Author: Brenda

The Witness

208 Academy Street • Canton, North Carolina 28716
Office: 828.648.2367 • cantonfirst@gmail.com

Volume 66, Edition 1, January/February, 2023

New Year, New You I know, I am a little late, but this is the first newsletter we have sent out in 2023, so it still works. You have seen the phrase, I’m sure. With each new year we are told that we are not good enough and must, in the next year, become something else. We need to be skinnier, we need to be more wealthy, we need to make better decisions, or we need to be more social. It just so happens that the people telling us these things usually have something to sell us that makes that transformation easier. How serendipitous!
If you ask me, these annoying ads actually do not go far enough. I am all for self improvement for individuals and collective societies, but why stop at a year? Why does a new year call for us to create ourselves anew, and the dawning of a new day does not? The fact is, God is way ahead of things when it comes to creating new beings out of the familiar shells we know as “us”. Whether you are aware of it or not, that is what God has been and continues to do in each of you every day. At least according to Paul: So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!
2 Corinthians 5:17 As we embark on a new year together, ask yourself what God is going to create in you. Not this year, but this second. Having said all of that, I look forward to working along side of each of you as we continue to minister this year, as we have in years prior, to our neighbors. I hope to worship with you meaningfully as we seek God’s will together. Most importantly, I plan to do a lot of listening, as we hear the voice of God and follow it into 2023 and the years that follow.
Be blessed,
Court Greene Pastor

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Canton First Baptist Church
828.648.2367 www.canton-fbc.org
208 Academy Street
Canton NC 28716

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!
2 Corinthians 5:17

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 Happy New Year! …right? If I’m being honest, January is a tough month for me. December, the busiest month of the year for me, as many, is easily one of my favorites. I just love the beauty of the Christmas season - the music, the time spent with friends and family, and most of all the chance to remember and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. Then it’s January. And it’s so hard to get motivated. So many routines that I happily allowed to be disrupted throughout the advent and Christmas seasons beckon, and I struggle. And goodness, so much around me seems so…brown. And my pants don’t fit right, which isn’t ideal. It also doesn’t help that the commercial machine has shifted its focus from Christmas consumerism to promoting its annual self-help, rebuild-this-wreck-into-something-worthy messaging, and I’m just not trying to hear that right now, you know? Fortunately, we’re reminded that beyond the resolutions and dubious claims of “new year, new you!” we’re presented with something more lasting and real: the support of a loving church community, and many opportunities to explore how God is calling you to find joy in the coming year. Each new day is a gift; a chance to rise beyond the limitations our world has sought to convince us we’re bound by, and to draw closer to the potential God sees in each and every one of us. By the way, if no one has told you yet this year, let me remind you of something vital: you are enough. God sees you for all that you are, and He adores you! God chooses us in spite of lacking the perfection we could never achieve, and He’s ordained a perfect path for each of us that leads straight to Him if we’ll listen for His calling. As we look forward to the coming 365 sunrises, whether you count them from the first day of the year, or if each morning is a new first for you, let’s commit to working together to face the coming challenges as a body called to speak hope, bring peace, spread joy, and in so doing show the Love of God to a world that is struggling and so desperate to know Him.
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of

Continued:
reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
Rev. James Markey
PLEASE NOTE
Weather & Health Schedule Changes: During the week, when Haywood County Schools are dismissed or closed due to inclement weather, activities at Canton First are postponed and CFBC is closed. During a weather event, decisions are made as soon as possible and sent first to the Deacons. Please check WLOS, WPTL, Facebook, and our website for weather or health related program or time changes. Please travel only if it is safe to drive and walk.
Keep Informed: Send an email to cfbc202@gmail.com to request Canton First Top News email updates. Call 648-2367 to request to be added to the Prayer Requests emails sent to subscribers only, the newsletter by mail or email, phone or other communications. Find us on Facebook, YouTube, and check out our website at www.canton-fbc.org. Prayer Request?
Call 648-2367 or www.canton-fbc.org
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MEMBERSHIP?
Invitation to Partner with Canton First Baptist Church: We invite you to membership with Canton First Baptist Church. Contact Dr. Court Greene to learn more. Baptism: If you are interested in baptism see Dr. Court Greene or call the church office at 828.648.2367.

Canton First Baptist Ministry Team
Church Office: 828.648.2367
Monday—Thursday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, other times by appointment
Dr. Court Greene: Senior Pastor courtgreene1@gmail.com 828.734.4228
Rev. James Markey: Minister of Music: cfbcmusicmin@gmail.com 843.333.3025
Faith Woods: Church Financial Administrator: cantonfbcfinance@gmail.com
Susan Davis:: Church Administrator : cfbc202@gmail.com
Anna Watson: Pianist

Upcoming Events & Activities
Sunday: January 22, 2023
9:45 Sunday School Adults-FH, Children - 3rd Floor
11:00 Worship in-person, Facebook, YouTube & WPTL
Tuesday 3:30 Staff Meeting
Wednesday 6:00 Adult Bible Study—Fellowship Hall
7:00 Adult Choir Practice
Sunday: January 29, 2023 5th Sunday FOOD DRIVE
9:45 Sunday School Adults-FH, Children - 3rd Floor
11:00 Worship in-person, Facebook, YouTube & WPTL
Tuesday 3:30 Staff Meeting
Wednesday 6:00 Adult Bible Study—Fellowship Hall
7:00 Adult Choir Practice
Thursday 4:00 Community Kitchen Ministry
Sunday: February 5, 2023
9:45 Sunday School Adults-FH, Children - 3rd Floor
11:00 Worship in-person, Facebook, YouTube & WPTL
Tuesday 10:00 Jean Teague Ladies WMU Circle Meeting
3:30 Staff Meeting
Wednesday 6:00 Adult Bible Study—Fellowship Hall
Thursday 4:00 Community Kitchen Ministry
Sunday: February 12, 2023
9:45 Sunday School Adults-FH, Children - 3rd Floor
11:00 Worship in-person, Facebook, YouTube & WPTL
5:00 Valentine Banquet. Fellowship Hall. RSVP.
Tuesday 3:30 Staff Meeting
Wednesday 6:00 Adult Bible Study—Fellowship Hall
7:00 Adult Choir Practice
Friday 5:30 S.O. S. Young Women’s Group-Mann Classroom
Sunday: February 19, 2023
9:45 Sunday School Adults-FH, Children - 3rd Floor
11:00 Worship in-person, Facebook, YouTube & WPTL
Tuesday 3:30 Staff Meeting
Wednesday 12:00 Ash Wednesday Service @ Canton First
6:00 Adult Bible Study—Fellowship Hall
7:00 Adult Choir Practice
Thursday 6:00 S.O.S. Young Women’s Group—Mann Classroom
12:00 Community Lenten Service @ Canton UMC
12:30 Community Lunch after Lenten Service ($5/person)
Sunday: February 26, 2023
9:45 Sunday School Adults-FH, Children - 3rd Floor
11:00 Worship in-person, Facebook, YouTube & WPTL
Tuesday 3:30 Staff Meeting
Wednesday 6:00 Adult Bible Study—Fellowship Hall
7:00 Adult Choir Practice
Thursday 12:00 Community Lenten Service @ Canton UMC
12:30 Community Lunch after Lenten Service ($5/person)
6:00 S.O.S. Young Women’s Group—Mann Classroom

Local Author Book Signing
Saturday, January 29, 2022/1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Canton First Fellowship Hall
Snacks & Hot Beverages available

Pursuit: Twins, Tragedy and the Journey Toward Recovery

Suicide is a serious and, sadly, increasingly common phenomenon in our world. It gets much more serious, though, when it affects those we personally know and love. Pursuit is the story of a pastor whose twin brother's death came in such a way, casting his life into turmoil. Using hunting and fishing stories to make complex emotions and ideas understandable, the reader will take a journey with the author through his past (with his brother) and toward healing. Along the way readers examine the identity crisis that the author faced, wrestle with biblical truths, and understand the anguish through which those affected by suicide often go. Pursuit is just that, a dogged pursuit to recover identity, something like normalcy, and healing in a world suddenly changed. Attempting to bring help to some, and understanding to others, pursuit is presented in a raw and honest way for which the author does not apologize, but does hope potential readers will find necessary and not gratuitous.