10
Jun 2019
I am a fraternity man. Or I was. It’s been a while so I’m not sure what still applies and what doesn’t. And in 2019, I’m not convinced I’d be one today if I were starting college all over again. I don’t really intend for this post to be an indictment of fraternities, particularly mine. That’s something I’ll need to cover in more length than a blog post. And one day I will. I’ll simply say that when I was a student at Furman University in the mid-1990s, Greek culture was rooted......
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01
May 2019
I’m belated in writing this, but since Easter’s a fifty-day season, I suppose I’m not too late. Each year, we do a Maundy Thursday Communion Supper. We choose to emphasize the fact that Thursday is the first shared meal or “Communion” rather than the last. We read all four gospel accounts, and we sing hymns, and we talk about how we can expand our table. We even recreate and reimagine the upper room by sharing a simple soup supper. Here’s a picture of our table, as well as a link to other......
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21
Apr 2019
Sardis Baptist Church will host its annual sunrise service on Easter Sunday, April 21 at 6:30 a.m. in its labyrinth and sacred gardens located at 5811 Sardis Road in Charlotte. The short service (approximately 20 minutes) will include songs, prayers, readings, and a collective celebration of resurrection. As the weather may be chilly, participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes, and to come as you are. Children, families, and new guests are welcome (for this event and all Sardis events). Please feel free to bring fresh cut flowers and greenery, which will......
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19
Apr 2019
Please join us for a Community Good Friday Service, hosted by St. Stephen United Methodist, Sardis Presbyterian and Sardis Baptist Churches on Friday, April 19, 2019 at Noon. This year’s service will be held at Sardis Baptist Church, located at 5811 Sardis Road in Charlotte. The service will include fifteen minutes of special gathering music to allow participants who are coming on their lunch hour plenty of time to arrive. The service will last approximately 45 minutes, and will include a brief homily by Rev. Dr. Joe B. Martin, Senior Pastor of......
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18
Apr 2019
Sardis Baptist Church will hold its fourth annual Maundy Thursday Communion Supper on Thursday, April 18, 2019 at 6 p.m in the Sardis Meetinghouse, 5811 Sardis Road in Charlotte. Many churches participate in Tenebrae services on either Maundy Thursday or Good Friday — a somber liturgy that extinguishes candles, and moves from light to darkness to represent the betrayal, agony, and anxiety of Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem. While we note the somber tone of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, we also seek to remember it as a first supper. This......
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26
Mar 2019
Last week, Sardis lost a longtime member, William Kruger. On Sunday, I was trying to think of the best way to acknowledge William’s larger-than-life presence in our community. I told everyone that he challenged my theology, but in the best of ways. I’ve always believed in a micro-gospel – the idea that little acts of kindness and hospitality have collective value; they become a chorus of love that eventually helps God’s world burst into the present. But William believed in a macro-gospel – he wanted to offer big, bold, boisterous, extravagant acts......
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04
Feb 2019
Often times, our faith and our culture are interwoven. You might think it’s silly, but for me, my faith, and particularly my faith in the local church, is bound up in Krispy Kreme doughnuts. (Not Dunkin’ Donuts, or some other brand. That would be anathema!). But its’ true. Hymns, prayers, scripture passages, images, smells, Chrismons, candles, robes, stoles, banners, and other liturgical elements connect me with deep emotion and memory to the people and places of my past, and to the stories of my faith. But none more so than hot, glazed,......
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24
Jan 2019
It’s been quite a week. I became a parent for the second time last Wednesday. And if I am honest with you, I wondered if I could possibly be filled with as much love, and awe, and joy, and amazement, and pride for the birth of this little one as I was for the birth of my first daughter. And I silently wondered if I would have the capacity to give the same kind of love and attention to my new daughter. I was. And I am. I can’t wait for what......
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15
Dec 2018
Sights and Sounds for a New Season It’s not a drip, drip, drip…it’s more like a whoosh. Three separate and succinct chimes. A chorus of amens. A special rattle that goes hiss, hiss, hiss. The clapping of hands and stomping of feet on the downbeat, and the upbeat, too! “Peace be unto you, friend.” These are the sounds of Sardis: K-Cups cranking out coffee, as worshipers nudge sleep from weary eyes. A bell calling us to order. Affirming responses to another beautiful anthem. Maracas made from paper plates, and clapping hands (some......
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30
Nov 2018
Here’s a little tool to help you prepare for Advent. For the last several years, Sardis has created Advent calendars to give our community members a self-guided devotion each morning. It’s simple: read a new verse each day, and give thought to what the coming of the Christchild will mean for you in the coming year. And each day, enjoy a memory of the year we’ve had together. Advent Calendar 2018...
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