Our missions program at Cane Creek is based on this premise: We accept missions as an imperative from God. We will increase and expand the scope of our mission effort within and beyond our community. We will also continue to address needs in our own congregation. We will provide opportunities for all members to be involved in service projects.
Here's how it happens at Cane Creek:
Outreach
Yet another form of outreach is to share a description of our faith journey. You can see words from Kaye Snipes.
Cane Creek has welcomed members of the community for centuries! Check out our 2007 Homecoming Dinner! If you're a newcomer, or even if you've been here all your life, you might like to see our visitor brochure (600KB PDF file). We also have a church-wide email list server! We usually send out a weekly update on how folks are doing, and other interesting news gets sent out from time to time. If you'd like to be on our list, click here or send an email to webmaster@canecreek.org!
Another popular form of outreach are the many trips organized through the church. Often, a group of enthusiastic arborists will head west to see the brilliant fall foliage. Other times, the trips head to other popular destinations. They always are a big hit!
2006 Trip to Chimney RockBaptism
Cane Creek has a long tradition of baptism "down at the creek." You might enjoy taking a look at some pictures from a Baptism in 2001. We have some other pictures from a baptism in August 2002. And some other pictures from a baptism in September 2006.
Bible Study
From Oct, 2001, through April, 2006, we had a study group that worked their way "Through the Bible" during the course of their study. Feel free to take a look at the materials!
Later, in November 2006, we started a detailed study of Revelations. Come join us, or take a look at the material!
Appalachian Service Project
2004 ASP Work Crews (300KB)In 1999, Cane Creek joined University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill on an intergenerational mission trip to the mountains of Appalachia. This mission pairs adults and high school students with families in poverty. Repairs on homes and interaction with the families are the goals of this endeavor. No matter what your skill level (or lack thereof), you can be used on this mission trip. We went again in the summer of 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. We plan to keep on going with this important mission work. You can see the 2004 ASP Work Crews (300KB) if you're willing to wait for the down load. You might also like to see one of the presentations we make to the church about our work. Here is the 2006 ASP Trip Presentation (as PDF).
Several of the people who go to work on the ASP projects keep journals. We've added this section so that you can see first-hand what some of the folks experienced and the work they did. Please send yours on in!
Bluegrass Gospel Fall Festival
On October 1, 2005, we held a fantastic Bluegrass Gospel Fall Festival with music, singing, dinner, and fellowship! Everyone had a great time! Take a look at the flyer to get the full story. You can also take a look at some pictures from the 2005 event! Vacation Bible School
One of the great ways we reach out to the kids and youth of the community is with our annual VBS (Vacation Bible School). We usually kick off the week with some great fun on Sunday evening and continue through the week. Each year the program is different, allowing everyone to enjoy a fresh outlook and new experience! After a week of working together, the youth and kids present what they've learned to the whyole church on the next Sunday. Please take a look at some of the program's we've done:
World Changers
During the summer of 2000, our Youth and several adult chaperons went to West Virginia with the World Changers organization. This experience is similar to the ASP trip only it is geared more toward middle school and high school students. Plans are to continue with this opportunity. Students and chaperons are needed!
Easter Parade
Do you like parades? Why not join us for our Easter Parade? Each year on the Saturday before Easter, we get together at the Activities Center and then parade down Orange Grove Road to the church parking lot. We're not just parading for the sake of parading. We're celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. And what better way to celebrate than with a parade! People bring their bicycles, four-wheelers, lawnmowers, old cars, and we have a fire truck or two. At the conclusion of the parade we have an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. This event has allowed us to meet a number of new people in the community over the years. Join us! Here are some pictures from the 2002 parade.
Angel Tree
Every Christmas the congregation adopts 3-4 families who are not able to give gifts to one another and help them with basic needs. Okay, we also slip in a toy or two here and there. These families are referred to us through the department of Social Services.
Harvest Fund Offering
Each Fall in November we collect our Harvest Fund offering for missions. People have a chance to designate a specific mission they would like this money to go towards or if left undesignated, we divide it up among several mission organizations. The past couple of years we have divided up the money as follows:
Orange Congregations In Mission 33%
Baptist Children's Homes 33%
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 15%
World Hunger 10%
State Missions 9%
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
This is one of two mission offerings that support Baptist missionaries. People have the option of giving their money to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or the Southern Baptist Convention. If the money is not designated, we divide it equally among the two.
Annie Armstrong Easter Offering
This is second of two mission offerings that support Baptist missionaries. People have the option of giving their money to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or the Southern Baptist Convention. If the money is not designated, we divide it equally among the two.
Deacon's Benevolence
Each quarter the deacons collect a freewill offering that addresses needs in our local community. In the past, this money has helped fire victims rebuild homes, has addressed emergency medical needs, and has helped people in various other emergencies. When a deacon becomes aware of a need, that deacon confers with another deacon and a check can be quickly cut. People in need are often right next door. We don't want to miss those opportunities to serve.
OCIM Food Pantry
Orange Congregations In Mission (OCIM) is a cooperative effort of churches here in Orange County that addresses needs that often go beyond Social Services. They have a food pantry that collects non-perishable food and then gives it out as needed. Throughout the year we encourage people to bring in non-perishable food and then we make sure it gets to OCIM. At our Thanksgiving Service, we encourage people to bring an offering of canned goods that goes to OCIM.
Disaster Relief
In the past couple of years, devastating hurricanes have affected many people's lives. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd flooded many homes in the Rocky Mount / Wilson area. We have participated in the clean-up and rebuilding efforts several times. We have gutted flooded homes and helped people get back on their feet using our labor and skills. This work has been some of the more difficult and rewarding mission work we have undertaken. After the tsunami in late 2004, Cane Creek raised considerable funds for the relief effort.
Harvest Festival
Have you ever heard of Trunk-O-Treating? Me neither, until Matt Walton introduced this concept to us a few years ago. On the traditional Trick-Or-Treating night we provide a safe alternative for kids to come, play some games, eat some hot dogs, and get some candy. People set up their Trunk-O-Treat stops in the backs of their pickups or out of the trunks of their cars.
Volunteer Fire Department
A big part of our missions program is serving people in our community. A number of our congregation members volunteer their time with the Orange Grove Volunteer Fire Department and First Responder program. In fact, the Chief and two of the Assistant Chiefs are members at Cane Creek. It's not unusual on a Sunday morning for the fire whistle go off and to have 1/3 of the congregation get up and leave in response to an emergency. I think this is some of what Jesus meant when he taught about being the hand of God in our world.
Choir and Choir Retreats
Cane Creek's Adult Choir meets each Sunday morning at 10:00am (a bit earlier when working on cantata music) to practice. They provide a mix of contemporary and traditional music as a special presentation each Sunday. We also lead the congregation through the hymns that are sung. Please come join us! We can always use other voices.
Each fall the Cane Creek Choir takes a retreat down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to work on the Christmas program. There are some action photos of the group practicing and other activities on the trip. Please go to our page that has a large number of photographs from the 2000 choir retreat. It'll take a few moments to download everything. It'll be worth the wait!
We go on various music related outings in the evening after our workout. In 2004, we visited 'Legends' in Myrtle Beach, and had a great time. We also have a wonderful breakfast in one of the local restaurants, here's the whole 2004 crew on Sunday morning.
In 2005, our trip was a bit later than normal and we were able to visit Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach to see their Christmas show featuring the Rockettes. Here we are in the lobby in front of the Christmas tree: first take and second take.
Our choir members have spread to all parts of the earth! Cindy McIntyre left in 2004 with her husband Don to be in New Zealand. From time to time she sends us love packages in the form of photos from down under.
Senior Dinner
Each December a dinner is given by the church for the seniors in the congregation. A sumputous meal is provided at the Cane Creek Community Building. Please check out the pictures from our 2001 dinner. You can also see pictures from the 2000 dinner that has a number of photographs. These will take a moment to load, but you'll enjoy the result.
During the fall, winter and early spring, Cane Creek has dinners up at the activity building on the first and third Wednesday nights. Lots of folks volunteer to cook, make deserts and clean up after. It's all scheduled ahead of time, so you can look to see who does what when. The schedule for 2006-2007 is available.
Cane Creek also supports Bob and Hope Carter in their mission work in Zambia, Africa. You can send them an email at bob.carter@sim.org but due to their slow connection speed, please don't send graphics. Check out their October 2006, December 2006, March 2007, April 2007, August 2007, September 2007, October 2007 or December 2007 chronicle.
Mission Statement / Vision Statement
Cane Creek has spent the time to expand our Vision Statement to include goals we've set for the church. Please go to see what we've set forth for our church.
