Weekly Visitor Online Edition

Decatur-Trinity Christian Church 2449 Altruria, Bartlett TN 38134

R. Scott Pricer, Sr. Minister

901/388-4511 FAX 901/388-1049

October 30, 2001

A week and a half ago we completed our yearly retreat in which we looked at our gifts and how we could use them to reach others. At one point Rev. Bryan gave us an evaluation to fill out about how we saw Decatur Trinity Christian Church. There were four areas represented on the evaluation and we were to mark a one to a four in each area. The areas were welcoming others, worship, content, and outreach. There were 31 people who filled out the evaluation. A one meant that the evaluator felt the church was well above average in the job they were doing. A two meant that they felt the church was above average. A three was average and a four meant the church needed to work a lot harder.

On welcoming others and helping them feel a part of the morning worship the mean score was 2.03. This was no surprise since we hear comments all the time about how friendly DTCC is to strangers. Those filling out the forms obviously felt the same way and scored the church above average. Worship received a 2.61 that was between average and a little above. This meant the evaluator felt that overall the church does a pretty good job at doing morning worship. Content averaged 2.74. This was asking the evaluator how well does DTCC teach our people about the Christian faith. It too, was a little above average but certainly has room for improvement. The final area was outreach. How good a job are we doing in reaching people in our neighborhood? As Dr. Richard Hamm, General Minister and President of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ asks, "Are we being a mission station to our community?" The response from those doing the evaluation suggests that this congregation is not doing as good a job as they could. The mean score was 3.47. This would indicate that of those evaluating how well DTCC is reaching out to the people in our neighborhood, the church falls below average.

It needs to be emphasized that this is only a sampling of the entire congregation and may or may not reflect the overall attitude of Decatur Trinity Christian Church. But it is a significant number of people that responded and needs to be looked at in terms of where does the church go from here. Five suggestions came out of the discussion on Saturday afternoon. First, there needs to be cards made with Decatur Trinity's name, address, and logo on one side and the times that services and meetings are offered on the other. These cards need to be given to members of the church to hand out at work, in the neighborhood, to friends and family. Let people know who Decatur people are and what they have to offer. Second, have a 24 hour prayer vigil where members pray as a congregation for specific things such as the future of DTCC, what the mission of this congregation should be, peace on earth, etc. The Worship committee will put together a list for everyone to pray for. Third, a visitor campaign where prospective members are called upon and those who are falling away get called upon. Fourth, working harder at getting new members involved in the life of the congregation. There are many new members who are not even known by name and have been coming for months to our worship services as well as other programs. They need to become involved if they are going to stay. And fifth, begin once again a shepherding program, beginning with the elders and working down to provided training and education for the new members so that they feel they know what DTCC is all about.

These are important points that need the attention of the people of Decatur Trinity Christian Church. I hope and pray that there will be serious attention given to these matters in the near future. I am absolutely convinced that if they are followed, DTCC will become a greater mission station in the Bartlett and surrounding areas.

Look forward to worshipping with you all this Sunday.

OUR PRAYER CONCERNS

Alma Yarbrough – St. Francis

Russell Parks – St. Francis

Bessie James, Methodist North

Mary Catherine Grigg, Methodist North.

MEMORIALS

In memory of Jean Luzier from

      Elaine Cavallo

      Mary Margaret Tekulve

      Joanne and Loy Whitehead

      Judy Coley

In memory of Frances Epperson from Judy Coley.

In memory of Dick Rhine from the Tabitha CWF Group.

In memory of Lloyd Adams from Rachael & Bill VanWagoner.

SYMPATHY

Our Christian love and sympathy are extended to three families who lost loved ones recently:

Lillian Fuller and family in the death of her husband, Bob. Bob and Lillian were very active at DTCC while in the Memphis area. Bob died Sunday, October 21, and his funeral was held in Salina, Kansas last Thursday.

Jack Pannell in the death of his brother, Leo Pannell, who died last Monday in Harrisburg Arkansas.

Shirley Cunningham in the death of her husband, Earl. Earl, a former elder at DTCC, died Friday following emergency surgery. His funeral service was held Monday at Lindenwood.

VISITORS – SUNDAY, October 28

We welcomed the following visitors:

NOTES OF APPRECIATION

Dear Decatur Trinity Friends,

My thanks to you for the prayers, visits, calls and cards. Your thoughtfulness encourages me in my effort to regain my health. In Christian Love, Arnett

Thank you for all the help with Fabulous Fall Saturday. I feel it was a great program and a lot of work went into making it that way. Many thanks to Karen, Trina, Bill & Harry for the music and worship. Jane Williams’ program on Vietnam with speaker, Wilma Beam from Shelbyville TN was very enlightening. The Lydia Group decorated the Hospitality Room in a beautiful fall setting. The Sarah Group prepared a bountiful array of food and those attending shared us the pleasure of their company. You missed a great day. Carol Rogers

STATISTICS – SUN. October 28

Church School         140

Worship Service      223

SALT                      70

Received October 28                $4,955

Rec’d to date in October         $28,916

October Budget Needs            $34,660

Debt/Touch the Dream                $310

Total Debt/Touch Rec’d         $170,239

Speaker for SALT is Patsy Keith

Refill Your Cup Pot Luck Dinner – The Membership Department will provide the fried chicken for next week’s dinner. You are asked to bring side dishes – salads, vegetables, desserts, etc. Hope to see you!

CYF selling Domino’s Pizza Cards - The CYF have Domino’s Pizza cards available for $10. You can use these cards up to 18 times for one free pizza when another is ordered. If you would like to purchase a pizza card, please ask one of the CYF’ers for one. Thank you for your support.

24-hour Prayer Vigil - A 24-Hour Prayer Vigil was planned during our Spiritual Retreat last weekend. Sign up sheets are in the narthex. We will be praying from 5:00 p.m. Sunday November 11 to 5:00p.m. Monday November 12. There are two sign up sheets, one for those who will come to a worship center that will be setup in the Associate Pastor’s Office, and another for those who will commit to pray at home. We need everyone to commit to at least one 30-minute increment. Please sign up next Sunday or call the office to have your name added to a time slot. Please pray for our church - for the direction and the focus God wants for Decatur Trinity; for the spiritual growth of the church as a whole as well as for each individual to grow and commit to use his or her gifts for the upbuilding of God’s kingdom. We also need to be praying for the world situation at this time, that God will direct and guide all the leaders. There will be sheets of suggested scriptures available to get you started. Prayer can and will work wonders!

Food Pantry – Thanksgiving will be here soon. An inventory of our food pantry shows we need the following items:

Staples – flour, corn meal, sugar & shortening

Desserts – cake & frosting mix, puddings & Jello

Thanksgiving essentials – cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes & pumpkin

Misc. – mac & cheese and stuffing mix

If you have any names of families who could use a basket, please call the church office.

Stewardship – I just started a diet so I know what it’s like to not have dessert. How wonderful that as Christians we can expect and receive the “desserts” of Christ’s love for us everyday! Don’t forget to bring your Estimate of Giving Card on Sunday.

Attention: Chi Rho – Those who are going to the retreat this weekend need to be at the church ready to leave at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning. See you then!

No CYF Meeting this Sunday, Nov. 4

Help Needed – We will be stripping and refinishing the gym floor this weekend. We will work late Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon if needed. If you are able to help, please call Dave Luechauer.

1^st Sunday Fellowship – Because of the refinishing of the gym floor this weekend, we will have our fellowship gathering the next week – November 11.

DTCC Cookbooks – DTCC cookbooks are currently being reprinted and will be available around mid-November at a cost of $12. This cookbook quickly sold out in the spring during its debut and we expect it to quickly sell out again.

You may reserve your copies now by contacting either Wanda Martin or Carol Rogers. Thanks!

CWF Meetings

Mary – Ruth Simpson, leader, will meet with Jane Williams on Thursday, November 1, at 7 p.m.

Lydia – Carol Starr, leader, will meet on Monday, November 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Mimi Dowling.

Sarah - Carol Rogers, leader, will meet in the Agape Room on Tuesday, November 6, at noon.

Tabitha – Theresa Utley, leader, will be meeting in the Agape Room on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6:30 p.m.

Race for Grace – The annual 5K Run benefiting the Church Health Center will be this Saturday at Shady Grove Presbyterian Church, 9 a.m. Registration begins at 8 a.m. – entry fee of $15 includes a T shirt and a goody bag. Hope you made plans to participate!

Health Fair at St. Ann – The Parish Health Ministry of St. Ann Church is sponsoring a Health Fair, Sat. Nov. 3, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Free Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, Vision/Glaucoma, Bone Density, Skin Cancer Screen and Lung Capacity Testing will be offered. Flu shots will be offered, bring your Medicare card. Approximately 20 information booths.

The Messenger Nobody Knew – The Mississippi Blvd. Christian Church Drama Ministry Presents “The Messenger Nobody Knew” November 2 & 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Sylvia L. Cooper, writer/producer; Dr. Frank A. Thomas, Senior Pastor.

Operation Christmas Child –The Christian Youth Fellowship is sponsoring a service project for children in third world countries. If you would like to help with this project there are brochures available in the narthex with suggestions for gifts and other details. You will need a shoe box to pack the gifts in and the packages need to be turned in by November 11. They will be delivered to a Collection Center in the Germantown area.

Pictures Requested – If you have pictures from the All Church Retreat that you could share with the congregation on a bulletin board, please contact Richard Jones.

November Birthdays

1         Lillian Stanek

2                  Norman Thompson

3                  Mary Fitzgerald

Connie Williams

4         B J Wilson

            Charles Barrett

            Michael Hoard

            Geoffrey Lewter

5         Janie Benefield

           Sonny Parks

7         David Dowling

            Evelyn Pleasants

            Ed Poole

            Jack Rogers

            Jackie Weir

8                  Russell Guilliams

9                  Mary Cumberland

10              Ray Stevens

13        Judy Esgro

14              Dave Luechauer

15         Natasha Ramsey

16         Joy Johnson

            Elizabeth Thompson

17         David Western

           Sue Barber

           Lisa Frans

18      Steve Poston

19      Lee Lewter

20       Karen Carpenter

21       Lona Pope

            Norma Currie

22       Kathy Srygley

23       Janice Person

24        Ruth Simpson

            Angela Boyles

26       Billy Hoard

29       Melanie Doberenz

            Morgan Patterson

30       Danny McBride

SUNDAY SCHEDULE

9:15 a.m. – Church School

10:00 -10:30 a.m. – Transition time

10:30 a.m. – Church Worship

4:00 p.m. - SWAT

5:00 p.m. – SALT (contemporary worship service)

6:00 p.m. – Café Praise

6:30 p.m. – CYF & Chi Rho

SERVING IN NOVEMBER

ELDERS

11/4 – Ron Ramsey; Bill and Mable Parks

11/11 – Ruth Simpson; Bill Sisk and Cortez Smith

11/18 – Mable Parks; Mack Bennett and Bob Williams

11/25 – Cortez Smith; Judy Coley and Paula Coss

SALT

11/4 – Brenda and Thom Eckles

11/11 – Phil Gardner and Patsy Keith

11/18 - Trina Luechauer and Joyce Mariencheck

11/25 – Richard Martin and Ron Ramsey

COMMUNION TO SHUT-INS

Joyce Mariencheck, Bill Parks, Mable Parks, Ron Ramsey, Bob Williams

CC COMMUNION

Joyce Mariencheck, Richard Martin, Bill Parks, Ruth Simpson

DIACONATE

11/4 – Jim Hardcastle, Ralph Smith, Dub Carter, Nora Carter, Sue Acred, Mary Bennett, Greg Bostian, Vic Carpenter

11/11 - Ralph Smith, Dub Carter, Nora Carter, Sue Acred, Mary Bennett, Greg Bostian, Vic Carpenter, Jo Cordell

11/18 - Nora Carter, Sue Acred, Mary Bennett, Greg Bostian, Vic Carpenter, Jo Cordell, Jim Hardcastle, Ralph Smith

11/25 – Sue Acred, Mary Bennett, Greg Bostian, Vic Carpenter, Jo Cordell, Jim Hardcastle, Ralph Smith, Dub Carter

ACOLYTES

11/4 – John Paul Pannell

11/11 – Chelsea Williams

11/18 – Zach Knaebel

11/25 – Emilie Poston

STEWARDSHIP TEAMS

11/4 – Glenn Laster, Jo Cordell, Gene Hadley

11/11 – Bob Keith, Dale Walters, Lynda Ford

11/18 – Bob Keith, Dale Walters, Lynda Ford

11/25 – Carol Key, Sue Smith, Vic Carpenter

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