"God can testify how I long for all of you with the affectionof Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:8)

In recent weeks, I have been reading Paul's epistles with freshperspective, especially the greetings and salutations. As youprobably know, Paul wrote these letters from a distance andafter months of being unable to see his church in person. Hewould start the church, establish pastors and elders and thenmove on to do it again in another city. As an overseer, he hadthe pastoral responsibility to instruct and correct his churches.Yet Paul always couched the substance of his letters with wordsof affection: "It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I haveyou in my heart." (Philippians 1:7) These words ring true in my heart and, I imagine they do inyours as well. We miss each other. We long to be with ourchurch family. And not because of the good programming oractivities. We long for each other because God has called ustogether in fellowship to honor Him in worship and servefaithfully in our community. We are bound, not just byorganization or history, but by the unbreakable bond of theHoly Spirit. We are one Body who is currently scattered in theworld. In short order, we will see each other again and restorethe bond of fellowship. I'm praying God's blessings for the entire Poplar Ridge churchfamily!

CALLED TOGETHER

THE POPLAR LEAF J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 0

by Pastor Dave Mercadante

A BI-MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF POPLAR RIDGE FRIENDS MEETING

Download THE CHURCH APPon your phone or tablet and setPoplar Ridge as your homechurch. Stay connected withPoplar Ridge everywhere yougo! Need help? Go to prfriends.organd watch the instructionalvideo by Tim Vestal or call himat 336-847-2752.

HAVE YOU

DOWNLOADED OUR

NEW CHURCH APP?

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

TO SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH(ONE DAY ONLY)

K IDS AGE 3 (& POTTY-TRA INED ) THRU 6TH GRADE

GRADUATE RECOGNITIONSUNDAY

NEW DATE: JULY 12TH

11:00 AM

To schedule your appointment, go toredcrossblood.org, click on "Find a Drive" andtype in Poplar Ridge Friends Meeting or thezip code (27370). It will take you directly to theappointment schedule. Or you may callBrandon Cook with the American Red Cross at336-341-8137. THE NEED IS CRITICAL!!PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!

The "Young At Heart" Planning Committee recentlymade the difficult decision to cancel all remainingmonthly fellowship activities for 2020. We pray thata cure and vaccine can be found soon so that wecan resume our "Young At Heart" fellowshipbeginning in March 2021. God bless you and let'scontinue to call, send cards/notes, and PRAY for oneanother during this time.

COMMUNITY BLOOD DRIVESUNDAY, JUNE 28 | 1:30 - 6PMP O P L A R R I D G E F E L L O W S H I P H A L L

Our VBS that was scheduled to take place the endof June has been RESCHEDULED for Saturday,September 12th. More information will beforthcoming.

J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 0 | P A G E 2

YOUNG AT HEARTS E N I O R A D U L T M I N I S T R Y

Ruby ByrdBrandon DycusSandy EidenbergerNorman NelsonSonja SmithSamuel FarlowKatlin HawesJonathan LinthicumSusan HarrisonBill LuckeyJordan RayleJohn BartlettLawson WolfeKeith GardinerPam MarshallCharles BunchRandy HillLuke JonesRon NelsonTommy Price

June 1 June 2June 3 June 4 June 5 June 6June 7June 8 June 9

Haley VarnerPaul WhitakerJacob LonguilloSueAnn SafrietBrian VarnerMallary VossVera WaitmanDavid FarlowGeorge SumnerBenjamin BurgePat ByrdAnn DavidsonDamon WhitakerBill HurleyBelenda SlatePat WilsonGaye WillardKelley SheffieldWendy WrightTori JohnsonKathy RobbinsTim StevensLisa WhitakerSusie CothranWyatt JohnsonKaren PledgerCayden HedrickTrish JonesChris DouglasRonald GurleyJosh StevensSuzanne RayleKandis SmithEd SmithAdam BurgeJake JacobsEmily LewisDarlene PittmanRaeford TuckerSarah BartlettKevan JohnsonJanice ClarkAllen Douglas

July 1 July 2 July 3July 4July 5July 6July 7July 8July 9July 11 July 12July 13 July 14July 15 July 16 July 17July 18 July 19 July 20July 22July 24July 26 July 27 July 28July 30July 31

June 1June 1June 6June 6June 7June 12June 16June 16June 17June 19June 20June 21June 21June 22June 23June 24June 28June 30

Rick & Belenda SlateMichael & Morgan SmithCharles & Brenda MonroeNorman & Beverly NelsonJosh & Misty WolfeStanley & Janice ClarkKeith & Myrna NelsonDon & Kim SmithChristian & Kendra JohnsonTodd & Donna MoserSteven & Maegan WelchBen & Wendy ProctorMark & Donna SandersCharles & Pat ByrdRandy & Cathy CrouseEric & Melissa PledgerMark & Jeannie FarlowCharles & Wilma Bunch

Charles & Stephanie GardinerAlex & Erin NimmoJesse & Pat WilsonBobby & Bobbie BeaneNick & Katie HillDave & Emily Mercadante

JUNE ANNIVERSARIES

Artie KoontsBradley LuckeyLinda DouglasDarren TaylorTeresa AndrewsLarson WelchArchie LanierDonna MoserJeffrey JonesErin NimmoOlivia McDanielChristi Anna CoatsElise PledgerTalan VestalNancy SkeenStephanie KerseyEthan WhitakerVickie CecilMyrna Nelson

June 10 June 11 June 12June 13June 15 June 16 June 17June 21June 23 June 26June 29 June 30

HappyFather's Day!

June 21, 2020

"The father of arighteous manhas great joy;he who has a

wise sondelights in him."proverbs 23:24

J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 0 | P A G E 3

JUNE BIRTHDAYS

July 1July 11July 12July 20July 20July 29

JULY ANNIVERSARIES

JULY BIRTHDAYS

mission

Dear Poplar Ridge, Greetings to you from the Moscow Seminary! Vladimir Zaharchuk - student at the seminary and pastorof a church - wrote this letter below and substantiated itwith pictures. I gladly forward his letter to you for you tohave a sense of the return on your investment inoutreach to Russia with the Gospel: > In 1991 the Soviet Union fell apart. Depression hithard. No job. No goal. No nothing. In 1996 I decided tocommit suicide. I put a halter around my neck and ... theLord spoke to me, saying, "I have set before you life anddeath. Now choose life, so that you may live." I took thenoose off, jumped off the stool, fell on my knees,repented of my sins, and accepted Jesus Christ as myLord and Savior! I started sharing the Gospel and, in 2016, planted achurch in Voskresensk (100,000 population town 50miles southeast from Moscow). We had three kids - two boys and a girl. The girl wasrun over by a taxi - killed her. The boys rushed in to lynchthe driver. I shouted, "No, we forgive him!" The taxi driveraccepted the Lord and joined the church. In memory ofour daughter we adopted Dima, Venya, Angela, Vanya,Anastasiya, Danya, Irina, and Anya. Together, we read achapter from the Proverbs every morning, ponder over itduring the day, and pray through it in the evening.

F O C U S : Sasha Tsutserov with Moscow Seminary

J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 0 | P A G E 4

The church grew-grew-grew and ...plateaued. I realized I needed training -enrolled to the Moscow Seminary. Wow,this seminary is for real! Especially, itsChurch & State course. For my churchoperates under persecutions and I mustknow how to fight back. Also, Social Work & Christian Counseling course speaks directto my heart. For there are so manyunderprivileged people around - the poor,sick, homeless, hungry ... When I see oldbabushkas going through the nearbygrocery store's garbage bins in search forexpired food I cry out to the Lord - don'tthey know the Father offers them eternalBread of Life! It breaks my heart to knowthat these "orphans" have not yet foundtheir true Family. My task is to bring themHome - to Church. That's what the Lordcalled me to and the seminary trains me to do. < Unfortunately, Russia completely closed itsborders to any kind of mission work fromabroad (for every missionary is consideredto be a spy). Nowadays you can't go toRussia. But your donations have helpedtrain a student-minister - just like VladimirZaharchuk - to plant a church for you! ~ Sasha Tsutseroz excited and thankful

Vladimir Zaharchuk

POPLAR RIDGE FRIENDS MEETING

3673 HOOVER HILL ROAD

TRINITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27370

CHURCH OFFICE:

336-861-5026

OFFICE HOURS:

Mon - Thurs 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

Friday 8:00 am - 2:30 pm

EMAIL:

poplarridge@prfriends.org

WEBSITE:

prfriends.org

Poplar Ridge Friends Meeting

Poplar Ridge Friends Children's Ministry

Poplar Ridge Friends Celebrate Recovery

SUNDAY SERVICE SCHEDULE:

8:30 am Traditional Worship

9:45 am Sunday School

11:00 am Contemporary Worship

MINISTRY STAFF:

SENIOR PASTOR, Dave Mercadante

336-259-5900 / dave@prfriends.org

YOUTH & FAMILY PASTOR, Tim Vestal

336-847-2752 / tim@prfriends.org

CHILDREN'S PASTOR, Mandy Luckey

336-596-1441 / mandy@prfriends.org

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, Paula Allen

336-301-2605 / paula@prfriends.org

$200 Foursome --OR-- $55 IndividualPrice includes registration, green and cart fees and lunch!

Online Registration or Sponsor a Hole at the following link(list individual name[s] in registration):

https://www.paypal.me/trlfinc

OR mail check to:The Rady Lady Foundation, Inc.

1484 Allen Court,Asheboro NC 27205

2ND ANNUAL CAPTAIN'S CHOICE CHARITY CHALLENGEHOSTED BY THE RADY LADY FOUNDAT ION , INC .

FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 20209:00 AM START

Asheboro Country Club

J U N E / J U L Y | P A G E 5

CONTACT US.

Questions?Email

radylady4ewe@

gmail.comor call

Sherry Nance

@ 336-302-4528

GOLF TOURNAMENTto benefit Child Evangelism Fellowship

Central Piedmont Chapter

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29 , 2020

BLAIR PARK IN HIGH POINT

1 2 : 4 0 P M T E E T I M E

( P L E A S E A R R I V E @ 1 2 N O O N )

Entry Fee:$200 per teamLunch and snackswill be provided.For moreinformation,please contactTerry Bishop at336.848.2774or Scott Hyatt at336.963.0536.