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"There is in God, some say
A deep but dazzling darkness"
~ Henry Vaughn,
"The Night"
Sunday Preview
Sunday, February 18, 2018
First Sunday in Lent
Worship services @ 8:30 & 10:30 AM
Education Hour (for all ages) @ 9:15 AM
Sermon:
"Wilderness" by
Richard Coble
Scriptures:
Psalm 25:1-10; Mark 1:9-15
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- Lenten Centering Prayer | Wednesdays (starting 2/21) | 12 Noon | Sanctuary A 30-minute service of song, scripture, silence and prayer.
- Spiritual Practice & Christian Life Today class | Sundays (2/25-3/18) | 5 PM | Sanctuary Experience a variety of Christian spiritual practices that can strengthen your faith journey in our busy and conflicted world today.
- Moving Through Lent - with Yoga & Fellowship | Fridays | 12 - 1 PM | Sanctuary Want to try Yoga based movement? Here's your opportunity! Join Susan Meade and Laura Ross for this class. No experience necessary. Bring a yoga mat if you have one. (We have a few extra mats!)
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Adult Education Lenten Term | February 18 – March 25
Pressure Points:
From Darkness into Light: A Holocaust Survivor’s Musings about the History of Jewish-Christian Relations
w/ Walter Ziffer
| Choir Rm
"The title of the class is significant and hopefully educational as it points to a twenty centuries long adversarial relationship between Christianity and Judaism that led to catastrophe. Thanks to Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council, the window to reconciliation was finally opened and light streamed in. My presence in this church, as a Jew, having been invited to give these talks, is a hopeful sign of acknowledgment that things have changed for the better and that reconciliation finally is in view."
Walter Ziffer is a professor emeritus of theology and the author of a number of books, including
Confronting the Silence: A Holocaust Survivor's Search for God
.
Facilitator: Walter Ziffer
Digging In: Women Leaders in the Bible | Jerusalem Room
Exploring six gospel texts of women's encounters with Jesus, this class will examine the central role of women in Jesus's ministry, placing each text in its social and cultural context and examining the ways the gospels worked to subvert many of the gender roles of their time.
Facilitator: Leah Madamba
The Improv:
Relearning How to Listen to Each Other
| A-Frame
Utilizing counseling techniques and engaged listening practices, this class will be study of how to listen. We will explore the many ways we fail to hear and acknowledge those we encounter every day and, conversely, the ways listening can improve and strengthen our relationships.Finally, the class will explore a theology of listening, how relationship come from God and how we grow closer to our creator when we deepen our relationships with others.
Facilitator: Richard Coble
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Celebration Team Meeting | Wednesday, February 21 | 5:45 PM | Sanctuary
Bring your creative ideas and voice to our next meeting as we prepare for the Easter season. All are welcome!
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GET READY TO MOVE MOUNTAINS ON YOUTH SUNDAY
!!!!
"Truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move."
- Matthew 17 - 20
Youth Sunday is coming up on Sunday, March 11th! The GCPC youth are thrilled to share their youth group theme "Moving Mountains" during the course of worship. To help the congregation get excited, they are sharing a video each week from their "Moving Mountains" downtown interviews.
The second video is by Elsa, Emily, William and Katie! Ready? Action! Enjoy!
GROUP 2 VIDEO HERE!
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Faith Forward Update:
193 pledges totaling
$
768,498.40
We are 91% of our way to our pledging goal.
We still have $71,501.60 to raise.
If you have not turned in your pledge, please do so today!
As we move toward our pledge goal, we were especially pleased that several members increased their 2018 pledges. We invite everyone to remember all the programs that GCPC has planned - for members, for children, for the community and for the world. Then, we hope that those who haven't yet pledged will do so, and perhaps others who have pledged will choose to increase their contribution.
To make changes to your pledge, contact Natalie Weaver at
giving@gcpcusa.org
or 828-254-3274 x.202.
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Creating Sanctuary: Tip of the Week
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How do you greet Spanish speakers in their own language? "Hola" may be your answer, but this informal greeting can be misinterpreted if you say it to someone other than a family member or a close friend.
"Buenos días," (good morning), "Buenas tardes," (good afternoon), or "Buenas noches " (good evening) is the safer bet for an opener with a Spanish speaker. Obviously, these phrases differ slightly with what time of day you are speaking. They are all safe and respectful terms to use to say hello.
Fine points like these small differences in greeting a Spanish speaker, say more than just hello. They are paths to trust, respect and genuine love for our immigrant neighbors. Let's monitor our words!
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Power and Race Team (PART)
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February is Black History Month.
How often do we consider the history of our whiteness?
I am white, from primarily Scotch-Irish, west-of-the-Appalachians, farming stock with maybe a little Native American mixed in. I guess I was in third grade when I first noticed my whiteness, relative to a new friend’s non-whiteness. I was thirty and attending Building Bridges when I first realized the term white privilege, and that I was and am a beneficiary of this privilege.
It has been within the last year, through experiences with racial equity training at my children’s elementary school and through the racial justice ministry at GCPC, that I have awakened to my own culture of whiteness. Naming and understanding whiteness is uncomfortable and avoidable. I can pretend colorblindness is real because I am white and part of the dominant culture. I am continuing to lean into the discomfort of racial justice work, not because any of our current injustices are directly my fault, but because I believe it will help us arc towards a more just future for all of God’s children. These two videos do a convincing and succinct job of explaining the
history
and
invention
of whiteness.
Peace, Amy Wiesner
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The call for a Human Relations Commission in Asheville
arose last summer when the only existing public forum for complaints, the Citizens Police Advisory Committee, broke down under the weight of increased community concerns. The need for equity impacts every sphere in Asheville. If you are a parent, a teacher, a business owner, an employee, a member of a faith community or social group, whatever circles you walk in are where you have spheres of influence. Talk this issue up. And get other people writing and calling and showing up to meetings. For more information and a call to action, click
here
.
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YWCA Racial Justice Workshop | 2nd Tuesday of every month | 11:30 AM - 1 PM | YWCA (185 S. French Broad Ave.)
These 90-minute workshops are open to all YWCA Asheville constituents, and are facilitated by YWCA staff members. Learn shared language and concepts related to racial justice, develop an understanding of how racism shows up in our lives, and become familiar with the YWCA's racial justice framework. Click
HERE for more info or to sign up.
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Microaggression Workshop with Dr. Alysia Fischer | Tuesday, February 20 | 5:30 - 7 PM | Evergreen Campus (
50 Bell Rd)
Microaggressions are casual degradations of any marginalized group. Often they're done unconsciously and result from social conditioning. Although microaggressions are often committed unintentionally, their impact can be significant.
Join us as Dr. Fisher explains the impacts of microaggressions, how to recognize when we're committing them, and how to change our behavior moving forward. Dr. Fischer is a Diversity Educator with 15 years experience teaching diversity courses. She is also an Evergreen parent.
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"The Appalachian Origins of the Modern Civil Rights Movement in the USA" | Thursday, February 22 | 6 PM | UNCA - Humanities Lecture Hall
Join us for a public talk by Dr. William H. Turner, Research Scientist Leader of the Social Systems and Allied Research at Prairie View A&M University.This presentation frames the overall Modern Civil Rights Movement in America around several key spaces, places, people, and events in Appalachia, that sparked and nourished the Movement.
This event is free and open to the public. Click
HERE
for more info.
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Click
HERE
to watch Michelle Alexander's talk at UNC-A.
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Help us get Michelle Alexander’s book,
The New Jim Crow
, into prisons!
The book was initially distributed in prisons and later banned twice. Recent efforts from the ACLU resulted in the ban being lifted in NC and NJ, just this week. Help us get this important book behind the prison walls in NC!
Purchase a book to send to our neighbors, friends, and family members who are currently incarcerated in the NC prison system.
Faith 4 Justice in Asheville
has partnered with
Movement In Faith/Transform Network
to organize this effort!
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Earth Team Meeting | THIS Sunday, Feb. 18 | 11:45 AM | Indie Room
Please join us every third Sunday of the month immediately following worship as we meet to discuss Earth Team plans.
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GCPC is an Earth Care Congregation!
PC(USA) congregations that have committed to the “
Earth Care Pledge
” and earned 25 points in four categories: worship, education, facilities, and outreach – are called “Earth Care congregations.” We first became certified in 2014 and easily earned the 50 points required for recertification each year. Last year we earned 248 points. Click
HERE
to learn more and see the Recertification Application. Take a minute and look at the form to see what other things our congregation can do to become more earth friendly. For info, contact
Tamara Puffer
.
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This Sunday’s Education for All Ages | 9:15 AM
(See Adult Education classes at top of newsletter)
CHILDREN & YOUTH EDUCATION @ 9:15 AM
[Contact
Samantha
]
Preschool/Kindergarten (ages 3-5) |
anytime from 8:30–11:30 AM |Preschool Sunday School Room (downstairs, Children’s Center)
Elementary (grades 1-5)
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9:10–10:10 AM |Temple Room
(upstairs, PZ)
Middle School (grades 6-8)
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9:15-10:10 AM | Middle School Classroom, PZ
Senior Highs (grades 9-12)
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9:15-10:10 AM | Senior High Classroom, PZ
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Click
HERE
to see a preview of the full year of
2017-2018 Adult Education classes.
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Women's Book Series | Monday, February 19 | 6-7 PM | Garden Rm
We will be discussing this month's PART book,
Sula
, by Toni Morrison. Women of all ages are welcome to participate!
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Bible Study | Wednesdays | 11 AM | Garden Room
Everyone is welcome to join the pastoral staff to read and study our sermon texts for Sunday. No preparation needed, just come ready to open scripture and discuss.
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One of our ministry partners,
is presenting a 4-part series on equity in the schools.
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Choosing Equity: Ending Racial Inequality in our Schools: What Actually Works? | Wednesday, February 28 | Event: 7 PM | Lipinsky Hall, UNCA
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a National Magazine Award-winning Journalist, writing on modern day civil rights for the New York Times Magazine. For tickets, please click
HERE. Click
HERE to see a video of Nikole Hannah-Jones.
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Food Connection Benefit - "Chefs in Action" | Thursday, March 1 | 6 - 9 PM | Celine & Company (
49 Broadway St.
)
Come to "Chefs In Action" to see what goes into making a Food Connection. Guests will enjoy a night of fun, food, drinks, music and fundraising, including delectable small plates from seven of our Food Connection donor chefs. You’ll hear from our Food Connection community about how we all work together to make it happen. Tickets available
HERE
.
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Click
HERE
for a link to the 2018-2018 GCPC Ministry Partners brochure.
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Garden Potluck
| F
riday, February 23 | 6 PM | GCPC Fellowship Hall
All are invited - new gardeners, veteran gardeners, garden supporters or just folks looking for a good time.
Critical to Note – the church kitchen is still under construction.
Each must
bring their fully prepared dish to share, ready to serve, and bring your tableware; do bring a friend or two and good food (it’s nice to identify your food offering.) A good time is in the making as we sup together then share plans for the 2018 garden season.
Come early and help set up or stay late to help clean up. We have much to share and discuss. Bring your stories, laughter, and enthusiasm for being able to grow and share food with our community.
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The Community Garden provided a total of 3,413 pounds of fresh produce to Loving Food Resources in 2017!!!
Click
HERE to read full letter.
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"Listening Session" for Children & Family Ministries | Sunday, February 25 | 11:45 AM | Sanctuary
Join us for the second listening session (hosted by the DCFM Search Committee) and add your voice to our ongoing conversation.
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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 and 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
Sherry Harcke (Les and Susan Stradley's friend)
Nikita Norris, Regina Hunter & family (Habitat for Humanity partner family)
Betty Weller (sister of Lucy Reiley and Margaret Peery)
Chris Barkley (Kathy Theoharis' sister)
Pat Cocke (Les and Susan Stradley’s friend)
Ben Johnston-Krase (Nancy Gaskin's friend and pastor of the Farm Church)
Ron Kaussner (Ron Hawkins' friend)
Betsy Needle (Robin Gaiser’s friend)
Glenn Russell (Robin Gaiser’s brother)
Roy Hicks (Melissa Hicks' father)
Melissa Noll (friend of Pam McGill and Pamela Culp)
David Whitt (Mary Ellen Horne's friend)
Leonard Hollifield, Sr. (Father/Father-in-Law of Leonard and Lynn Hollifield)
Mary Ann Dykes (Sister in Law of Steve and Sandra Dykes)
Kathy Giddens (Steve Dykes' sister)
Elizabeth Ross (Jonathan Ross' mother)
Bob Keever (Cynthia Keever's father)
Shannon Yantis (Kelly Spradlin's daughter)
Virginia Bradley
Hettie Lou Garland
Dot Holladay
Jerry Bleckley
Teresa Stern
Cindy Egerer
Jana Watts
Bob Busey
John Brigham
Susan Stradley
Sally Richardson
Betty Smith
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*Please note: Youth Sunday School will be held in the Choir Room this weekend. We will be joining the Adult Education class led by Walter Ziffer, a Holocaust survivor and theologian.
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Middle School Faith & Sexuality Retreat (For Youth & Parents) | Saturday, February 17 |
9 AM - 5 PM | Meet at Montreat
Thank you, youth and parents who registered for this all-important retreat! You should have received an email with all of the necessary information (please let
Samantha know ASAP if you have not received this). At least one parent must attend for each participating family. Lunch provided. Please turn in your payment to
Sherrie (the cost is $10 per person and full/partial scholarships available). If you would like to register late, email
Samantha ASAP.
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Senior High Faith & Sexuality Retreat "Healthy Relationships" | Sunday, February 18 | 12 PM - 7:30 PM | Montreat (Meet/pick up at GCPC)
Thanks to the youth who registered for this incredibly valuable retreat! You should have received an email with all of the necessary information (please let
Samantha know ASAP if you have not received this). We will travel to Montreat together, so please meet and pick up at GCPC. Lunch and dinner will be provided and the cost is free. If you would like to register late, email
Samantha ASAP.
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Grace Covenant Community Out and About...
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Working Wheels is hiring!
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Interfaith Peace Conference | Theme: "Meeting the Other: Can We Talk?" | March 1-4, 2018 | Lake Junaluska
Can we talk/listen to one another? At the Interfaith Peace Conference at Lake Junaluska we will demonstrate the art of building bridges of godly love, and participation in holy conversation. We can agree to disagree with civility and respect while upholding the core values of our various traditions.
Keynote speakers are The Rev. T. Anthony Spearman, Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, and Juliane Hammer. For more information and to register, please
CLICK HERE.
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A Spirituality Retreat - "Embodied Lenten Retreat" | March 9-10 | Bonclarken Conference Center (outside Flat Rock, NC)
Throughout this retreat, we'll explore what it means to embody Lenten themes and practices by engaging all of we are-our fears, hopes, hearts, intellects, bodies, and souls. We'll work toward personal and communal integration through creative exercises and activities you might bring home to enact in your own congregation.
Registration Deadline
: FEBRUARY 15th.
Retreat Leader:
Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity (Pastorist, Retreat Leader, Creative Entrepreneur, Color Fanatic, Mountains Enthusiast, Live Painter). Click
HERE
for more information or to access registration form.
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Enneagram Workshop led by Carol Hovis | Saturday, March 10 | 10 AM - 2 PM | GCPC
The Enneagram is a powerful tool to look at 9 distinct personality strategies of how we humans cope in relationships, work and world. It is an opportunity to learn and reflect upon our internal motivations and focus of attention. Cost is $55
(GCPC Member discount $45)
which includes snacks and hand-outs
. Bring a bag lunch. Contact Rev. Carol Hovis at
cmhovis@gmail.com
for more information or to register.
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Documentary Film "Hebron" by Yousef Natsha | 2 Screenings:
This 40-minute film examines human rights in a Palestinian community in Israel. Click
here to see flyer.
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church | 828.254.3274
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
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