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"Sabbath is not rest for a privileged few while all others serve them – that's tourism.
Sabbath is the inviting of all creation to be still and imagine the coming of God."
~ Andrew Root
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Sunday Preview
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Worship services @ 8:15 & 10:15 AM
Courtyard Fellowship @ 11:15 AM
Sermon:
"Sabbath Rest" by Richard Coble
Scriptures:
Isaiah 58:9b-14; Luke 13:10-17
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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. This week we are blessed with musical talent from Roslyn Carney, flute.
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Child and Youth Protection Policy Training | Sunday, August 25 |
9 – 10 AM | Fellowship Hall
If you are looking forward to working with Grace Covenant’s children and/or youth this year and have not taken the Child and Youth Protection Policy Training in the last year, please plan to attend the (1 hr) training session on Sunday, August 25, 9:00-10:00 am. Please note that training must be renewed every two years.
Childcare provided.
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GCPC Palooza 2019 is almost here!
Come and celebrate, explore, and engage how the faith we practice together forms the lives we live.
How can your faith change the world?
How does the way of life we learn about at the Communion Table
shape the lives we actually live?
These are the questions we will be exploring together
all Fall at Grace Covenant.
And it starts at Palooza on September 7 and 8!
Saturday night is a night at The Improv!
Dinner and improv comedy will be full of laughs, food, fellowship, and new insights about how living faithfully means being able to improvise, adapt, and make life from where we are. You'll be entertained, engaged, and inspired! We'll be entertained by The Asheville Improv Collective and The Irreverands--an improv troupe of reverends--some of whom will be familiar to you!
Sunday will be full of celebration, inspiration, and opportunity!
One worship service at 10:15am in the Sanctuary with Spirit-filled worship and Communion starts the celebration. Then lunch is provided and we will enjoy everything from bouncy houses and games to new ways to make the practices of faith a part of your everyday life. Instead of one big day of service this year for Palooza, we will have many of our Ministry Partners, GCPC Teams, Committees, Councils, and Programs with us so that you can explore how to make service, growth, and community a regular part of our lives, not just one-time special events.
Oh, and ice cream from The Hop... with toppings!
GCPC Palooza 2019! See you there!
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2nd Quarter Statement - Pledge Conversion
As you may have read in the newsletter last month, we switched to a new contribution recording software, which produced easier to read statements last quarter. It has come to our attention, however, that some of the pledge data didn't convert into the new system. If you pledged an one-time additional gift as well as a recurring pledge, the one-time additional gift may have not shown in your total pledge on the last statement.
(i.e. if you pledged $100/month plus a $250 one-time additional gift, the system will only show the monthly portion of the pledge, or $1,200).
The issue will be corrected on the 3rd quarter and year-end statements. If you have questions on your pledge amount or balance before then, please contact Natalie Weaver, Stewardship & Financial Administrator, at
nweaver@gcpcusa.org or 828-254-3274, ext. 202.
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Community Garden Potluck | Friday, August 23 | 6:00 PM | Fellowship Hall
An invitation to all the community gardeners and friends of the garden! Come enjoy a mid-Summer's garden celebration together. Please bring your favorite covered dish to share. Come early (at 5:30 pm) and help set up or stay late and help clean up. We have much to share and discuss, including solid numbers on the amount of vegetables planted, tended and harvested. It is a time to celebrate your garden work!
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Potato Harvesters
Many thanks to the Cole Family Farm, our dedicated spud pickers, and our hard-working deliverers! Grateful for the many hands that help bring farm to table for those facing food insecurity.
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Creating Sanctuary Team (CST)
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Susan Murty, a resident of Highland Farms, spent two weeks in May volunteering at one of the eleven shelters operated by Annunciation House in El Paso. The following is one of her journal entries:
"The people we worked with today had all been in detention. They had to leave their belongings at the detention facility and were given little to eat. I gathered that they had not been treated well. They were released from detention for two reasons: (1) they had children with them and (2) a “sponsor” - a US citizen - was willing to take them in and pay for their tickets. All had papers issued by ICE requiring them to appear for an appointment at a federal office when they arrived at their destination. Each one had a case number and Annunciation House must report what had happened to them. (What happened before arriving in US? What happens after appearing before federal officers?)
Annunciation House must keep track of departures in order to notify ICE how many “beds” are available for the next busload."
~ Contributed by Tish Anderson
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Kids Rising: Standing Up for Families at the Border
| Saturday, August 24 | 2:30-4:40 PM | Lord Auditorium - Pack Memorial Library (downstairs)
Show your support of immigrant children and families at this family-focused event. Donations will be accepted for Pisgah Legal's Justice For All Program, which supports our immigration work. This event is free and open to the public.
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LEARN AND DISCERN with Presbyterian Peace Fellowship | October 11-14 | Montreat, NC
At this three-day gathering, people who are interested in accompaniment with Presbyterian Peace Fellowship gather to train in non-violence and anti-racism, engage with accompaniment principles, learn about the contexts in which we have been invited to practice accompaniment, and spend time in discernment and reflection.
See more information
HERE
.
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Power and Race Team (PART)
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The Racial Justice Book Series will NOT be meeting in August.
Please check back in the fall for new titles.
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Earth Team Meeting | Wed., September 4 | 5:30 PM | Jerusalem Rm
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One Cello, One Planet Concerts
Judith Glixon, a former Asheville resident who was once the principal cellist with the Asheville Symphony and the Brevard Chamber Orchestra, is returning to WNC to perform a series of solo cello concerts highlighting the urgency of climate change. Proceeds will support the work of the Creation Care Alliance of WNC, a program that empowers faith organizations to act on climate change. This
is for music lovers, environmentalists, people of faith and anyone seeking a new way of engaging creation care through the arts while fundraising for great work.
There are two more concert opportunities in Western North Carolina:
- Hendersonville - 8/23
- Asheville - 8/25
Tickets are sold
HERE
and at the door.
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Creation Care Guide Workshops-September 10 &12
These CCA gatherings will focus on helping congregations and individuals to discern next steps in their care for neighbor and creation. Using the
Guide for Cultivating Creation Care
we will explore ways to start a creation care team, listen to your community and discern steps for action. Creation Care Team Leaders, clergy, and all those passionate about creation care, ecological justice and loving our neighbors are welcome to join as we share moments of inspiration, support one another, and learn ways to more significantly transform our communities to be more compassionate and resilient.
Hendersonville Workshop
September 10, 6-7:30pm
St. James Episcopal Church
766 N Main St, Hendersonville, NC 28792
Asheville Workshop
September 12, 6-7:30pm
First Baptist Church (Dining Room)
5 Oak St, Asheville, NC 28801
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Climate Justice Rally | Friday, Sept. 20 | 5:30 - 7:30 PM | Pack Square
Show your support for God's Creation, the Earth! The WNC chapter of the Climate Reality Project is hosting this rally. Pack up the kids and come out and help us support the effort. Speakers, Music, etc. For more information, click
HERE
.
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Parenting as Spiritual Practice and Source for Theology: Mothering Matters
by Claire Bischoff, Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo, and Anne Harrison-Moody, eds.
This volume investigates how mothers can understand parenting as spiritual practice, and what this practice means for theological scholarship. An intergenerational and intercultural group of mother-scholars, including Marcia Mount Shoop, explores these questions that arise at the intersection of motherhood studies, religious practice, pastoral care, and theology through accessible and engaging essays. Essays include both narrative and theological elements, as authors draw on personal reflection, interviews, and/or sociological studies to write about the theological implications of parenting as spiritual practice, rethink key concepts in theology, and contribute to a more robust account of parenting as spiritual from various theological perspectives.
This volume both challenges oppressive, religious images of self-sacrificing motherhood and considers the spiritual dimensions of mothering that contribute to women’s empowerment and well-being. It also deepens practical and systematic theologies to include concern for the embodied and everyday challenges and joys of motherhood as it is experienced and practiced in diverse contexts of privilege and marginalization.
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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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Presbyterianism 101 - Brown bag lunch discussion | Sunday | August 25 | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM | Choir Room
Who are Presbyterians? What do we believe? How are we different from other denominations? Come with your questions as we delve into our rich, complex, and sometimes contentious tradition. Bring a brown bag lunch if you would like. Email Richard at
rcoble@gcpcusa.org
with questions.
Facilitators
:
Richard Coble, Samantha Gonzalez-Block, Marcia Mount Shoop, and Heather Ferguson
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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.
- August 26 | If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran | Carla Power | Facilitator: Amber White
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Summer Bible Study has finished.
Please join us for our regular Wednesday lectionary Bible Study, which will resume on September 18.
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VRQ Cook Team Needs YOU!
A great opportunity in our community!
For many years a team from GCPC has cooked a meal at the Veterans Restoration Quarters (VRQ) on the first Tuesday of every month.
The VRQ houses 240 veterans in a re-purposed motel in the Oteen area of Asheville. The GCPC Cook Team shops for the food and prepares a meal of 240 grilled hamburgers with coleslaw and beans or potato salad.
We need several new team members to help us get the job done. We have two shifts:
- A preparation crew who arrives at 4:30 to cook and prepare the meal.
- A serving crew who arrives at 5:30 to serve the meal, cafeteria style. (VRQ does all the clean up).
Crew members will tell you, spending time at the VRQ is a great gift. If you are interested, please contact Bill Neeriemer at
bill.nmer@gmail.com
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Haywood Street Clothing Bin Volunteers Needed
Have you noticed the blue bin in our parking lot? Have you ever wondered about what happens to the clothes that are donated? Here is your opportunity to find the answers and volunteer in a very meaningful way. Volunteers are needed to deliver donations to the Haywood Street Congregation once a week for one month.
Volunteers are needed for September, December and every month next year.
Please email Nancy Kramer at
nancykramer1981@gmail.com
to claim your slot.
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Habitat for Humanity Shifts
The 2019 Presby/UMC house is underway. House is moving along well - both stories are framed and a roof will soon follow, but there is plenty of work ahead.
Anyone wishing to volunteer for the construction of the house should contact Bill Ryan (
bill73ryan@gmail.com
). Minimum age to volunteer at a site is 16.
We have scheduled slots on:
- Thursday, August 29
- Monday, September 9
We hope to schedule some September days for our Youth, GCPC Mamas and the 20s/30s group soon. If you cannot come out and build, pray for the endeavor and our partner family (yet to be named) and donate to and shop at the ReStore. Thank you for your continued support of Habitat!
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New ReStore Opening in Weaverville!
Thrifting is about to get twice as nice! The 2nd Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore is opening at
61 Weaver Blvd
., Weaverville, NC 28787. Ribbon cutting is at 9:30 am and store Grand Opening is at 10:00 am on Saturday, August 24th!
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Ministry Partner News and Events...
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Kathy Izard: Reading & Signing "The Hundred Story Home" w/ AHOPE | Thursday, August 29 | 6 - 7:30 PM | Pack Memorial Library (67 Haywood St.)
Join Homeward Bound for a
reading and book signing event with Kathy Izard, author of
The Hundred Story Home. Kathy Izard was a graphic designer, wife, mother of four daughters and volunteer at Charlotte’s Urban Ministry Center when an unlikely meeting with formerly homeless author, Denver Moore, changed the course of her life. Kathy quit her job to take on what seemed like an unimaginable task in her second half of life—to build housing for Charlotte’s homeless population.
The reading will be followed by a Q&A with guests from AHOPE Day Center- Homeward Bound of WNC.
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Anti-Racism & Sanctuary Training | Friday, September 13 | 9:30 AM - 4 PM | Unitarian Universalist Congregation (
1 Edwin Place
)
As we desire to create sanctuary everywhere, let us ground ourselves in anti-racist training to prepare for whatever the future calls us toward. This training will be done in solidarity with WNC's immigrant communities, but it's reach is inclusive of all vulnerable and marginalized people everywhere. Facilitated by Rev. Tami Forte-Logan. Sliding scale: $35-$65 (includes lunch). Presented by CIMA and Faith Communities Organizing for Sanctuary.
REGISTER HERE.
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Pisgah Legal Services' Annual Justice Forum featuring Jose Antonio Vargas | Thursday, October 3 | 7:00 PM | Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (U.S. Cellular Center)
Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, author of
Dear America: Notes of An Undocumented Citizen and a leading voice for the human rights of immigrants. He is the Founder and CEO of Define American, the nation’s leading nonprofit media organization that fights injustice and anti-immigrant hate through the power of storytelling.
Mr. Vargas will share details of his childhood journey to the United States from the Philippines and his life in America as an immigration reform activist. Some have called him the most famous undocumented immigrant in America.
For the first time, the Justice Forum is free to attend thanks to our generous sponsors. Tickets to the pre-forum reception are $60 per person. Availability is limited. Click
HERE
to register.
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Presbyterian Women Fall Kick-Off! | Saturday, August 24 | 10 AM – 1 PM | Atrium & Fellowship Hall
All women of Grace Covenant are invited to the Presbyterian Women’s Fall Kick Off brunch. Come discover our 2019-2020 Horizon’s Bible Study,
Love Carved in Stone: A Fresh Look at the Ten Commandments
, and we will assemble
Birthday Bags
.
Bags will be given to some of our ministry partners who work with children.
The whole church can help by donating items like cake mix, candles, party favors, and balloons.
Sign up for the kick-off in the Church Narthex today!
Bring donations to the reception desk at church by August 23.
Any questions, please contact Cathy Froehlich at (828) 775-1016 or at
oremont2@gmail.com
.
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Men @ GCPC | Thursday, August 29 | 8 AM | HomeGrown (371 Merrimon Ave.)
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3rd Annual “Dine with Nine” begins in October
Who?
Open to all
What?
A rotational supper club for individuals and couples who want to be part of a fellowship group of folks from GCPC.
When?
TBD. Each group determines the frequency and the timing of their gatherings. Groups stay together for one year.
Where?
Private homes and /or restaurants. Group members do not have to be able to host the group in order to participate.
Why?
To more tightly bind the fellowship of our congregation.
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SAVE THE DATE!
Wisdom in the Woods | November 8-10 | Lake Logan, NC | Leader: Carol Hovis
Are you a woman who has a few decades under her belt? Would you like a chance to connect on a closer level with each other than sometimes it feels like life and schedules allow? This will be a time for fellowship and also digging deeper into our faith together with Carol Hovis who will lead us in programming.
Stay tuned for registration info soon!
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Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Group | Wed., September 4 | 12 PM | Garden Room
This support group introduces techniques for daily living with such issues, led by Paul Rogers, a retired physician in our congregation. We meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of every month.
*New participants welcome at any time.
Contact Richard,
rcoble@gcpcusa.org
, with questions.
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Centering Prayer | Wednesday Nights | 6:30 - 7:00 PM | Sanctuary
Christianity has a rich and ancient tradition of intentional and prayerful silence as a spiritual practice. Sacred silence teaches us to listen devoutly, humbly, and with trust. 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 at
mmshoop@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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All GCPC Youth Events (for grades 6 – 12) will kick-off on Sunday, September 15th!
Don't hesitate to dive into a year of fun, fellowship and faith growth alongside caring peers and adults. Get ready for a transformative and exciting journey together!
Sunday, Sept. 15th:
- Youth Breakfast, Sunday School & Choir: 9:00-10:15am
- Youth Group: 5:00-7:00pm
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Youth Committee Meeting | Thursday, Sept. 12 | 6 - 7 PM | Garden Room
All Youth, Adults and Parents are invited to join the Youth Committee, where we will work together to ensure that that this will be a meaningful year for GCPC youth. We will discuss programming, youth leadership and more. Come lend your voice to this meeting or feel free to jump in another month. See you then!
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Emma Maney ~ Young Adult Volunteer, Tucson AZ
Please keep GCPC member, Emma Maney in your prayers as she prepares for a year of service as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) in Tucson, Arizona.
Part of the YAV experience is raising money to support living expenses. If you would like to make a monetary gift to Emma, you can do so by writing a check to GCPC, with 'Emma Maney' in the memo line.
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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)
Robin Smith (Beth Robrecht's sister)
Rebecca Wells' brother, Jamey
Natalie C.
Jeff Combs (Bill McNeff's friend)
Jennifer Vaughn (Mary Berg's friend)
Louise Hill (Geneva Neeriemer's mother)
West Asheville Presbyterian Church
Nicholas Kmecza (Carolyn Haag’s husband)
Terry Arthur (Anna Jarvis' friend)
Evan Maxwell (Anna Jarvis' friend)
Sarah Ralston (Susie Bleckley’s mother)
Marcia Zuzel (friend of Kim Hottle and Melissa Shook)
Nicolle & Scott McCoy and family (Family of Melissa Hicks)
Hettie Lou Garland
Betty Smith
Margaret Rada
Bob Higgins
James Harwell
Joyce Summerlin
Cory Hartbarger
Mary Ellen Horne
Penny & Ray Ponder
Jack Smith
Steve and Florence Riedesel
Walt Justice
Donna Robertson
Our sympathy and support are extended to the Dean family following the death of Ray Dean on Saturday, August 17. A Service of Witness to the Resurrection and Thanksgiving for the Life of Rayburn Dean will be held at GCPC on Saturday, September 7 at 1:00 PM. Please keep the family in your prayers.
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Grace Covenant Community Out and About...
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Enneagram Retreat:
Day of Triads: Consolidating Insights
Saturday, August 31st |10 AM-4 PM | GCPC
_________________________________________________________
Save the Date:
Enneagram Retreat on Relationships
Saturday, September 21st | 10 AM - 4 PM | GCPC
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Are You Doing It Wrong? | Friday, September 20 | 9 AM - 12 PM
or
3 PM - 6 PM | YWCA (185 S. French Broad Ave.)
This training is for licensed mental health professionals willing to own that they don't know everything about working with populations of color, even though they already went to the one diversity training their agency required. Presented by Elizabeth McCorvey, MSW, LCSW and Catie Beaulieu, LPC, MBA. Cost is $125. Click
HERE
for more information and to register.
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CoInspire - Liberating Imagination, Eviscerating Racism | October 7-10, 2019 | Montreat Conference Center
Montreat Conference Center will host CoInspire, the second in a series of conferences addressing systemic racism in the church. Their first conference, DisGrace, lived in lament for the ways in which the sins of racism thwart individual people and institutions, infecting congregations and denominations with death-dealing dehumanization.
In response to the racism and violence in our world, this event seeks to bring together people of faith in order to disarm prejudices that divide us and equip each other for practicing resurrection as new creations in Christ. We will delve into the questions around the toxicities we are currently breathing into our bodies and exhaling into the shared air. CoInspire will examine ways that we, as members of Christ’s body, might co-inspire one another to liberate imagination for new ways of being, and examine ways we can conspire to eviscerate the racism within our church. We will seek to identify those things we want to breathe in to precipitate a pathway to eviscerating the racism in our country and our world.
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church | 828.254.3274
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
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