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For Friday, October 23, 2020
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Officer's Column
I need that! I need that! I need that! My husband, David exclaimed these words in desperation and in an instant, the whole family went from getting in the car to scampering across the parking lot after a "priceless" green parking pass. We just reacted to the urgency of his words - not realizing what was going on until seeing the green pass flutter its way just out of reach a few times in the breeze before it was caught. The circumstances were far from dire; however, due to the fact that David reacted instinctively with a call for help, the family responded with haste. Together we "saved the day," preventing some unnecessary inconvenience, and adding to our list of memorable vacation moments.
How quick are we to call out for help? Even in those times when we know that we really need it, do we avoid asking for help? Do we prefer to handle it on our own? Do we think that we will be weak if we ask for help and therefore suffer in silence? Often these approaches take a heftier toll, adding more anxiety and burden to the existing problem. Let's face it, the year 2020 has complicated life further, possibly making the call for assistance even more challenging - but more urgent.
I'll be honest. I'm struggling with this myself, both at work and in my personal life. My first step has been a good dose of self-awareness and self-assessment to recognize where I would benefit most from assistance. Next step has been accepting my limitations, opening up with my family, and seeking help where needed. I'm not super-human, and that's okay. It feels good to make progress.
So friends, don't wait! Call out, reach out, begin to open doors. Let someone help you whether they be friend, family, clergy, professional help, a Stephen Minister, or another trusted source. Your fears, grief, hurt, anxiety, loneliness, feeling overwhelmed, or whatever burdens you most, are all real, and you should not suffer or feel that you must tackle it alone. Nothing you are experiencing is too small or too great to deserve support. Also consider that your time of need may become another person's time of using their God-bestowed gifts of serving or caring for others.
Trust that there are many around you, ready and able to help.
Galatians 6:2
"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
Hear and believe God's promises.
Psalm 46:1
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
Embrace the help that comes from our Father.
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
Heavenly Father, we all need help from time to time, yet taking the first step to call out prevents us from reaching assistance when we may need it the most. Give us courage to share our needs, trusting in your ways to provide and protect. Help us to seek and accept the assistance, care, and compassion of others. Enable and use us to serve our fellow brothers and sisters when we can be your instruments. In Jesus's holy name, Amen.
Sabrina Patton
Elder/Mission and Outreach
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A Letter from the Generosity Team
note -- this letter was emailed to all members last week
Grace and Peace to the members and friends of Wake Forest Presbyterian Church,
Accompanying this letter is the Commitment Card for 2021 (note -- click here for your commitment card). This is an opportunity to show your financial support for the operational, discipleship and mission opportunities underway at WFPC for the coming year.
Here are some of the highlights from the past year that your giving has supported. - Numerous mission opportunities have carried on despite some of the changes that have been necessitated by the pandemic: Backpack Buddies, Mission2Military, Community Garden, Crop Walk, aiding the glory Tabernacle Church Community Food Pantry Ministry, food donations, blood drives, a virtual golf tournament to name only a few.
- Expanding online worship and discipleship opportunities to reach not only our local community but all across the globe as well. Updating the security system for entry into the church facilities to ensure the safety of our staff. New flooring in the preschool wing. (again a safety issue that needed to be addressed). Continuing to provide support to our fine church staff and all the work they do with only minor restructuring. Welcoming 11 new members, all but one has never been on the campus. Reducing the mortgage debt by over $1 million dollars over seven years. At the current rate, the payoff will be in approximately 22 months (June 2022), which is nine months early. The original schedule would have left us with a rather large balloon note as well. We are in the early stages of beginning an Endowment Fund to provide legacy income to future generations at WFPC.
Why were we able to accomplish all of this? The generosity and commitment of the members and friends that call Wake Forest Presbyterian Church home, who give their time, their talents as well as their treasures unselfishly. However, there is more to do and nothing can be done without a commitment on your part.
I would ask that you prayerfully consider and decide how you and your family can contribute financially to the 2021 Commitment Campaign. As you can see, there are a number of ways to respond back. With that in mind I would ask that you return your commitment cards by November 6 to facilitate planning for next year.
As always, if I can answer any questions please feel free to reach out to me.
Thank you for your continued Generosity! Marty Wakefield Elder-Generosity
Note -- you can also fill out an online commitment card by clicking here. Physical cards may be turned in in the box located outside the front doors of the church.
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Thankful Pumpkins Drive Through
October 26 - November 1
Our WFPC youth are sponsoring "Thankful Pumpkins" this fall, and we need your help! During the week of October 26 - November 1, come to the church at your convenience. Find a pumpkin (around the circle in the front, or in one of our flower gardens) and write something that you are thankful for. We encourage you to take some time to sit, whether it is in one of our beautiful gardens or just in your car, and reflect on the many things you have to be thankful for. Feel free to take some time to read the thoughts from others as well. If you happen to be on campus at the same time as another church family, please remember your mask and practice social distancing.
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Take-Out and Talking This Sunday!
Sunday, October 25, 11:30-1:00
No agenda, just fellowship! Grab your favorite take-out food, or pack up a picnic, a few camping chairs or a blanket, and join us in the parking lot right across from the preschool entrance. Bring your mask for visiting while not eating, and your appetite for fellowship with church family! All ages and stages and family styles welcome!
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Pastor Appreciation Month
October is Pastor Appreciation Month, so please take a moment to thank our pastors for the hard work and dedication that they have provided, especially this year! It's been a difficult year in so many aspects, and our pastors and staff have been working extra to bring worship and church to each of us every day. Let's all show Pastor Rebekah and Pastor John how much we appreciate them!
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Sympathy
Please join us in sharing love and sympathy with the following:
Randy Fitzpatrick, on the passing of his father, Charlie Fitzpatrick
Joy Blanton, on the passing of her brother, Harry Wicker
Jason Hayes, on the passing of his father, Larry "Mack" Hayes
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Mission and Outreach
Virtual Veterans Day Food Drive
This Veterans Day honor our veterans and our men and women actively serving overseas by donating to WFPC's virtual Veterans Day Food Drive.
Last year our WFPC Veterans Day Food Drive at Lowe's Foods netted thirteen shopping carts of food and $353.50 in cash donations. That drive enabled our Veterans Ministry to help stock the Durham VA Emergency Food Pantry for six months, and it enabled Mission2Military to send care packages to our men and women serving overseas who would not otherwise receive packages from home.
This year, because we cannot hold our Veterans Day Food Drive at Lowes Foods, we are asking for financial contributions to help our ministries purchase what we need to continue to support our veterans in crisis and our deployed armed forces during these difficult times. Please follow this link to donate online and select Veterans Ministry from the drop-down menu: https://wfpc.breezechms.com/give/online
Thank you with all our hearts! Mission2Military and Veterans Ministry
Golf Tournament - Virtual Fundraiser
We are in the third week of our Virtual Golf Fundraiser, and to date we have raised $1,125 of our $3,500 goal. A sincere thank you to all those who have already donated! If you have not yet donated we ask that you prayerfully consider making a contribution to support our Mission and Outreach discretionary funds for the coming year. Donations can be made by sending a check to WFPC and writing "Golf - Mission Outreach" in the memo area or by using this link: https://wfpc.breezechms.com/give/online and selecting "Golf - Mission Outreach" from the drop down menu.
Please use the link below to view a special video presentation of how your contributions are put to good use to help those in need in our community, country, and around the world.
Successful Sweet Potato Harvest!!!
A big thank you to all the volunteers that showed up last Saturday to help with the sweet potato harvest in our WFPC Giving Garden! Together we harvested, cleaned, sorted, and weighed 725 lbs of potatoes that will be donated to local food pantries. It was a great morning of fun, fellowship, fresh air!
Glory Tabernacle Food Pantry Project
We did it! Over the past three weeks, eleven volunteers from WFPC worked to build a driveway and a covered area to make it easier and safer for the Glory Tabernacle Food Pantry to distribute food to those in our community who are food insecure. Thank you WFPC volunteers who dug holes, poured concrete, hammered nails, cut wood and installed metal roofing -- a job well done! This is an example of a valuable mission project that was funded using Mission and Outreach discretionary funds.
Tri-Area Ministry
Our local Tri Area Ministry in downtown Wake Forest is currently requesting donations of wipes, cereals, rice, and pasta in addition to the ongoing need for egg cartons that hold one dozen eggs. Donations are accepted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and the third Saturday of the month from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at 149 E. Holding Avenue. Thanks to your generous donations, TAM was able to serve 931 families in September. That is over 130 families more than they had been averaging prior to Covid-19.
Keep the Kids in Mind
The Backpack Buddies continues to serve kids at our Wake Forest Boys and Girls Club on a weekly basis. If you are interested in dropping off your plastic shopping bags or making food donations, please contact Ed Tharrington at etharrington@gmail.com for specific information on what items are needed. Your ongoing support through financial donations can be made by mailing a check to Wake Forest Presbyterian church noted for "Backpack Buddies." If you would like to volunteer your time to help with packing bags or meal deliveries to the Boys and Girls club, please contact Heather Wheeler at heathersb73@yahoo.com. These volunteer activities require an hour or less of your time each week. Thank you for your support!
Community Spotlight
Gleaning at First Fruits Farm - The Great Harvest at First Fruits Farm (Jason Brown's farm) is taking place tomorrow, October 24. Unlike our typical gleaning events, First Fruits invites volunteers to harvest their entire field of sweet potatoes instead of gleaning what isn't considered marketable. Last year over 76,000 pounds of sweet potatoes were harvested, and indications are good that this year will be just as bountiful!
To keep all gleaners safe and have an efficient harvest, the hosting farmers, Jason and Tay Brown, plan to divide their field into quadrants where 50 people can safely social distance within each quadrant. This will allow a total of 200 volunteers working at one time. Because this event typically attracts more than 200 volunteers they will be working in two shifts. First shift is from 8 am to 10 am & second shift from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Volunteers will be given more directions about splitting up into quadrants when they arrive at the field. To show their appreciation for your hard work, they will have a FREE pulled pork lunch served during the second shift time slot. Click this link to register: First Fruits Harvest Registration
For more information on any of our mission opportunities and where your support can make a difference, contact Sabrina Patton at sabrinapatton10@gmail.com or Randy Parrish rparrish2146@gmail.com.
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Prayer List
Please keep the following members of our church family in your prayers:
Jody Alston
Jennie Banco
Jean Futrell
Genie Hunt
Ruth Patterson
Don McCorkle
Ed Ray
Linda Roberson
Roy Wilson
If you have a prayer request, you may let us know online here.
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Children's Ministries News
GARDENING WITH GOD: Wednesday, October 28, 5-6 pm
If you haven't made it to a session yet, sign up below...we are having SO much fun learning how to care for God's creation!!! (Parents may wait in cars or stay and watch, but not drop off and leave.) Gardening With God Sign Up
October 30 Club 4/5 Event
If you did NOT receive and email with a sign up and all the details, and you have a 4th or 5th grader, please email katherinepeiper@wakeforestpres.org!!
Upcoming gatherings! Mark those calendars...
Sunday, October 25 -- Take Out and Talking
Wednesday, October 28 -- Shine Gardening with God
Friday, October 30 -- Club 4/5
Sunday, November 1 -- Commitment Sunday!! Stay tuned for more info...
Friday, November 6 -- First Friday's Movie Night!
~Katherine Peiper, Director of Children, Family & Youth Ministries | katherinepeiper@wakeforestpres.org
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Bring a pumpkin to youth group this week!!
The youth are sponsoring "Thankful Pumpkins" this fall where we will invite the church family to come to the church campus and write something they are thankful for on a pumpkin. Please bring a medium to large pumpkin with you to youth group this Sunday so that we can get this project started! Take some time to think about what you are thankful for...you will kick off the pumpkins by writing something YOU are thankful for!
Bike Building Event As of Tuesday, there were only four spots left! Check the SignUpGenius to see if there are still any openings for our Together We Rise bike building event on November 1 at 1:00! Remember you must sign up in order to participate! If you have signed up, be on the lookout for an email from Janet with all of the details. See you on the 1st!
Movie Night Adventure!! Our "New Adventure" for November is a "drive-in" movie at church! Middle school and high school will be combined on November 8! We will meet from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Bring your own dinner to enjoy! Bring a chair or blanket to sit on (or wrap up in if it is cold). We will spread out on the lawn and also back our cars in so you have that option as well (if you drive to youth group). Get excited about "A New Adventure" every month!
~Janet Briley, Director of Youth Ministries
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October 25, 2020 Web Worship
We will go live at 10 AM on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/wfpres/
Our Scripture comes from Acts 8:26-39. Pastor Rebekah Maul will share her sermon, "What Can Stand in the Way..."
You may print a bulletin to follow along at home by clicking here. |
Our bookkeeper is on a well-earned vacation this week; numbers will be updated next week!
| 2020 Annual Budget | $929,200.00 | | 2020 Year-to-Date Actual | $696,496.50 |
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| | Year to Date Budget (September) |
$689,400.00
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Year to Date Actual (September)
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$643,103.00
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October Budget
| $73,600.00 | | October Tithes and Offerings (thru 10/18/20) | $53,394.00 |
| October 18, 2020 |
| | Tithes and Offerings (Mail/Online) | $10,240.00 | | Designated Gifts | $250.00 | | Debt Elimination Gifts | $1,580.00
| | Web Worship Attendance (Facebook Views) | 362 | | Sunday School Attendance | 40 |
Debt Elimination Monthly Budget
| $5,000.00
| | Debt Elimination Received (thru 10/18/20) | $2,890.00
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...all shall give as they are able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.
Deuteronomy 16:17
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| WFPC Calendar Highlights
Saturday, October 24
7:15 am Iron Sharpens Iron at WFPC
Sunday, October 25
9:00 am Adult Sunday School online
10:00 am Worship Service online
11:00 am Adult Sunday School online
11:30 am Take-Out and Talking at WFPC
3:00 pm New Officer Training
4:00 pm Middle School Youth Group
5:00 pm High School Youth Group at WFPC
Monday, October 26
7:00 pm Boy Scouts at WFPC
Tuesday, October 27
7:00 pm Stephen Ministry at WFPC
7:00 pm WOW Bible Study online
Wednesday, October 28
9:30 am Mornings With Christ at WFPC
4:00 pm GriefShare online
5:00 pm Gardening With God at WFPC
6:30 pm Iron Sharpens Iron at WFPC
7:00 pm Fathers Who Aren't in Heaven offsite
Friday, October 23
6:15 am Friday Morning Men online
5:00 pm Club 4/5 at WFPC
9:00 pm NAPTIME group online
Visit wakeforestpres.org/events for a full calendar, including all small groups! |
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Wake Forest Presbyterian Church
12605 Capital Blvd
Wake Forest, NC 27587
919-556-7777
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