Mary Alice and the Personnel Ministry Group have been working ahead on plans for January at Highland, and we have an outstanding group of preachers and teachers lined up for this season! Once an Interim Pastoral Committee is in place, they will take the lead on shepherding further plans beyond January. Until such time that the Interim Committee is fully functioning, rest assured that your Church Staff is already preparing to coordinate with this group in planning pulpit supply and weekly worship services beginning in February.
Worship in January
We will continue to have Bible study at 10:00 AM and one Sunday morning worship service at 11:15 AM on Sundays in January. This will allow all of us to worship together on Mary Alice’s last Sunday, and it will accommodate our schedule when the Center for Congregational Health is in town. Our regular Sunday schedule will resume on February 2.
Guest Proclaimers
January 12: Bob Cunningham, Interim Associate Pastor at Highland
January 19: Carol Harston, Former Associate Pastor at Highland, Moving Faith Forward
January 26: Brian Henderson, Executive Director of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
Wednesday Nights
January 8, 15, and 22: Moving Faith Forward
Since leaving Highland’s ministerial staff in 2021, Carol Harston has been deepening her traumatizing theology research by wondering what it looks like for people to move past their beliefs and grow into spiritual maturity. Carol’s vision is a future in which people can live at peace with the past, confident in their ability to face whatever life brings, and open to a revived spirituality that evolves as life changes. To get there, Carol offers a three-step process of working through beliefs: (1) placing former beliefs in the context of what was happening when we received them, (2) putting words to beliefs that have stood the test of time, and (3) learning to accept what has been, integrate core beliefs, and engage in spiritual practice tailored to our real lives (you can read case studies that apply the three steps at www.carolharston.com). Catch up with Carol in this Wednesday night class to learn more about the three-step process and explore what it looks like to move faith forward.
January 29: Cloud of Witness
Work with the Center for Congregational Health
The Center for Congregational Health will be visiting Highland over the weekend of January 18-20. Leadership from Ministry Council, Personnel, and the Strategic Planning Team are currently in conversation with the CCH about our next steps and are still discerning what this time in January will look like. However, we would like to ask you to reserve Sunday, January 19 for church-wide conversations. We will follow our original schedule, with the first conversation taking place from 9:30-11:00 AM. Children’s and youth Bible studies will still meet that morning to allow parents to participate. Following worship and a break for lunch, there will be a second church-wide conversation that afternoon from 2:00-3:30 PM, allowing our children’s and youth volunteers to participate. These conversations will be a valuable and meaningful time for the congregation as we begin this interim season. Please make every effort to attend at least one of the sessions, if not both. We will follow up with more details after the holidays. |
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