Newsletter May 30, 2025
Newsletter May 30, 2025
Dear Cornerstone Family:
Thank you for your prayers as I begin sabbatical on Sunday. We are so thankful for our Cornerstone family! Before I sign off for a little while, I wanted to share with you about one of our ministry partners whom we are connecting with at VBS this week.
As a church, we have partnered with Mission to North America (MNA) Disaster Response for several years now. Going back to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, MNA Disaster Response has helped with responses to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, fires, and other disasters all over the country. They generally operate by partnering with churches or presbyteries where a disaster has hit, equipping the members of those churches and short-term teams with resources and equipment to do response work in the name of Christ.
On May 20, some tornadoes struck close to home. On Dug Hill Road, where some of our church members and two of your pastors live, there was a lot of tree damage and no power for a couple of days. The next day, a team from Cornerstone was there to assist with chainsawing and hauling debris, helping us and our neighbors! One neighbor simply said that the team was in the "hands of Jesus", and we praise God for such encouragement.
This past year, there have been several ways that Cornerstone has specifically partnered with MNA Disaster Response:
Several members have gone to the MNA Disaster Response Warehouse in Rome, GA, to assist with the organization of supplies. You can contact Andes Hoyt or Paul Dupre if you are interested in helping in this way.
When Hurricane Helene hit Western NC last fall, the Cornerstone Session and deacons approved financial gifts for MNA Disaster Response and several individual churches (Arden Presbyterian Church, Arden, NC; Fellowship PCA, Newland, NC; First Presbyterian Church, Augusta, GA; and Westminster Presbyterian Church, Johnson City, TN). We also sent church members and pastors to these places to do disaster response work, and I was also sent to preach at a church of some dear friends that had its building flooded.
The Presbytery MNA disaster response trailer has returned to the Cornerstone parking lot after spending a few years with our friends at Christ Pres. Teams and individuals from the Presbytery have used the trailer on several occasions, including in April of 2024, right here in Blossomwood.
Recently, I began serving on the MNA Disaster Response board for a term, and I continue to be encouraged by their ministry all over the country and our partnership with them.
Finally, this coming week at Vacation Bible School, we are collecting items for Disaster Response school supply kits. At the warehouse in Rome, GA, they keep several types of supplies (flood buckets, school supply kits, bedding kits, hygiene kits, etc.). Just yesterday, I read that a significant shipment of these supplies was leaving the warehouse to head to St. Louis in response to the tornadoes there. This is a wonderful way for us to help "replenish" warehouse supplies, particularly with the recent tornadoes and the anticipation of hurricane season.
Pray for our Vacation Bible School this week, as the children and volunteers learn from God's Word, that they would grow in the grace, love, and knowledge of Christ.
And continue to pray for MNA Disaster Response, and see the list on the flyer for how you can help with bringing items this coming week for the children to help assemble the school supply kits. The picture below is from the last school supply kit collection we did with MNA disaster response a couple of years ago, with Mike Kennamer, the warehouse manager and coordinator for our region.
Mike Kennamer, MNA Disaster Response Warehouse Manager for our region, and Pastor Brian
Pastor Brian
Preparation for Worship
June 1, 2025
This Sunday's Sermon:
The Treasured Volume -
Comfort in Crisis
Psalm 86
Click here to access the latest bulletins, listen to sermons, and watch the live stream.
Prepare your heart for Praise and Adoration with our Spotify playlist.
Cornerstone Prayer Requests
Pray for church members caring for family - Diana Akridge, Susan Dupré, Deborah Fitzsimmons, Kyle Mosier, Paul Poppe, Mike and Carol Wellfare.
Pray for healing - Dawn Chenault, Marc Goldmon, Matthew Lawrence, Tim and Gayle Ricks, Libby Stanfield, Butch Taylor, and others.
Pray for our homebound friends - Betty Baldwin, Bill and Suzi Bolton.
Pray for our expectant mothers - Rebecca Nunley (June), Morgan High (August), Grace Piercey (October), Christina Hall (October), Elizabeth Katz (November), and the Kawell family (adoption).
Praise God for the birth of Peter Mace, born to Andrew and Andrea Mace on Sunday, May 25. He is welcomed by big brothers, Matthew and Timothy, and uncle, Seth Waldecker.
Pray for our Missional Partnerships - Quiet Waters and Grace Fellowship Presbyterian Church, Albertville, AL (Rev. Jackie Gaston).
Pray for our VBS - that the children will grow in their faith and fellowship, and that our volunteers will also grow in fellowship with one another.
Announcements
May is Foster Care Awareness Month! - Information is available in the narthex to learn more about foster care and how you can support the foster care community in Madison County through The Forgotten Initiative.
VBS Upward Bound 2025 Registration - VBS is June 2-5 from 9-11:30 am. To register your child, please click here. Please contact Mary Cooper with any questions.
MNA Disaster Response School Kits - For VBS, we are collecting: blunt metal scissors, 24-count crayon boxes, one-subject notebooks, packs of loose-leaf paper, hand-held pencil sharpeners, rulers, unsharpened pencils, erasers, and two-gallon ziploc bags. Donated items can be dropped off in the Gathering Room.
VBS Volunteer Snacks - Help us bless our VBS volunteers with yummy snacks and special treats during their work at VBS! Learn more and sign up here.
RYM Fundraiser Car Wash - Support our students going to Reformed Youth Ministries summer camp! We are holding a free car wash on Saturday, June 7, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Donations will be appreciated!
Women’s Summer Bible Studies - We will offer three studies this summer! More information and registration are available now; click here!
Women’s Prayer Meeting - We will gather for a time of prayer on Thursday, June 12, at 10:00 am in the classroom at the top of the stairs.
Hurricane Helene Donation Information - To donate to affected churches, you can give to our benevolence fund or directly to MNA Disaster Response here.
Missions Moment
Each week we want to highlight one of our missional partnerships. Please take a moment to learn about these wonderful ministries that Cornerstone has the privilege of serving alongside.
This week's highlighted ministry:
The Mission of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church is to be a community of Christ's followers who worship, grow, and serve together to glorify God in Huntsville and throughout the world.
Please contact the church office by Thursday for changes or additions to prayer requests.
The Cornerstone Newsletter is a weekly publication emailed each Friday. To notify the church office of church members in the hospital or of births and deaths, or if you have a change of address or name, please contact office@cornerstonehuntsville.org or 256-489-4625.
1413 McClung Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35801
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