FBC Raleigh News • April 28, 2020
NEW CHURCH WEBSITE

Our newly designed church website is officially live! We hope you enjoy the new look, content, and feel of this site. We strove to authentically communicate our identity as a community of faith while creating a visually appealing design. It includes all of the information from our old site with a streamlined design that is more user-friendly. 


New Features:
• Members Hub - This is the one-stop access to all that is going on in the life of our church. Your current login will be the same login for the new site.  In this hub, you’ll find more information on giving, a church calendar, an updated prayer list, and our church directory. For a few days, your login will take you back to the old “member” page while we continue transferring information over. 

• Faster processing - You'll notice that this new site is quicker to load, hopefully creating a less frustrating process of getting the information you need! 

• Content - We did an entire rewrite of all the content from our old site. Our thanks go out to the Website Committee (Jen Foster, Chuck Underwood, Beth Yerxa, Anne Bullard, Sarah David, and Carolyn Dickens) for their team effort and hard work.

A special thank you to Chuck Underwood and Metro Productions  for this beautiful design, and the months of hard work they put into building this new site! There is some content that can only be updated once it is live, so we appreciate your patience as we continue ironing out final pages this week. In the meantime, enjoy! 

For any questions or feedback about the new website, please email Leah.


CHURCH CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The 2020 dates for Church Conference will be as follows:
May 20 • August 19 • September 30 • October 28 • November 18 • December 16
WEEK AT A GLANCE • APRIL 28 - MAY 4
All regularly scheduled programming is canceled.
BIBLE VERSES FOR DAILY USE
  • Tuesday, April 28: Psalm 134; Proverbs 8:32-9:6; 1 Peter 2:1-3
  • Wednesday, April 29: Psalm 134; Exodus 24:1-11; John 21:1-14
  • Thursday, April 30: Psalm 23; Exodus 2:15b-25; 1 Peter 2:9-12
  • Friday, May 1: Psalm 23; Exodus 3:16-22, 4:18-20; 1 Peter 2:13-17
  • Saturday, May 2: Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34:1-16; Luke 15:1-7
  • Sunday, May 3: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
  • Monday, May 4: Psalm 100; Ezekiel 34:17-23; 1 Peter 5:1-5
DEACON ON CALL • APRIL 26 - MAY 2
Sonia Moore (919-727-1042 or 984-242-0916)
CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS

Wayne Hager has served as our Church Administrator for five years, and today we recognize this milestone. Wayne began his role with us in March 2015, and nearly everything at our church runs more smoothly because of his leadership.

On a regular day, Wayne quietly makes so many things happen at FBC. Did the mic work on Wednesday night? Does the Properties committee know what's happening with the leaky steps? Did the bills get paid? Do you need a key to open the building for a special event? Is the heat working on a Sunday morning (even if it wasn't on Saturday night?!). Thank Wayne. And during the pandemic, he hasn’t slowed down. He’s at the church many days, checking the facility, approving invoices, and making sure the building is ready when we can safely return.  Thank you, Wayne, for five wonderful years!
PICTURES FOR WORSHIP

We hope to collect "selfies" of members of the church family. Please take a picture of yourself (your household) and email it to Mary Alice by noon on Thursday, April 30. We hope to use them in our livestream worship on Sunday, May 3.
SOME GOOD NEWS

We share this bit of good news with the utmost sensitivity and concern for the reality of our fellow restaurant industry colleagues:

During the first quarter of 2020, our food truck sales (profit) from walk-up customers alone will provide approximately 600 BBQ sandwiches, bags of potato chips, and bottled water to hungry persons in the Raleigh area in coming months.

Thank you to all of our customers for supporting us and making a difference in our local community! Please continue to support our cause in coming weeks and months during this time of crisis and uncertainty. - David With
EXTRAORDINARY SLIDESHOW

Over the last month, we've asked for pictures from our church family to capture life in this very different time of social distancing.My thanks to Deborah for collecting all the pictures and making it possible for us to enjoy them in this way.  Though I know these past six weeks have not been without their challenges, the pictures you sent reflect resilience and an ability to adapt to new ways, places of working, schooling and connecting.They reflect a heightened emphasis upon relationship with one another and God's natural world.In Ben Rector's song, he names it " extraordinary magic ." But I believe that it's the Triune God working in and through us, making us aware of the goodness of God in all situations. I see it. I see it. I really do, I see it. Extraordinary magic in you. Click below to view the magic! - Lynn
SLIDESHOW 
To respect the privacy of all our families pictured and to abide by copyright laws,
please do not share this video publicly.
VIRTUAL CENTERPOINT

In case you missed it, in last week's virtual Centerpoint, we heard thoughts and reflections from Carolyn & Kent Dickens, Bob Kimball, JD Rhodes, Pat Simpson, Jane Kelley, Philip Lingafelt, Debbie Willmschen, Jen Foster, Derek Foster, Jay Foster, and Meg Foster.

These videoed midweek offerings will include a brief devotional from one of our ministers and contributions from you, our church family, as you respond to weekly prompts. Each Wednesday,  a new virtual Centerpoint will be added to our YouTube channel. The link will be emailed and can also be found on  our website . Our third video will be uploaded tomorrow!
CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED

In light of the state-wide "stay at home" order, we have closed the church office for the immediate future. We regret any inconvenience this causes, but we feel like this is another small thing we can do as a church to embrace the requests of community leaders to help limit the spread of COVID-19. We will monitor the answering machine and respond to messages quickly, and we encourage you to contact any of the ministers if you have a pressing need. We have linked each of the ministerial staff member's emails below, so please do not hesitate to reach out with concerns. Chris Chapman , Mary Alice Seals , Trey Davis , Lynn Lingafelt , and Leah Reed .
WAYS TO GIVE

There are several different ways in which you can continue to support the church financially during this time of social distancing. We know many people are facing their own financial challenges right now and have been very generous already, but a number of people have asked how they could support the church while we are unable to gather together physically. Wayne Hager has provided the following answers to this question.

• We continue to receive mail daily. Any gifts mailed to the church will be processed and deposited as soon as possible.
• We will continue to debit bank accounts through auto drafts as we have been instructed by donors.
• If you have set up a recurring donation through one of our electronic options, those donations will continue without interruption unless YOU make a change.
• If you wish to begin electronic giving, please go to this link where each of our options is explained.
• If you are considering a stock gift, please visit this link for instructions. 

If you have any financial or giving-option questions, please email Wayne Hager.
WORSHIP FROM HOME

For the past few weeks, we have invited you to join us at 11am on Sundays for a live stream worship service from our sanctuary. We hope this time of worship brings you an assurance of God's presence and a sense of peace from the comfort of your home.


We want to answer some of the frequently asked questions we are getting as we all learn this new digital worship experience together.

LIVE STREAM FAQs:

Help! I'm not getting the email link to the order of worship and the live stream!
If you are NOT receiving the weekly worship order and link via email, please email Leah. Also, make sure to check your junk/spam, or your promotions folder. We have found that many email servers send Constant Contact (our email provider) communications straight to the spam folder.

Where can I find the link to the worship order and live stream?
The worship order and live stream will always be posted on our website.

Where can I find the YouTube link for the service?
Upcoming and previous services may be accessed on the YouTube Channel named  First Baptist Church Raleigh on Salisbury Street.   Be sure to subscribe to our channel and it will automatically update when you go online to YouTube or use your device app.
Copy this YouTube link into your device browser and save it as a “favorite” for easy access. On your Smart TV, or any device with apps, locate your YouTube app and search for our channel and the Rose Window graphic.

I can't open my worship order and watch the live stream at the same time!
 We suggest you watch the live stream on one device and view the worship order on another device. If you have a printer, you can also print it so you're not juggling two devices. The worship order for the last service will remain in the PDF reader until one for the next service is opened.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES

Community is in short supply during these uncertain times. We're all longing to reach out, finding ways we can "be" the Church when we're not able to be physically present with one another. We are updating new needs every week and will continue to list them below as an opportunity for you to connect with our downtown Raleigh community.

Donate to Raleigh Rescue Mission • Raleigh Rescue Mission is in need of many different donation items including a combination of health, safety, sanitation, food, and home activities, as they continue to care for those experiencing homelessness in our community. They are still accepting donations of all essential items at the downtown Raleigh location, 314 E Hargett Street, from 9am to 4pm daily.

Essential Items Include:
  • Car seats
  • Disinfecting wipes & spray
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Tylenol (adult & child)
  • Aspirin & ibuprofen
  • Men’s underwear – sizes L, XL, XXL
  • Diapers – sizes 3-6
  • Pull-ups – 2T-3T, 3T-4T, 4T-5T
  • Baby wipes
  • Breakfast proteins – bacon, sausage, eggs, ham
  • Baby formula
  • Large containers of spices -- garlic, rosemary, etc.
  • Individually packaged food items – salad dressings, syrup, condiments, to-go trays
  • Snack items – individually packaged yogurt, nuts, chips, fruit cups, etc
  • Water bottles/juice boxes
  • Adult devotionals
  • Adult coloring books
  • Puzzles/cards/individual games
  • Word search/crosswords/Sudoku and other activity books

If you know of other community outreach opportunities, please email Leah.
AMONG OUR FAMILY
A link to the entire prayer list may be found below.
Please use your church directory for mailing addresses.
THE RECORD WE WROTE
Week of April 21, 2020
Current Week Revenue: $ 20,248.00
Month-to-Date Revenue: $ 67,489.36
Year-to-Date Revenue: $ 542,073.28
Month-to-Date Expenses: $ 66,013.14
Year-to-Date Expenses: $ 423,495.39
CBF Global Missions: $ 14,788.82
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 Tuesday'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.