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Ultimately, when you're at the edge, you have to go forward or backward;
if you go forward, you have to jump together.
~ Yo-Yo Ma
Sunday Preview
Sunday, November 11, 2018
New Member Sunday
Worship Services @ 8:15 & 10:45 AM
Education Hour (for all ages) at 9:15 AM
Sermon:
"All In" by Marcia Mount Shoop
Scriptures:
1 Kings 17:8-16; Mark 12:38-44
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2nd Wednesday Dinners | November 14 | 6:00 PM | Fellowship Hall
Take a break from cooking and make some space for connecting with your church community.
These events are intergenerational. (No childcare).
RSVP to
Sherrie
by 12:00 pm on Monday, November 12th
so we can have a rough estimate for our order with Urban Burrito. But, if you forget to RSVP we hope you'll still come!
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Godly Play Informational Gatherings | November 11 & 18 |
12:00-1:00 PM | Temple Room (across from the Choir Room)
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Have you ever seen Godly Play, the story-based educational model at GCPC, in action? Well, here is your chance. There will be two identical opportunities for folks to experience Godly Play first hand. Knowing more about Godly Play, you will be well equipped to share with visitors, members and even folks in the community, how our children’s faith is being formed.
So, if you are a parent, a youth, a grandparent whose children live far away, if you are a partnered or single with children or without, if you are working in the home or outside the home, retired or an empty nester…this invitation is especially for you. If you feel a spiritual stirring within and long to go deeper with the stories of God and God’s people, you really should join us!
No need to RSVP. Childcare will be provided and light snacks served. Please take this time to see and hear our amazing educational model that invites all ages into God’s Story. For more information, contact Heather Ferguson (
hferguson@gcpcusa.org)
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Holding our brother Kelley Griffith in prayer as he leaves for Guatemala to visit with our sister church, Iglesia Jerusalem.
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All 22 members of the PWNC delegation made it to the airport on time!
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Buen viaje y vayan con Dios!
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"How Can We Keep From Sharing?" Update
As of 11/7/18, here's where we are on our pledging:
193 Pledges Received, 84% of 230 Goal
$
811,063.00
Pledged, 80% of Goal
This includes 28 new pledges from families that did not pledge in 2018. 63% of pledge renewals have increased their pledge from last year.
If you haven't already, please complete you 2019 pledge card, handwritten or
online
, and return to the Finance Office as soon as possible. If you have questions about your gifts or pledge, please contact Natalie Weaver, Stewardship & Financial Administrator, at 828-254-3274, ext. 202 or
giving@gcpcusa.org.
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AUTO GIVING
DOESN'T
ALWAYS AUTO RENEW
If you currently give through GCPC's online portal, your online giving may end 12/31/18 and was specifically linked to the 2018 General Fund. If you'd like to renew the auto-drafts or make changes to the amounts, you can do so for the 2019 General Fund online
here
.
From there, log in to manage your account and set up recurring weekly or monthly gifts.
The Give + mobile app is also another easy way to set up and manage recurring gifts. Simply download “Give Plus Church” from your app store on your smart phone and search for “Grace Covenant Presbyterian.”
If you are unable to set up your online payments or would prefer our Finance Office complete this request, please complete a new authorization form and return it to Natalie Weaver, our Stewardship & Financial Administrator, at
nweaver@gcpcusa.org
.
She is also available in the office Tuesday - Thursday and happy to help!
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For the last five weeks, GCPCer’s have been invited to consider how God is at work within our midst and what ‘prompts’ we each experience as we prayerfully contemplate our own personal ‘skin in the game’. Session has presented a budget challenge goal, confident in our collective ability and willingness to step into this faithful movement forward. And you have responded!!
We're 84% of the way there in pledges and we've raised 80% of the funds we need to reach our budget goal. We've already raised more in pledge dollars than ever before at Grace Covenant. Thanks be to God!!
We are working together to answer God's call. But we are not quite there yet. If you haven't pledged yet, please prayerfully consider doing so today. With such amazing momentum in our midst,
how can we keep from sharing???
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Creating Sanctuary Team (CST)
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What's happening at the border? | THIS Sunday, November 11 | 12:00 PM | Fellowship Hall
Come to a simple souper lunch after second service this coming Sunday!
Becca Heskamp and Bill Ramsey, who went to the US/Mexico border with the United Church of Christ (UCC) with Joyce Hollyday, will speak to us about their experience. To learn more about the UCC trip, here is a link called "
Faithful Witness at the Border."
Articles by Joyce Hollyday about the experience of going to the border and reflection just published in the
Christian Century:
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PART Meeting | TONIGHT, November 8 | 7:00 PM | Garden Room
Tami Forte-Logan will be facilitating our time together. We will be exploring the role and future of PART at GCPC. Everyone is welcome at PART meetings.
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STRAWS Documentary Screening | Tuesday, November 13 | 7:30 PM | GCPC Sanctuary
Not JAWS!! but STRAWS!! are terrorizing our oceans. STRAWS is a short documentary narrated by Academy-award winning actor Tim Robbins, which charts the history of straws and reveals our culture’s current obsession with single-use conveniences. This award-winning film has been sweeping the nation. A discussion of the issue follows the movie. The showing is free but a $5 donation is suggested. Sponsored by the
Creation Care Alliance of WNC, EARTH Team of Grace Covenant Presbyterian, and Toward Zero Waste.
*If you would like to help out with hospitality or parking, please call Betsy Richards, 770-548-0862.
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This Sunday's Education Hour (for all ages)
Adult Education - Fall Term | September 16 - November 18
Pressure Points - Connecting Mass Incarceration and Forced Deportation: A Faithful Conversation about Justice |
*Fellowship Hall (room change)
Members of two active groups in our congregation, PART (Power and Race Team) and CST (Creating Sanctuary Team), will co-facilitate a 10-week series to explore "Capital J" Justice. We’ll explore connections and commonalities between issues of power and race, mass incarceration, immigrant detention, and forced migration. The discussion-based class will utilize a variety of resources, including segments of two films,
Healing Justice
and
The Genesis of Exodus
. We’ll examine and reflect on how we, as followers of Jesus, can interrogate U.S. practices, laws, and systems while bringing theology into the realm of social justice.
Facilitators:
PART and CST
Digging In - Women of the Old Testament | Jerusalem Room
This class will offer a fresh look at some of the women in the Old Testament who may have unfairly been the recipients of negative press. Many of these women have been portrayed as failures: evil, irrational, unfaithful. Could this be due to an effort to reaffirm the structures of patriarchy in spite of Jesus' explicit affirmation of women?
*This week we will be covering The Widow of Zeraphath and the Shunammite Woman.
Facilitators:
Barbara McLean and Jamie Lloyd
The Improv - God at the Movies and Theater |
*Choir Room (room change)
You sit down in your favorite theater, and Jesus walks up and asks to share your popcorn. You think, ‘What is God doing here at the movies?’ In this intergenerational class, Senior high youth and adults will be exploring how movies and plays can deepen or change how we understand our lives and our faith. A list of titles can be found on our website under Adult Education. For information or to host a screening, reach out to
Richard
or
Samantha
.
*
This week we will be covering Here Comes Mr. Jordan (movie, PG).
Facilitators:
Richard Coble and Samantha Gonzalez-Block
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Toddlers (ages 2-3) | “God Loves Me”
| 9:15 – 10:15 AM | Toddler Room (downstairs, Children’s Center)
Preschool/Kindergarten (ages 4-5) | Godly Play
| 9:15 –10:15 AM | Preschool Sunday School Room (downstairs, Children’s Center)
Elementary (grades 1-3) | Godly Play
| 9:15–10:15 AM | Temple Room (Education wing, upstairs)
Elementary (grades 4-5) | “CONNECT”
| 9:15–10:15 AM | Indie Room (Education wing, upstairs)
Middle School (grades 6-8)
| 9:15-10:15 AM | Middle School Classroom, (Education wing, upstairs)
Senior Highs (grades 9-12)
| 9:15-10:15 AM |
*Choir Room - note room change, (Education wing, upstairs)
*Nursery care is available throughout Sunday morning beginning at 8:10 am.
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OTHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES...
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Bible Study | Wednesdays | 11:00 AM | Garden Rm
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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Fall Garden Potluck | Friday, November 16 | 6:30 PM | GCPC Fellowship Hall (lower level)
All gardeners and friends are invited to the end of the year pot-luck celebration! PLEASE BRING your favorite main dish, salad, or dessert, and your favorite garden memory. We will provide plates, cups, utensils, etc. Hope all of you can join us for the celebration.
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Asheville City Schools Foundation
Their new equity website is now live!
www.equityavl.com
Each of has a role to play in advancing racial equity. We created this site as a way to keep our work accountable and transparent AND to provide resources. You can get involved as a STUDENT, EDUCATOR, PARENT/FAMILY MEMBER, or COMMUNITY MEMBER!
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News from one of our Ministry Partners, CIMA
CIMA is excited to have a co-working space hub in Emma Community. CIMA, Poder Emma, Radio Emma, Cenzontle (languaje justice cooperative) and other neighborhood groups are using this space. Together they have made a wish list to see if there are things out there in the world that people could give to the space.
Public Wishlist
Microwave
Fridge
Weatherization materials
Recycling bin
Lamps (2)
Couches (2 Love Seats)
Garbage Can
Mugs
Another plastic folding table
Kids play kitchen, plastic containers/tubs
Kitchen Island/ Countertop Space
Book Shelf
Cabinet for tincture apothecary
Curtain Rods (2)
Curtains (Preferably Thermal)
Books in Spanish
Blender and/or Juicer
Nice, wireless, High Quality Printer and Scanner Color
Floor vents (5)
Someone to weatherize/cover up floor grates in other room and cover up mouse holes.
Extension cords (2-3)
Rugs
Space heater (2)
Please contact Bruno (contact info below) if you are able to help with any of these needs.
Bruno Y. Hinojosa Ruiz
Pronouns (He/Him/His/El)
Compañeros de las Montañas en Acción (CIMA)
(828)713-5124
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Haywood Street Congregation -
Ways to engage this holiday season:
- Saturdays in November | Angel Tree workshop. More
- Monday, Nov. 19 and Tuesday Nov. 20, "All hands on deck" Thanksgiving meal prep | All day between 9am-3pm
- Saturday, December 22 | Christmas feast meal prep | All day between 9am-3pm
- Worship every Wednesday at 12:30 pm and Sunday at 3:15 pm.
- Regular Wed/Sun meal and worship schedule remains without changes throughout the holiday season. Check "About/Visit" on website for full details, www.haywoodstreet.org.
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Last week to sign up!
Volunteer at St. Nicholas' Toy Store on December 11
Grace Covenant will be volunteering at the Eblen St. Nicholas Toy Store on Tuesday, December 11. This is a FANTASTIC way to support local families to shop for books. clothes and gifts for their families for the holidays AND we can volunteer together in community.
Click
HERE
to sign up for a shift this holiday season.
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Room In The Inn thanks....
Thank you, Grace Covenant, for the amazing outpouring of care you warmly shared with our guests from “Room In The Inn” last week. Our week began with the excitement and energy from our youth which was so wonderful and inspiring. Our guests enjoyed your warm, carefully planned and yummy food. Our guests felt safe as you drove them to and from GCPC. Evening activities ranged from yoga, nail painting, and music to sleep by. Our overnight hosts carefully watched through the night and prepared breakfast each morning,
Your RITI team sends a huge and heartfelt THANKS to each of you who made last week’s session of “Room In The Inn” very successful!!
“Room In The Inn” returns to Grace Covenant January 27, 2019.
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Moving Beyond the December Dilemma: A Gathering of Multi-faith Families | Sunday, November 11 | 5:00 - 6:30pm | Avenue M (private room) ~ 791 Merrimon Avenue
If you are part of multi-faith [or interfaith] family (in whatever way you interpret this), join Rev. Samantha Gonzalez-Block, Rabbi Batsheva Meiri and Rabbi Justin Goldstein for an evening of building community, asking questions, and sharing experiences as we prepare for the holiday season. We will meet in a private room at Avenue M and share appetizers and stories. All are welcome!
To RSVP or request childcare, email
Samantha
by November 7th.
More info here
.
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The Men @ GCPC | Thursday, November 15 | 7:00 PM | Location: TBA
Come for fellowship and relationship building. We are hopeful that this gathering will generate a group or groups that meet on a regular basis. Please RSVP to Richard at
rcoble@gcpcusa
. If you cannot make the 15th, but are still interested in being a part of the group, please let Richard know.
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J.O.Y. Group Gathering | Thursday, November 29 | 10:00 AM | Smith-McDowell House Tour
The J.O.Y. group (anyone 55 years or older) will be visiting the Smith-McDowell House to tour its lively Christmas Decorations. We will then head over for lunch at 12 Bones on the River. If we can get a group of 10 or more, the group cost for the tour is $5 per person.
Please RSVP by calling the church office at 254-3274 or emailing Richard (
rcoble@gcpcusa.org
) by Nov. 14.
It will be a great day!
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Candlelight Christmas at the Biltmore | GCPC Chancel Choir | Friday, December 14 | 5:30 – 9 PM
The Chancel Choir will be singing a 30-minute concert of traditional holiday favorites on the half hour. Tickets sell out fast so make your reservations today! Click
HERE
to buy tickets.
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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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THIS WEEKEND:
No youth group this Sunday evening.
Middle School Retreat 2018 ~ Camp Grier | Next Friday, Nov 9th, 5:15 PM - Sunday, Nov 11th, 12:15 PM | Old Fort, NC
Middle Schoolers, if you registered to come to Camp Grier next weekend, you should have received an email with all important information. Please turn in your final payments to
Sherrie
and contact
Katie Smith
with any last minute questions.
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It's time to register:
Richmond Youth Mission Education Trip | January 18-21 (MLK Jr. Weekend)
Let's "be the change" together this winter! A highlight each year, we will travel to Richmond, a city with a complicated and facinating history and present. We will explore diverse neighborhoods and monuments, as well as engage in meaningful service work (and even discover hidden artifacts). Get ready to grow in faith and share in a whole lot of fun. The cost is $150 (full and partial scholarships available).
Register digitally HERE by November 18th.
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Sunday School Fall Information (9:15 - 10:15am, Sundays):
*Middle Schoolers (Middle School Rm).
How is this ol' Bible relevant to our lives today? What does it all mean? We will be creatively jumping into the New Testament and exploring questions that have both inspired and puzzled people of faith for centuries. See you there!
*This week
Middle Schoolers will be helping out with Godly Play
. Meet Heather Ferguson in the Temple Room across the hall from the Middle School room.
*This week's movie is the Disney Pixar film,
"Coco."
See the trailer here.
You can watch it for free on Netflix.
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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.]
Iglesia Jerusalem congregation
Sherry Harcke (Les Stradley's friend)
Pat Cocke (Les Stradley’s friend)
Glenn Russell (Robin Gaiser's brother)
Francis Miller (Nancy Miller's son)
Nancy and Richard Schaadt (Donna Robertson's sister and brother-in-law)
Shaketia Simpson and children (Habitat Partner family)
Louise Seitz (Janet Schifflin's friend)
Lynne Norris (Mary Lou Nash's friend)
Jeffrey Ferris (Mary Lou Nash's son)
Hettie Lou Garland
Dot Holladay
Teresa Stern
Betty Smith
Margaret Rada
Steve Dykes
Marty Johnson and Gabe Boehm
Bob Higgins
Lynn Milner
Our sympathy and support are extended to Richard Coble and Lindsey Williford on the death of Lindsey's father, Joe Williford, last night in Greenville, NC. Please keep them in your prayers.
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Grace Covenant Community Out and About...
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Enneagram learning opportunities with Carol Hovis!
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Feel free to join our weekly enneagram gatherings on different topics pertaining to all 9 types. We meet Monday evenings, 6-8pm and Friday mornings, 10am-12noon in the A-Frame Room through December 14th, facilitated by Carol Hovis. For more information, including cost and content, email Carol,
cmhovis@gmail.com. All are welcome. Click
HERE to see flyer.
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A UNC Asheville Symposium on Genocide: Past and Present | November 14 and 15
This symposium, organized by a committee of UNC Asheville faculty and students, will comprise two days of activities, Nov. 14-15, designed to heighten awareness both of past genocides and genocidal acts and of ongoing genocidal acts in today’s world. Contributions to the symposium will also highlight connections between genocide and other issues and suggest ways in which participants can combat genocidal acts in their own work as engaged citizens.
Click
HERE for full schedule.
*Symposium events are free and open to everyone, and (except where indicated) take place in Highsmith Student Union Room 114 (Alumni Hall).
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Keynote Speech by Walter Ziffer | Wednesday, November 14 | 7 - 9 PM | UNCA, Karpen Hall 139, Laurel Forum
Dr. Walter Ziffer, born in 1927 in the Czech Republic, is a Holocaust survivor, scholar, public speaker, educator, and author. Ziffer will be sharing his personal history of experience with, trauma from, and recovery following genocidal acts.
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Abraham Jam | Sunday, November 11 | 7:00 PM | Trinity United Methodist Church (
587 Haywood Rd.
)
You are invited to join for a community music event called a "Concert for Harmony." We hope this event will serve as a moment of peace and assist in bridging people of different faiths. The music will be performed by: David LaMotte (Christian), Billy Jonas (Jewish), Dawn Wharnsby (Muslim).
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Floral Design Event | Thursday, November 15 | 10 AM | First Presbyterian AVL
Just in time for the holiday season, the flower guild of First Presbyterian Asheville is pleased to welcome Sybil Brooke Sylvester. Sybil
is known throughout the southeast and beyond as a designer for weddings, special events and everyday flowers, and as instructor for floral design classes. Her designs combine European and Southern traditions and have been featured in numerous publications, earning her contributing editorial slots with both Southern Accents and flower magazines.
At 10:00 a.m. Sybil will present her stylish design tips in a demonstration format, using both locally grown and florist materials in a variety of containers. Author of the recently published book
Fresh
, filled with her design philosophy, a how-to section and stunning photographs, she will have copies of the book available for purchase and signing. Click
HERE
to register!
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Open for Lunch
Book Release & Signing by Robin Gaiser | Friday, November 16 | 6:00 PM | Malaprops Bookstore (
55 Haywood St.
)
In her new book,
Open for Lunch,
Robin Russell Gaiser writes of her encounters with a dozen strangers in casual lunch spots from upstate New York to Asheville, North Carolina. She began these encounters almost by chance when she invited someone in line with her at a Subway restaurant to share her table. But as she pursued such encounters over the years, she gradually became “the reporter reporting on myself. Soon the stunning stories of my lunch mates took me deeply into my own narrative.” Please join Robin for a reading, signing and celebration!
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church | 828.254.3274
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
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