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“"Prayer is lifting one’s heart to God."
~ John Wesley
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Worship services at 8:30 & 10:30 AM
NO Education Hour
Sermon:
"Hearts Glorified"
by Samantha Gonzalez-Block
Scriptures: Psalm 68:1-10; John 17:1-11
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APNC Update
Upon the unanimous recommendation from the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC), the Session has called a congregational meeting immediately following worship on Sunday, June 11, 2017 to hear a report from the APNC and vote on its nominee for Associate Pastor.
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Sign up for Summer Courtyard Fellowship | Click HERE!
Please take this opportunity to sign up for a Sunday to help serve lemonade and water after the 10:30 worship service. Paul will have the table, lemonade, water and cups ready for you. You can bring some treats if you want or just stick with the beverages! This is a great opportunity to meet members of the church and expand our hospitality. It is also a wonderful way to talk about something you are passionate about and share that love or advertise upcoming events. SERVE opportunities, councils, Room at the Inn, PW circles, choir, SOS, APNC, and even individuals are welcome to sign up for this opportunity!
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Meet Katie Rosenson, our summer intern!
Katie will be arriving
June 9
and leaving
June 30
. She will be at Montreat with Samantha for the youth conference her first week here. She will be around GCPC her second week attending staff meetings, helping plan worship, taking a pastoral visit or two, and lots of other stuff! Her final week she will be with Heather at Marketplace.
Katie is currently a sophomore at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, studying Philosophy of Religion and English Literature. As a student active in campus life, she serves as a Spiritual Life Assistant to freshmen students, a representative on the College of Theology and Christian Ministry’s Student Advisory Board, an active member of the local UKirk ministry, and she sings in Belmont’s
University Singers
in addition to being part of a High Holiday choir at The Temple in Nashville. After college, Katie hopes to attend Princeton Theological Seminary to receive her Master of Divinity degree and become an ordained Youth Minister in the PCUSA Church.
Raised in an interfaith family in the suburbs of Chicago, Katie is passionate about fighting for social justice and promoting religious tolerance. She particularly enjoys cultivating leaders among children and youth and walking alongside them as they work to answer difficult questions. Katie is excited to gain insight into the daily duties of a youth pastor (or any pastor) and explore how her ministry might one day spread God’s love in this capacity.
Katie has two amazing big sisters, Joanie and Abby, who double as her best friends. She loves puppies, Indian food, space documentaries, hiking, singing and playing instruments, reading, and the musical, Hamilton.
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*We are excited to announce that the Session has voted to continue our 8:30 AM worship service year-round. It will not go on hiatus over the summer.*
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Stewardship Corner
Did you know that 63.5% of our annual budget is personnel related? And, did you know that we have the best personnel – ever? Of course you did. Your pledges and offerings make it possible to attract and keep this dedicated and inspiring cadre of folks on staff. For example, our sexton, Paul Van Antwerp, works days, evenings and weekends, depending on the church’s schedule. He balances his work with family activities and his own “Sabbath” – usually a Monday or Friday wandering in nature!
Paul is hip-deep in our construction, and is delighted it is underway. He sees this building effort as a way to continue GCPC’s welcoming ways. He says, “With a little creativity and participation, we can increase the spirit of welcome and sense of sanctuary for all who enter here. So long as I can help create those spaces for those that enter these doors, I am answering God's call to serve.”
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GROW
*Education Hour will return in the fall.*
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Implicit Bias Workshop | Saturday, June 3 |
9 AM - 3 PM | GCPC | $20 (includes lunch)
Registration ends this Sunday, May 28! Vahisha Hasan (MDiv; MA in Mental Health Counseling) will facilitate this workshop. Vahisha is the Executive Director of Movement in Faith; co-director of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Council; board member of Building Bridges and core organizer of Asheville Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). In this workshop, we will learn about brain functions and environmental conditioning that lead to unconscious biases. We will discuss how awareness of these automatic responses is crucial to interrupting them and specific actions we can take to combat them. $20 registration fee, lunch included. Make checks payable to GCPC, with "Implicit Bias workshop" in the memo; scholarships are available. Space is limited, so sign up soon! To email Sherrie Meehan to register, click HERE.
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Dementia Series @ GCPC | Sundays | June 4, 11, 18 | 6 PM | Sanctuary
Whether you call it dementia, or Alzheimer’s, or memory loss, the result is the same: it’s a disease that changes everything. With our growing aging population, and without a cure anywhere on the horizon, we are called to learn all we can about a condition that will likely affect at least 50% of us. Join us for this 3-part series that will help you better understand the challenges of this disease and how you can reach out to families in your community who are already living with dementia. Sponsored by the Deacons of GCPC.
Class led by Mary Donnelly. Mary Donnelly is a dementia advocate, consultant, and educator. A former Board President for MemoryCare, a nationally-recognized non-profit medical clinic, she founded and coordinates the MemoryCaregivers Network. She is on the staff of nationally renowned dementia expert Teepa Snow, and is a certified Validation Practitioner.
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2017 Summer Women’s Memoir Series | Tuesdays | 7:00 PM | Jerusalem Room
Join us for a series of book talks focusing on memoirs written by people of faith. Hosted by Heather Gast and Samantha Gonzalez-Block and open to all women of the church. One copy of each book can be found in the newly revamped library annex upstairs in the Memorial Garden Overlook Please pre-read the books to ensure lively discussion.
June 6 | A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: The Journey of Doaa Al Zamel | Melissa Flemming
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Wild Goose Festival | July 13-16 | Hot Springs, NC
The Wild Goose Festival is an art, music and story-driven transformative experience grounded in faith-inspired social justice. This is a great opportunity for all ages and right in our back yard! Speakers this year include Nadia Bolz-Weber (House for All Sinners & Saints - ELCA, Denver), Rev. William Barber (NAACP-NC and Moral Monday movement) Diana Butler Bass, Dr. Otis Moss III (Trinity UCC in Chicago), William Paul Young (author of The Shack), Jim Wallis (Sojourners). For more information and registration, click HERE. GCPC has a special discount code, which will get you the best rate to attend the festival. Use “GRACE” code when registering. This is valid until July 7th.
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*Wednesday Bible Study will resume after summer break.
Wednesday Sanctuary Open for Prayer
Each Wednesday from 11:45 AM - 1 PM*, the sanctuary will be open for silent prayer. Some evenings will close with a brief time of centering prayer. *Please note time change.
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Cabbage Harvesting for Youth and Children| Sunday, June 4 | 11:30 AM | GCPC Garden
Please join Buzz and Heather in the garden immediately following worship. Adults are welcome to join us for harvesting.
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VRQ—BBQ Cook Team | Next cook date: June 6
If you would like to join the list of Veteran Restoration Quarter’s cooks and servers please email Anna Louise. By joining you will receive a monthly notification. If it fits your schedule for that date, you will come at 4:15 to cook or 5:45 to serve the evening meal. After serving, you may join the veterans and share the meal and conversation. This mission service has a long history and we would love for you to be a part of the camaraderie and fellowship. Questions? Contact Jim Wallis or Sergio Kavalhuna.
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Wednesday, June 7 | Staff Service @ ABCCM | 10:30 AM – 12 PM
The staff has three service outings planned during the summer. Feel free to join us and learn more about what happens at three of our ministry partners (July – 12 Baskets; August – GCPC garden).
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Seeking volunteer(s) to help coordinate a new International Missions Outreach team
Do you have a passion for Grace Covenant's role in the greater world? The Serve Committee is looking for one or two enthusiastic people to take a coordinating role with our international outreach partnerships in Haiti and Guatemala. While this role only requires a few hours a month, it will help to raise a larger awareness of our partnership in the congregation. Please prayerfully consider and email Buzz Durham
or Bonnie Parker
to learn more.
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Annual Blood Drive | Sunday, June 4 | 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM | Atrium
Although all appointments for the June 4 GCPC Blood Drive have been filled, we know that we will have cancellations. If you are still willing to donate, please contact Marilyn Schmidt (bigjewelry@bellsouth.net or 694-0869) to be put on a waiting list. Our greatest need at this point is snacks to supplement what the Red Cross provides.
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June PW Circle Meetings
#4 | Thursday, June 8 | 6 PM | End of year "Conversation and Cuisine" at Tupelo Honey (South)
#5 | Monday, June 5 | 11 AM | Dixie Quinlan | 206 River Ridge Drive | Leader: Susie Churchfield
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Sunday Flowers for the Sanctuary
Do you have an anniversary, birthday or other special commemoration that you would like to acknowledge with flowers in the sanctuary on a Sunday? The flower sign-up chart is located on the bulletin board next to the elevator.
All that's needed, after signing up, is to email Anna Louise your dedication for the Sunday bulletin and what you want ordered, and send in a check for $45.
Deacon of the Week
Each Sunday morning there will be a deacon available for everything from
praying with you to giving you a tour of the building. This deacon will be wearing a purple sash a
nd stationed in the narthex before 10:30 worship and in the front of the sanctuary after worship.
He or she is also available during the week if you or someone you love needs assistance from our board of deacons.
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Prayer List
[We are happy to pray for anyone who is in need. Concerns will stay on this list for a month unless we hear otherwise. Please keep us updated.]
Jerusalem Church congregation
Natalie DeVito (Karen Rohls' daughter)
Bobbie Whitener (Les and Susan Stradley's friend)
Sherry Harcke (Les and Susan Stradley's friend)
Elizabeth Nealon (Susan Mims' friend)
Linda Parker (Anna Jarvis' sister-in-law)
Irene Roop (Laura Ross' grandmother)
Kathy Robrecht (Beth Robrecht's sister-in-law)
JoAnne Hewett and family (Allison McLamb's co-worker)
Glenn Russell (Robin Gaiser's brother)
Thomas Hughes (Debby Vance's father)
Loucien Veilleux (Jim Veilleux's father)
Bill and Darlene Graser (Donna Robertson’s cousins)
Nedra and Larry Queen (Bob Walther's cousins)
Daniel Siegfried (Marilyn Schmidt's friend)
The Dey Family (Esther Colton's friends)
Barrett & Ali Payne (In Seminary)
Craig, Elsa and Josie Plocica (Sheryl Aikman's family)
Virginia Bradley
Hettie Lou Garland
Dot Holladay
Jerry Bleckley
Teresa Stern
Eve Rollins
Juanita Schneider
Ray Dean
Linda Stirk
Our sympathy and support are extended to Rhonda Callison and family following the death of her father, John Barnhill, on Friday, May 19th.
Our sympathy and support are extended to Jerry Bleckley and family following the death of his mother, Charlene Bleckley Phillips, on Wednesday, May 24th.
Please keep these families in your prayers.
A Service of Witness to the Resurrection and Thanksgiving for the Life of Mimi Aldridge will be held at Grace Covenant on Sunday, June 4th at 3:00 PM.
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Grace Covenant Community Out and About...
YAV Program needs your help!!
Is a young adult you know (21-26ish years old) thinking about their next life step?
Did you know that there is only ONE PCUSA YAV program site in North Carolina (or South Carolina, Tennessee, or Kentucky) and it's in THIS PRESBYTERY? Called Hands-and-Feet of Asheville, this YAV site has 20-somethings who volunteer in a local area nonprofit working directly with people on the margins, live together in intentional community, and have the space, time, and skilled guidance to explore what it means to live out their personal faith, in community with others, and what it might mean for who they are in this "one wild and precious life" (to quote Mary Oliver).
Hands and Feet of Asheville, in partnership with the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) Program - Presbyterian Church (USA), is recruiting for program participants for the 2017-2018 program year (late August 2017 through late July 2018). PLEASE SHARE with any parents or young adults who might be interested, they may start the application process anytime. PCUSA Young Adult Volunteers DEADLINE for 2017-18 applications is JUNE 1, 2017!!
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"migration" - A progressive dinner supporting justice for immigrants | Wednesday, May 31 | 5 - 8 PM | $75/person
C
ú
rate, En La Calle, French Broad Chocolates, and The Block Off Biltmore will host "Migration," a progressive dinner, on
May 31st
to raise money to expand Pisgah Legal's services to low-income immigrants. Click HERE for more information and to buy tickets.
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12 Baskets Cafe | Volunteer Shifts in June
12 Baskets Cafe is a non-profit, volunteer-run Cafe that serves rescued food in West Asheville! Click
HERE
to sign up for a volunteer shift in the month of June. They are located beneath Firestorm Cafe and Books but the entrance is off of State Street. The address is 610-002 Haywood Drive.
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church | 828.254.3274
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
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