Pullen Update November 12, 2017 Lunch Bag Items Needed We continue to pack 900+ lunches each month for the Round Table Ministry. We need the following items for our next packing: cereal bars, individual serving-sized juice pouches/boxes and cans of Vienna sausages. Please place donations in the blue wagon in front of the Church office or drop them off with the back door volunteers on Sunday mornings. Thank you for your generosity! Nancy Bradley Pullen Memorial Baptist Church 1801 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC 919-828-0897 // www.pullen.org Hope Center Angel Tree Families in Need of Sponsors The Hope Center at Pullen has approximately 25 Angel Tree Families who will need to be adopted for the holidays. Angel Tree Families will have a description of desired holiday gifts, current sizes, and a brief portrait of the recipients. Angel Tree Gifts should be returned to the Hope Center at Pullen by December 3 to prepare for the December 13 holiday party. For more information contact Brian at [email protected] or Laura at [email protected]. Brian Crisp Amber Cantorna Discusses Her Memoir of “Coming Out, Being Cast Out, and Discover- ing the True Love of God” Tonight at Pullen Refocusing My Family: Coming Out, Being Cast Out, and Discovering the True Love of God by Amber Can- torna is a memoir that unveils what it was like to be raised as the daughter of a Focus on the Family execu- tive and how coming out as gay shunned her from the family she loved and burdened her with a degree of devastation that nearly took her life. With grace and transparency, Amber’s book sheds light on the harm that religious and family rejection causes to the human soul; Amber offers a better way to love for LGBTQ people and their religious families. Join us for a night of discussion and a book signing! This event is free and open to the public! Join us at 6 p.m. tonight in Poteat Chapel Sarah Huffman Year-End Giving at Pullen Pullen’s fiscal year ends on December 31 so any contributions for 2017 or prepayments for 2018 must be dated on or before 12/31/2017, and be re- ceived or post-marked by that day to be credited to the 2017 fiscal year. Questions about year-end contribu- tions, stock gifts or electronic giving can be directed to Brooks Wicker. Finance Committee Pledging Season Presents Spe- cial Opportunity to Share Gifts Stewardship is so much more than supporting a church budget. Steward- ship is about what we do with all that we’ve been given, so that the gifts God gives are used for the things that matter to God. Consider these various quotes. And if you have already turned in a pledge card, thank you! If not, please do so before the end of 2017. You may fill out a pledge card from the pew and place it in the offering plate during the service, or visit www.pullen.org/pledge and submit your pledge online. “The only ones who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” —Albert Schweitzer “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” —Ancient Chinese Saying “True happiness comes from spending oneself for a meaningful purpose.” —after William Cowper (1731-1800) “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” —Pericles “Self-absorption kills empathy and compassion. When we focus on our- selves, our world shrinks as our prob- lems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands; we increase our ca- pacity for connection and compassion- ate action.” —unknown author “Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other ac- tivities” —Aldous Huxley “Do not ask about the meaning of life. You will get no answer. Rather ask what meaning YOU can give to life.” —after Victor Frankl Be a blessing to others as you consider your role as God’s steward. Your Stewardship Committee Raleigh Jusce Choir Singing at Pullen November 18 Justice Choir—Raleigh is having a singing event November 18 at 4:00 p.m. in Poteat Chapel. Show up to sing music centered on issues of social jus- tice! All levels of musicianship are welcome to attend. Contact Shannon Gravelle at shannon- [email protected] for more information. Shannon Gravelle Volunteer with Incarcerated Women: Tomorrow is Deadline to Register The North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women will host its 2018 Community Volunteer Workshop, on Wednesday, December 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Hope Center of the Raleigh Unit of NCCIW at 1201 S. State Street. This workshop is required for Pullen people wishing to assist in worship services at NCCIW. Background checks and volunteer forms must be completed and returned to the Raleigh Unit of NCCIW by the deadline of November 13 by 5 p.m.—no exceptions. Please contact Brian for more information. Brian Crisp Join in Prayer for Our Unhoused Neighbors Tuesday at Oak City Outreach The Homeless Engagement Roundtable will hold a Community Day of Prayer at the Oak City Outreach Center. The purpose is to remember in prayer those who are hungry and homeless. You are invited to par- ticipate in this Community Day of Prayer. Please mark your calendars and join us on Tuesday, November 14 from 12:00–12:45 p.m. at the Oak City Outreach Cen- ter, 215 South Person Street, in downtown Raleigh. People of faith from various traditions will gath- er for this event. We hope members of the Pullen com- munity will join us to remember those in need in our community. Brian Crisp “I was in prison and you visited me.” 2018 Budget Pledging 2018 Budget: $1,063,849 Pledged to Date: $528,512 Percent Pledged: 49.68%