earth, good will toward men…”
Sunday morning, December 10th, we paused during the Sunday School hour to gather in the sanctuary and recall members and friends who live on in our hearts and continue to bless us with fond memories of times gone by. Later in the month the Longest Night of the Year service, designed to temper the struggle with darkness and grief faced by those living with a loss, afforded folks another opportunity to pause and seek comfort in the caring intimacy of our church family.
Another particularly moving event during the month occurred when we hosted the inmates from the Culpeper jail and their families in our Worship Center for some meaningful time together. Country Cooking and Pepper’s catered this extraordinary event. This was one of those rare and beautiful opportunities to come alongside hurting families and be a redemptive as well as a healing presence in their midst.
The actors of The Culpeper treated us to a delightful performance of The True Meaning of Christmas, fresh from the pen of Pastor Hans. The children from CDC Preschool attended this charming little Christmas story and were spellbound the entire time.
The “Class with Clara” captured little imaginations and was hosted by the Charlottesville Ballet for children of the CDC. The children learned introductory ballet steps, experienced the magic of The Nutcracker and even had photo ops with the pros. Nineteen children attended and over fifty family members!
Thus, another year has drawn to a close here with our church family. It’s been a good year with lots of good memories, and our lives have been enriched by God’s abounding love and mercy. Can’t you just see His presence in our stories—and don’t we have an abundance of great stories?! Good things are happening here. I hope you’ll look around and see where you can join Him in His work at CBC and the Culpeper community.
In Memoriam
Earle Mitchell Inez Jenkins Juanita Whitesell