like a child

like a child love would send to reveal and to mend, like a child and a friend, Jesus comes like a child we may find claiming heart, soul and mind, like a child strong and kind, Jesus comes like a child we will meet, ragged clothes dirty feet like a child on the street, Jesus comes like a child we once knew coming back into view, like a child born anew, Jesus comes like a child born to pray and to show us the way, like a child on the street, Jesus comes like a child we receive all the love one can conceive, like a child we believe, Jesus comes.

~Dan Damon

THE OLIN T. BINKLEY MEMORIAL

BAPTIST CHURCH

DECEMBER 2017 NEWSLETTER

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA

9:30 AM Church School

11:00 AM Worship: Marcus McFaul preaching Sanctuary

3:00 PM Hanging of the Greens with Christmas Crafts SR, Lounge

5:00 PM Advent Evening Prayer Sanctuary

5:30 PM Chili Supper Fellowship Hall

6:15 PM Caroling

Advent Retreat St. Francis Springs

Prayer Center

9:30 AM Church School

11:00 AM Worship: Stephanie Ford preaching Sanctuary

6:00 PM Taizé Service Sanctuary

7:00 PM Youth Christmas Party Osborne Home

9:45 AM Christmas Coffee & Worship Fellowship Hall

11:00 AM Worship: Nativity Reenactment; Meredith

Bratcher preaching Sanctuary

7:00 PM Lovefeast in the Moravian Tradition Sanctuary

6:00 PM Blue Christmas Service Chapel

11:00 AM Worship: Service of Holy Remembrance;

Stephanie Ford preaching Sanctuary

4:00 PM A Service for Children and Families Sanctuary

7:00 PM A Service of Carols, Candlelight, and

Contemplation Sanctuary

We welcome you to participate and volunteer wherever you are led in this joyful season.

CRÈCHE BEARING

Each Sunday, young children are invited to carry crèche figures into the sanctuary and place them in the stable. This reminds us of Jesus’ birth and those who first welcomed

him. Sign up for this opportunity on the bulletin board next to the Christian Formation

office beginning 11/26.

ANNUAL INTERGENERATIONAL EVENTS

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3

Sponsored by the Christian Formation Committee

HANGING OF THE GREENS WITH CHRISTMAS CRAFTS

3:00 – 5:00 PM

We welcome in the season as a faith community with this annual event. Come prepare Christmas items to keep and to share! Volunteers are needed to bring plain sugar

cookies for decorating, as well as to setup and cleanup. Contact Stephanie Ford,

stephanie@binkleychurch.org to volunteer.

ADVENT EVENING PRAYER

5:15 PM

CHILI SUPPER IN THE FELLOWSHIP HALL

5:30 PM

Bring a canned food item to benefit the IFC. We need meat and veggie chili cooks, dessert and cornbread providers, and set up/clean up volunteers. Contact Claudia

Templeton,claudiatempleton4@gmail.com, to help with the meal.

CAROLING

6:15 PM

Join us as we visit, sing Christmas carols, and bring a basket of goodies to homebound Binkley members. Contact Dale Osborne, dale@binkleychurch.org, to volunteer as a

group leader. Sign up for Caroling in the narthex.

Binkley Advent Traditions

2017 Advent Offerings

Binkley Advent Traditions NATIVITY REENACTMENT

REHEARSAL: DECEMBER 16, 1:00 PM, SANCTUARY REENACTMENT: DECEMBER 17, 11:00 AM, WORSHIP

Through drama, Binkley children will bring new life to Luke’s account of Je-

sus’ birth. Dress rehearsal will be on Saturday, December 16, at 1:00 pm. The nativity reenactment will take place during 11 am worship on December 17. The reenactors will be joined by the Children’s and Youth Choirs as they

sing music of the season. Sign up for this opportunity on the bulletin board next to the Christian Formation office beginning 11/26.

CHRISTMAS COFFEE & WORSHIP DECEMBER 17, 9:45 AM

Regular Church School classes meet for the last time on December 10. On Sunday, Decem-

ber 17, we will gather in the Fellowship Hall at 9:45 am (note different time) for singing, in-tergenerational reflection, coffee, juice, and breakfast snacks. Our nativity reenactors are

welcome to come in costume. There will be no Church School on December 24 or 31. We will resume at 9:30 am on January 7, 2018.

LOVEFEAST IN THE MORAVIAN TRADITION DECEMBER 17, 7:00 PM

The Youth Group, along with the voices of choirs, the sounds of

brass instruments, handbells, piano and organ make this night of worship to God full of sights, sounds and smells. This worship ser-vice tradition was instituted by the Moravian Church early in the

eighteenth century. Sweet coffee and Lovefeast buns are served; beeswax candles wrapped in red ribbon are lit and lifted high. Tra-

ditional carols welcome the coming of Christmas as all are invited to sing. Parents of children under 4 may sign up for childcare by calling the church office by December 14.

TAIZÉ SERVICE, DECEMBER 10 BLUE CHRISTMAS, DECEMBER 20

6:00 PM, SANCTUARY 6:00 PM, CHAPEL

SERVICE OF HOLY REMEMBRANCE: 11:00 AM

A service of carols, readings, and a short homily from Stephanie Ford.

SERVICE FOR CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND EXTENDED FAMILIES: 4:00 PM

A child-friendly service with opportunities to move, interact, and sing.

SERVICE OF CAROLS, CANDLELIGHT, AND CONTEMPLATION: 7:00 PM

With Chancel Choir, violin, and organ. Featuring music of Sir David Willcocks, G.F.

Handel, Max Reger, and many traditional Christmas favorites.

*Please note that childcare is not provided on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve Sunday, December 24

Nativity, He Qi

DECEMBER 25 - JANUARY 6

The season for which we have prepared and patiently awaited has finally come - Christmastide. The shortest season of the church year carries us with joyful exuberance

through the 12 days to the feast of Epiphany. Hear the proclamation: Christ has come!

Bring warm clothing to adorn the Christmastide/Epiphany Tree of Warmth in the

narthex. Clothes will be donated to local citizens who are cold.

STUDENT SUNDAY WORSHIP

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2017, 11:00 AM

Worship on New Year’s Eve will be led by Binkley college & graduate students. Students: If you are available to provide worship leadership and would like to join

together for a free lunch after worship on Student Sunday, please contact Dale at 919

-237-9125 or dale@binkleychurch.org.

JANUARY 6 – FEBRUARY 28

Epiphania, the Greek word, means manifestation, revelation. January 6 is the Day or

Feast of Epiphany which begins the season of Epiphany which extends through Shrove Tuesday (February 13). Epiphany centers on the manifestation of Christ the Incarnate Word to the world—all the world—and calls us to a life of sharing the love

of Christ throughout the world.

EPIPHANY CELEBRATION

“ON THE 12TH DAY OF CHRISTMAS!”

SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 6:00 PM

We will gather together for dinner in the Fellowship

Hall, marking the arrival of the Magi. Readings, carols, a skit, and a meditation from Stephanie Ford will be included in this time of fellowship and fun. A rousing

rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” will be

featured—invite friends!

Christmastide

Epiphany

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 7

The wheel of seasons turns, and from the trees leaves rise and fall – turn in the wind, run away, fly back, and then float or swirl to the ground, to join their many companions already settled into the great undoing, into leaf-meal, into good earth, into the dirt that God used to make everything, as one of our

sacred stories tells us. “Back to the beginning” is one of the movements of fall – entwined

with the movement of “coming to an end,” if you look at it another way.

In church time, the wheel of liturgical seasons turns, and late Pentecost rises to its climax in Christ the King Sunday (Nov. 29, this year), and then turns us over to Advent. Advent is that little season that leads us, tiny step by tiny step, towards Christmas – it takes things slowly, not like leaves in a strong wind, but like candles that are lit one each week, until the whole circle of four is completed (this year, on Christmas Eve). Slowly, the way a person creates a work of art, or a poem, or a garden, or a relationship with another person – in a mode of incubating, of holding the container for what will come to be, slightly mysterious – a birth.

Gertrud Mueller Nelson remarks, in her book To Dance with God: Family Ritual and Community Celebration: “It is Advent and we are a people, pregnant. Pregnant and waiting. We long for the God-Man to be born, and this waiting is hard. Our whole life is spent, one way or another, waiting. . . Waiting, because it will always be with us, can be made a work of art, and the season of Advent invites us to underscore and understand with a new patience that very (yin) feminine state of being, waiting” (pp. 61-2). She suggests a few rituals at home that can carry us along slowly through the time of preparation -- an Advent calendar, or

a Jesse tree, or celebrations of particular saints’ days in December, like the feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 6. And, alongside these quiet Advent practices, we are also preparing for Christmas, most of us – slipping into the great current of shopping, feasting, card-sending and -receiving, unearthing the beloved decorations for tree and table – the preparations can leave us breathless! How can a person feel ready to celebrate Christmas, or to welcome the birth of the Christ Child?

I find this poem so funny, so loving to an anxious heart, this time of year – it’s by Mary Oliver, and it’s called “Making the House Ready for the Lord.”

Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but still nothing is as shining as it should be for you. Under the sink, for example, is an uproar of mice -- it is the season of their many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves and through the walls the squirrels have gnawed their ragged entrances -- but it is the season when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow; what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly up the path, to the door. And still I believe you will come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox, the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know that really I am speaking to you whenever I say, as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.

*Meredith Bratcher

.

Moment

for

Meredith Bratcher

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 8

Combining faith with fun. Does that grab your attention? Then read on to find out how the faithful committee for Youth Ministry pulls this off so successfully.

Under the leadership of co-chairs Elizabeth Thompson and Talmadge Walker and Associate Minister Dale Osborne, approximately twenty 6th through 12th graders come together to learn, serve, and socialize each Sunday evening. A smaller number will have met that morning for Sunday School. Sunday evening finds them gathering for supper faithfully and deliciously prepared by wonderful youth parents, then engaging in a variety of activities.

But for these active young folks, their time of fellowship and service isn’t limited to Sunday evenings. It all began this year at a family potluck on Launch Sunday provided the chance to reconnect with old friends and welcome new. Team-building activities had youth, adult leaders and parents working and learning together. One Saturday morning found them exploring The Farm at Penny Lane, and then considering ways they could help this program (affiliated with the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health) in their therapeutic programs in an inclusive farm setting.

October brought the intrepid group making their annual whitewater rafting trip down the Nantahala River the highlight of excitement. But just as enjoyable for this service-oriented group was the Big Sweep Clean-up in October, the scavenger hunt to collect canned food for the Interfaith Council in November and the gift to the congregation of the Moravian Lovefeast in December. Fun at Dale’s house included s’mores and stories in October and continues with a Christmas party in December. The new year will bring youth and adults considering together “Where Will God Lead Me in 2018?”.

To make such a program successful requires many hands. The youth themselves are involved in planning, making arrangements, and working together. They also have a big cohort of adults who guide and assist. The Youth Committee itself includes Laura Jenkins, Christine Jernigan, Nan Pardington, Heather Rabalais, Susan Read, and Stacy Shelp. Adult leaders include Sandra Clifton, Allie Jane Eidson, Jordan Hale, Tessa Benjamin Hale, and Mark Walters.

With a crowd this large having fun through faith, maybe the rest of us should join them!

FROM THE MODERATOR Dear Binkley Congregation,

Thank you so much for participating in the current church discussions and actions pertaining to our lead pastor search. We have experienced bumps, starts and stops, the unexpected, and resets. It has been a rocky journey for people who care deeply for our Binkley community and are attempting to do what each believes is best for living out our Binkley mission. Indeed, as I note the activity on any given day, I see a people staying on the voyage even as we move with differing perspectives around impediments that stand in the way of our flow.

I’ve had to miss some choir practices recently, but Daniel Cherrix shared with me some words of Wendell Berry that he wanted to share with the choir. I think they are a beautiful awareness for us all:

There are, it seems, two muses: the Muse of Inspiration, who gives us inarticulate visions and desires, and the Muse of Realization, who returns again and again to say, “It is yet more difficult than you thought.” This is the muse of form. It may be then that form serves us best when it works as an

obstruction, to baffle us and deflect our intended course. It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. --Wendell Berry

In Christian love, Sonnie VanSant Moderator

Sonnie VanSant, Moderator

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 9

Twenty-five years ago, a book by this title came out—challenging the culture of a too-busy, consumer-driven holiday season. Taking this as our theme, we will discuss key ideas from the book (still apropos in 2017), as well as share our own stories of the meaning of Advent and Christmas. Together we will brainstorm ways to simplify our Advent and Christmastide this

year. You are invited to bring a favorite Christmas ornament, children’s book, or beloved object that you put out every season to share at your table. There will also be surprises for all ages. Please join us. Dinner is $6 for adults, $3 for children, or come just for the program. Reservation required.

Binkley Readers Friday, December 8

7:30 pm, Library Adams Wofford will lead a discussion on Stangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild.

Daytime Book Group Tuesday, December 12 11:30 am, Breadmen’s

The group will hold its yearly Holiday Brunch at Breadmen’s downtown. ANY readers and/or

lovers of books are welcome to join!

You are invited to join Primetimers on December 13 for its

monthly lunch and program at 12:30pm in the Fellowship Hall.

The program will be a musical one, beginning at 1:15, featuring

the very talented Binkley musicians Billy Barnes, Caryl Price

and Mike Davis. Please sign up on Dale Osborne’s bulletin

board or contact the church office if you want to register for

the $9.00 lunch. We also wish to thank Mike Davis for stepping

forward to lead Primetimers this year, but volunteers for set up

and clean-up will still be needed so contact Mike or Dale to

make light work of these wonderful fellowship events.

December 13 12:30 pm, Lounge

OUR CHURCH COMMUNITY

BOOK DISCUSSION POSTPONED

The discussion group on Falling Upward, Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, by Fr. Richard Rohr will be rescheduled for the coming year. Watch this space!

MEN

OF

BIN

KLE

Y

YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE HELPS IFC

We all know that young people generally enjoy food, a challenge and scavenging with their friends. On Sunday, November 19 the youth of Binkley had a chance to

experience all three as they roamed through neighborhoods near the church. The goal was to stock the IFC food pantry in Carrboro. Their enthusiasm and teamwork resulted in a full truckload of food for our community. Many thanks to church members and neighbors who willingly contributed the food.

The Men of Binkley will finish the year by com-mitting to one of the organizations Binkley started in Orange County – Habitat for Humanity. We will participate in building their latest home at 315 Tinnin Road, Efland, NC 27243 from 8.30 to noon on Saturday December 2nd. Any able body who would like to participate is welcome to sign up via the link below. No experience, other than a willing sprit is needed. Feel free to call or email Larry McManus or Charles Coble with any questions. A carpool group will leave the church at 7.45 am.

Register to volunteer for Dec 2nd! http://vhub.at/binklelybaptist

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

PROGRAM ~

November 29 5:30 pm, Lounge

“Unplugging the Christmas Machine”

BO

OK G

RO

UPS

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 10

Music Notes DECEMBER SERVICE REPERTOIRE AND

CHOIR SCHEDULE

December 3 – 11:00 am; The First Sunday in Advent – The Chancel Choir, The Old Time Gospel Band, and The Youth Choir Dearest Lord Jesu J. S. Bach E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come Paul Manz Steal Away (Youth) Richard Sheppard

December 10 – 11:00 am; The Second Sunday in Advent – The Chancel Choir Comfort Ye from MESSIAH George Frideric Handel Ev’ry Valley Shall be Exalted Handel And the Glory from MESSIAH Handel

December 17 – 11:00 am; The Third Sunday in Advent – The Nativity Reenactment - The Chancel Choir and The Children’s Choir Thou Shalt Know Him When He Comes Hal Hopson Carol Medley (Children) arr. Crawford/Cherrix

December 17 – 7:00 pm; The Moravian Love Feast – The Youth Choir and The Salvation Army Youth Brass Band Carols Around (and a round) arr. Carl J. Nygard, Jr. The Wexford Carol arr. Don Michael Dice Still, Still, Still arr. Richard Shephard The Holly and The Ivy arr. Richard Shephard Suo Gân arr. James Kirby

December 24 – 11:00 am; The Fourth Sunday in Advent – Kennedy Crawford, mezzo-soprano Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion from MESSIAH George Frideric Handel

December 24 – 7:00 pm; Christmas Eve Candlelight and Carols Service – The Chancel Choir; Stephenie Sand-ers, soprano; and Nishanth Shah, violin And the Glory from MESSIAH George Frideric Handel In the Bleak Mid-winter Harold Darke The Virgin’s Slumber Song Max Reger What is this Lovely Fragrance arr. Joseph Flummerfelt Up! Good Christen Folk, and Listen G. R. Woodward Away in a Manger arr. Mark Schweizer O Holy Night Adolph Adam

December 31 – The First Sunday after Christmas – Choir Holiday

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 11

Music Notes FELLOWSHIP HALL GETS GRAND

One never knows where a casual Binkley conversation may lead, or how

grand the outcome may be. Earlier this year I was approached by a

parishioner regarding a grand piano being sold by one of their friends, and

was asked if we might be “in the market”, and if so they indicated that they

would be willing to donate toward the purchase. Immediately I thought of

Fellowship Hall, and the concert series that’s been in my mind and on my

“to do” list since November of 2014. After finding out that particular piano

wasn’t quite the piano for us, I, with the help of Mike Davis, began looking

at other options, and the donations continued to roll in. What Mike and I

found out very quickly was that in the piano world you go from “OK” to

“Incredible” around $45,000. Now while I am sure that we could have

pulled off a fundraiser to exceed that amount, we realized this might not be the year, or the particular time of year, for a

campaign of that nature. With about $13,000 in hand we began to talk creatively with Ruggero Pianos in Raleigh, and look

at smaller refurbished pianos, all the while wondering how we could get one of those “incredible” pianos for Fellowship

Hall. Our conversations revealed that Ruggero has a full value trade up guarantee on any piano purchased through them

for ten years after the sale. In the midst of these conversations Ruggero took possession of a Baldwin L, and immediately

called us to come take a look. (The Baldwin L is one of the world’s finest built instruments, combining traditional grand

piano style and performance to deliver the full, rich, resonant sound you'd expect from the largest concert grands.) We

were impressed, more donations were received, and the rest is history. While we see this piano as a first step toward placing one of those really “incredible” pianos in Fellowship Hall, our refurbished Baldwin L is without question a very fine instrument, one that will serve us well for the next five or so years; give us performance space options as we launch the Binkley Concert Series in 2018; provide Binkley a better musical experience for our own events and services (Cabaret, Binkley Preschool productions, Maundy Thursday Service, The Shrove Tuesday Talent Show, etc); and be a source of joy for groups like The North Carolina Boys Choir and Sisters’ Voices who regularly rehearse and perform in our space.

Heartfelt gratitude goes to our donors: The Binkley Endowment Committee, Gretchen and Art Aylsworth, Linda Vaughn, Ron Simmons and Chris McDougald, Scott Hawkins, Bob Seymour, Duane Gilbert and Cynthia Crittendon, Ellen and Gary Stutts, Charles Carver, Karen Coletti, Jan Clark and Janice Pope, and to memorials made for Barbara Nettles-Carlson and Jim Johnson. Thank you for giving a gift not only to Binkley Church, but to our community.

Very soon we will be releasing the dates for a service of blessing and dedication, and of inaugural concerts to be given in 2018 in Fellowship Hall on our Baldwin L.

Thanks be to God! ~Daniel Cherrix, Minister of Music

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 12

BOOK REVIEW

Good Moves: Seven Questions for Clergy to Ask Upon Leaving

and Entering Positions of Leadership

A Systems Perspective Phillip Washburn

It’s hard to sum up this small, wonderful book. I first read it in 2012, when it was published, because Phil Washburn was and is my friend, and I’d learned so much from him while he was pastor of United Church of Christ of Chapel Hill in the 1970s, and I trusted his writing and his thinking. During the past two weeks, I re-read it because I’m feeling a bit at sea, as our congregation goes through this extended period of discernment and transition.

Phil writes from a family-systems theory perspective, drawing on the work of Edwin Friedman. He takes Friedman’s insights that a congregation (or synagogue – Friedman was a rabbi, as well as family therapist) functions like a family, and therefore has the systemic troubles that many families have. He makes his little book into a set of observations about the dynamics that can

complicate how well a clergy person and congregation are able to part from one another, and how well they are able to welcome one another, when a pastor leaves or arrives at a congregation.

Anxiety, Phil notes, is the stuff they have to work with, both clergy and congregation. It is at its highest when a clergy leader is leaving or is arriving. And that’s the same time that each have a golden opportunity to work on self, to even re-make a self that is both connected to the group (the congregation) and able to take responsibility for personal views, personal functioning, all the while remaining connected to the group. It’s a lifelong task, he says and none of us ever gets much farther along in it than about 70%! But any one person’s work on self-differentiation somehow, “almost mystically,” he writes, helps the group’s anxiety, as well as one’s own.

I love this theme in Phil’s sermons and his writing, that none of us gets it all right, that the work worth doing takes a lifetime, and that our work on getting down to our core values, and expressing them, can help the family, or congregation, that we are built into. Phil is still being a pastor to me in this book, and I’ve finished it (all 68 pages!) feeling fresh energy of mind and heart and spirit.

Meredith Bratcher

Meredith is a member of the Congregational Health Committee recently formed by the Moderator

CABARET 2018

Binkley Goes Back to the Prom This year’s Cabaret theme is Binkley Goes Back to the Prom, so get out your dancing shoes, order your date some flowers, and get ready to have fun.

During Advent we will pre-sell tickets (they make a great stocking stuffers), and we will be asking you for your favorite prom memories and

songs.

Cabaret is Saturday, January 27, 2018 at 7:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. All

proceeds go to support Music Ministry initiatives such as the Children’s Choir Workshop

Weekend, Youth Choir participation in Festival By the Sea,

and the Chancel Choir retreat.

Music Notes

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 13

A MIRACLE IN OUR MIDST: Meet Becca and Joey, Maddy and Huck

If you attended the 4:00 pm Christmas Eve service last year, you would have heard the Powells’ riveting story of hope: the miracle of their son Huck’s coming into this world. But, first let’s go back to the beginning: Becca Edwards and Joey Powell, both UNC grads, met in 2006, and married in 2009 at the Carolina Inn. As they assembled for wedding pictures, they spotted Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge in the lobby. Talk about a special first official photo for the Tarheel newlyweds!

Both Joey and Becca grew up in the church and continue to find that their spirituality grounds them as a couple and in the difficult moments

of parenting. They seek to provide this same spiritual grounding for their children, Maddy (6) and Huck (3). Maddy is outgoing, social, creative and has a huge heart. She loves Legos, dolls, baseball games, and friends. Huck, while social, also enjoys time to himself. He is patient, determined, loving, and charismatic. When he smiles, you cannot help but smile back. He loves cars, blocks, Play-Doh, coloring, and animals.

And now for the miracle story. While Becca was pregnant with Huck, she and Joey went in for a routine ultrasound and learned that their growing son had spina bifida. It was devastating; the statistics were grim. One option was fetal surgery to close the opening over Huck’s spinal cord. So, at 22 weeks old, Huck was partially delivered so that the pediatric neurosurgeon could repair the spinal defect. Once Huck was returned to the womb, the hope was that the pregnancy would go to term, but Becca went into labor 7 weeks later, when Huck was born, in a sense, for a second time. He was in the NICU for 59 days, and it was a difficult journey. And while they never expected the surgery to be a cure, Huck has continuously defied the odds. He has done so much more than anyone expected, and Joey and Becca are still in awe! (when the Powells first came to Binkley, Huck used a walker; now he runs on his own!)

Before Huck was born, Joey’s own career took a turn when in 2012, he became the first paid Executive Director of the Me Fine Foundation, which provides financial assistance and emotional support to families with critically ill children (www.mefinefoundation.org). Joey writes, “My first two weeks on the job, I spent a lot of time at the two hospitals we served…One of the doctors I was introduced to was Dr. Wayne Price, the head of the Neonatal Critical Care Center (NICU) at the time. Dr. Price struck me as someone who was really connected to his work, and he had an air of calm command about him. At the time of the ultrasound, we were sitting as parents in a consultation with the same Dr. Price. At that point, my work with Me Fine quickly went from a passion to something much more personal.”

Becca, with an MSW, also serves those in need of advocacy and care. She works for Carolina Outreach, which provides community-based mental health care across NC. She directs staff development and training.

In the spring of 2016, Becca and Joey began attending Early Worship at Binkley and the Mindful Parenting class, finding it “an immediate fit” for them. Becca explains, “Being able to come together with other parents in a non-judgmental, open space has allowed us to deepen our spirituality not as individuals but as a family.” Maddy and Huck also enjoy Sunday School, where they feel loved and welcomed by their teachers—and both can hardly wait until next year to attend VBS again.

The Powells hope to see Binkley continue to grow, and for Maddy and Huck to have the same fulfilling experience into their youth years that they had. And they hope Binkley continues to be a leader in the community, open to the difficult conversations that often lead to growth.

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 14

CHRISTMAS MUSIC A Few Personal Favorites

A handful of congregants shared, when prompted, their favorite Advent or Christmas carols. I hope their choices inspire you to consider how you would respond when asked. Anticipating the glorious music of the season to come will surely lift your spirit.

Editor Julie Lentz Ave Maria Latin text, melody by Charles Gounod that he superimposed over an only very slightly changed version of the Prelude No. 1 in C major by JS Bach. First published 1953.

This jumped to Julie’s mind because of an early memory. When she was in high school, she sang it as a solo. The choir was arranged on risers in the shape of a Christmas tree and she was at the top. Although she received many compliments, one was especially meaningful: an older Luthern theologian (Julie’s father was a Lutheran minister) asked if she would sing it again when he wasn’t feeling well, which she did. This friend clearly appreciated the transcendent power of beautiful music.

Stephenie Sanders, Office Manager O Come, O Come Emmanuel Text translation from Latin first documented in Germany in 1710; tune most familiar in the English-speaking world has its origins in 15th-century France.

Stephenie chose an Advent tune, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. She describes it as “one of the most hauntingly beautiful melodies ever written. I love the weaving of major tonalities in with the minor, and, as a singer/musician, I find it really fun to sing and even mash-up with other popular tunes of the season.”

Keith Williams Joy to the World Words by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18. Music unknown

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Words bbased on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was set to music in 1972 by English organist, John Baptiste Calkin

Joy to the World speaks to Keith because of its “celebratory” feeling as well as the fact that it’s “one of those hymns we know so well that we can sing it straight from the heart. You can really belt it out.” But he also likes I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day because it is more refletive, a nice counterpoint to Joy. Because Longfellow’s poem was written during the Civil War when “hate is strong.” The lyrics directly address the war but end with hope and certainty that "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail,The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Meredith Bratcher Good King Wenceslas Lyrics and by John Mason Neale, 1853in collaboration with Thomas Helmore

Meredith likes the story told in this carol. It has a sense of place and characters who play different roles, persevering in the cold and dark in a winter journey to feed the poor man who lives near the mountain. She also likes that it’s set to “a jolly tune” and the last line is meaningful: Ye who now will bless the poor, Shall yourselves find blessing

Daniel Cherrix, Minister of Music O Come, All Ye Faithful Latin Adeste Fideles, authorship attributed to various composers/hymn writers

When asked, Daniel did not hesitate. There is a particular arrangement of this hymn that he finds powerful and inspiring. The arrangement is by the late Sir David Willocks, director of the King’s College Choir, Cambridge from 1957-74. There is a chord progression in the last verse that leads to the lines “Word of the Father, Now in flesh appearing”. The way the music is arranged “makes you sing full voice.’” It is a transcendent moment in the singing of this carol that is powerful, lifting the spirit. Daniel calls it “Incarnation.” Listen to it here.

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 15

OUR CHURCH FAMILY

2 Mary Lou Smith

5 Marty Moore,

Sheryl Scrimsher, Bobby Wagoner

6 Dele Famoyegun, Sydney Jernigan, Jerry VanSant,

Kimberly Zirkle

7 Laurence Avery

10 Paula Butler,

Dylan McDonough, H’Bop Siu

12 Amy Powell, Ida Powell,

13 Mel Andersen,

Turner Highsmith, Ginny Lansing

6 Nape & Charla Baker

18 Lyman & Velma Ferrell

20 Gordon DeFriese & Carol Hogue

21 Ed & Sherri Davis

22 Bill & Amy Powell

26 Chon Shoaf & Beverly Comfort

30 Natalie Wilde & Kris Hergert

Anniversaries Birthdays

BINKLEY HEROES

This month we salute Martha Green, not for her many musical contributions to

Binkley, but specifically to a task that has been ongoing for nearly two years.

Every Sunday we are asked to pass the friendship register down the row, to sign it,

and to pass it back so that we can see who else is sitting in our row. Have you ever

wondered what happens to those little sheets of paper we so faithfully sign every

week? Here’s the answer: Martha and fellow scribe Lyn Lamont (saluted last

month), take the time each week to read and count the names, especially looking for

visitors who can then be contacted with a welcome. This happens every week and is

normally quite a task. This December let’s thank Martha as the number in the pews

(and therefore signing the register) joyfully increases as we approach Christmas.

Thank you, Martha!

16 Pam Swanson-Boyd

17 Imani Simpson

18 Susan Read, Lu Stella

19 Roy Brock,

Betsy Kreutzberg, Jenny Walters,

21 Anna Butler

22 Phyut Siu

23 Janet O’Neal

27 Bill McNairy,

Weldon Thornton,

28 Miles Highsmith,

Art Sherwood

DECEMBER 2017 PAGE 16

BINKLEY BAPTIST

CHURCH 1712 Willow Drive

Chapel Hill, NC 27514 919-942-4964

office@binkleychurch.org

We’re on the Web ! b in k le yc hu rch .org

CHURCH STAFF

Associate Minister Dale Osborne

dale@binkleychurch.org

Minister of Christian Formation Stephanie Ford

stephanie@binkleychurch.org

Minister of Music Daniel Cherrix

daniel@binkleychurch.org

Business Manager Duane Gilbert

business@binkleychurch.org

Office Manager Stephenie Sanders

office@binkleychurch.org

GENERAL FUND GIFTS AS OF OCT. 31

Budget Income Difference

General Fund (all gifts)

$605,250 $624,695 $19,455

Pledge Detail (included in above)

$534,167 $534,666 $499

PASTOR ’S DISCRETIONARY FUND

Balance $1,701

Received $685

Disbursed -$617

Ending $1,769

FINANCIAL NEWS

PREACHING SCHEDULE

WEEKLY GROUPS

Sermon Shaping Tuesdays, 1:00 pm

Library

Morning Prayer Wednesdays, 9:00 am

Chapel

Wednesday Night Series Wednesdays, 5:30 pm

Lounge

Youth Group Sundays, 6:00 pm Sunroom/Lounge

MUSIC GROUPS

Children’s Choir Wednesdays, 6:00 pm

Room 15

Chancel Choir Wednesdays, 7:30 pm

Choir Room

Youth Choir Sundays, 5:00 pm

Choir Room

Old Time Gospel Band Contact Libba Wells

Choir Room

MONTHLY GROUPS

Binkley Readers 12/8, 7:30 pm, Library

Daytime Book Group Holiday Brunch

12/12, 11:30 am, Breadmen’s

Primetimers 12/13, 12:30 pm, Lounge

Carolina Meadows Worship

12/28, 1:30 pm, Fairways Activities Room

December 3 Marcus McFaul

December 10 Stephanie Ford

December 17 Meredith Bratcher

Nativity Reenactment

December 24

11:00 am: Service of Holy Remembrance;

Stephanie Ford 4:00 pm: Children &

Family Service 7:00 pm: Candles,

Carols, and Contemplation Service

DECEMBER COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Diaconate 12/4, 7 pm, Chapel

Finance 12/14, 7 pm, Library

Leadership Team 12/11, 6 pm, Lounge

Outreach 12/11, 7 pm, Library

Church Council 12/18, 7 pm, Lounge

Adult Christian Formation

12/18, 7 pm, Library

Grounds Committee 12/21, 9:30 am, Library

DECEMBER GROUP MEETINGS (FULL CALENDAR AVAILABLE AT BINKLEYCHURCH.ORG)

Submit articles for the newsletter, Friday Update, or the Sunday announcement page to:

office@binkleychurch.org.

January Newsletter: December 18

Bulletin and Friday Update: Wednesday, 12 noon (weekly)

The Beacon is published monthly and is posted on our website and emailed to our subscribers. To join our email list please send a request

to office@binkleychurch.org.

The Beacon is edited by Priscilla Bratcher and designed by Stephenie Sanders. We welcome your story ideas. Send them to:

pbratcher@nc.rr.com or office@binkleychurch.org.