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Brothers and sisters,

This week I want us to just take some time to pray for all of the various things that are happening or have happened within the last few weeks. It seems like the news cycles have been particularly difficult and so I would ask you to take some time and pray for folks all over the country. Use my suggestions below as starters if you’d like to, but then take some time to speak to God and ask for God’s grace in all of this.

For the people of Hawaii. The search and rescue process continues on the island of Maui after the wildfires. The process of identifying bodies drags on, particularly because so many of the bodies crumble when touched in any way. Pray for the people who have lost loved ones. Pray for the people who have not heard yet whether their loved one is among the dead. Pray for the rescuers as they continue to do this work that is hard physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Pray for the people of Hawaii as a collective as they process the trauma, the grief, the tragedy of all of this.

For the people of Jacksonville, Florida. They are reeling from the rampage of someone who espoused truly hateful, bigoted views about our brothers and sisters in the black community. Pray for the family of the shooter as they grieve the loss of their loved one and must deal with who he turned out to be. Pray for the families of the victims as they now have to deal with the grief and the trauma of losing someone they loved so suddenly and so violently. Pray for the people of Jacksonville, as they process their grief.

For the UNC community. They are also reeling from a senseless shooting and the death of a young, bright scholar. The university is doing their best to care for the students, but pray for everyone there at Carolina right now. Pray for the students who were in Caudill Laboratories as it happened. Pray for all those students who had to lock down and wonder for hours what was happening. Pray for the elementary, middle, and high school kids who also had to lockdown during the manhunt. Pray for the family of Zijie Yan, the professor who was killed, as they grieve his loss. And pray for the family of Tailei Qi, the shooter, as they grieve and grapple with what he has done.

Finally, pray for the people of Keaton Beach, Florida and the surrounding area. Hurricane Idalia has made landfall there and as I write this article, 1 person has been declared dead and 286,000 people are without power. Pray for everyone in the path of the storm. There will be property damage, loss of life, and so many other things they’ll have to deal with over the next days, weeks, months. Pray that they would receive the help they need. Pray for everyone who has lost or will lose a loved one. Pray for all those who have lost or will lose their homes. Pray for that community, that they can come together and help one another in the wake of this storm.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

Years ago, my hometown of Goldsboro began a project to revive our downtown. The Downtown Goldsboro Develop-ment Corporation (DGDC) cast a vision of what downtown Goldsboro could look like and began applying for grants to execute that vision. And, over the last twentyish years, they’ve done just that. Downtown Goldsboro is now a thriving part of the city with local shops and restaurants dotting Center Street and local special events happening throughout the year. But there was one thing I noticed when I was home last month that brought a smile to my face.

See, one of the unique features that the DGDC incorporated into the design of downtown was an amphitheater near the fire station. The idea behind this amphitheater was that concerts could be had there, events could set up emcees and DJs there, and folks could just meet there throughout the week. But since it was near the fire station (which actually also houses police and EMS), emergency services also like to take advantage of it to do public outreach. And as I was driving downtown recently, I looked and saw where one of our fire crews was out in the amphitheater playing all kinds of water games with local children. They had hooked up one of the fire trucks and were spraying water all over for kids to jump through, jump over, get misted by, and on and on and on. The little kids were all running around, just squealing with delight. When I asked someone about what was happening, they told me that the fire station does that once a week, every week during the summer to give the local kids something cool and fun to do in the midst of hot summers. It serves as a bit of respite for the children’s parents as well. And it helped build camaraderie between police, firemen, EMS drivers, and the community.

I tell you all that story because we have yet another opportunity to reach out to our community and provide a day of respite for folks. Our next Super Saturday Adventure is coming up on Saturday, August 19th. At each of our Adventures, we’ve elevated one of the stations to be our “big event.” In June, we did the cookout. In July, we painted ceramics. This month, we’re playing water games with the kids! And I’m so looking forward to it! I’m looking forward to the parents being able to come, drop their kids off, and know they’ll be cared for. I’m looking forward to getting to see these children again and get to know them better. I’m looking forward to seeing their smiles and hearing their joyful squeals. In all of it, I hope that the children will get to hear about a God who loves them, a God who loves their joy, and a God who gives abundantly.

If you would like to help out, there are several ways you can do that. Registration is open for both children and volunteers on our website, www.hvbc.org. And if you are unable to join us the day of, please be sure to take time to pray for the volunteers, the children, and their parents. Pray that all of us would be knit closer together as a community. Pray that August 19th would serve as a welcome respite for everyone as we learn about God and play some really fun games!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

A couple of friends of mine and I have an interesting hobby. We don’t get to take part in it very often together, but when we do we always have a blast. We enjoy going to minor league baseball games together. Just about every year for the last three years, we have gone to a minor league game to celebrate my birthday. The first two years we went to see the Durham Bulls and had a wonderful time. Both years they played and beat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp! We enjoy going to see them, but there’s another layer to our new hobby that the Bulls don’t quite measure up to.

My friends and I love to go to minor league baseball games, but specifically if the team has a funny/ridiculous mascot. Where they live, my friends go to see the Frederick Keys (named after Francis Scott Key) or the Spire City Ghost Hounds. But did you know that right here in North Carolina, we have teams like the Burlington Sock Puppets? Look them up—their mascot is amazing! Or, even better, Winston-Salem hosts a summer collegiate team known as the Carolina Disco Turkeys—I will be spending far too much money on their merch!
Last week, my friends and I made the trip over to see my hometown team, the Down East Wood Ducks, whose mascot is a wood duck carrying a gnarled tree branch like a baseball bat—I love it! Only, we didn’t see the Wood Ducks that night. We saw Los Avocadoes Luchadores de Down East—the team’s alternate mascot, which is half an avocado wearing a luchador mask and flexing his biceps. But in the store at Grainger Stadium, you could buy merch for their other alternate mascot, the Kinston Collard Greens—an old-timey baseball player with collard green leaves for a beard. Now, the game was mostly good. Heading into the top of the 8th, it was tied 3-3, but after a disastrous top of the 8th involving four errors, the Avocadoes were down 8-3 to the Salem Red Sox (what a lame mascot!) and never recovered. But my friends and I had a great time catching up, watching the ball game, eating surprisingly good stadium food, and en-joying the people-watching that goes along with baseball. It was a wonderful night, perfectly timed.

Now, why write about this in a church newsletter? Is it just to send web traffic toward the Disco Turkeys or the Wood Ducks? No. This week reminded me of all the many different identities all of us have. We are sons or daughters, brothers or sisters, wives, husbands, friends, colleagues, customers, fans, etc. We all have unique ways that we interact with the world around us, unique ways we speak to one another. But I also wanted to remind us all that we have specific, unique ways we care for one another and show each other love. Some of us cook amazing food and offer it freely. Some of us are quick to hop in the car and carry folks from place to place. Some of us send cards or emails, make phone calls or house visits.

Regardless of who God has made you to be—and God has made you to be uniquely you—God has given you a unique, special way to show your love and appreciation for others. You have been loved by God in your own unique, special way. So, embrace the gifts and talents God has given to you.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben