The Banner Newsletter

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THE BANNER

August 25, 2021

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A Note from Ellen

Dear Friends,

School is officially underway, and routines are settling in. I was excited to see crossing guards on duty near Coltrane-Webb, school busses rolling down the street, and our new banner in front of the sanctuary which reads, “We’ve got your back!” As we pray for students, families, teachers, and everyone who serves in our schools, may we have each other’s backs and our community’s back in the days ahead.

Grace and peace,

Ellen

PS: We have plenty of backpack tags if you need one or know someone who does.

Blessing of the Backpacks 2021

As a new school year begins,

bless, O God, all who teach and all who learn.

Bless students with courage, kindness, and curiosity.

Bless teachers with enthusiasm, imagination, and patience

—with students and with themselves.

Bless all who serve in our schools,

including bus drivers and crossing guards, administrators and cooks,

coaches and aides, counselors and custodians,

with energy and compassion as they help our children learn and grow.

May every student make a new friend,

May teachers find renewed joy in their classrooms,

May schools be filled laughter, wonder, and wisdom.

Bless these backpacks, O God.

May all who carry them know that our prayers and your love

travel with them wherever they go,

in the name of Jesus, our Teacher and Lord. Amen.

Rise Against Hunger - Spots Still Available

This Sunday, August 29th,

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. in Davis Hall

We need your support to reach our goal

to package 10,000+ meals.

Sign- up here - spots available

ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE MASKED

(due to covid restrictions we are limited to 50 volunteers)

First Kids News

We are pleased to announce the First Kids Staff for the 2021-2022 School Year

TK- Holly Westbrook, Jennifer Michalski and Elizabeth Stallings

Five-Day Fours- Kim Schultze and Julianna Willis*

*Kara King & Golda Jay will serve as interims as

Julianna completes student teaching for her MA degree this fall.

Fours MWF- Maureen O'Bryan & Pam Prentice

Three A- Julia Holshouser and Carolyn Ritchie

Three B- Amber Huggins and Taylor Ozment

Two A- MaryAnne Harrison and Tara Garrett

Ones- Melissa McGuire and Krista Kane

Director: Maureen O'Bryan

Financial/Office Assistant Pam Prentice

First Kids Outdoor Drive-Thru Open House

Thursday, September 2

10:00-Noon or 5-7 pm.

First Kids and their families are invited to drive thru our Outdoor Open House

Please enter from the driveway closest to the playground as you would for morning drop-off.

Our teachers will be there to greet you with your child's important take-home packet.

Tuesday & Wednesday, September 7th and 8th- First Days of School

Please email Frstkids@yahoo.com for any questions.

We are looking forward to a wonderful year together!

Backpack Tags Still Available

We enjoyed seeing all of the backpacks lined up on the chancel steps Sunday for the Blessing of the Backpacks!

If you were not able to join us and would like one of the backpack tags, they are available in the foyer of the Fellowship House. We will also have them available at Rally Day!

We've got your back!

College Addresses

Hello college students and parents/grandparents of our First Presbyterian Church college students!

Please reach out to René Prager at r.prager@firstpresconcord.org with college addresses for the 2021-2022 school year. Even if your address is the same as last year, please e-mail the address so that we have everyone included on the list.

Thank you! Best wishes for a great year! We've got your back!

Clean Up Buckets for Haiti

Charlotte Presbytery is collecting Clean Up Buckets this week only for Haitian Heritage and Friends of Haiti. First Presbyterian provided 26 buckets which members had filled prior to the Covid lockdown.

A huge shout out to Heath for checking the contents of the buckets and to Jim and Kay Wall for transporting them to the Presbytery office. Blessings abound!

2021 Habitat for Humanity Campaign Kicks Off

During 2021, the Covid pandemic continues to create financial challenges for Habitat for Humanity. Examples include the loss of $60,000 due to the cancellation of both a special event and the Collegiate Challenge Build by visiting college students who we normally feed and house during their stay in Concord. In addition, $200,000 was budgeted for 45 home repairs such as wheelchair ramps and roofs. The immense need for home repairs during 2021 rose from 45 to 96 repairs. This cost $400,000 requiring Habitat to use funds from their reserves to make this happen.

The Habitat affiliate was founded in 1989 through the leadership of our minister Rev. Jim Holderness and Dr. Peter Chikes, a member of our church. And, for many years we have proudly provided annual gifts and participated in building houses. Today our 2021 Habitat Campaign kicks off with an exciting announcement. Because of the continuing crisis, our Diaconate has agreed to match up to $5,000 of gifts from our church family to inspire and encourage gifts for Habitat during the next four weeks!

A link below is provided for contributions from the congregation. Please give now so we can help Habitat continue to give people a hand up!

Go to our website to give online by clicking here and choosing the Habitat for Humanity fund from the drop-down box. If you'd like to pay by check make it payable to FPC, put Habitat in the memo line, and mail to the church's PO Box 789, Concord, NC 28026.

Rally Day - Sunday, September 12, 2021

Welcome back to a new year at First Presbyterian Church. There is a lot of great stuff coming up and we hope you will plug in to each of the areas that interest you!

This year, we've reimagined what the morning of Rally Day will look like.. On Sunday September 12th at 9:45 a.m. we will have breakfast outside, on the lawn of the Fellowship House. (rain location - Davis Hall with breakfast ‘to-go’ style). Along with a nice breakfast there will be informational tables hosted by all the different groups within the church that YOU can plug into this year.

In an effort to have enough tables/chairs set up for the groups, please send an email to info@firstpresconcord.org with RALLY DAY in the subject line if your group wants a space for Rally Day. If you have any questions, please reach out to any member of the Christian Education committee.

Here's to an exciting and healthy year ahead. We've Got Your Back!

Market for Mission October 2

The October 2nd Market for Mission is fast approaching. As in the past, the sale funds will be earmarked for our mission partner in Bayonnais, Haiti. They have escaped the destruction of the recent earthquake but are feeling the effects of so many other difficulties in Haiti. We are fortunate to have a relationship with Pastor Actionnel Fleurisma, a founder of the schools in Bayonnais, to assist with getting help safely to the children. Many FPC members sponsor children at the schools there and, as Actionnel recently reported, the school year has begun but “everything has become scarce, and the cost for everything has become exponentially higher, more than twice it’s normal prices.” Let’s make this sale a success so we can continue to support their successful work.

Donation drop off is every Tuesday, 1:30-4pm until September 21st. Or you can drop items off to Rm 306 of the Will Young building at your convenience. If you need to arrange another time please contact Carrie (704) 467-0962 or Gina (704) 794-2228.
Please wait to bring larger items (i.e. furniture) until the week of the sale. We have very limited space to store furniture.
Items that are clean and in good condition / good working order to consider donating: art, pottery, kitchen items, home decor, vintage, children’s books and toys, jewelry, handbags, new or like new shoes, outerwear (no other clothing), cookbooks, home and garden, tools, pet, beach, linens, seasonal.
Please mark SUNDAY, September 26th, right after the 11:00 service, on your calendar now to participate in the EXODUS of the sale items from storage to Davis Hall. In 2019 the help we received this day made all of the difference. The job was completed in a little over an hour. More details as we get closer to the date.
The day of the sale many extra hands will be needed. If you know now you want to help please get in touch with Gina: ggoffdgoff@aol.com or Carrie: csm5620@gmail.com
As marketing begins to appear please share thru your personal social media outlets. As of now, all sale attendees (as well as FPC volunteers) will be asked to wear masks, inside and outside.

All Fired Up For Kids

Early Childhood Foundation of Cabarrus County (ECFCC) is hosting a BBQ Fundraiser here at the church this Friday, August 27th. Delicious chicken BBQ meals, prepared by Port-A-Pit, will be available for pick-up between 5 and 7 p.m. in Davis Hall .

You may reserve tickets for $10.00/Person by visiting ecfcc.org/fundraisers.

All proceeds help economically disadvantaged children in our community. Thank you for your support!

Save the Date!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 9th. Your building and grounds committee will begin working on the church campus at 8:00 a.m. and everyone is invited!

Watch the Banner for updates as we get closer.

Girl Scout Celebration!

After a couple of COVID related delays, the Girl Scouts were able to celebrate their fall sale success with a trip to Zootastic. They enjoyed walking around the wildlife park and seeing all of the animals. The day ended with a special wildlife encounter session where they were able to interact with a baby kangaroo, a three-banded armadillo, leaping lemurs, a two-toed sloth, and a couple of African wildcats. One girl described it as: "the best day ever" and another was overjoyed to actually hold a sloth, her long-time favorite animal.

Ushers Needed

Please click here to visit the Sign-up Genius for details and to volunteer to usher for Sunday service in August, or paste this link into your browser:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C49AEA829A4F9C16-usher