Looking Toward this Sunday September 17, 2017

Scripture: Romans 14: 1-12 and Matthew 18: 21-35
Sermon: Standing Before God

Robert Alexander will preach at 11 in the sanctuary and 8:30 and 9:45 in Lingle Chapel.
           The scripture lessons for this Sunday both have to do with relationships within the community of faith.  How do we maintain unity when we believe and practice different things?  Even more difficult is the question of forgiveness.  When we have been wronged by someone else, how do we forgive and how many times should we forgive?  Both texts invite us to take a step back and to consider our own relationship to God and how we are given mercy, forgiveness, and love.
            When we imagine standing before the Almighty, do we expect to receive God's grace and mercy?  If the answer is yes, then how can we deny that to others?  This is the question that both Paul and Jesus ask.
            In a world where both national and individual relationships are fractured by pride, arrogance, and abuse, can the church model another way of being in relationship that offers a glimmer of hope?

The Geneva Choir will sing Almighty God, Who Hast Me Brought at the 8:30 service.
The Chancel choir will sing Grace at the 11:00 service .

September is Hunger Action Month!  
It's Hunger Action Month! Here are some things you and your family can do!
1-   Give to 10 cents a meal!
2-   Bring canned goods to place in our "Loaves and Fishes" carts that are located outside of the church each Sunday morning. Faithful volunteers take these food items to Ada Jenkins Loaves and Fishes food pantry each week to help feed members of our community.
3-   Volunteer to serve at the Mooresville Soup Kitchen or at Angels & Sparrows in Huntersville.
4-   Glean with us and the Society of St. Andrews on September 23rd . We need 20 people to go with us and help clear a field of its produce for a local food pantry.
5-   Plan to help out with our annual CROP Walk on October 14th !
6-   Learn about the ways that our Global partnerships in Kenya and Nicaragua help feed others in those communities through our mission funds. Come to one of our upcoming presentations to learn more.
7-   Write a letter to your elected officials encouraging them to support measures that help those who are hungry. Participate in our "Offering of Letters" Sunday on September 24th  and help change policies that will make a positive difference in the lives of those who are most vulnerable.

Youth Music Begins this Sunday!   
Youth Music begins this Sunday, September 17 at 6:30 in the choir room, grades 6-12. For more information contact Jane Cain or David Brinson. Adults are invited to Geneva Choir at 5:00 Sundays or Chancel Choir at 7:00 Thursdays; we would like additions in all the voice parts. Come with hearts and voices!
Organ at Davidson Starts this Monday!
The season opens This Monday, September 18, at 7:30 with a spectacular program of music for organ and strings by three world-famous musicians. Dongho Lee, the 2010 winner of the national competition of the American Guild of Organists, will partner with a violinist and cellist from the Borromeo Quartet from the New England Conservatory, performing music by Josef Rheinberger, Max Bruch and Tomaso Vitali. Nicholas Kitchen and Yeesun Kim are in demand as chamber musicians all over the U.S., South America, Asia and Europe. They perform on sixteenth-century instruments, a Stradivarius violin and a Zanetto cello. Check Steepletalk or dcpc.org/organ for a full press release. The concert is free with donations gratefully accepted, and is followed by a reception sponsored by Friends of the Organ.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE!   
WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE Dinner is at 5:45 in the Congregation House. RSVP's ARE REQUIRED, before noon on Tuesday for dinner. New Kids Club- for information contact Jenny Alexander.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR DINNER
Offering of Letters-September 24   
In Brian McLaren's book Everything Must Change , we are encouraged to engage in change that impacts local, national, and global policy.  The organization Bread for the World has been at work for years speaking to our leaders in Washington, D.C. and other places about the need to care for the most vulnerable in our communities and throughout the world.  Their Offering of Letters encourages us to share our thoughts with our elected leaders and encourage them to vote in such a way that more people will have access to life saving food.  On September 24 after each worship service there will be tables set up with sample letters, envelopes, pens, etc. that will make it easy for us to share this message with members of Congress so that they might soften their hearts and vote in favor of caring for the poor.  We will also provide opportunities to send letters digitally.  This event, co-sponsored by our Community and Global Mission Committees, supports our commitment to bring an end to hunger and poverty.  Please plan to join us for a few minutes after worship on September 24.  Please contact Robert Alexander   with questions.

SAGES Odd Month Luncheon will be on Thursday, September 28 in the Congregation House.  Plan to arrive by 11 for a time of fellowship.  Eric Rice, DCPC's new chef, will have lunch at 11:30.  Cost is $8.  Rev. Tony Marciano, Executive Director of the Charlotte Rescue Mission will speak. Bus will leave The Pines at 10:50. Reservations (CLICK HERE) must be made via the Church Office by September 25th.  
SAGES Day Trip to the NC Mountains, Thursday October 19th.  Coach bus will leave at 8:15 a.m. to West Jefferson to take in the fall leaves, enjoy lunch at Shatley Springs and visit several area frescos. Bus Cost $20.  Lunch $8-12 (off menu) $18 (family style). Reservations (CLICK HERE) must be made via the Church Office by Sept. 28th.  Only 49 seats available.
DCPC Blood Drive
DCPC BLOOD DRIVE will be Monday, October 2, 2:00-7:00 p.m. in the Congregation House. Sign-ups will be available soon. Please contact Linda Drimalla to donate food, volunteer to work registration, hospitality, clean-up or set-up or to sign up for an appointment to donate blood.  If you prefer, you may sign up for your own appointment by visiting redcrossblood.org.  Look for the blue box that says Give Blood and enter the code DCPC then follow the prompts.  Please join us for this life saving Community Missions sponsored event.  Thank you!
Adult Faith Formation
Covenant Bible Study is starting this Wednesday and it's not too late for you to join the morning class. Contact Susan Manning or John Ryan to register or for more details.
 
Covenant (9:45 a.m. Congregation House)
September 17, 24, October 1.
Doug Ottati, the Craig Family Distinguished Professor of Reformed Theology and Justice, will present a three week refresher course in Reformation and Reformed theology in celebration of the 500 th Anniversary. We will explore "scripture alone," or the basic methodological principle of the Reformation, "grace alone," or its basic substantive principle, and the humanist character and content of the Reformed movement. So, three sessions: sola scriptura, sola gratia, and a Reformed Christian humanism.

Maloney (9:45 a.m. Parlor)  and The Pines (Marshall Room)
September 17: Sabbath Observance   Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 31:12-18;  Isaiah 56:1-8
September 24: Spirit-Filled Heart   Ezekiel 36-37; Titus 3:1-11

Jubilee (9:45 a.m. Upper Room)   We will celebrate the beginning of the 2017-18 Jubilee Class with our traditional kickoff of food, fellowship, and reconnecting for the fall season.  (Among other delicacies, if you've never tasted Jeff Gray's ham and sausage biscuits, they are to die for!)  Classes will build around study and discussion of The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus's Crucifixion by N.T. Wright, a groundbreaking biblical scholar.  We will intersperse this study with theological reflection on timely political, social and cultural issues and events as they present themselves during the course of our meetings.  Please join us in Room 212 ("The Upper Room) at the 9:45 Sunday School hour as we together attempt to understand and engage the explosive, revolutionary implications of the cross of Jesus Christ for the church and world today.

Financial Update and Attendance

Davidson College Presbyterian Church
PO Box 337
Davidson, NC  28036
704-892-5641
www.dcpc.org