The Chapel has had a full summer of ministry! Some of the highlights are our first ever year-round collection for Operation Christmas Child, our always amazing Summer Youth Ministry including the youth-lead worship service and baptism, the Women’s Summer Bible Study about Heaven, and the new-this-year 8:00AM worship service on the beach! Please read on in this newsletter to learn more and see pics of each of these programs!
I would like to share some reflections on our 8:00 AM worship service on the beach. This week I heard Cece Winans’ sing, Goodness of God. That song and its lyrics always stir me.
I love You Lord
Oh, Your mercy never fails me
All my days
I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
I will sing of the goodness of God
Chorus:
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God.
Hearing, “I Will Sing of the Goodness of God”, caused me to immediately think of this summer’s 8:00AM worship services. I hope you were able to attend one or more. The nine Sundays of worship were one of the most moving experiences of my life. God was so faithful in showing the Board and planning team the way to this new outreach and so good to bless us with nine Sundays of great weather! The planning team was fully committed, and their excitement and enthusiasm never waned once. Attendees commented on how special it was to be on the beach for worship. God’s goodness was so evident.
Each of the nine services followed an order which included a welcome, singing, prayer, scripture, special music, and preaching. It was all so wonderful, but I want to tell you about the time of prayer. We were invited to join in a moment of quiet. Quiet? Imagine. Quiet. The introduction to this special time went like this…
“Out here on the beach we are surrounded by the beauty of God’s creations. The sound of the waves, the movement of the breeze, and the rhythm of the morning remind us that God is always present, even in the stillness. For the next few moments, I invite you to simply be still. You may want to close your eyes, lower your gaze, or look out at the ocean. As you listen to the waves, take a slow breath and allow your heart to settle. If there is something weighing on you today, quietly offer it to God. If there is something you are thankful for, take this moment to express that gratitude. And if you don’t have the words to pray, that is okay. Sometimes the most meaningful prayer is simply being present with God.”
…And then we were all quiet and it was amazing. The Holy Spirit was there. Creation sang God’s glory.
This special prayer time concluded with, “Gracious God, thank you for meeting us in the quiet moments. Help us to hear your voice, to feel your peace, and to carry your presence with us today. Amen.”
Let’s remember to be quiet before the Lord all year long and to reflect on His goodness. Plan to join us next summer for worship on the beach at 8:00AM. It was so amazing.
Submitted by:Julia Sherron, Chairman, Board of Governors
REFLECTIONS
A Place At The Table
“Come, for everything is now ready.”
Back in 2012, there was a movie made about hunger in America narrated by Jeff Bridges. It was called “A Place at the Table”. My reflection this time is about a different kind of hunger and a different kind of table, but a dining table, nonetheless.
In His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus begins with what we call “the Beatitudes”. In one of these He says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Mt. 5:6).
Do you remember the last time you were physically hungry? Notice I didn’t say, “starving”. Most of us don’t know what it’s like to be truly starving, but we all have experienced pangs of hunger. When we do, we often focus on nothing else but satisfying that twinge of hunger. We just don’t do it to the extent of someone who is really starving. But my point is this – Jesus is saying that we need to desire (seek after) righteousness just like we seek after food when we are physically hungry. The beauty of His beatitude is the promise that when we do truly desire to be righteous, we “will be filled” (or satisfied).
In his book, Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine Max Lucado says it this way:
“To live as God’s child is to know, at this very instant, that you are
loved by your Maker not because you try to please Him and
succeed, or fail to please Him and apologize, but because He
wants to be your Father. Nothing more. All your efforts to win
His affection are unnecessary. All your fears of losing His
affection are needless. You can no more make Him want you
than you can convince Him to abandon you. The adoption is
irreversible. You have a place at His table.”
Maybe that’s why we call giving thanks to God before every meal – “Grace”.
On October 4th this year, we will celebrate Communion as we do every first Sunday of every month. But October 4th is a special Communion Sunday, it is World Communion Sunday. It is the one day every year that Christians from all over the world come together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as one body. As the psalmist says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this -those He redeemed from the hand of the enemy, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south” (Psalm107:1-3).
The picture at the top of this article hangs in my living room. The caption is from Jesus’ Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24). Indirectly in this parable Jesus is telling us what He later explicitly tells His disciples, “I am going to prepare a place for you” (John14:2). It’s there to remind me (and anyone else who visits us) that if I truly desire to be righteous, Jesus says, “Come, for everything is now ready” (Luke 14:17). World Communion Sunday reminds us that this invitation is open to all who hear this gospel message and accept the Master’s invitation. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you as you celebrate the Lord’s Supper with your brothers and sisters from around the world this October. Amen.
EAMC’s Adult Life Class ended our summer studies with a wonderful time of fellowship and great food at a covered dish lunch at Judy Brock’s home. The lunch was attended by more than 25 people and was a great opportunity to get to know each other better. Please consider visiting our group which meets on Sunday mornings at 8:45 in the Fellowship House. We love studying the Word of God together. We are presently studying the book of Ruth and will begin the book of Romans in September.
SOCIAL COMMITTEE
Sunday, September 27, we will host aMeet & Greetafter church behind the Youth Cottage
Submitted by:Rucker Eggleston, Social Committee Chair
SHARE THE TABLE
A group from EAMC cooks and serves at Share the Table the First Sunday of each month. If you would like to volunteer to help, please visit the Share the Table website on our Chapel webpage by clicking here.
You’ll have to come to the Packing Party on Sept 13 to view all the items Kingdom Crafters have donated to the Operation Christmas Child boxes!
Kingdom Crafters gave the OCC Committee 37 washcloths, 43 Teddy Bears, 22 T-shirt dresses, and eight hats. In addition to these items, we gave the Youth Program 25 washcloths and 25 handmade toys (octopus, whales, teddy bears) to pack their boxes.
Again, we will welcome new people to help cut and punch fleece, if you don’t sew or knit/crochet. We also can help you learn these skills if you’re interested.
Submitted by:Julia Pollock, Kingdom Crafters
COLUMBARIUM
AND MEMORIAL PRAYER GARDEN
The Columbarium project is now complete. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Columbarium and Memorial Prayer Garden, I would encourage you to take a minute the next time you’re at the Chapel and take a look. I think you’ll be pleased. It’s also quite beautiful at night. Application packets for both the ColumbariumNiches and Memorial Wall Plaques are included here and are also available on the EAMC webpage under either Ministries or Committees.
On Sunday, September 13th, we will host a church-wide Packing Party for all of the OCC items that have been collecting this year. The packing party will take place from 2-4 pm on the bottom floor of the Fellowship House.
Thanks to all of you that have contributed Operation Christmas Child items monthly as well as those that are participating in our OCC Amazon Wishlist Campaign happening now. And of course, we can’t say enough about the Godly work that our Kingdom Crafters do year-round to support Operation Christmas Child!
All donations should be placed in one of the two boxes designated for Operation Christmas Child in the North Wing of the Chapel.
And last, but certainly not least, we will hold our regular OCC Fall Shoebox campaign in October where you are encouraged to fill individual shoeboxes.
Our church-wide goal for 2026 is 300 fun, full and personalized shoeboxes! And no worries about the $10 per shoebox suggested given by donors. Emma Anderson’s Board of Directors has graciously agreed to cover the cost of 300 boxes this year.
The Missions and Evangelism Committee has scheduled a multi-mission project in partnership with Catalyst Resources International (CRI), traveling to Guatemala City from November 7th and returning November 14th, 2026. This will be the third consecutive year that an EAMC mission team has taken part in the Guatemala mission experience. In addition to assisting with the construction of two houses for residents in need in Santa Maria de Jesus, this year’s trip will also focus on education programs for children in the same town, which lies in the mountains about 45 minutes from Guatemala City, where our team will be staying at the CRI complex. Volunteers not wishing to work on one of the house construction teams will have ample opportunity to participate in morning and afternoon education and food service programs for school-age children in Santa Maria de Jesus.
The committee is seeking 16 to 24 volunteers to travel to Guatemala and serve its people on this mission trip. For more information about this trip, you may visit www.catalystresources.net and click on “TEAM PACKET,” or you may contact:
We are so excited to have been chosen as a EAMC team to minister to Western NC on a Samaritan’s Purse rebuild. We’ll take pics and tell you all about it in the next newsletter. Those going are:
Joan and Gale Ebert
Julia and Frank Sherron
Becky Rose (recruit from beach service!)
Rich and Julia Pollock
Connie Taylor
Dwight and Sandra Davis
Please pray for our team Aug 30-Sept 4 that we sustain no injuries and we can provide a good time of encouragement for the residents in the community.
Submitted by:Julia Pollock, Team Leader
WOMEN’S SUMMER BIBLE STUDY
The Women’s Summer Bible Study had another wonderful time this summer as we gathered to learn about Heaven in a study by Jennifer Rothschild. We had over 27 ladies attend and we all agreed it was one of our best summer studies. We learned about the glorious things God has planned for us in our eternal home. We concluded our study with a delightful “Heavenly” brunch. It was truly a special time to fellowship around the Word of God and with our sisters in Christ!
Submitted by: Judy Brock
LIBRARY
Submitted by:Karen Gavigan, Library Chair
GUEST MINISTERS
September
Worship at 10:00 am
6
Rev. Phillip Modlin, Lead Pastor
Amplify Church – Willow Springs, NC
Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Tim Bayles
13
Rev. Dr. Jeff Pinkston, Pastor
Steele Creek Presbyterian – Charlotte, NC
Sponsor: Rev. and Mrs. Rich Pollock
20
Rev. Eric Reploeg, Lead Pastor
Virginia Hills Church – Front Royal, VA
Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Crafton
27
Rev. Jon Cawley, Pastor
Mt. Airy Friends – Mt. Airy, NC
Sponsor: Ministerial Selection Committee
October
Worship at 10:00 am
4
Rev. Dr. Richard Childress, Bivocational Pastor
Franklinton Baptist Church – Franklinton, NC
Sponsor: Mrs. Teresa Johnson
11
Rev. Kevin Qualls, EVP
Ministry Impact Strategies – Matthews, NC
Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Grady Teachey
18
Rev. Jim Baldwin, Minister to Senior Adults
First Baptist Church of Wilmington, NC
Sponsor: Mrs. Loretta Barefoot
25
Rev. Connor Graves, Development Coordinator
Set Free Alliaance – Greer, SC.
Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sprouse
REMINDERS
Sunday School:Adult Christian Life Class.8:45-9:45 a.m.
Fellowship House – Top Floor
Missionary Apartment Respite:If you know of a missionary who is on assignment abroad and will be coming stateside on furlough then returning to his or her assignment, please let him or her know about our Missionary Ministry. A family of six (max.) can enjoy a respite for six nights at no charge in ourMissionary Apartment.We especially welcome referrals from affiliates who know of missionaries associated with their home churches. Spread the word!
Chancel Flowers:Sign up on the calendar in the south wing of the chapel or contact Ginny Barnett by phone, 919-414-6832 or Penny Burrell at 919-539-5816.
Bereavement Notices:If you are a Chapel affiliate (you’ve attended services at least once) and would like to have an announcement sent to affiliates regarding a death in your family, please contactSandra Davis.
Library Hours:Sundays, 8:50 – 9:30 AM, and by request
Location: Fellowship Hall – 2nd Floor
Suggestions for additional book titles are welcome.
Church Directory:You can be included in our online directory at any time. Email Karen Roberts at kroberts2665@gmail.com with your name(s), home/beach address (plus 2nd address, if you have one), email addresses), home/beach phone numbers), cell phone numbers), and a photo. Please make sure the photo is in landscape (horizontal) orientation and if you are a couple, please allow space between you, so it can be cropped for individual profile photos.
EAMC Emails:To continue receiving our newsletter and other announcements, remember to notify us if you change your email address. To prevent our email from being snagged by your spam folder, addnewsletter@eachapel.orgto your address book.
