FBC Raleigh News • March 9, 2020
WHAT COLOR IS
IN YOUR WALLET?
 
It’s ACC tournament time! We will be pulling for our favorite teams as they fight for the title of champion and a spot in the NCAA tournament. Outside the Fellowship Hall, in the Lewis Lobby, the youth will be having an “easy” fundraiser. For one week, March 8-15 , you can donate money in honor of your favorite team. You will see red and blue envelopes that might emphasize a famous past player or a famous year, as well as some white envelopes with which you can make a donation in honor of your favorite team (whose colors may or may not be red or blue!). In the end, your money will go to support our youth and missions, so really, all colors are a winning colors! 

CHURCH CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The 2020 dates for Church Conference will be as follows:
April 1 • May 20 • August 19 • September 30 • October 28 • November 18 • December 16
THIS WEEK IN
CENTERPOINT

March 11
Body Elective • A trip to Urban Ministries of Wake County. The Body Electives for Discipleship Training on Wednesday nights in March will be visits to nearby non-profits which meet the needs of our low-income neighbors in Wake County. To have enough time for a good overview of each program, the times for these visits will be different from our normal Wednesdays.  A bus will leave from the church parking lot promptly at 6:35pm. Each location is approximately five minutes away. The programs will be 30-45 minutes at most so the people riding the bus can be back at church by 7:30pm. If you wish to provide your own transportation, please arrive at the non-profit location no later than 6:40pm. For more information about Urban Ministries, read the article below!

Mind Elective • Tim Brock will be leading a three-week multidimensional study of Luke 15:11-32, the passage traditionally identified as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. During the second session, the group will interact with the text using a method called psychological biblical criticism. In this approach, the interplay of various psychological dynamics (family, parenting, personal development, etc.) in the text will be identified and explored.

Menu: Grilled chicken, vegetable medley, and pasta.
Non-Meat Menu: Mock chicken.
Kids Menu: Pizza

Coming Soon in Centerpoint Electives...
March 18
Body Elective • Trip to Oak City Cares
Mind Elective • During the third session of the Prodigal Son study, participants will explore various artistic representations of the parable to experience this tender story of homecoming.
WEEK AT A GLANCE • MARCH 9-15, 2020
Monday, March 9
10am Clothing Ministry Opens
11am Sisters in Grace (CR)
6pm Finance Committee Mtg. (CR)

Tuesday, March 10
10am Staff Mtg. (CR)
10am Clothing Ministry Workday w/Salem Baptist Church
10:30am WMU Group 2 (Springmoor)
5pm Church Council Mtg. (CR)
6pm Theology on Tap (Raleigh Times, 14 E Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601)
6:30pm HS Bible Study (Helms’ Home)

Wednesday, March 11
10am Clothing Ministry Mtg. (CR)
4:15pm Works in Progress (P)
5:30pm Backpack Buddies (301)
5:30pm Evening Bells (307)
5:30pm Children’s Session 1 (Missions)
5:45pm Centerpoint Meal Served (FH)
6:30pm Prayer and Announcements
6:45pm Adult Programming (FH) &
Children’s Session 2 (Music)
7:30pm Choir Rehearsal (310)
Thursday, March 12
7am Band of Brothers (CR)
10:30am Thirty-Niners (FH)
12:30pm Library Committee (Li)

Friday, March 13
10am Japanese-American Cultural Exchange (301)

Sunday March 15
Family Promise Week Begins
8am RA Car Race Set-up (FH)
9am Nominating Committee Mtg. (CR)
9:45am Sunday School
11am Worship (S) Filomena Baby Dedication
11am Japanese Worship (227)
12pm RA Car Race (FH)
4pm Youth Bells (307)
5pm Youth Choir (310)
Youth Group (FH & Blue Rm.)
BIBLE VERSES FOR DAILY USE
  • Monday, March 9: Psalm 128; Numbers 21:4-9; Hebrews 3:1-6
  • Tuesday, March 10: Psalm 128; Isaiah 65:17-25; Romans 4:6-13
  • Wednesday, March 11: Psalm 128; Ezekiel 36:22-32; John 7:53-8:11
  • Thursday, March 12: Psalm 95; Exodus 16:1-8; Colossians 1:15-23
  • Friday, March 13: Psalm 95; Exodus 16:9-21; Ephesians 2:11-22
  • Saturday, March 14: Psalm 95; Exodus 16:27-35; John 4:1-6
DEACON ON CALL • MARCH 8-14
Cara Lynn Vogel (919) 946-7596
WORDS OF GUIDANCE ABOUT THE
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

After talking among the staff and consulting with some of the medical professionals in our church, we’ve decided to offer a few words of guidance about the coronavirus (COVID-19). As in all matters, our church desires to play a helpful role in the community, state, nation, and world in which we live. Toward this end, these basic guidelines seem appropriate at this point and are in keeping with the CDC’s recommendations (visit the CDC's website for more information). We will provide further guidelines as warranted.

• Avoid contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Stay at home when you are sick and see your primary care provider if your symptoms persist or increase.
• Cough into your elbow, sneeze into a tissue, and dispose of tissues properly.
• Wash your hands with soap and water before and after contact, eating, sneezing, and coughing, and use alcohol-based sanitizers when soap and water are not available.
• (This is an added word for the life of our church) Until further notice, let’s restrict physical interaction to a fist or elbow bump and refrain from handshakes and hugs. This is difficult for many of us, I know, but for those who are less comfortable with extensive contact and like Robert Fulghum’s term “the great hugging plague” – this is your time!

As we heed these basic guidelines, may we also pray for all affected by the virus, all medical professionals responding to people in need, all in research who help find treatments and cures, and all in a position to increase funding for research. In today’s world, we are all interconnected. What happens to anyone anywhere affects all of us everywhere. But even if we are never affected personally by COVID-19, as Christians we care deeply about those who are, as the God who has created all of us surely does. -Dr. Chapman
THE SEASON OF LENT

As we enter the holy season of Lent, we invite you into 40 days of reflection, examination, and preparation. We hope these devotionals serve as a daily guide as we journey to the cross together.


Join us for our special services during the season of Lent: 
• April 5  - Palm Sunday Worship Service, 11am
• April 9  - Maundy Thursday Service, 7pm 
• April 12  - Easter Sunrise Service, 6:30am; Capitol Square
Easter Worship Service, 11am
CLOTHING MINISTRY WINTER CLEARANCE FAIR

Each year we schedule a special Saturday event in the Clothing Ministry to clean out our winter clothing to make room for our spring items. Please mark your calendars for  Saturday, March 28, from 8:30am-1:30pm  and join us. We have two shifts for this event, so you may join us for the whole day or choose a shift that works best for you. Please keep in mind that we'll need more helpers in the 2nd shift. 


Shift 1 • Volunteers are needed from 8:30-11am. This work mainly will be helping guests with selections and checkout, and then beginning to bag leftover winter items at the end to donate to Durham Rescue Mission.
Shift 2 • Volunteers are needed from 10:30am-1:30pm . This group will focus on cleaning tasks and then resetting the area by filling the racks with our spring items to get ready for Monday. 

Sign-up with the link below, or email Sabrina.
HONOR A LOVED ONE
AT EASTER

By paying tribute to a loved one this Easter you will also support FBC mission teams. With each gift of $10 or more, a portion will be used to prepare a small display of lilies in the sanctuary on Easter and the remainder will be directed to the Day Mission Fund, supporting the efforts of various mission teams sent from our congregation. An insert in the Easter worship order will list the names of those memorialized or honored along with the donor’s name.  Submit your request  HERE. Checks or electronic payments should be received no later than  Wednesday, April 1 . Forms are also available in Sunday School boxes. Checks should be mailed to: Financial Administrator, First Baptist Church, 99 N Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27603; please write “Easter Gift” in the memo line.
AAWC IS HITTING THE ROAD

Beginning April 7 , we will be taking the AAWC truck on the road! We'll be partnering with different non-profits in our community, getting connected with our neighbors in a new way. We need your help volunteering at these different sites! We will set up some tables and chairs, serve bbq sandwiches, and make friends with whomever shows up. It's simple, and there's absolutely no agenda other than getting to know our neighbor, and possibly helping to connect people to resources available in our community. We are going to be traveling every Tuesday after the truck closes from the lunch shift, so this will be an ongoing opportunity for serving in our community. At most of these locations, we will be serving between 3-4pm, so shifts are a shorter time commitment. We will post the monthly schedule in the sign-up link, and in this publication. Visit the links below to learn more about these non-profits, and the work that they do in our community!

April 7 • Haven House, 600 W Cabarrus Street
April 14 • Urban Ministries , 1390 Capital Boulevard
April 21 • CASA , 624 W Jones Street 
April 28 • Pullen Memorial Baptist Church , 1801 Hillsborough Street

If you enjoy connecting and meeting new people, we would love to have you join us on a Tuesday afternoon. Sign-up to serve here!
For more information, or questions about our community partners program, email Leah.
BODY ELECTIVE TRIP TO
URBAN MINISTRIES

This Wednesday, March 11 , our Body Elective will be taking a trip to Urban Ministries of Wake County, a non-sectarian nonprofit whose largest program is volunteers. Programs are named for their outcomes of improving heath, easing hunger and improving nutrition, and finding a path home for homeless women. Volunteers and professionals stand with and advocate for children, families, and adults living with poverty. Rather than “do for” or “do to,” or even “do with,” Urban Ministries invites staff, volunteers, and neighbors in need to meet, share stories, and make their own choices to seek better health, nutrition, and a path out of homelessness to home. This program will be led by Dr. Peter Morris, their Executive Director. Urban Ministries is located at 1390 Capital Boulevard, Raleigh, NC 27603. To learn more, visit their website.
TABLE DECORATORS NEEDED FOR MARCH

Please consider helping the social committee with table decorations for Wednesday night suppers during the month of March . You do not have to be artistic or creative to help with this project! Decorations are typically simple, and we have plenty of things to choose from in the Fellowship Hall storage room. The sign-up link below has more information explaining this opportunity and the months available. Thank you for helping create a beautiful space for our Wednesday night suppers!

For questions, please email Dawn Wade.

MARCH MISSION PROJECT

This month we will support "Feed the Pack," a food pantry at NC State that provides food for students, faculty, and staff. 14% (4750) of their students are cutting portion sizes, skipping meals, and going hungry. The pantry opened in 2012 and has collected over 137,650 pounds of food, serving close to 10,000 people since they opened. It's open five days a week and folks can shop once a week. While they accept most any non perishable items, we will concentrate on these needed breakfast items:

Cereal
Oatmeal
Pop Tarts
Granola

You may place your donations in the marked drawer in the Lewis Building cabinet anytime in March. Also, thank you for your donations of cleaning supplies for Interact - they are greatly appreciated. - Anne Cooke
DINNER SERVERS NEEDED

On Friday, March 20 , And Also With 'Cue will be catering the dinner for CBFNC's Annual Gathering at Trinity Baptist Church, here in Raleigh, and we need a few more folks to help set-up and serve that meal! There will be two lines, with our volunteers serving the food. Dinner is from 5-6:30pm, but we will need everyone in place no later than 4:30pm . Clean-up will be simple, since the food is served with disposable plates and utensils and there will be minimal table decorations. If you are available to help, please email Leah.


UPDATE ON CLOTHING MINISTRY LUNCH SPONSORS

Thanks to your generous support of the Clothing Ministry Monday lunches, we only have a few unclaimed dates for the rest of the year! We are grateful for the Everette Miller Friendship class for their support of last week's lunch. The following dates are still available for sponsorship:

September 14
October 5
November 2
December 7

Email Leah to reserve your date!
DO MORE, SERVE MORE, CHURCH MORE STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN

As of  March 5 , we have received 178 pledges totaling $1,233,136.89 for the 2020 budget. Our finance committee is proposing a very slight decrease for 2020, bringing the total budget to $1,586,646. The proposed budget was presented at the October church conference and, when pledge cards have been returned to the church, the budget will be presented again for approval by our congregation. For your review, copies of the full budget are available in the church library and in the members-only section of our website. You may also request a copy by calling the church office at (919) 832-4485. Please help us meet our budget goal by returning your pledge card to the church office, or by  pledging online.   This year, let’s work together to serve more, do more, church more. 
AMONG OUR FAMILY
Sympathy to Michael Hawks on the death of his mother, Sarah Hawks . Cards of condolence may be sent to Michael at   2012 Mallard Lane, Raleigh, NC 27609.

A WORD OF THANKS
"I want to thank the Everette Miller Sunday School class for their generous donation for the RPD Officer Charlie Ainsworth, and wife Jenny. Caring for other people, this is who we are." - Gaston Perry 

"We want to thank all of our church staff and family for your love and care during the illness and death of Sheila's beloved cousin, Tim Lawson. Your support meant a lot to us."
- John & Sheila Hite 

THE RECORD WE WROTE
Week of March 2, 2020
Current Week Revenue: $31,493.27
Month-to-Date Revenue: $31,493.27
Year-to-Date Revenue: $364,524.51
Month-to-Date Expenses: $11,552.64
Year-to-Date Expenses: $256,692.92
CBF Global Missions: $11,795.82
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 Monday'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 , contact Leah Reed. Email Leah here.