Meredith, Joseph, Savannah
pickin’ and sunshine
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Isaiah 55–The Compassion of the Lord
A new communion set has been given to the Tobacco Trail Church based on the text from Isaiah 55:13
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
I had not realized until just now the very fluidity of this text with worship planning for this Sunday (9/25/11) at Juliette and the Tobacco Trail.
Our communion set is made out of myrtle wood from Oregon and the prophet Isaiah indicates that such a wood is a sign of an everlasting covenant. It’s the anti-brier.
This Sunday in worship, we will explore the earlier verses in chapter 55 (vv.1-9) and the covenant keeping that God calls us into. How God loves us and turns our small view of economy on its’ head. How we are forgiven in ways that even our sinfulness makes us unable to hear, see, think about, and receive. Yet nonetheless, God’s abundant pardon is true and real.
Come and hear about God’s love for you.
Sunday, 530pm at http://g.co/maps/6ntz4
B3 Boys Biscuits Bibles
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We are currently meeting on Monday’s at 7:00am at the Biscuitville on Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd 27707. We are reading through Romans and on December 5 we will be in Chapter 12. Will you join us? We hope to encounter the kind of pensive Paul that Rembrandt depicts when the saint was in prison. Check out Van Gogh’s Open Bible and consider letting the text of Paul’s letter to the Romans read you.
Golden Calf
Exodus 32:1-14
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” 6They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.
7The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; 8they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!< 9The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. 10Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.” 11But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’“ 14And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
Vision
An outpost in the body of Christ focusing on the people and land near the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, North Carolina and the surrounding areas.
Our fellowship and mission begins with a four-fold model of worship: Gathering, Word, Practice, and Sending Forth.
Simply, we get together. We actively listen to scripture and preaching. We participate in the ancient practices of the church such as: The Lord’s Supper, Foot Washing, Anointing, and Baptism of new believers. Finally, we are set loose to be God’s people in the world and to share the body of Christ in all that we do.
At our primary level we are formed to worship God. We are invited to take all the historic Christian traditions of worship and both mimic and renew them through the gifts of imagination, creativity, and restoration.
Second, we are called to go forth and enjoy the creative wonder that is God’s world. We celebrate the outdoors actively. We take note of the details of nature. We share the glories of God’s creation by making friends with our neighbor be they perceived friend or foe. We also consider ourselves gathering in the spirit of recreational activities. Specific to the American Tobacco Trail this may begin with walking, running and biking. But we are not limited in terms of how the trail might be used more creatively.
The Holy Spirit has infused us with power to imagine the church based on traditional models and outside of traditional models. For now, we are blessed with mobility and simplicity, gathering in no one plot or building, but staying mobile and creative, listening to where the Spirit tells us to gather in order to begin our liturgy or the work of the people.
We are in the habit of meeting for worship at 5:30pm on Sundays along the American Tobacco Trail. Our first public worship was June 26, 2010 and we planted on May 22, 2010 (Pentecost).
A Testimony
God impressed upon me that the ATT could be a point of inception or detonator for Durham’s city transformation via prayer evangelism (PrayDurham). The TTC is strategically meeting on the symbolic body of Christ… It must/will be a prophetic force of the detonation.
John B. Durham, NC
The focus of worship these past few weeks and the weeks ahead surrounds geography and thinking spatially. When the Tobacco Trail Church was in its’ womb stages we imagined a geographic cross and this MLK/ATT crossing is the center of that cross. The top end of the long bar is at American Tobacco Campus. The bar runs South along the trail holding Christ’s head, torso, and his feet as they come to rest at the 6.5 mile marker at South Point Crossing Shopping Center. His right arm runs along MLK and his hand rests at MLK and Old Chapel Hill Road (further would be Old South Square). Finally, his left arm extends to HWY 55 and his left hand comes to rest at the intersection of MLK and 55. This is the geographic swath of the Tobacco Trail Church as it was originally envisioned. It is not a perfect tic-tac-toe sort of +, instead it is a weaving vine-like cross, but if you see it on a map (which I highly encourage) you will see it’s cross shape. Where does your life intersect with the points of this cross or the circle that could be drawn to connect its four points? Where does the cross need to be extended to include your life or the life of others?
From The Doughman to Bull Moon Ride…Our love for DRM is growing.
Registration is now OPEN for the 2011 Habitat Bull Moon Bike Ride!
If you don’t already know about this ride, dust off the old bike and sign up!!!
Meet with friends of the Tobacco Trail Church and Community on the front steps of the Durham Ball Park at 8:15pm. There is a bike rack with a bull on it and we will take a group picture there and then head to the start line. 
Here’s a blurb from Habitat:
On Saturday, July 16 at 8:30 p.m. don’t miss out on a fun, quirky nighttime meander through the streets of downtown Durham.All riders will tackle a 10-mile city tour complete with a rest stop at Durham Central Park. After the rest stop, riders can choose more adventure by joining an optional 8-mile group trail ride looping through south Durham and up the dark and peaceful American Tobacco Trail.
Also, if you don’t know how we have partnered with Habitat in the past read more about their Faith Relations:
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian organization. We welcome all who desire to be a part of this work, regardless of religious preference, race or background. You can learn more about theology of Habitat for Humanity on the Habitat International website.
Communities of faith play a vital role in Habitat. Local faith communities support Habitat by:
- Donating funds to Habitat for Humanity of Durham
- Volunteering with Habitat of Durham
- Educating themselves and others on the need for affordable housing
- Advocating for change
Interested in getting your faith communities involved with Habitat’s work?
Contact Roxanne Hall Little or 919.698.3910
We have worshiped with Habitat friends at TTC and hope to do more in the future, maybe even help build a house 
The Doughman and Apex Street Bridge
Tobacco Trail Church Friends,
Check out a 2005 image of the Apex Street Bridge at: http://www.traillink.com/trail-photos/american-tobacco-trail.aspx
Sad to see the bridge torn down, but I was happy to worship with many of you along this earlier image(2006) of what has been left in it’s place. Notice in the 2006 picture that the only trail access is on the Forest Hills side, but now there is a mirror pathway up to the St. Teresa’s side. These days all neighbors can access the trail. God is good.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Speaking of the Apex Street Bridge, I will be riding my bike by that same location at approximately 8:20am on Saturday as part of The Doughman. I will be competing with my Suffern All-Stars teammates Frank, Brendan, and Jason. Frank will have tagged me in transition from his swim and run, and Brendan and Jason will be waiting on me to dodge traffic on the bike so that they can get in some speedy running and eating. Brendan and Jason ran the Boston Marathon as a tune up for their main event of the season — THE DOUGHMAN. Brendan even prayed for the early delivery of his second child, which of course was answered. Well, maybe that’s pushing it
Event is 8am on Saturday, May 28, in the Durham Centre parking lot (corner of Foster and Seminary). Join for the festivities, including the race for you early risers, and post race festivities which start at a more sensible hour –10:30am. I promise it will be fun to watch. We promise to do you proud and would love for you to support our efforts and those of SEEDS, DIG and SeeSaw Studio. Give on behalf of our team at: http://tobaccotrailchurch.com/donate-now/
Current update: We have raised almost $500 which would give us a 2 minute time bonus. Next goal: $1500 for a 6 minute time bonus. WE WOULD RATHER NOT PLAY CATCH UP! HELP OUT!
These non-profits really want your Dough. All monies given through the Tobacco Trail Church on-line or by check made out to “Tobacco Trail Church” are tax deductible and will go directly to SEEDS, DIG, and SeeSaw Studio. Get your money in by Friday because everything has be paid at sign-in to count for time bonuses.
The Suffern All-Stars are the defending champs and we need your help to defend the Crown and support these great charities. Don’t miss out on participating in one of the Bull City’s coolest events.
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Blessings,
Rev George Linney
Pastor, Tobacco Trail Church
One Year, We made it!
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the Tobacco Trail Church. We are one year old! It was Pentecost weekend, last year, Saturday, May 22, 2010. Seven of us sat around our living room over a prayerful book study of Turn Your Face by Barbara Linney. After the session was over and some friends spoke and were heard in ways they clearly had not expected, my mother and I reflected on the gathering. We confirmed what we had seen and heard. We remarked to one another, that was the first gathering of the Tobacco Trail Church. It was subtle. It was unexpected that this gathering would be the launch for a project that was coming, but we did not quite know when and how. But there was no doubt. It had happened. It felt to me like a line from scripture, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him” (Lk 24:31).
From the book, my mother quotes one of my wisest teachers and hers, “This is the sovereign grace of God in persons that a man can be heard through anything, and once he has been heard, he is really never again as if he had not been heard” (Carlyle Marney).
Among other things, we try to make space for such hearing at the Tobacco Trail Church. Join us tomorrow and receive a free copy of Turn Your Face. Our gift to you.
See the announcement below:
The Tobacco Trail Church will worship this Sunday, May 22, 5:30pm. At the old Apex Street Bridge. Park at the corner of Apex and Fargo Street and take the ramp down to the trail. Or if you are coming on foot or bike, this is near the 0.75 mile marker on the trail. Pictures of the bridge area are attached.
Last week at worship we had 10 streets and trails signed up for as part of the Pray Durham Initiative. Are you prayerfully considering your trail or street? Some locations to consider: Third Fork Creek Trail, Riddle Road Extension of ATT, Ellerbe Creek Trail from Trinity to Washington. Or pray first, for the street closest to where you live. Let us know so we can let the Bless Durham folks know where and how you are praying. Check these locations out on a Google Map. I took some pictures of these places during a bike ride earlier in the week and I would be happy to provide you with some pictures for your discernment.