FBC Raleigh News • September 8, 2020 |
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MEETING THE CANDIDATE
Please join the search committee as we introduce our candidate for the position of Minister of Youth and College! Keeping COVID safety protocols in mind, we have reimagined ways in which our congregation can participate and engage in this exciting time in the life of the church. Members and lay leaders in the youth and college program are invited to attend small group events specifically designed for them. Folks in these small groups can also look forward to email invitations with additional details for these gatherings.
Friday, September 11
6:15pm • Middle School leadership, Baileywick Road Park shelter #1
7pm • High School leadership, Baileywick Road Park shelter #1
Saturday, September 12
9:45am • Middle School youth, Pullen Park shelter #3
11am • High School youth, Pullen Park shelter #3
4:15pm • Wilderness Class, FBC garth courtyard
2-4pm • FBC members & families, FBC garth & parking lot
On Saturday afternoon, all FBC members and their families are invited to come and meet the candidate in person. Please join us for a receiving line-style event from 2-4pm at the church. We ask that you park in the deck or in the back parking lot and make your way down the sidewalk along Edenton Street to the garth area. After meeting and speaking with the candidate, you’ll exit the courtyard and return to your car. In order to minimize crowding and wait times, please register at the link below for a 30-minute visitation window. For members who would like to meet the candidate but prefer to remain in the car, please register or plan to attend during the last visitation window of 3:30-4pm. Members choosing this option should enter the back parking lot from the Edenton Street driveway. For questions or further information email Karen Poteat.
The search committee is so very excited for you to meet this outstanding minister!
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BIBLE VERSES FOR DAILY USE
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Tuesday, September 8: Psalm 121; Exodus 12:29-42; Romans 13:1-7
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Wednesday, September 9: Psalm 121; Exodus 13:1-10; Matthew 21:18-22
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Thursday, September 10: Psalm 114; Exodus 13:17-22; 1 John 3:11-16
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Friday, September 11: Psalm 114; Exodus 14:1-18; Acts 7:9-16
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Saturday, September 12: Psalm 114; Exodus 15:19-21; Matthew 6:7-15
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Sunday, September 13: Exodus 14:19-31 and Psalm 114 or Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21; Genesis 50:15-21 and Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35
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Monday, September 14: Psalm 77; Joshua 3:1-17; Hebrews 11:23-29
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DEACON ON CALL • SEPTEMBER 6-12
Chuck Underwood (919-782-4887)
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WEEK AT A GLANCE • SEPTEMBER 7-13
Tuesday, September 8
10am Staff Mtg. (Zoom or Library)
6:15pm MS Small Group (Zoom/1107 Marlowe Rd, Raleigh)
6:30pm HS Bible Study (Helms’ Home)
Wednesday, September 9
6pm Centerpoint Small Groups (Zoom) “What is Community?”
6:30pm Children’s Mission & Music (tba)
Saturday, September 12
10:45am Meet the Minister of Youth & College candidate (Pullen Park shelter #3-MS students only)
11am Meet the Minister of Youth & College candidate (Pullen Park shelter #3-HS students only)
2-4pm Meet the Minister of Youth & College candidate (FBC garth & parking lot)
Sunday, September 13
11am Virtual Worship (YouTube)
5:30pm Church Conference (Zoom)
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TOY JOY 2020
SERVING DURING A PANDEMIC
Over the summer, several members of the Toy Joy team discussed how we could hold this event, given the COVID-19 pandemic. We brainstormed ideas, knowing the format would have to be vastly different, in order to minimize risks for our guests and volunteers.
The Toy Joy Team held its first virtual team meeting on August 21, planning with the question in mind: “What CAN we do safely?” We decided that this year’s event will be a “curbside pickup” format. Our goal is still to enroll approximately 1000 children (about 300 families). Following is a brief summary of our plans.
Our registration process is moving online, with some accommodations and strategies (such as working with local agencies) to reach families in need. Parents will provide some individualized information about their children and their interests to assist our volunteers in pulling together gifts for each preregistered family. We will then schedule that family to come pick up the package “curbside” in the back parking lot on one of the event days, tentatively planned for November 21 and 22.
We have simplified what we are providing to families, due to logistics and the need for revised assembly procedures. We will not be adding stockings or adult items this year, but otherwise we are still able to offer gifts for each child and family, similar to what we have provided in the past.
What does this mean for volunteers and contributors? WE STILL NEED YOU!!
We will have volunteer opportunities on multiple days during October and November for the following:
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To work at FBC: in small teams sorting and assembling family packages and/or volunteering for a shift on the event day to help distribute packages to registered families.
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To work from home: holding virtual prayer circles to pray specifically for a subset of families we enroll, making wrapping kits, or writing notes.
We also have opportunities to contribute toys, supplies, and monetary donations. This year we will ONLY be able to accept NEW toys. There will be Amazon and Walmart “wish lists,” which you can access to purchase needed items and have them shipped directly to the church. There will be designated days to drop off NEW toy donations if you prefer. In addition, we hope to collect enough funds to purchase a Food Lion gift card for each family, so you may also contribute toward that purchase as well.
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HURRICANE LAURA RELIEF OFFERING
Thank you to all who gave to the Heck-Jones Offering. We didn’t reach our goal, but $7,323 allows us to do much for the projects we chose. September is when we collect for the NC Mission Offering; however, September is also hurricane season. Last year it was Hurricane Dorian and this year Hurricane Laura brought unbelievable devastation to parts of Louisiana and Texas.
Jesus calls us to love our neighbors and designating this NC Mission Offering to CBF Disaster Response is a great way to show our love. By design, the CBF Disaster Response isn’t first on the scene but they have a strong track record of "turning off the lights" months after FEMA and other organizations have left. Their first actions were to work diligently with state and regional CBF organizations to position material resources like tool and shower trailers for a volunteer response to Hurricane Laura. As Baptists, they partner with local churches, organizations, and neighbors to rebuild communities because God transforms communities not only through carpentry and sheet rock, but also through relationships.
Please join CBF in praying for those affected by Hurricane Laura and please give generously to this offering to support CBF Disaster Response’s relief and long-term recovery efforts.
Nancy Moore Phillips
WMU President
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DRIVE-BY GOODBYE PICTURES & THANK YOU
We hope you enjoy these images captured by photographer, Rae Stevenson at last Sunday's drive-by goodbye celebration for Dr. Mary Alice Seals! Enjoy viewing the entire gallery below, followed by a thank you note from Mary Alice.
Dear Church Family,
Every moment of my retirement celebration was sheer joy, including many tear-filled moments. The presentations made in the worship service were beautiful and touching. The gift cards for my 20th anniversary will be put to very good use as soon as travel is safe again. The candlelight scene from the Hanging of the Greens will be a cherished part of my Christmas decorations, reminding me of many beautiful moments with our church family. The love offering is an extravagant representation of your love, and my green stole is a very meaningful physical representation of connectedness. The virtual choir was beautiful and moving, and I am so grateful to Mark Hopper for bringing all of those faces, voices, and instruments together in such a creative way. The postlude video put together by Chuck Underwood brought lots of smiles and some tears as it brought to mind many wonderful occasions and dear people. The drive-by goodbye was incredible. I enjoyed having an opportunity to SEE so many of you and to speak with you, if only for a few moments. Your posters, balloons, cards, and other mementos have brought me much joy as I have read each one over the past week.
Thank you for helping mark my retirement in such a special way. Thank you for the privilege of ministering with you for these past twenty years. May God’s grace and peace be with each of you in your continued mission to be the hands and feet of Christ as you share God’s love with our community and beyond.
with love, Mary Alice
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CENTERPOINT RETURNS
This fall, our Centerpoint meetings will focus on the theme of Community. On Wednesday, September 9, we kick off that theme with a conversation that attempts to offer an overview of community, laying the foundation for the rest of the fall meetings. There are two ways to join us for this first conversation, tomorrow evening. We know that many in our congregation have missed gathering in person, and we’re pleased to offer an in-person meeting for those folks.
In-person option:
The in-person meeting will take place entirely outside and will start around 6pm at the church. We will be in small groups of 10-15 throughout the night, and people will be appropriately spaced within those groups. Please bring a mask and join us for a time of prayer, fellowship, and discussion. Things will wrap up by 7:30pm. If you’re coming in person, please consider signing up here. It will help us to have a soft head count.
Zoom option:
The zoom meeting will also run 6-7:30pm. To join the online conversation, click here. While everyone will join through the same Zoom link, the online conversation will also feature small groups of 10-15, so the experience will be very similar to the in-person option.
We hope you can join us Wednesday night at 6pm as we return to our midweek meetings!
September Centerpoint Schedule
Wednesday, September 16 (presentation, 6:15-7:30pm): Christian Community in Times of Duress: Insights from Bonhoeffer, Moltmann, and Others. Our own Chris Chapman will kick off the first of our large group Zoom meetings by helping us to think about the role community has played during deeply challenging times.
Wednesday, September 23 (small groups, 6:00-7:30pm): What’s In A Name? Our names shape our identities, both as individuals and as groups. Connect with others over a conversation about how our communal names shape us and what those names convey about us.
Wednesday, September 30 (presentation, 6:15-7:30pm): Paul’s Letter Writing. New Testament scholars Diane Lipsett and Rick Vinson will lead us via Zoom as we discuss how Paul used letters to foster community, especially when he couldn’t be physically present.
Children's Music & Missions:
Though more details will be communicated directly to parents, we will have outdoor, socially distanced children’s activities on Wednesday nights in various backyards from 6:30-7:30pm. Three-year-olds through Kindergarteners will have missions and non-singing music activities on one Wednesday night, first – fifth grade GAs will combine and have missions and non-singing music activities on another Wednesday night, and first – fifth grade RAs will combine and have missions and non-singing music activities on another Wednesday night. The cycle will continue as long as it is light and warm enough to continue being outside!
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HOUSING ALL FUND
As a faith community, we are deeply grateful to have a way to extend financial help to our neighbors in need. The Fellowship Fund is used nearly every week to help individuals in our community that find themselves in various crisis situations. We help people with everything from rental assistance to Food Lion gift cards. Pre-COVID, folks would call on the first of the month, and we would book in-person intake appointments. Leah would meet with the individual during the Clothing Ministry hours and have a chance to get to know their need, providing assistance when possible. The need is so great that we are very rarely able to help with an individual's entire bill. This means that we can pay a part, and then we end up piece-milling help together from other churches. This ends up being a headache for our neighbors in need, because they have to call multiple churches to get the help that they need. Last fall, four downtown churches sat down with the Wake County Housing Department to talk about the possibility of pulling our resources together for a collaborative, multi-church fund to provide assistance to our community.
Beginning September 6, this dream is becoming a reality with the new Housing All Fund. In partnership with Pullen Memorial Baptist and the Wake County Housing Department, our church will be doing a coordinated intake process for anyone in need of rental or utility assistance. Wake County has significant funding and programs available for rental and utility assistance, but not every resident qualifies for that help. For example, our undocumented neighbors do not qualify for any assistance through the county, making up roughly 9% of our population that is in danger of becoming homeless over the next few months. When it's safe to gather in person again, we'll be training volunteers on Wake County's coordinated entry process so that we can bridge the gap between the church and county, connecting folks to available help. We have already had several churches give towards this effort, and we hope in the days and months to come that this develops into an interfaith, multi-church fund to help those in need. We will still keep the Mike Morris Fellowship Fund, and gifts to that offering will go to this new effort along with our own continued emergency assistance needs. Our hope is that by working together as downtown churches, we will be able to help more families through this new, collaborative approach. For questions or further information, please email Leah.
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RISE AGAINST HUNGER MEAL PACKING
2020 has been full of new ways to do old things and Rise Against Hunger has worked hard to find safe but productive ways to continue their goal of stopping world hunger. Leah Reed and Nancy Phillips visited their warehouse this week and they feel good about their set-up to ensure proper social distance between volunteers.
We are now seeking volunteers to sign up for one of two shifts on Sunday, October 11, at the Rise warehouse location at 3200 Wellington Court, Suite 111 (near Gresham’s Lake). The 1st shift is 1-2pm, and the 2nd shift is 3-4pm. These one-hour shifts will allow us to keep the numbers smaller so work stations can be spread out all across the warehouse. Also, the hour break will allow us time to properly clean equipment, work stations, and bathrooms between shifts. We're asking that everyone wear a mask so that we can do this as safely as possible. Work stations will be set up based on the relationship of our volunteers. Some will work great for family units and others are designed for non-related individuals. There is room for everyone!
We're looking forward to this opportunity to be in the same room with some of our church family as we do our part to stop world hunger. For questions or more information, please email Nancy Phillips.
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AAWC'S WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Each week, we'll start posting And Also With 'Cue's weekly schedule. We post this on our Facebook page, but we want to make sure you all have this information as well. We will let you know our regular lunch schedule and if there will be outside events on the weekend for you to attend!
Come eat with us this week:
September 8-11, 11am-1:30pm
(or until sold out),
in the church parking lot.
Have an idea about how to giveaway food in our community? Email Leah!
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SLIGHT CHANGE OF OFFICE PROCEDURES
While the church office will remain closed to the public for the immediate future, we will have someone in the office Monday through Friday, 8:30am-5pm to answer the phone and let people in for pre-approved activities (mail, janitorial, and food deliveries; maintenance work; and a few small meetings). The staff and church council continue to monitor all realities related to COVID-19. In addition, we are in the process of forming a risk management advisory group that will help us make decisions related to reopening. We still encourage you to contact any of the ministers if you have a pressing need, using the following email links: Chris Chapman, Trey Davis, Lynn Lingafelt, and Leah Reed.
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WAYS TO GIVE
There are several different ways in which you can continue to support the church financially during this time of social distancing. We know many people are facing their own financial challenges right now and have been very generous already, but a number of people have asked how they could support the church while we are unable to gather together physically. Wayne Hager has provided the following answers to this question.
• We continue to receive mail daily. Any gifts mailed to the church will be processed and deposited as soon as possible.
• We will continue to debit bank accounts through auto drafts as we have been instructed by donors.
• If you have set up a recurring donation through one of our electronic options, those donations will continue without interruption unless YOU make a change.
• If you wish to begin electronic giving, please go to this link where each of our options is explained.
• If you are considering a stock gift, please visit this link for instructions.
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AMONG OUR FAMILY
A link to the entire prayer list may be found below.
Please use your church directory for mailing addresses.
A WORD OF THANKS
"Thank you for your prayers, cards, and calls during my recent surgery and recovery. We greatly value our FBC family and look forward to being together soon." - Britt Cobb
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THE RECORD WE WROTE
Week as of August 31, 2020
Current Week Revenue: $4,824.00
Month-to-Date Revenue: $93,497.49
Year-to-Date Revenue: $962,681.05
Month-to-Date Expenses: $124,080.91
Year-to-Date Expenses: $921,302.82
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SUBMIT A ROSE WINDOW WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENT
Do you have an announcement that you would like to include in the Rose Window Weekly? All information must be submitted by Thursday at noon, to be included in the following Tuesday's edition. Just fill out the Google form in the link below, and we'll make sure to include it in next week's publication.
For any questions concerning the Rose Window Weekly,
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A link to the current and archived editions of the
Rose Window Weekly is available on the website.
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First Baptist Church Raleigh| (919) 832-4485 | 99 N Salisbury St, Raleigh NC 27603
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