Please welcome our Class of 2010 Deacon-elects and Elder-elects who were approved during the February 11 congregation meeting:

Deacon-elects:  Brent Blaylock, Kelly Warnock, Jo Deckard, Louise Noel, Bill Wicker, Bert Wolf, Marian Wright

Elder-elects: Judi Bishop, Deirdre Gordon, Phil Hutchings, Arthur Rogers, Carol Shepard, John Stelling, Len Stockburger

The Class of 2010 will be ordained/installed later this spring.

During the annual meeting, the congregation also elected Marie Grauerholz and Joe Beavers to the Nominating Committee.

Committee members are:
Representing Diaconate - Marie Grauerholz
Elder at Large not currently on the Session - Joe Beavers
Representing Young Adults - Dana Hearnsberger
Representing Older Adults - Nelda LaBorde
Representing Adult Sunday School - Michele Maxwell
Representing Presbyterian Women - Judy May
Chair and Session representative - Mary Z. Martin

January 29, 2007

Dear Presbyterian sisters and brothers in Christ,

We are writing to you in advance of news you may read in the coming days. We have heard that a few Presbyterian congregations may soon announce their intention to leave the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

We are deeply saddened by this news for several reasons. First, any church's departure is difficult and painful for the congregations involved and the wider church. Fractures within the body of Christ diminish our witness of God's grace and mercy to the world — unfortunate in these already divisive times. And, the PC(USA) will miss the gifts and perspectives of these brothers and sisters in Christ.

Among the reasons of those wishing to leave are perceptions of particular actions of the 217th General Assembly last summer. These perceptions include concerns that our ordination standards have changed and that the PC(USA) no longer believes in the Trinity. Neither of these is true.

It is our deep conviction that we are better together than we are apart:

We are better followers of Jesus when we stick together, mutually encouraging one another in the work of discipleship.

We are better together and more effective in confronting the enormous problems in the world-dire situations like Darfur, HIV/AIDS in Africa, and ongoing human tragedies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

We are better together because the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as one expression of the whole body of Christ needs all of its parts in order to function well (1 Cor. 12).

We are better together because our resources of time, talents, and treasure have a larger and farther reach.

We are better together because our discernment and deliberations on tough topics need our many perspectives to reach the most faithful decisions.
Our confidence in the strength of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its people is unwavering. More than 11,000 PC(USA) congregations are, day in and day out, engaged in remarkable ministries that include proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, breaking the bread and sharing the cup, challenging injustice, and exhibiting the kingdom of God to the world. As the apostle Paul wrote, "I am confident ... that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).

In over three hundred years of American Presbyterian history, we have never agreed 100 percent on any issue of the day. But, in the end, we are better together in Christ's unity.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

Linda Bryant Valentine
Executive Director, General Assembly Council

From five sentences to hundreds of toys.............The miracle of God's love was revealed in Durham and through Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church this past Christmas.

On December 17 a short announcement was read at the 11am worship service, a small plea made appealing to our congregation to help provide toys for the Durham Rescue Mission's annual Christmas community dinner.  Every year the Durham Rescue Mission hosts a Christmas meal for the needy members of our community and provides toys to the children who otherwise would not have the joy and excitement of a new toy.  One week before the 2006 annual dinner the Rescue Mission was still short 2,000 toys.

The TAPC congregation responded in a big way to this small plea.  Bags and bags of toys appeared overnight in the Carr Narthex.  One member of our congregation even e-mailed a number of her friends, resulting in a mega shopping trip to the Super Target. Some children donated their Christmas money, some families let their Christmas presents to each other take the form of toys for the needy, a few families spent over $500 each to help out, and another cash donation of $500 came in Christmas week.  The number of toys was in the hundreds, the money spent was in the thousands, the outpouring of love from this congregation - priceless.

A few members of our congregation were fortunate enough to experience the joy of serving at the community dinner on December 22, seeing the faces of the needy enjoying a wonderful meal, and personally handing out those donated toys to excited children.  Like the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, there was a never-ending supply of toys to be distributed.  One child was heard to exclaim, "Wow!  I've never seen so many toys in my life!".  I  believe that sentiment was shared by all who were present on that day.

Thank you to our caring congregation for being a significant part of that very special event.