***** Thursday, August 5 Update Update: This pastoral letter has been in process since Monday, endured several revisions and then scheduled to come to you this morning. I write this brief update on Thursday afternoon in order to share important...
Read moreNew Steps, Good News – May 20 and Beyond
This week has been an exciting week full of welcome, if surprisingly swift, news for our state and community. Research data has led health officials to several important conclusions about where we stand with respect to coronavirus spread and...
Read moreWorship info for May 16 and beyond
The announcement by Governor Roy Cooper on Friday, May 14, while not a surprise, did come a few weeks earlier than we expected. The easing of indoor meeting capacity, distancing and masking guidelines is a welcome change, and we are pleased to be...
Read morePastoral note: Outdoor worship (& the weather)
Dear Yates Family, I am so excited to celebrate Holy Week and Easter with Yates very soon. Now more than ever, the promises of new life and the enduring hope of God’s victory won for the world in Christ is just what we need. In the weeks to...
Read moreCongregational Letter from the Finance Committee (2021 Budget)
Dear Yates Family, Our church is looking ahead to 2021, planning the future of worship and ministry. As we do so, we recall repeating this tradition year after year. Do you remember what we were imagining this time last year for the upcoming...
Read moreIn person worship begins Sunday, November 1
Click here to watch a video version of this note. Hello to all of all my beloved Yates Baptist friends! I am excited to begin taking steps toward a responsible reopening of the church building for worship. Last week, our email to the...
Read moreMission Action: DPS
Dear Yates Church Family, I’m writing to you about an important project called Accelerating Digital Equity, led by the Durham Public Schools Foundation. This is an urgent community-wide campaign to ensure every single Durham Public School student...
Read morePastoral Note – September 1
Good afternoon, Yates Family, I miss you! Over the next few weeks, we are taking the next steps for the church for more live engagement and to be physically closer to one another. In September, we will build on what that congregation has said is...
Read moreA 30-day Call to Prayer for our Schools
It has never been more important to support our students, teachers, administrators, and schools at every level than it is right now: each faces unique challenges as they enter the fall of 2020, and we are asking you to accept the responsibility...
Read morePastoral Note – Worship Info
Dear Yates Family – I miss you! These past few weeks, I have been praying intently for our church and for the many in our community who are engaging the new challenges of college, classroom and virtual schooling. I pray for teachers...
Read moreResumption Roundtable July Report
July 30, 2020 Dear Yates Baptist Church Family: As we move toward summer’s end, the workgroup focused upon the status of coronavirus disease in our community and the proper and safe reopening of church facilities and grounds continues to...
Read morePastoral Note July 14
Dear Yates Family – My prayers for you precede my letter this week. Y’all are on my heart and mind just about all the time! As I’ve told you before, one of the great difficulties of this experience for me is coping with my longing to gather with...
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