The Banks Bible Study had a beach retreat at Oak Island N.C. May 14-16. There were seven people attending, sadly only four were from Banks, the other three were from other churches.
Melinda Collins led us in morning, afternoon and evening classes on prayer.
We had great fellowship, on the beach, during meals and playing games. On Sat evening after supper we went to the end of the island and watched the sun set and had prayer. We had a lot of fun and everyone is looking forward to doing it again next year.
Melinda said, "this experience taught me how to deal with mature ladies".
The Session organized a Fellowship Dinner following Worship on the last Sunday in March. Following an hour of praise and reflection, we made the short trip to the Fellowship Hall.
Once again the serving tables were piled high. ...As usual, Anne Rhyne and Vivian Pressley organized a spectacular meal with the help of the marvelous cooks in our congregation.
Robbie Smith blessed the food and the line made its way through courses of meats, salads and of course, desserts.
Betty Knebel designed some festive centerpieces, but they weren't quite cool enough to out-do our trendier members.
By the end of it all, Pastor
Scott was so filled with Fellowship and Food that he even chipped in
for clean-up duty!
Homecoming 2008 on October 12th brought many familiar faces back to Banks once again to enjoy an this especially meaningful worship service followed by fellowship dinner. Congregational members also remembered our shut-ins on Homecoming by delivering an exquisite chrysanthemum to each and every one with a message of God's love and concern for their well-being. (Thanks to Nan for the article and photos)
We are well blessed.
No shortage of drinks either.
That does look good!
Have we said the blessing yet?
Decorations by Betty
Mens Retreat Fall 2008
Last weekend we had our annual mens retreat. Robbie Smith was gracious in hosting it again at Holden Beach. The house that we were supposed to stay in was damaged in the last hurricane but a friend of Robbie's offered his house. It was a great place on the second row with a canal behind with access to the intercoastal waterway. It was beautiful there. We all arrived Friday evening and settled in. The day strarted early Saturday with doughnuts for breakfast and a mens shopping trip. We bought out a good portion of their supply of shrimp and crab legs from a fresh seafood market in the village. From there we bought fishing licenses and proceeded to get groceries at Food Lion. It is a bit comical to watch 5 men shop for groceries. On the way back we dropped Scott and Robbie at Robbie's parents house to pick up Kayaks. They paddled them via the canals back to our house. The rest of the morning was spent on getting rods and reels prepared for the PM fishing. I was new to surf fishing and didn't really know what to expect. After a few blundered casts I finally was able to launch my bait far enough out to have a shot at catching something. It didn't take long to understand the appeal of this kind of fishing. It is a bit like baseball. Nothing happens and then all of a sudden the big hit. I thoroughly enjoyed our time on the beach, the beauty of God's creation, the fellowship and the peace of it all. That evening we found ourselves all pitching in on preparing the evening meal together. We prepared a feast of seemingly never ending crab legs and shrimp. With the expert guidance from Robbie, Tommy and Patrick we had a five star meal. The evening conversation ranged from humorous to very serious discussions about events in our lives. We all seemed to find common ground. I think that God intends us to slow down and enjoy what He has given us. I also think that there is a time to get away and bond with fellow believers of the same gender. This was a very special weekend that left me renewed and more ready to face the future.
Sunrise from the bridge
View from the back porch
Breakfast on the back porch
The house behind our house
Men shopping
Robbie and Scott with a big one.
My big catch of the day.
Patrick and Scott with a keeper
Scott did have the big fish of the day
Robbie fishing in the canal.
Scott and Tommy in the living room.
Sunrise
Awesome August 2008 For the second year in a row Banks Presbyterian has held a 3 evening event called Awesome August. In my opinion this year was even better than last. The meals were excellent and the events were outstanding. This years theme revolved around the topic of missions. On Wednesday, August 13, Bob and Christy Chipley from JAARS East Africa gave a talk on the challenges of bible translations. They left us seeing how difficult this ministry must be. On Thursday, August 14, Quinn Collins showed his informative and entertaining dvd on the 2008 Honduras Mission trip. It was humerous and well thought out and really seemed to sum up our hopes and prayers for the partnership between Banks Presbyterian and our sister church in Yoro Honduras. On Friday, August 15, Tom Harvey from WEC/Rainbows of Hope, did an informative talk on "short-term missions". We always enjoy hearing what Tom Has to say. He always seems to bring us good stuff from The Lord.
Awesome August 2007
Last August, Banks hosted a wonderful three evening event that turned out to be something really special. Wednesday featured a delicious meal with deserts and an inspirational DVD about Scott's dad. He was a college professor that came to Christ later in life and never looked back. He became a pastor of a small but very effective church in Chapin, SC. This church was responsible for a lot of social change in that area as well as a wonderful ministry. It was quite a moving story. Thursday, we viewed a documentary on The Hillsong ministry. They are a band that have become a moving force in Christian music today. Friday night featured a well done DVD on the Honduras Mission. It was produced by Quinn Collins and narrated by Scott. It was very stirring. The evenings were capped off with testimonies from volunteers. They ranged from funny at times to very dramatic but left us all with the realization that God is alive and well and working through and in us all.
For two years in a row Banks Church had a cookout at Lake Norman. The following two sets of pictures were taken at these cookouts. The group enjoyed wonderful barbecue cooked by Ron Stafford, lots of water, fun and fellowship
