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Church of the Covered Dish

Click on strip to visit Church of the Covered Dish! (C) 2002 Thom Tapp

Upcoming Events

12 May Ascension Sunday

19 May Pentecost Celebration Sunday

26 May Trinity Sunday

8 June Christian Formation Workshop 8:30—3:00 @ St. Timothy’s

9 June Ms. Malinda Harris preaches

16 June The Rev. Frank McKenzie Celebrates and preaches

24—26 June Vacation Bible School 7—8:20 pm

30 June VBS picnic after Church

Receive now the light

And as you receive, so give

People of Prayer Needed

As you have heard and read, our parish is about to enter into an historic undertaking — building an addition to our parish house. In one sense this is a completely new experience for our parish. In the past it was the members who physically built our current buildings. But times have changed and as a "public building" there are many codes that must be met and it is no longer feasible for us to do the actual work. Thus, we have hired an architect, will hire a contractor, and have hired a consultant to help us maximize our resources.

But as sensible and prudent as all our actions have been, we can not succeed merely because we get the business end of the project right. The only way that we can answer God’s call for us to reach out to our community is when we as a community of faith are grounded in prayer and open to the leading of the Spirit.

Yes ,it will take the generous contributions of each and everyone of us to raise the capital required for this addition. But even more importantly it will take each and everyone of us to commit ourselves to the discipline of prayer. For it is only as we enter into prayer that we enable the Holy Spirit to become active in our lives, in our church and in our community. Prayer enables us to be open to the guidance of the Spirit and without that, the church is dead, no matter what we may build or how many people may join us in worship. Our goal is not to get "big" but to be filled with the Love of God and to manifest Love within our world.

Capital Campaign to kick off soon

We are moving along with the plans for the addition to the Parish House. The Architect has finished his portion of the drawings and we are waiting on the Electrical/Mechanical Engineer to finish his plans. We anticipate having the completed drawings in two weeks.

We have four contractors who are interested in our project. They will be invited to make a bid once the plans are complete. We hope to have a contractor selected by the end of June.

In the mean time, the Steering Committee has begun to work on our capital campaign. Avalon Potts is the Chair of the Steering Committee and the members are Pete Hairston, Benny Atchley, Leith and David Bass, Jan Box, Monte Taylor, Wesley Baity, and Debbie Furches. We have hired Robert Allen to be our consultant for the duration of our campaign. The committee has met twice and is quickly getting organized. We anticipate the official commencement of the Campaign to be in June.

We ask that you support our parish in prayer as we seek to answer God’s call to "Make Disciples and Make a Difference." Our parish has been richly blessed throughout our nearly hundred year history because we have consistently dared to answer God’s call in faith. God is calling us in this new Century to meet the needs of our changing and growing community. May our generation, like our ancestors, also answer God’s call in faith.

Quickly!

J Our Church recently helped a junior high school age student with a donation so he could attend a school field trip.

J Our Church participated in a project sponsored by the Diocese to benefit the Thompson Children’s Home in Charlotte. We appreciate our local Wal-Mart and Southern States Stores for donating these modes of transportation.

J Thank you Avalon Potts (and helpers) for the Easter breakfast. An Ascension tradition, we appreciate Avalon and his work in the Church.

J Thank you to everyone who recently participated in a spring clean up day. Our Churchyard looks great- and we appreciate those who worked in the Parish House and Sanctuary.

J Know of someone interested in attending our Church? If so, please invite them to attend Church with you as your guest!

J Plan now to attend Sunday School on a regular basis. Our children’s classes are active- and enjoyed!

J Information for our Church newsletter? Please contact Rev. Kay Rackley or David Joyner. Our newsletter is published every-other-month.

J Have you taken time recently to say thanks to those who participate in our services weekly? Ours is a talented Church!

J Can you (or are you?) willing to commit to attend Church on a regular basis?

J Tune in to Centering Prayer on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in the Parish House. For more information, please contact Monte Taylor or Rev. Kay Rackley.

J Thank you members of our Vestry for your hard work and dedication in planning for our building expansion and program. Our "hats are off to you!"

A Little Humor —

Did you hear about the fellow looking for a good Church? Well, he searched around and found a little fellowship where the preacher and the congregation were reading out loud. They were saying "We have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done." The fellow dropped into the pew and with a big sigh of relief said, "Hallelujah! I’ve found my crowd at last!"

The Vicar Comments on the Season:

Easter and Pentecost

The Reality of the Church

From The Senior Warden

Dear Members and Friends of the Church of the Ascension,

Is Ascension a welcoming church? Do we go out of our way to make visitors feel good about their visit to our church? Do we make it a point to speak to our visitors and invite them back? Are we willing to assist someone not familiar with an Episcopal service?

It’s great to be able to answer yes to all the above questions. Ascension is known for its friendliness. Individuals from the Diocese have made comments about how well we welcome newcomers. Our newer members have made it a point to thank us for welcoming them. One individual even wrote a "thank you" for being friendly in our guest register. One of the reasons for our recent growth has been our welcoming atmosphere.

We don’t have a pipe organ or three different choirs to enhance a worship service. At this time we can’t offer a graded Church School, but we do offer four great Christian Formation classes with dedicated teachers. We don’t have a paid sexton, secretary, treasurer, organist, or groundskeeper. Some may look at the lack of those mentioned above as being a weakness, but it’s really a strength.

Our relative smallness is looked upon by some as a drawing point to Ascension.

Members at Ascension pitch right in to get all those jobs done at no additional charge. Isn’t it great?

I know people who are members of larger churches and have asked them if they know a certain person in their congregation. Many have said that they were not aware that person attended their church. That doesn’t happen in Fork.

Does Ascension really have any weaknesses? The answer is yes. We recently participated in a feasibility study to gauge member support of an addition to the Parish House with Mr. Robert Allen. The church leadership needed to know what members thought of the proposed addition to the Parish House. Almost 100% of the participants said they were very happy with the worship services and the church building itself. By almost the same margin, members stated to Mr. Allen that the Parish House needed to be improved, enlarged and updated to meet the needs of this congregation and community. Our members concluded that was a weakness. If you have not seen a copy of the study, please see Kay.

In a few weeks, we will all have the opportunity to help address that weakness. The steering committee of the capital campaign is meeting weekly to prepare for the campaign. Avalon Potts has graciously accepted to be chairperson of the Capital Campaign. If you have questions about it, please don’t hesitate to ask Avalon, Kay, a vestry member, or any member of the campaign steering committee.

On behalf of the vestry, I ask you to keep Ascension and the capital campaign in your prayers.

Sincerely,

Monte

Springtime around the Parish…

The Rev. Kermit Bailey and his wife, Joyce, have moved to a new home in Kernersville. Monte Taylor & David Joyner visited with them when they hosted an Open House several weeks ago. Congratulations to Karen Ferrell who was honored as March Teacher of the Month at Davie High School. Erin Deadmon celebrated her birthday on March 5^th. She wanted to help with a building project sponsored by the Diocese and Habitat for Humanity in Charlotte on March 2^nd. OSHA would not allow her to help- because of her age. Eddie Everhart represented our Church and spent the day hanging drywall. Mildred Smith is on a roll these days! You may find Mildred in Church on Sunday mornings! 31 of our folks celebrated the Rev. Kay Rackley’s 40^th birthday on March 20^th at Venezia’s Italian Restaurant at Hillsdale. The "hit" of the party was Perry Ferrell’s shadowbox dresign of the Church- very detailed for a gifted 3^rd grader! Special guest was Dr. John Campbell of Winston-Salem. Get well wishes are extended to Rosa Lee Taylor who has been a patient at Forsyth Medical Center recently. Leith Bass lost her walker! She is doing great following recent surgery. Thank you, David Bass, for your nursing abilities! Benny Achtley & Karen Deadmon celebrated another birthday recently. Sidnee Everhart had a BIG birthday party as she celebrated her 4^th birthday with some 75 folks at the Parish House on March 16^th. The theme of her party was Cinderella. The party was hosted by her parents, Eddie and Cori Everhart. Judge Peter Hairston & Family have some news for us- he is going to Italy this summer! Great! You should see Susan & Benny Achtley’s yard. Beautiful! Nell Wyatt celebrated a birthday in April. Happy Birthday Nell! Do you know Bessie & James Faircloth’s secret yet? Linda James celebrated a birthday in April and Richard James will enjoy a BIG birthday cake in May! Kent Mathewson had the misfortune of falling and injuring his shoulder recently. You can always find Kent and Aleene Little at the front of the Church. We miss them when they are not at Church. It is always good to see Elizabeth & Pete Mayo at Church on Sunday morning. They are valuable assets to our Church! Fred & Gladys Bickford have been on vacation. Karl Schulte has been hiking. His wife, Lucy Schulte enjoyed a week cleaning house. One of our most amazing communicants is Maggie Sculte. Maggie lives in Winston-Salem and is at Church for all activities. It is always good to see Brenda Beck at the organ! She and Shirby Eagle are jewels! Both are talented musicians who enjoy sharing their talents with us. We are all very proud of our Chalice Bearer and Lay Reader, Bryan Eagle. We are also proud of Perry Ferrell and Erin Deadmon, our Crucifer’s. We are proud of our young folks! I bet Wesley and Linda Baity have been to the beach! Did you know that Lucille Potts was an avid reader? Jan Box has a beautiful yard and enjoys working with roses. Get well wishes are extended to Tracy Beck who has not been "up to par" the past few weeks. He is cared for at home by his parents, Tommy and Brenda Beck. Buffy Hollingsworth and OTHERS are gearing up for Bible School! Denise Whitaker enjoys teaching Sunday School and does a great job! She and her husband, Hank Whitaker have developed a web page for our Church. Hello to our resident artist, Eva Deadmon! Bill Blaikie is doing great following recent surgery. Audree Blaikie is a good nurse! Can we say "hello" to our friends far away? Hello Bill Wrenn, Homer and Mary Fairchild. We will NEVER forget you! Debbie Furches enjoyed an April birthday and continues to serve as our church treasurer. Judge Peter Hairston is fixing to take a trip! We are all very proud of Judge! He was very interested in our recent project to benefit the Thompson Children’s Home. Has anyone seen Kim Potts recently? Is she in the air? Flying? Her Dad, Avalon Potts is a busy man also. We’re hoping that Sue Peeler will spend the summer at her home in the Fork community. Kay Rackley is doing a great job,- she enjoyed a week of vacation in April- a much-deserved week! S.B. & Lillian Sidden are doing their best to keep us out of trouble! It’s good to see Donna & Mark Dixon and their children at Church: Nicole, Shawn and Joey. It was good to see Ted Cuming on Easter with Patrick, who is a student in Boston. Patty Cuming and Edward were in Paris for Easter.

The Episcopal Church of The Ascension at Fork - 183 Fork-Bixby Road Advance, NC. 27006

Upcoming Events

Capital Campaign to kick off soon

The Vicar Comments on the Season:

Easter and Pentecost

The Reality of the Church

From The Senior Warden

Dear Members and Friends of the Church of the Ascension,

	The Episcopal Church of The Ascension at Fork - 183 Fork-Bixby Road Advance, NC. 27006 Get Directions to our church
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