Messenger | July 16, 2025

 This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Make a Difference for SPAN
• Malawi Mission Team Updates
• Medical Professional Volunteers Needed
• Join us for VBS Supper Club
• VBS Thank You
• Pastors’ Bible Study
• Softball Game vs. The Table
  

Pastor's Message

I’m just back from two weeks of vacation visiting family in Georgia (mine) and North Carolina (Sarah’s). I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to rest a bit after a wonderful almost-first year as Lead Pastor here at Woods (it will be a year at the end of August!). The main point, of course, is to visit parents and siblings; I’m the odd person out in my family in that I’m the only one who has to “go home;” they all live in Atlanta, so it was great to catch up with all of them.

It got me thinking, though, about the idea of “going home.” It’s said that “you can’t go home again,” meaning that we and others are always changing and what we think of as “home” is often tinged with nostalgia as much as accurate recollection. And that is a point well taken, but it’s also limited.

If the concept of home is more than a physical place, but an experience of deep acceptance and belonging and meaning and security, then we can always go home again. The house where I grew up in Atlanta was sold more than 25 years ago when my parents divorced, and my mom sold the house she had lived in most of the time since last summer to move into a retirement village, where she is thriving among new friends and activities, so even that familiar space is gone. But I still feel like I went “home” because of the time I spent with her and my brother and father—they are the experience of home, not the place (but having great peaches for dessert every night doesn’t hurt!).

I’m also fortunate that time with my family feels like home; I’m aware that’s not true for everyone, and some people have to look for home elsewhere because of pain or brokenness in their family.

But whichever experience we have with our family, it reminds me that being part of a church should always feel like home: an experience of deep acceptance and belonging and meaning and security, whether we are children running in for Vacation Bible School this week, or the WoodsWork team taking the home of Woods with them to Ohio a few weeks ago, or the daily experience of worshiping and learning and serving and caring together as a congregation. It’s been almost a year since I became a part of Woods, and I am deeply grateful for this call and to be coming home to Woods once more!

Peace and blessings,

—Pastor J.C.

Church News

Make a Difference for SPAN

Please help our children “Build a House” during Vacation Bible School next week with donated items for SPAN (Serving People Across Neighborhoods)!

Food insecurity does not take the summer off and our children will be learning about service. Please consider donating canned meats, rice, instant and canned potatoes, pasta and sauce, canned vegetables, syrup, jelly, cereals, pancake mix, coffee, tea, brownie and cake mixes, with frostings, laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, deodorant, soap, and toothpaste.

Donations can be dropped off Sunday–Thursday, July 13–17. Look for the “House” the children build in the Church lobby at the end of the week.

Thank you!

Mission Team Lands in Malawi

The Woods Mission Team arrived in Lilongwe, capital of Malawi, on July 8, tired and excited to serve. They filled your donated suitcases with over $3,000 worth of donated medications, more than 200 pairs of shoes donated mostly by Woods CDC families, and lovingly made prayer shawls for the staff of Ministry of Hope. The suitcases will be given to students who have received MOH scholarships to universities and technical schools. Thank you each for your generous contribution(s).

Additional suitcase donations will be used for future Cuba trip donations. Again, thanks for your generosity.

Please continue to keep our Mission Team in your prayers: Kathy Lohff, Cathy Hess, Scott Rundle, and Andy Hilder, and Allison Hilder. They’ll be in Malawi through July 22.

Click here to see more photos.

Medical Professional Volunteers Needed

Woods is looking for members who are either physicians, physician's assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, anyone in the medical field, who would be willing to note their presence in a particular worship service or church event (musical production, etc.)—in the event there is a medical emergency—and would be able to help assist until the EMTs arrive.

Email Jason Jackson at jjackson@woodschurch.org for more information.

Mission News

Support the Cecilia McKay Fund

There are many budgeted Mission efforts at Woods…but a daily need is to help those facing eviction or having their electricity cut off through the Cecilia McKay Fund. It relies on direct donations (online or by check with Cecilia McKay in memo). We all know how electric bills have gone up, but what if you were living on the edge financially.

In April, May, and June, we have helped 45 families overcome financial issues (37 for BGE); 125 requested assistance. We cannot help everyone (ask Dick Moore for the criteria). In those three months, Cecilia McKay disbursed over $9,000! Without your help, we will need to say no to even more folks in need.

Please consider earmarking $50 or $100 to Cecilia McKay Fund for families in need. Thank you!

Children's News

Join us for VBS Supper Club

You’re invited to VBS Supper Club through Thursday, July 17, with our Woods Church friends and family! Stop by after work and leave the dishes to us! Register on the Woods Church webpage.

VBS Thank You

A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the volunteers and church ministry groups who truly stepped up to make VBS 2025 a resounding success! VBS is not just an event for Woods, but a celebration shared with our surrounding community. We couldn't have achieved everything without the unwavering support from each phenomenal volunteer in our Children's Ministry, from Woods, and the surrounding community.

Our deepest gratitude goes to the dedicated VBS teachers, classroom aides, and specialty instructors who generously gave their time and energy, ensuring the children had a week filled with love and fun. We also are grateful to the Youth Ministry and Oliver for fearlessly leading the teen volunteers, who seamlessly filled multiple roles throughout the week.

Thank you to Roxann and the CDC for their invaluable support and for providing the classrooms and spaces we needed. A special thank you to the Music Ministry, whose singing and worship set the perfect tone each VBS day.

Our gratitude extends to the Outreach, Adult and Small Group, Welcome, and Missions Ministry teams for their volunteers, support, and guidance in planning and preparing for the 2025 VBS season, as well as their continued help throughout the week. The Properties Ministry ensured our classrooms were in perfect condition, and the Finance Ministry supported our budgetary needs, allowing us to provide all the necessary supplies for the children.

Lastly, we express our sincere thanks to the Deacons, Pastor J.C., and Pastor Nancy for their love, support, and guidance throughout the year, especially during VBS. The event was a huge success, collecting five wagonloads of donations for SPAN. The children also had the opportunity to hear from Julie VanHassent from SPAN during their Mission time, learning how their contributions help various community members.

We thoroughly enjoyed spending the week teaching the children to walk humbly, practice love and kindness, and stand up for justice for themselves and others. We’re already looking forward to VBS 2026 and welcoming all our volunteers and families back next year for another amazing week of fun and learning.

Education & Small Groups

Pastors’ Bible Study

Lead Pastor J.C. Austin and Associate Pastor Nancy Lincoln Reynolds offer a weekly Bible Study on Wednesdays, 12PM, to examine the upcoming Sunday’s scripture readings before they are presented in worship.

Join us on Zoom and gain a new understanding of scripture and enhance your worship experience.

In Our Community

Game Day vs. The Table

Game On! This Sunday, July 20, 3:30PM, we’re taking the field against The Table at Elvaton #1.

No experience required and you already made the team! Qualifications include: you must bring a smile, and be at least 16 years of age by December 31. No full-time commitment is necessary.

If you are interested, contact Andrew Wiley at 443.867.8803 or wileyas1@gmail.com.

A Moment of Prayer

God our shepherd,

you are our safe place, our shelter,

our ground, our breath.

We turn to you in hope and trust,

knowing we have come this far by faith,

and you will guide us all the way

Mold our daily patterns for your purposes

so that we may live as one heart and mind

with you and our neighbors,

rejoicing together and praising your holy name,

through Jesus the Christ.

Amen.

From Call to Worship Volume 59.1