10.20.10
Posted in Archived Posts, Special Services at 6:42 pm by DJ
Here is a puzzle to whet your appetite for our upcoming service celebrating the Protestant Reformation. Below is a woodcut illustration from Martin Luther’s book:
Interpretation of the Epistles, circa 1544:
In this illustration, can you pick out Jesus? The disciples? A bishop? The pope? A papal bull?
(For hints, this picture is based on Matthew 7.)
Not very many people could read during this time period, so many of the stories were told in pictures, and they were often not very flattering to the leaders of the church (satirical comic strips). If you want to see if you correctly identified the images in the picture, click the link below to take you to the explantion given by Pitts Theological Library.
http://www.pitts.emory.edu/dia/detail.cfm?ID=18157
On Sunday, Oct. 31, we’ll look at our church “statement of belief,” which has a strong tie to beliefs and writings of the authors of the Reformation. (You can read it by clicking on the link in the upper right corner.) We’ll also look briefly at why our different denominations came into being and what were the deciding factors that caused them to form. And even if you are not a big history fan, you’ll enjoy hearing some great stories about events that laid the foundation for all of protestantism.
(P.S. A papal bull is a formal declaration handed down by the pope. See you October 31, 2010 at 11 am!)
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10.18.10
Posted in General Site Info at 10:21 am by DJ
Pleasant Grove Union Church
Pleasant Grove is a union church formed in 1880 and enjoys a fellowship of Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian denominations. We would like to invite you to worship with us.
We are located at 85 Pleasant Grove Rd. Weaverville, NC 28787. Services are at 11:00 on Sundays, and Sunday School is at 10:00 am.
Contact us at pleasantgroveunionchurch@gmail.com
Mission Statement:
We the members of Pleasant Grove Union Church recognize and affirm that each individual has an obligation to serve his God in the way his conscience may dictate. We embrace those things that are the common thread of all major protestant religions and that each individual has a right to choose. Christians may have a difference of opinion, as a God given right and privilege. These differences shall not deter us in our service to God. We hold to and abide by the Holy Bible as our rule and guide to our faith. We accept those who profess a belief in the one true God, In Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and his Spirit, that even now and forevermore dwells among us.
Our present ministers are:
Ray Bailey – Second and Fourth Sundays
Dianne Johnston -First, Third, and Fifth Sundays
Church History
Pleasant Grove Union Church holds over 126 years of service to God and the Reems Creek Valley. The church was established as a community church with the understanding that it would serve the various Protestant denominations represented in the valley. Pleasant Grove Church was founded on two parcels of land given by Robert G. Brank and James M. Parker; Cooper Parker gave a later parcel.
The present building was started in 1942 and continued construction through the mid forties. A picture of the earlier building hangs in our fellowship room in the church basement.
Over the years the church has been served by a number of ministers.
(Thank you to Avery Parker for providing this information.)
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10.17.10
Posted in Archived Posts at 5:42 pm by DJ
Our own Patti and Sonny took the spotlight at “Bark in the Park” in Sylva. They were highlighted in the Sylva Herald and many of us caught part of their performance on WLOS that night.
Patti, Sonny, and Mattie perform wonders in the arena, but they are also a ministry team in our community. They visit and lift the spirits of those in prison, in the hospital, and in nursing homes.
Patti and Sonny taught our children’s time on Laity Sunday. Patti encouraged us to remember that all animals are part of God’s creation and that they deserve our respect. When we see the love between Patti and her dogs, we are all blessed by their message to us and to our community.
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10.10.10
Posted in Archived Posts, Special Services at 9:16 am by DJ
Pleasant Grove Union Church will celebrate Laity Sunday outdoors under the arbor of God’s creation on October 17, 2010, weather permitting.
The service will begin at 11:00 AM, and will include a variety of ways to experience God’s handiwork at one of the peak times of beauty in our mountains. Please bring your lawn chair, wear warm clothing, and bring a lap blanket if you’d like.
Sunday School will be held at 10:00 AM in the church building.
Please plan to join us as we celebrate the leadership of our church and the beauty of the season.
UPDATE: 10.18.2010. Pictures taken by Barbara during the service:
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09.29.10
Posted in Archived Posts at 9:53 pm by mparker
Pleasant Grove Union Church held a yard sale Saturday, October 2, 2010. We sold many household items and crafts.
We thank everyone who thought of, worked on, and donated so generously to the sale. And we thank the people who laughed and shopped and carted away. We all had a wonderful time.
We also thank Patti, Mattie, and Sonny for the wonderful entertainment.
This yard sale raised money for the outreach and ministry of Pleasant Grove, and allowed us to meet many of our neighbors and friends from our community. We also made a large donation of goods to the Salvation Army.
Thanks again to everyone who participated!
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09.27.10
Posted in Archived Posts at 12:13 pm by DJ
This Sunday Pleasant Grove Union Church will join with many other churches across the world in celebrating Holy Communion. In addition to our normal offering, we will also collect fund to go toward scholarships to help prepare the next generation of church leaders worldwide. Last year, the methodist church collected 13 cents per member. We could double that if we all gave 25 cents for every member of our family.
Here’s a little bit about this collection from the United Methodist Church website:
HistoryIn 1940 the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America established World-wide Communion Sunday—originally a Presbyterian observance—as a global, interdenominational event. Prompted by the impact of World War II, the Methodist Church received an offering on this Sunday for the Fellowship of Suffering and Service. It aided the work of the Methodist Committee on Overseas Relief (now the United Methodist Committee on Relief), the Commission on Chaplains and the Commission on Camp Activities. In 1971, The United Methodist Church changed the name of the observance to World Communion Sunday and redistributed the offering to support the Crusade Scholarship Program (begun in 1944), the Ethnic Minority Scholarship Program and the Division of Chaplains and Related Ministries. In 1980, Chaplains and Related Ministr
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07.02.07
Posted in Archived Posts at 5:24 pm by Avery
Just a reminder that our Annual post-VBS cookout will be Saturday, July 7 2007 at 6PM. It will be preceeded by a video for the kids (and young at heart). The video will begin at 4:30PM
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06.21.07
Posted in Archived Posts at 8:45 pm by Avery
Vacation Bible School will be held this year June 25-June 29th, the material will come from 1st Samuel chapters 1-16. (Hannah’s Prayer and Samuel’s Calling, God Chooses David, David fights Goliath, Jonathan and David, and Praise the Lord in Song will be the daily themes.) No pre-registration is necessary, we expect to hold class from 9AM- Noon each day (Monday-Friday of that week.) Also, look out for an announcement of the date of the cookout that usually follows VBS by a few weeks. If you’re interested in the outline for this years VBS, You may download the daily_plan.pdf here.
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Posted in Archived Posts at 8:33 pm by Avery
With the sudden passing of Rev. Harris, it was decided to ask Rev. Ray Bailey to fill the 4th Sunday service as well as his current 2nd Sunday. He agreed to this, however Ray’s schedule is such that the worship service will need to be at 11AM and for that reason, we have moved ALL Worship Services to 11AM and moved Sunday School to 10AM. That change took place effective June 10th, 2007.
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Posted in Archived Posts at 8:31 pm by Avery
The Rev. Robert E. Harris passed away suddenly May 14th of this year. For over 50 years he had held service on the 4th Sunday of the month at Pleasant Grove and held a Wednesday night service as well as a yearly revival in November (the week of Thanksgiving.) “Bobby” as many of us knew him, was devoted to Christ’s ministry through his entire life. What strikes me is how many different ways of spreading the good news he adopted. For years you could find him, with his horse, dressed as a Circuit Riding preacher from the 1800s, maybe at a rest stop on I-40 handing out leaflets, or maybe at other places that were likely to draw passers by. His dial-a-prayer phone line was still running last I knew as a simple pre-recorded phone message that could lift a day. For some years he had a radio show, has had a tv show, had messages broadcast on shortwave in some years. He had compiled stories in a couple of books and I suppose the bottom line is he was not afraid to try new and different ways to get the message across. He established the “drive in Church” in Asheville, holding service in a local parking lot.
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