From the Deacons

The Deacons would like to thank everyone for their support and participation in this year's Kirking of the Tartans. It was a grand occasion!

Special thanks to:

* Ben Graves and Don Kilgore for getting the sign up on the front lawn.

* Ben and Suzan Graves for the lovely wreaths and the hall arrangement.

* Eric and Terri Broome for hosting the Kilt Check Party on Saturday night.

* Matthew Herron and his crew for setting us up and tearing us down.

* Freddie Bibbs for making sure the church was spotless.

* Don Kilgore, David Honnoll, and Fletcher Powers for preparing the absolutely delicious chicken and pork.

* Andrea Staten and Janey Ginn for preparing the Fellowship Hall for the Rose and Thistle Luncheon.

* Pastor Karen for sharing a bucket of daffodils and delivering a terrific sermon.

* Daniel Lightsey, Rob Maddux, Walker Robison and Mitchell Mundroff for transporting dishes from vehicles to the Fellowship Hall.

* Mary Lynn Lewis and Charley Ann Nix for filling 65 styrofoam cups with ice and beverages.

* Harris Cole for helping out with all the last-minute details.

* Members of the BPC congregation--the food was wonderful!

* Rob Maddux, Walker Robison, and Roy Girner for stepping foward to carry the flags.

* The Wolfe River Pipes and Drums - your music lifted us up and made us feel proud.

* The BPC Choir for their beautiful anthem.

* Our Father in Heaven for the glorious weather.

A Plea for Volunteers on Easter Morning

There is a need for two volunteers to direct Wee Worship on March 23rd. The pay is minimal, but the benefits are divine! Please call the church office if you are willing to make this sacrifice of your time on Easter Sunday.

In order to provide quality worship for our children each Sunday, BPC depends on volunteers to assist with Wee Worship. The list of volunteers is quite short! Please consider supporting Wee Worship. The longer the list, the less often everyone is called upon. Our little ones need you!

Sanctuary Flowers

The flowers given on March 9th were loving memory of the Rev. Dr. Silas “Si” Franklin Mack and Mrs. Katherine “Kitty” Mack by Pastor Karen O'Brien.

Easter Lilies

In celebration of Easter, you are invited to place an Easter lily in the sanctuary in honor or in memory of a loved one. The order forms are on the table in the hall. The deadline for placing an order is noon on March 17th.

Easter Egg Hunt

You are invited to the annual Easter egg hunt at the home of the honorable Judge and Mrs. George Carlson, 505 College St., Batesville. The hunt will be Saturday, March 22nd at 11:00 AM.

Parents are asked to please bring at least 12 plastic eggs with candy to the church office by Thursday, March 20th. (The office will be closed Friday, the 21st for Good Friday). Our thanks to PYF for hiding the Easter eggs for us once again this year.

SNL News Flash

SNL will not meet again until March 16th due to Kirkin’ and Spring Break. On the 16th, we will have a FUN FILLED FAMILY FINALE! (March 16th will be our final SNL meeting until September.) Look for details to come concerning this finale.

SNL canvases and pottery projects are ready to be picked up in the Rec. Room. Pottery pieces are placed on top of your canvases if you did both. We have some really talented young artists in our church.

Kirkin O’ the Tartans 3/2/08

This Sunday, March 2nd is the “Kirkin”! There will not be an early worship service, this week only.

Pastor Karen will bring the morning’s message. Please keep her girded with prayers as she prepares for this Kirkin’ service.

Weather permitting, musicians from the Wolf River Pipes and Drums will perform a “mini concert” on the front lawn at 10:30 a.m.

A representative from each family is invited to walk in the processional into the sanctuary at the beginning of the 11:00 service. Please be in the sanctuary at 10:45 a.m. to receive instructions before the processional begins.

The Rose and Thistle Luncheon 3/2/08

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Our sign-up sheets runneth over! We're going to enjoy an absolutely splendid meal on Sunday following our Kirkin' service.

One--or two--or seven will be in the kitchen bright and early this Sunday morning. We'll have someone at the ready to help those of you who need some assistance getting your dishes in. Again, we deeply appreciate your response to our call for dishes.

The Deacons

Candles and Wreaths for Kirkin' Service

The candles on the alter in the sanctuary and the wreaths on the doors are given to the glory of God and in joyful celebration of the Kirkin' o' the Tartans by Ben and Suzan Graves.

If you would like to sponsor a flower offering for Sunday morning worship, the sign-up sheets are in the hall, or you may call the church office.

March 9: Karen O'Brien

March 16: Dennis Lightsey and Jana Brock

March 23: An Easter opportunity for you!

"Thank You" from Lucile Monk

Lucille Monk would like to express her sincere thanks to everyone for the phone calls, visits, food and prayers offered after her recent surgery. She is recovering at home.

PYF News

Senior High PYF will not meet Sunday evening, 2/17 due to the Camp Hopewell retreat.

Junior High PYF will have “movie night” Sunday evening from 5:00 - 7:30 PM at the Whitten house.

SNL 'Springs' Into Pottery

SNL will meet at the church this Sunday, 2/17 at the regular time from 4:30-6:00 to begin a SPRING POTTERY PROJECT, play basketball, and have dinner. They hope to see you there!

Sanctuary Flowers

The flowers placed in the sanctuary this Sunday, Feb. 17th will be given in loving memory of Brandon Presley by Rusty, Meg, Carlee, Sulli, and Mathew Woods.

Deacons &Session Highlights from 3/11 Meeting

The Board of Deacons and the Session met on Monday, February 11th. The Deacons continued planning for the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans, and discussed action for care of the congregation.

The Session took the following actions:

· They set communion dates for 2008;

· Elected Paulette Norman as Clerk of Session;

· Elected Kenny Hopper to continue as Church Treasurer;

· Accepted the treasurer’s report for Jan., 08;

· Approved a list of repairs and purchase of appliances for the Whitten house for PYF;

· Heard the report of the PYF/Christian Education Task Force;

· Discussed adding a Men’s Breakfast and an adult “Supper Club” to our calendar.

Rose & Thistle Luncheon after Kirkin' Service 3/2/08

Last year we were blessed with a huge crowd for our Kirkin’ service and luncheon, and we're anticipating another grand service and luncheon again this year. To be sure that we have enough food to feed our families, friends, and guests, we're proposing something a little different for the luncheon this year. The Deacons will provide grilled chicken quarters, green beans, rolls, and beverages. We are asking each BPC family to sign up for 2 dishes--hot vegetable casserole, salad, and/or dessert. If you want to bring a third dish, we'll eat that, too!

There are sign-up sheets on the hall bulletin board, or you can call Teresa in the church office at 662-563-3001 to sign up. If you have questions about the luncheon, contact Janey Ginn at 662-915-8821 or jginn@olemiss.edu.

Thank you for your support!

The Deacons

Prayer Request

Please remember to lift Pastor Karen’s brother, John Brostrom and his family in prayer. He will undergo a second brain surgery on Wed., Feb. 13th in CO. Please pray for a spirit of peace for Pastor Karen, for skill in John’s surgeons’ hands, and for grace, strength, courage and faith for the Brostrom family.

Get Well Wishes

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Lucile Monk, who had surgery on Feb. 5th.

…”I am the Lord who heals you.”
Exodus 15:26

PYF News

Steve and Allison McCord wish to thank everyone who participated or contributed to the PYF Super Bowl party. It was a huge success. Congratulations to J.J. Kilpatrick, who picked the Giants to win 17-14.

This Sunday, 2/10, PYF will meet at the Whitten House at a new time—6 - 8 PM, to finish their pottery projects and to play basketball and football.

SNL Skating Trip

SNL will meet at the church at 2:30 Sunday to travel to The Skate Place in Oxford for a fun-filled afternoon. We will skate from 3:00-5:00 and return back to the church around 5:30. Bring money for dinner/snacks. Remember children 1st grade and under will need a parent/adult chaperone for the outing. (Plans are to take the bus.)

Souper Bowl of Caring

Our church collected $330and 43 non-perishable items for the Souper Bowl of Caring.

With 8,313 groups reporting nationwide, as of the newsletter’s press time, here are the totals as of noon Wednesday, 2/6:

¨ Total raised—$4,,970,954

¨ Pounds of food collected - 1,820,891

Circle Meetings Next Week

The PW Afternoon Circle will meet Monday, February 11th at 2:00 PM in the Session room.

The PW Morning Circle will meet Tuesday, February 12th at 9:30 AM at the home of Betty Davis, 506 Broad St.

PYF Task Force Update

The PYF Task Force continues to work on plans for our youth.

At the last meeting, we looked at the list of youth and made plans to ask members of the church to aid us in this time of transition. We are still looking for a person who will direct the youth and possibly other education programs here at BPC. The Task Force is rearranging the Wednesday night Bible study time and is planning to present it to the youth this week.

The next PYF Task Force meeting will be on Wed., Feb. 6th at 7:00 PM in the Session room.

Congregational Care & Membership

The mission of the Committee for Congregational Care and Membership is to work with the Presbyterian Women Circle Committee to provide a complete program of congregational care to our existing members, new members, prospective members, shut-ins, members with special needs and concerns, and new parents.

The Committee for Congregational Care and Membership is charged with informing the Session about and involving the Session in the special needs of the congregation, and to create awareness among the congregation of the needs and joys of our members.

Please help us nurture, encourage, console, and celebrate the members of BPC by sharing news and information with a member of our committee.

Teddy Morrow, tamorrow@cableone.net,

Adam Pittman, apittman@panola.com,

Janey Ginn, jginn@olemiss.edu,

Ben Graves, ben@gravesoil.com,

Margaret Nix, mnix@watervalley.net,

PYF Super Bowl Party

Steve and Allison McCord will host a super bowl party for PYF this Sunday, Feb. 3rd beginning at 5:30 PM. Supper and game snacks will be provided. Join them to cheer on the Patriots and Giants!

Souper Bowl 2008

Our youth will hold soup pots at the church doors on 2/3, “Souper Bowl” Sunday. They will join young people in churches across the country to collect money for those who are hungry and hurting. In 2007, The Souper Bowl of Caring generated over $8 million. All of the money collected is donated to a charity selected by the participant. None of the money is sent to Souper Bowl headquarters. Since the Souper Bowl of Caring began in 1990, more than $41 million has gone to help people in need. Please support the youth of our church in this effort to “love our neighbors” by dropping your dollar in the soup pot this Sunday.

Hours Changing for Pottery Mission

Through March, the new hours for the pottery mission are Mondays 3:00 - 8:00 PM.