20
Oct 2021
Sardis Baptist Church will participate in the 2021 Charlotte CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, November 7th, 2021. For more than three decades, Sardis has joined with other faith communities throughout the Charlotte Region in walking to raise awareness about and funding to prevent local and global hunger. This year, Sardis will host its own independent walk on the Four Mile Creek Greenway in Matthews. The Stillerman and Parker families will host Sardis walkers. Walkers should plan to meet at the Stillerman home at 3:00 p.m., and we anticipate the walk will take......
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02
Sep 2021
In the year ahead, may we help our children to learn those things necessary to building convictions that are tempered with compassion. And may their goodness rub off on us!...
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02
Aug 2021
The following appeared as my column in our August edition of Signposts. BACK AT IT So…we’re back. Well, it’s not like we were ever away. But we’re back. Back to gathering for worship in person. Back to doing many of the things that are so familiar to us. Back to being Sardis in 3-D. It’s strange though. In March of 2020, we kind of flicked off the light switch, and our world slowed down. And fast! Every routine we could imagine was either altered, eliminated, or paused. As the “switch” flips back......
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27
Jul 2021
Earlier this summer, my dad and I went on a walk. Our conversation (as it often does) turned toward the local church. Dad spent two decades working as a minister in congregational settings, and an additional three and a half decades working for a church-based non-profit. Dad asked me, “What do you think that the local church offers to the world?” We both agreed that the Church’s value is more apparent to seasoned audiences. Redemption, reconciliation of broken relationships, forgiveness, hope, re-birth are all attractive messages for older adults. And in many......
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31
Mar 2021
A New Spin on An Old Tradition For the last five years, Sardis has reframed Maundy Thursday, traditionally a somber service, into an evening of joy. Yes, it was the last supper for friends, but it was also the first Communion. And Communion, a radical welcome to table, is the thing that binds us together, and reminds us of our value. In pre-pandemic times, we would recreate the meal in our meetinghouse. We shared a simple meal of soup and bread, on earthen ware, and read the Gospel accounts of the Passover......
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31
Mar 2021
Sardis is offering several ways to take part in Holy Week Services. We hope you will make plans to join us for these events: Maundy Thursday Tailgate – Thursday 4/1 @ 5:30 p.m. Sardis friends will gather (masked and safely distanced) for a soup supper in the Sardis parking lot. We will begin serving supper (boxed soup and bread) at 5:30 p.m. with vegan and vegetarian options available. At 6:00 p.m., we’ll chime the hour, and read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ Passover meal with the disciples. Be sure to a bring......
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17
Mar 2021
Want to show off your Sardis spirit? Now you can choose from a variety of backgrounds to use on your Zoom Screen. Right click on any of the images below, and save to your device. Once in Zoom, look for the camera icon on the bottom left of your device screen. There should be an arrow that allows you to choose from menu items. Choose Virtual Background. Once inside the window, there should be an option to upload your favorite picture. Find the scene that works for you, and you’ll be all......
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13
Mar 2021
Last week, I had the privilege to join colleagues of the Clergy in Community Cohort through Wake Forest Divinity School. It was such a joy to see them in person (masked and safely-distanced), as we gathered on the labyrinth at Sardis on a sunny day. I left our gathering renewed, but also challenged. Because we work in the silos of our own faith communities, we don’t often have time to hear what other clergy and congregations are doing. But the Church has a capital C for a reason. I remain in awe......
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13
Mar 2021
Zoom fatigue is real. If you spend all day on a screen, it’s not likely that you’ll be enthusiastic about logging into one more meeting for Sunday morning worship. Sabbath is intended to be life-giving, not life-draining. During the season of Lent, we’re focusing on reclaiming life in spaces that aren’t typically life-giving. The pandemic won’t allow us to abandon distanced-worship just yet, but the pandemic doesn’t have to be an impediment to life-giving space. So…we’re reclaiming the Zoom grid as a space for life-giving energy. Congregants have been encouraged to wear......
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26
Feb 2021
Sardis Welcomes Amber Simpson Sardis is excited to welcome Amber Simpson (she/her) as our artist for the Lenten Season of 2021. Over the last few years, Sardis has made an intentional effort to engage outside voices for proclamation and music in special seasons. Through the generosity of funds from our Duncan Endowment for Worship and Education, we are delighted to include an artistic voice in the coming season. Amber is an abstract alcohol ink artist who lives and works in Anniston, Alabama. Amber is designing a piece of art for Sardis Baptist......
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