To God Be the Glory! Great Things He Has Done at Carr in 2007
(in no particular order)
1. Volunteers from five United Methodist Churches in Durham came together to renovate part of Carr’s first floor in order to provide Sunday 11 a.m. worship space for the Shepherd’s House United Methodist Church. Renovations were accomplished with volunteer labor and donated funds in only eight months! Many watched in wonder as Carr, Shepherd’s House, Aldersgate, Bethany, and Pleasant Green UMCs worked together to transform an ugly, empty space into a lovely sanctuary. God is good!
2. Carr became an example of Christian “radical hospitality” when we welcomed the Shepherd’s House UMC into our building in March, before renovations to their worship space were completed. They squeezed into a large room on the third floor for 11 a.m. Sunday worship until their first-floor space was ready. In June, this church of people from Africa held a celebration to mark their first worship service in their new home. The Shepherd’s House has grown to include Americans from Carr’s neighborhood.
3. Carr and Shepherd’s House shared joint worship services and fellowship meals on fifth Sundays in July and September. The September service was held outdoors with a guest preacher. This kind of unity is a sign of God’s kingdom right here in east Durham.
4. Rev. Amanda Fleishman heeded a call from God to be in ministry with Carr and the neighborhood around our building, and she became our “minister of outreach” in July. Amanda participates in the worship and life of Carr Church, and her ministry has grown to include more than a dozen children from the Shepherd’s House and the neighborhood. Carr and Shepherd’s House are incredibly blessed to have this bridge-building provisional deacon in ministry with us.
5. In September, Carr welcomed into our building the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham, providing office space for their director, Marcia Owen, herself a United Methodist. This group holds a monthly community luncheon in Carr’s fellowship hall, attended by several dozen people from various religious traditions, all dedicated to peace-making in Durham.
6. Carr provided ministry experience and supervision for two Duke Divinity students in 2007: Joe Jones during the academic year, and Derek Woodard-Lehman during the summer.
7. Last spring, Carr extended the welcome mat to the Summit Church in order to conduct English as a Second Language for Hispanics living in the neighborhood around the building. Currently, ESL attracts more than forty persons to Carr on Sunday afternoons.
8. Carr teamed with the Summit Church to do a Vacation Bible School at Carr in July for more than fifty neighborhood children. Carr also provided space for the Summit to conduct a well-attended Latino forum. Surely, Southern Baptists and United Methodists doing ministry together in east Durham is a sign of God’s kingdom!
9. Our Communion ministry to shut-ins continues to grow under the leadership of Tacoma O’Connor and Gloria Perry. They and others bring the sacrament to our shut-ins on a monthly basis.
10. Two Brunswick stews, a craft and bake sale, a May Fling, and a yard sale in 2007 raised money for missions. Also, this year we donated ten percent of our Brunswick stews to feed the hungry through “Food for All” and the Ronald McDonald House.
11. Carr has been busy with missions in 2007: We raised the funds to send Cindy Dorrity last summer on a mission trip to Zimbabwe to minister with the orphans there. In addition, twelve Carr members and the pastor went to the MERCI Center in Goldsboro in September to help make flood buckets, school kits, and health kits. We took 100 school kits with us! The Carr United Methodist Women continued to take a leading role in promoting missions in 2007.
12. We collected nearly 430 articles of food for Urban Ministries on Hallelujah Sunday in April. Each month, we continue to collect food for the hungry, under the leadership of Jeter and Charlotte Wheeler.
13. On Easter Sunday, four young people and one infant were baptized in Carr’s sanctuary.
14. A birthday and retirement luncheon in July honored Tacoma O’Connor, who turned 80 years old and celebrated more than fifty years of service and ministry with Carr. More than 100 souls (including too many preachers to mention) showed up to honor Tac.
15. In March, eight people completed the 28-week Bible study, Companions in Christ. One group met weekly at Croasdaile Village in Edna Claggett’s room, and the other met jointly with Pleasant Green UMC. The study in Edna’s room continues and is now self-led.
16. Carr celebrated Holy Communion every Sunday during Lent, and each sermon during that time period focused on the significance of the Lord’s Supper. Carr continued our worship and Communion ministry at the Carver Living Center on the second Sunday of most months.
17. Pastor Cheryl taught a combined adult Sunday school class this summer on the Gospel of Mark, kicked off with a congregational pancake breakfast. Pastor Cheryl continues to lead the Thursday morning Bible study at Carr.
18. The choir moved their practice from Sunday mornings to week nights at the home of Sybil Baker, and grew (and there’s room for more)!
19. Carr paid 100 percent of our Conference apportioned benevolences in 2007, in addition to raising money for other benevolences. The largest chunk of our apportionments went to support United Methodist missions and ministry throughout the world. Thank you for your faithful giving!