UNIVERSITY BAPTIST CHURCH CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA February 18, 2014 Expanded Edition Vol. 66, No. 7 1223 West Main Street, Charlottesville, VA 22903 www.universitybaptist.org SERVICE OF HOLY WORSHIP February 23, 2014 11:00 am Sermon: “Passing on a Maturing Faith” Dr. Michael Cheuk Scriptures: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Ephesians 4:11-15 Anthem: In My Father’s House — Courtney Deacons: Jackie Lockwood, Elsom Johnson, Nelda Vaughan, Alan Hendricks, Debra Bryant, Rachel Miller Nursery Workers: Karen Minor, Shirley Clark, Shelley Payne, Erin Brown, Emily Morris, Erin Veasey Children’s Church: Beth Cheuk, Javaneh Brown Ushers for February: Bryan Parsons, Shirley Clark, John & Jean Wood, Sterling Hudson, Sally Chewning A Word from Michael Last Sunday I shared from my heart my emerging hope and vision for UBC. For those of you who were not in atten- dance, the audio file of that service will be available for download on our Wor- ship Media webpage, and I will be post- ing the text of my sermon on the church’s blog. I hope it will spark a wider conversation among our church members and leaders as we begin the process of living into our future. In many ways, my sermon was inspired by the positive spirit and faithful stance exhibited by our members’ response to our budget challenge. We’ve received over $30,000 in additional pledges al- ready; and if you haven’t done so al- ready, I invite you to help us meet our $75,000 goal! This coming Sunday, we will hold a Parent-Child dedication service for seven families and eight babies/young children! In addition, we will ordain one of those parents, Joseph Johnson, to the office of Deacon. Exciting things are happening among our young fami- lies, so let’s pledge our support to them this Sunday. Finally, this Wednesday night, we will serve a traditional Slovakian meal as Mark Snipes, Missions Coordinator of CBFVa will be our guest speaker to talk about our mission work among the Romany people in Slovakia. Come join us for what will be a fun and informative evening! ~ Blessings, Michael A Word from the Finance Committee Collection for the Food Bank The Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) is collect- ing canned goods and cash donations for the Thomas Jefferson Branch of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank through February. Collection boxes are located in the First Floor Lobby and in the hallway outside of Fellowship Hall. Those who receive food from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank include the most vulnerable in our communi- ties — children, the elderly, strug- gling families, the working poor, people with disabilities, and the As most of you are aware, the congre- gation recently voted to continue the 2013 budget for the first 3 months of this year rather than adopt a reduced budged for 2014. This delay is to pro- vide time for us to respond to a chal- lenge from UBC leadership to raise an additional $75,000 in pledges for 2014. Our January 2014 monthly budget needs were $55,839 and contributions were only $39,810. Clearly we have a challenge to raise our commitments by increasing our pledges or pledging for the first time. While we have this chal- lenge in front of us, we have God be- hind us, helping us to meet it. UBC has a history of “stepping up to the plate” when called upon to do so. We have been blessed in so many ways and have been given abundant re- sources with which to achieve our mis- sion as a church. Now we need to re- new our spiritual commitments and pri- oritize our financial resources to allow UBC to be the “vehicle” that God needs. In his sermon on Sunday, Mi- chael clearly portrayed the church not as a destination, but rather as a vehicle on our journey to spread the message of Christ. The Finance Committee will revise the 2014 Proposed Budget during March based upon the projected revenues from the pledges, which I am confident will increase as a result of prayerful consid- eration from all of us. We can meet the challenge of raising the additional $75,000 in pledges. The UBC “bus” is continuing on its journey to spread the message of Christ. Will you be on it? ~ Larry Martin Finance Committee Chair as of Feb. 17