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"Don't let fatigue make a coward of you."
~ Steve Prefontaine
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Sunday Preview
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Trinity Sunday
Worship services @ 8:15 & 10:15 AM
Courtyard Fellowship @ 11:15 AM
Sermon:
"Endurance Training" by Marcia Mount Shoop
Scriptures:
Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5
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Summer Music Happenings
- Summer Choir rehearses Sunday morning at 9:15am and is open to all. If you'd like to give singing a try, please join us in the sanctuary.
- Instruments of Grace - GCPC is blessed with a number of talented members. Each week this summer a different musician will share their gifts in worship. This week we are fortunate to have violinist, Josie Moe.
- Montreat Worship & Music Conferences begin this Sunday with worship in Anderson Auditorium at 7:30pm and daily worship at 11:00am. There are numerous worship services and evening concerts which are free and open to the public. Please click HERE to see the full schedule.
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Sign up for Courtyard Fellowship!
Courtyard Fellowship has begun for the summer and we need volunteers to sign up to host and provide refreshments. This is a great opportunity for your church group to share about their ministry/activities or for families to extend hospitality to your church family.
Click
HERE to sign up for one Sunday this summer!
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GCPC Goes to the Ballpark! | Friday, June 21 | 7 PM | Tourists’ Game
Join us for the ballgame! Grace Covenant has reserved 100 seats. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children (12 and under) and seniors. Please call the church office or email
Sherrie
to reserve your tickets.
Tickets must be purchased by Sunday, June 16
th
.
Make checks payable to GCPC.
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Summer Bible Study – The Gospel of Mark | Wednesdays in June and July | 11:00 – 11:45 AM | Garden Room
"How could such a painful story of fear, betrayal, sufferings and death also be the 'good news of Jesus Christ' (1:1)" asks one commentator of the Gospel of Mark. Come join us as we seek to answer this question through a deep reading of Mark, the oldest canonical Gospel in the New Testament. Together, we will examine what Mark believed about Jesus, how he understood this "Good News" for the world, and what this book means for our lives today. Come to every meeting or stop by when you can. Contact Richard,
rcoble@gcpcusa.org
, for more details.
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Centering Prayer | Wednesday Nights | 6:30 - 7:00 PM | Sanctuary
Sacred and shared silence is a profound gift of many religious traditions of the world. And Christianity has a rich and ancient tradition of intentional and prayerful silence as a spiritual practice. There are many gifts in these practices that touch every part of who we are as human beings. Centering silence calms the nervous system and positively supports all body systems. It teaches the mind to quiet and to open itself up to mystery and creativity. Centering silence strengthens our connections to each other and to the world around us. Sacred silence teaches us to listen devoutly, humbly, and with trust. It helps us befriend the unknown.
It is beautifully simple and a spiritual skill whose gifts goes deeper and gets more powerful the more one practices it. This practice is open to all and is come as you are able. Questions? Contact
Marcia.
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Last call to sign up for
MONTHLY
pre-printed giving envelopes!
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Our envelope vendor has made monthly envelopes an option.
If you'd like to switch your envelope mailings from
weekly
to
monthly
OR sign up for the first time
, please just email
giving@gcpcusa.org
with the following information:
- Envelope #
- First & Last Name
- Mailing Address
Please note:
the next set of July – August weekly envelopes have already been mailed, so if you were signed up for weekly envelopes, you may still receive that last set before switching to monthly.
If you are giving automatically online or by bill pay and no longer need envelopes, please let our office know so we can suspend your mailings and save the expense.
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Turn your Father's Day shopping into a force for good.
to Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church.
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The Community Garden is in need of more volunteers!
It truly takes a village to keep the gardens growing and free of pests and weeds. This important ministry donates tons (10,000 lbs. to be exact) of food throughout the growing season. There are four teams that meet on Wednesdays and Saturdays (2 work days per month/per team) from 8:00am to 10:00am. Come help alleviate food insecurity! Contact Rick Philipsen,
onthecove@charter.net
, if you are interested.
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Power and Race Team (PART)
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Digging Deeper - Native American History | Getting to know our Cherokee Indian neighbors
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The Native American genocide began with the Doctrine of Discovery penned in 1452:
“Pope Nicholas V issued to King Alfonso V of Portugal the bull Romanus Pontifex, declaring war against all non-Christians throughout the world, and specifically sanctioning and promoting the conquest, colonization, and exploitation of non-Christian nations and their territories.” This Doctrine was and continues to be a destructive justification in USA law and in the World. It was repudiated by PC(USA) last year at the 223rd General Assembly (2018). You can read a copy of the GA report on the Doctrine of Discovery
HERE.
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REGISTRATION OPEN NOW!!
(These events are family-friendly)
“Unto These Hills”- Outdoor Drama | Monday, July 8 | | 4-10 PM | Cherokee, NC
Carpool or van to Cherokee, NC for an afternoon picnic on the grounds before the play. "Unto These Hills" tells the Cherokees’ rich story from 1780 to the 21st century. You can access the registration form at
http://bit.ly/OutdoorDrama
or there are also some hard copies at the Welcome Desk.
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SAVE THIS DATE:
(Registration form available soon!)
- Saturday, August 10 | Oconaluftee Indian Village | 12-7 PM | Cherokee, NC An afternoon in the Oconaluftee Village, picnic on the grounds and an evening of Cherokee storytelling around a bonfire.
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Part of what
PART
does is to inform Grace Covenant about
racial equity work going on in the larger community.
The following are some events that PART recommends.
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Isaiah Rice Historical Photo Exhibition |
May 24, 2019 - Aug 24 | Eagle Market Place Community Exhibition Space
The Isaiah Rice Photo Collection, which provides a window into Asheville's African American history through vivid images of life in the city's black community from the 1950s through the 1970s, will be on view May 24-Aug. 24 at the new Eagle Market Place Community Exhibition Space,
19 Eagle Street, Asheville
.
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Earth Team Hike to Hawksbill | Thursday, June 20 | 8:30 AM | GCPC Parking Lot
We will hike over Snowball Mountain to Hawksbill. Meetup at GCPC at 8:30am and carpool to the trailhead where Dillingham Road intersects with the road to Craggy Picnic Area. The hike goes over Snowball and then along a narrow ridge to Hawksbill. Hawksbill is a rock outcrop that affords a great view down Reems Creek Valley. We will have lunch there and then hike back to the start. Round trip is about 4.5 miles, with elevation change of 700 feet. We should return to GCPC about 2:30pm. Please text Les Stradley at (828) 339-3332 to sign up!
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Hard 2 Recycle events are free to the public collections geared to bring awareness to alternate modes of recycling to our area. Our goal is to educate, collect and divert items that would normally end up in the Landfill i.e Styrofoam, electronics, books, batteries and much more. Click
HERE
for list of accepted items.
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Education Hour (for all ages) will resume on September 15th!
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*Nursery care is available throughout Sunday morning beginning at 8:10 am.
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OTHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES...
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2019 Summer Women’s Book Series | Last Monday of the month | 6 PM | Garden Room
Join us for a series of book talks. Open to all women of the church. One copy of each book can be found in the church library. Please pre-read the books to ensure lively discussion.
- June 24 | Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth | Sarah Smarsh
- July 29 | Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire and Other Ways of Meeting God | Lauren Winner
- August 26 | If Oceans were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran | Carla Power
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Room In The Inn (RITI) | July 7-14 | GCPC
Our main needs currently are for
drivers
and
overnight hosts
. There are also a few meal needs as well. Our food team coordinator has developed suggested menus. Interested cooks, call Tish Anderson at 828-670-7515 or email her,
19ppanc40@gmail.com
for further details.
This Sunday we will be in the narthex for sign-ups. Remember you can also sign up online
HERE.
Look for any RITI team member to talk with for more details.
RITI team members:
Tish Anderson, Sally Booher, Nan Clarke, Beth Kissling, Geneva Neeriemer, Lynne Noble, Susan Presson, Linda Pyeritz, and Beth Philipsen. RITI Team members will be wearing RITI lanyards until all jobs are filled. Sign up SOON!
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Room In The Inn Potluck - Volunteers: Past and Present | TONIGHT, June 13 | 6:00 PM | Fellowship Hall
You are invited to a RITI Potluck dinner here at Grace Covenant! This gathering is to learn more about the Room In The Inn program. Other Volunteers from Buncombe county’s faith communities will be here also. If you plan to come, please bring a side dish or dessert to share; a meat will be provided. Please call or email Beth Philipsen (828-230-7661 or
onthecove@charter.net
) to RSVP. Thanks! We hope you will consider coming to this event.
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Ministry Partner News and Events...
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Partnership for Pastoral Counseling invites you to...
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Southside Stories: A Showcase, Spotlight, and Celebration | Saturday, June 15 | 4 - 10 PM | Eddington Center
(
133 Livingston St.
)
La Voz de los Jovenes/Word on the Street joins Delta House, Southside Rising, and Center for Participatory Change (CPC) for a showcase, spotlight, and celebration of the freedom to be ourselves and to be in community.
Made possible by funding from Alternate ROOTS, the National Endowment for the Arts and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, La Voz de los Jovenes/ Word on the Street have worked for a year on the Southside Stories project. Squad members have been engaging residents of the historic Southside neighborhood by using art in capturing their stories. This includes squad members' own stories as well, who are working as artist residents in the community monument, the Arthur R. Edington Center. Click
HERE
for more info and the schedule for the day.
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Come be a part of creating the BeLoved Village--community-driven deeply affordable housing! We will be working on preparing the site. This is a full work day for the entire community. This day is also part of our Kids and Youth Build.
There will be plenty of work to do for kids and youth of all ages! Adults please bring chain saws and safety glasses if you have them.
*Everyone bring gloves and water bottles*
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WelcomeFEST | Wednesday, June 19 | 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM | Haywood Street Congregation
Seven food trucks will be onsite providing the meal for our community that day. There will also be live music, a fashion show featuring our clothing closet ministry, cooking demos in the garden, and a team of artists working in our sanctuary on creating the larger-than-life Haywood St. Fresco!
Click
HERE
for more information.
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Children & Youth Worship Helpers Needed for June
If your child or youth has never participated in worship as an Acolyte or a Pourer at the Baptismal font, we have some wonderful opportunities coming in the month of June. Follow this link for more details, dates, and descriptions:
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GCPC Softball Team -
"The Prez-Beez"
Everybody come out and have some fun supporting our WINNING church softball team! All games are only an hour long and are played at the ball field behind the Montford Recreation Center.
For the full Prez-Beez schedule, click
HERE
.
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Deacon Helpers Wanted!
The deacons have a list of people in our congregation available to provide meals, rides, and other needs to those who can use them, for example, when members have surgery or suffer a loss. When we identify a need, a sign-up is sent out to our helpers, and they can choose what dates to provide a meal, etc. It would be wonderful if we could expand this list. If you are interested, please contact Richard Coble at
rcoble@gcpcusa.org
.
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Nursery Volunteers Needed
In the past year, for one reason or another, several of our wonderful Grace Covenant members who served as volunteers in our nurseries needed to take a break. In most cases, our substitute volunteers have helped to fill the holes. On occasion, we have needed to bring in extra members of our paid Nursery staff.
As we look toward populating the Nursery Volunteer Schedule for 2019-2020, would you consider volunteering for one of our teams? Being part of a team means that you serve alongside our Nursery Staff for 6 Sundays (out of 52 Sundays) in one of our three nursery rooms (Infants, Toddlers or Preschoolers). The time commitment is 10:15AM-12:00PM September through May and 10:00AM-11:30AM June-August.
Please consider this opportunity to serve Grace Covenant by helping to grow our children. If you have questions, contact Heather Ferguson,
hferguson@gcpcusa.org
.
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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 10:45 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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Your feedback is requested:
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We would appreciate your feedback on how to make Youth Group, Sunday School & Confirmation even better! Youth, Parents, Adults: please take a moment to fill out this quick
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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
Pat Cocke (Les Stradley’s friend)
Deborah Strong (Robin Gaiser's cousin)
Nancy and Richard Schaadt (Donna Robertson's sister and brother-in-law)
Louise Seitz (Janet Schifflin's friend)
Jeffrey Ferris (Mary Lou Nash's son)
June Collins (Carolyn Tingle’s mother)
Robin Smith (Beth Robrecht's sister)
Rebecca Wells' brother, Jamey
Natalie C.
Jennifer Moore (Amanda Pressley's daughter)
Dorothy Zuck (Pat Durham's mother)
Richard Stump (Marcia Mount Shoop's friend)
Michelle Elhert (Bill McNeff's friend)
Jennifer Vaughn (Mary Berg's friend)
West Asheville Presbyterian Church
Hettie Lou Garland
Betty Smith
Margaret Rada
Bob Higgins
James Harwell
Joyce Summerlin
Cory Hartbarger
Mary Ellen Horne
Sherrie McCleary-Small
Penny Ponder
Doris Prak
A Service of Witness to the Resurrection and Thanksgiving for the Life of Dot Holladay will be held on Saturday, June 22 at 2pm at Grace Covenant. All are welcome.
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Grace Covenant Community Out and About...
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The Opioid Crisis: The Faith Community Responds Clergy Breakfast | Thursday, June 27 | 9:30 - 11:30 AM | First Congregational Church (20 Oak St.)
Are you interested in learning more about the state of our state when it comes to opioids? Are you interested in learning more about ways your congregation can get involved with the Opioid Crisis?
If so please join the NC Council of Churches at one of their Clergy Breakfasts for the Opioid Crisis the Faith Community Responds. At these breakfasts, you will learn about the state of our state, what is harm reduction? what congregations can do to get involved? and what resources are available in your community.
If you have any questions feel free to email elizabeth@ncchurches.org
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Spiritual LGBT: An Interfaith Panel | Thursday, June 27 | 6:00 - 7:30 PM | AB Tech Auditorium
Join us for a discussion of the intersection of spiritual and LGBTQIA+ identities. Presented by Youth OUTright WNC and sponsored by PFLAG, Asheville Jewish Community Center and Open Hearts.
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church | 828.254.3274
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
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