People in our Prayers

Volume 52 Issue 16 April 22, 2020

Karl & Laura Hake

Ellee Rose Large (@ St. Jude)

Rev. David Hale

Mary Margaret Bowles

Cassi Yost

Mike Lewis

Melba Johnson (Rick Johnson’s Mom)

Helen Austin

Jim Randall & Family

Rev. Dan Clark

Missionaries in our Prayers

PCUSA Missionaries Bill & Ann Moore in Japan

Jimmy Shafe: Mission: Hope ROW Congo

Osman Hope in Honduras

Mahendra Bhattarai & family and the school in Nepal

Karah Germroth and Moyo wa Afrika in Tanzania

We will leave names on the Prayer Request List for three weeks unless you notify the Church Office to remain on the list for an extended amount of time.

Jackie Britton

Brent Warner

Kelley Arrowood

Sarah Valk

Lee Bockman

Laci, Nicholas & Robin Lodal

George Jeter (Amy’s Uncle)

Darlene Marlow & Family

Rev. Catherine & Rev. Peter Askew

—Rachel

With the Safer at Home order still in effect, the Church Offices will be CLOSED.

Waverly Road Presbyterian Church Waverly Road Presbyterian Church

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Church/?ref=bookmarks

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1dv3U42u4jLIksq_71Foyg

Click on either link for Sunday Worship Service

Scriptures for April 26, 2020

Luke 24:13-15 1 Peter: 1:17-23

From the desk of Rachel Lawson…

WRPC Food Pantry

YES! WE’RE OPEN!

WE’RE STILL SERVING

EVERY FRIDAY from 10:00am—Noon.

A very special thanks goes out

to all of our Food Pantry

volunteers who are

helping to FEED THE HUNGRY

in our community.

You are loved!

We are blessed!

I've been in a new house for about 4 weeks now. Somehow, there are still boxes everywhere. It's like we live here or something. You would think that with quarantine, would come ample opportunity to get things done. After all I'm not going anywhere. But still almost anything seems more important than getting to that box in the corner (or the middle of the living room, whatever) and yet the constant state of chaos heightens my anxiety. I know that putting

that box away would help. So why don't I just do it? Truth be told, it is because that box is a box of DECISIONS. Where do I put each item in that box? My decision maker is more easily overwhelmed than it was years ago. The thought of all those decisions to be made is daunting. When you are having a difficult time, what can ease your anxiety? Scripture tells us clearly and often to take it to God. Pray! Read our Bibles! But how often is that what we do FIRST, even though we know He will ease our fears? Instead we worry, wring our hands, go over our financial statements or scour the internet looking for answers. I challenge you in over the next few weeks, when you have a problem, strive to think of going to Him for answers/peace/reassurance first. After all, we know He has the answers and the ability to give us peace and trust in Him. Maybe it will save us some heartache and worry! Now, I will go say a prayer and open a box.

April 26, 2020

This Week at WRPC

Due to the Safer at Home orders still in

effect, the Church Offices will be CLOSED.

Sunday 4/26 9:00am Choir Practice—Cancelled

9:45am Sunday School—Cancelled

10:30am Worship Service—Online

11:30am ZOOM Gathering Space—Online

5:30pm Handbells—Cancelled

Tuesday 4/28 11:00am Shepherds, MR—Cancelled

6:00pm Has Beens, FH—Cancelled

Wednesday 4/29 1:00pm ZOOM Bible Study—Online

All WOW Activities—Cancelled

7:00pm Adult Learning & Discipleship

ZOOM Meeting—Online

Thursday 4/30 9:30am Tapestry Women’s Bible

Study, PH—Cancelled

3:00pm ZOOM Youth Group Meeting

—Online

Friday 5/1 10:00am Food Pantry, FH—OPEN!

WRPC—We’re Reaching Out To You!

Greetings from your brothers and sisters of the Stewardship Committee. In these unprecedented times, we thought you would be interested in learning about some activities in which our church is engaged from a socially acceptable distance.

Jesus has been visiting the homes of our children during the past couple of weeks (courtesy of Rachel and Trinity).

Rachel and Trinity also sent Palm Sunday/Easter bags full of crafts and

activities for toddlers and children through middle school. Trinity is doing weekly Zoom Bible study meetings with the middlers. She is also recording a scripture of the week. Sunday school teachers are sending lessons and weekly messages to families to study at home. All are checking in with parents regularly via email and on Facebook.

We have moved from having our worship services taped in the sanctuary and broadcasted later to having people record themselves in their homes as they participate in various parts of the service. Some people join in by telephone when that is an option.

Collin is recording a daily devotion and posting it to Facebook. Members are checking on each other regularly through telephone, email, text messaging, and social media.

Julie, Susan, Amy, and Collin are also working from home to carry out the mission of WRPC. Renea is cleaning the church regularly, and the Building and Grounds Committee are continuing with lawn care and necessary maintenance. We are also continuing to pay our nursery workers during this down time. (Continued on page 4)

Each and every person is going through a time of transition during this COVID-19 pandemic. From the three year old who asks “Why can’t I see and play with my friends” to the 90 year old who can’t have a visitor at their assistant living facility. It also

affects all ages in between – no school, working from home, social distancing, empty shelves at the stores, and on-line church services and so many more changes.

One of the most important parts of Stephen Ministry is caring about and listening to people who are going through a time of transition. Even with Social Distancing, our Stephen Ministry is continuing to operate. We check with our Care Receivers on a regular basis by telephone. We check with other members of the congregation regularly. Each Stephen Minister is paired with another Stephen Minister to provide a listening ear, support, and encourage-ment for each other. We continue to have our Stephen Ministry Supervision meetings using video conferencing.

If there is anything that a Stephen Minister can do for you during this crisis, please contact one of our leaders: Sharon Petke, Dave Petke, Diana Eldredge, or Barbara Lane. Please know you are in each of our thoughts and prayers each day.

Stephen Ministry Update

Views from the

by Peter Lodal

Week of April 26—May 2, 2020

HEALTH Matters

11 Scientific Benefits of

Being Outdoors mentalfloss.com

Being outdoors is fun, but even more importantly, it’s good for the brain, body, and soul. Here are some scientific reasons why you should get up close and personal with Mother Nature.

1. Being Outdoors Boosts Your Energy Craving another cup of coffee? Maybe you should skip the caffeine and sit outside instead. One study suggests that spending 20 minutes in the open air gives your brain an energy boost comparable to one cup of joe.

2. It Feels Easier to Exercise Outdoors Does it seem noticeably easier to exercise outside? This might be thanks to your verdant surroundings. In one small study, researchers had cyclists pedal in front of green, grey, and red video footage. The bikers who exercised in front of the green reported feeling less physical exertion and more positive moods—meaning that grass, trees, and plants might add a psychological energy boost to your workout.

3. The Outdoors is Good for Your Vision Research shows that elementary school students who spend more time outdoors are less likely to develop nearsightedness.

4. Natural Sunlight Helps Mitigate Pain In one study, surgery patients who were exposed to high-intensity sunlight reported less stress and marginally less pain, and therefore took less pain medication.

5. The Outdoors Boosts Your Immune System Scientists think that breathing in phytoncides—airborne chemicals produced by plants—increases our levels of white blood cells, helping us fight off infections and diseases.

6. The Outdoors Provides You with Free Aromatherapy According to science, you really should stop and smell the flowers. Research shows that natural scents like roses, freshly cut grass, and pine make you feel calmer and more relaxed.

7. The Outdoors Enhances Creativity

If you’re struggling with writer’s block, you might want to ditch your laptop for the great outdoors. Psychologists found that backpackers scored 50 percent higher on creativity tests after spending a few days in the wild sans electronics. (Continued on page 5)

To all:

Good Friday saw an uptick in participation, with 36 bags given out, including our first “alternative” bags with Second Harvest-only food. While this level of participation is still historically low, the people who received the food were very appreciative, and Susan’s benchmarking with other non-meal food providers also indicate lower numbers, so I think that transportation, combined with the fact that people are staying home as much as possible are keeping the numbers low. (OK, I’ve managed to use “uptick” and “benchmarking” in the same paragraph. If I could just work in “headwinds”, I could use this as my company’s business report too!)

Kudos again to the bread bagging team, as we were able to provide not only our clients, but the Friendship Diner with bread for the second week in a row. Also, a big thanks to Ken Marsh, who was my guinea pig in packing the alternative bags.

We continue to make changes on how we distribute food on Fridays, based on experience and the suggestions of the Friday workers. This has made the process efficient and safer for all concerned. We have some additional changes that we are working on, which I will share with you when we implement them.

What has not changed is my sincere appreciation for your support, prayers, efforts, and the bump in the Food Pantry’s finances as reported in yesterday’s Minute for Mission, reflecting your generosity for the Mission Action Plan. This ministry continues to make a difference.

Stay tuned, the story is still unfolding…..—Pete Lodal

Zoom Gathering Space after Sunday Worship at 11:30am

Zoom Bible Study on Wednesdays with Rev. Collin at 1:00pm

Zoom Wednesday Evening Program provided by the Adult

Learning & Discipleship Committee at 7:00pm.

Zoom Youth Group Meetings starting Thursdays at 3:00pm

(You will receive individual emails for different ZOOM events by email with a PIN and Passcode)

Committees and Sunday School classes are meeting using their computers’ cameras and microphones in order to see and hear each other.

Our Food Pantry and Blessing Box ministries have been continuing, more or less, as usual.

As you can see from these examples, our church staff

and our congregation continue to develop ways to minister to us and help us achieve our mission of Loving God, Loving Others, and Making Disciples. Our Stewardship Committee has also responded to these unusual times when we cannot receive our offerings in our normal way. We have added an online giving option via our church website to enable you to continue your support of our church and our ministries during this time of physical distancing.

To make this an even more desirable option, the Presbyterian Foundation, the entity through which our online giving is conducted, is implementing a fee reduction program for the next 30 days. We encourage you to consider this option to help support our ministry efforts during these challenging times.

ONE MONTH FEE REDUCTION FOR ONLINE GIFTS “Beginning April 13, the Presbyterian Foundation is cutting our fee in half from 2% to 1% for all online gifts for the next month. We intend to continue this lower fee structure for 30 days and will re-visit this relief measure then.

“Although our standard fee was already well below the national average, we believe that extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions. Even as Presbyterians are giving generously, so, too, will we.”

Tom Taylor President and CEO Presbyterian Foundation

Here is how you can use the online giving function.

WRPC—We’re Reaching Out To You!, cont’d.

1. Just go to our website at https://waverlyroadpc.org/

2. At the top of the page, go to the last tab on the far right. It will say Online Giving. Click on it.

3. Create your Profile and your Password. Keep your password in a safe place. You will need it when you log in.

4. Enter the amount you want to give, choose the frequency of when you want to donate and the start date. It’s easy and secure!

5. Look for the GIVE+ icon and download to

your phone for even more convenience!

Good morning. I would like to share with you some very good news about our Mission Action Plan. You have been very generous in your response and, on behalf of our Mission Committee, I would like to thank you!

The Mission Committee met this past week to consider immediate needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic and we voted to disperse funds to help in 3 areas. I will share with you about 2 of those areas today. Next week, you will hear an update about the 3rd area, our Childcare Center. You may recall that my husband, Peter, reported to you a couple of months ago about the status of our Food Pantry. He said that we had enough funds to operate for a while but might be required to come back to you for help this summer. Due to the decreased inventory at Food City, we are not able to place orders for food for the foreseeable future. We are relying on Second Harvest Food Bank as our only food source as we use up our inventory from Food City. This has kept our costs down, but we do not have the variety of items we have traditionally distributed. When we can order again from Food City, we will need more funding. Through our Mission Action Plan, $3000 has been allotted to our Food Pantry to cover the cost of food when we return to ordering from Food City in the next couple of months. On behalf of those who depend upon our Food Pantry and those of us who volunteer in that ministry, thank you. When school is not in session, many children in our com-munity do not have enough to eat. Many school systems have been providing breakfast and lunch 5 days each week since school buildings were closed. The cost of the food is reimbursed through the federal USDA Program. Any child 18 or younger is eligible to receive the food, regardless of whether they attend public or private school or home school. Since Kingsport City Schools last met in school classrooms on March 15th and not counting Spring Break when meals were not provided, 115,245 meals have been served to the children of our community. They have been delivered by school buses and through pick-up options at schools. In addition, the Food for Kids Backpack (Continued on back page)

Minute for Mission—

COVID-19 Response (4-19-20)

The Huron’s Furry Family Here are our three and their stories - HOW ONE DOG LED US TO BE A THREE DOG FAMILY. Once upon a time we had the perfect Sasha-dog, our first dog together. She was a German-Shepherd/Husky mix. As she got older, we thought she might do well with a companion, but we never really planned to do anything about it. We were happy as a one dog household. But then Rachel Lawson had this little dog she needed to find a home for. It was a little hound mix that she couldn't keep because she already had two. She didn't want to take him to the shelter, so she asked me if I could just foster him until she could find him a home. I agreed, as long as he got along with Sasha. The two dogs got along famously. And during our 3 weeks of fostering him, I fell in love with the little guy. His name is Charlie and he was the little dog I didn't know I needed.

Needless to say I was a foster-fail. About a year later in July, our old Sasha-girl passed away at the age of 14. Charlie got us through that sad time. By November, we were ready to find Charlie another friend. So we adopted Gini "Gingerbread" from the Taking Care of God's Creatures animal rescue. We do not know what trauma was inflicted upon Gini before we got her, but she was terrified of everything. She slowly warmed up to me and Kara, but she is still scared of Jay. Over time, she has grown less scared. She is fine with him downstairs in the office, or at night in the bedroom. Now, she only gets scared when he comes up the steps from the downstairs to the upstairs living room. We have no idea why. We've had her for 3 years now and have tried everything to get her to understand that Jay is not scary. She's sweet but crazy.

But that leads to how we ended up with Duke. Sasha was Jay's baby. She adored him, so it hurt when Gini wouldn't have much to do with him. And Charlie has always been more of a snuggler than one to play. So, when a friend determined that she had to give away her German Shepherd/Lab mix puppy because he kept chasing her chickens and her cats, we offered to meet her dog and see how he did with our dogs. What were the odds that he'd get along with both? Well apparently, the odds were pretty good. He joined our family and made it complete. He's just enough puppy to enjoy playing and being goofy and but not hugely destructive. He's respectful of his elder dogs most of the time. And that is how one dog led us to 3.

WRPC K-12

https://www.facebook.com/groups/520166935290713/

WRPC Young Adults and Families

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1567419763524790/

NEW! Just for K-12 and Young Adults and Families!

Check out our new Facebook pages and

get the scoop and stay in the loop!

8. The Outdoors Helps with Seasonal Affective Disorder In the winter, shorter days and lower light levels can trigger Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD—a reoccurring condition

that’s marked by symptoms of anxiety, exhaustion, and sadness. Doctors say spending time outside can lessen SAD’s severity—even if the weather’s cold or overcast.

9. Being Outdoors Gives You Your Daily Dose of Vitamin D Vitamin D is essential for a well-functioning body. It helps us absorb calcium, it prevents osteoporosis, and it reduces inflammation, among other things. Although vitamin D is present in some foods, like salmon and fortified milk, we get more than 90 percent of our vitamin D from casual exposure to sunlight.

10. The Outdoors Restores Your Focus Can’t concentrate at work? Leave your office for a few minutes and go stroll in a nearby park. Studies show that walking in nature helps restore our focus.

11. The Outdoors Makes Us Better People According to psychologists, exposure to nature helps us shrug off societal pressures, allowing us to remember and value more important things like relationships, sharing, and community.

11 Scientific Benefits of Being

Outdoors, cont’d.

—Suzanne, Jay & Kara

The Newsheet (permit 445-550) is published weekly by

Waverly Road Presbyterian Church, 1415 Waverly Rd.,

Kingsport TN 37664-2520. Periodicals postage paid at

Kingsport TN. Postmaster: send address changes to The

Newsheet, 1415 Waverly Rd., Kingsport TN 37664-2520.

Waverly Road Presbyterian Church 1415 Waverly Road Kingsport, TN 37664-2520

Program has provided weekend food two weekends per month to the children from the families with the most need. While two meals most days of the week help nourish the younger family members, that does not provide food for the adults. Emergency Food Boxes are now being delivered by school staff members every 2 weeks to the families in most need as identified by the school system. These boxes contain 14-15 items and cost $12. They weigh approximately 30 pounds each. The boxes are assembled with food procured by Second Harvest Food Bank of NE Tennessee. Bristol, Kingsport, and Sullivan County School systems are each receiving 252 Emergency Food Boxes each time. Second Harvest ordered this food without funding in place as they predicted the need would be rising. They did so in faith that communities would donate to cover the cost. When Second Harvest first placed the food orders, the prediction was that the need would last 3 months. Feeding America, the parent organization of Second Har-vest Food Bank is now predicting the need will continue over the next 6 months.

Minute for Mission—Covid 19 Update, cont’d. I am pleased to announce that your Mission Action Plan donations will provide 504 Emergency Food Boxes for families in need from Kingsport City and Sullivan County Schools at a total cost of $6,048. Our Mission Committee will continue to monitor the needs of our community and our missions around the world and make decisions that can best help our sisters and brothers. —Susan Lodal

Since we can’t be together right

now, ZOOM makes it easy for us to

gather online while we are still

sheltering in place at home!

We can still visit with each other

after Sunday Worship online.

Rev. Collin will share the PIN# and

Passcode and I will send you an

email later in the week.

Let’s visit. Let’s share. Let’s stay connected with our Church family!

ZOOM Gathering Space