FBC Raleigh News • June 1, 2021
NEW RISK MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES

Our staff and the Risk Management Team met on Tuesday, May 25, to discuss the status of our ongoing plans for the continued reopening of the church. Due to the increased availability of a vaccine and new CDC guidelines concerning fully vaccinated people, we are recommending the modification of certain existing safety protocols. One important factor that we considered is that our children and many of our youth are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine. Our church has always provided a safe and nurturing environment for all members, most especially our children and youth. Our Risk Management Team believes that this must remain one of our highest priorities.

We would remind everyone that the wearing of masks continues to be one of the most effective measures to mitigate the transmission of Covid-19. Therefore, all people who have not been fully vaccinated should continue to wear a mask at all church events. In addition, we encourage all who are eligible to be vaccinated.

As we discussed our plans, we kept the following considerations in mind:
• Although research has shown that fully vaccinated persons have a greatly reduced risk of contracting or transmitting the virus, a substantial percentage of our adult population has not yet been vaccinated.
• Our children and youth, under the age of 12, are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine, and are therefore among the most vulnerable.
• Our church welcomes all, both vaccinated and unvaccinated.
• To protect all of our members, especially our children and youth, the safest course of action is for all, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, to wear masks in all public areas.

Recommendations
1. Protocol Changes (effective immediately)
• Sign-in is required for all programs, services, or events.
Masks are required for all:
• When entering church/in public places (halls/elevator/restrooms).
• In mixed venues (adults + children and/or youth).
• Fully vaccinated adults can remove masks when in a room with adults; those not vaccinated are encouraged to still wear masks.
• Children & Youth will continue wearing masks at all events, both indoors and outdoors.
These protocols apply to all areas of the building.

2. Recommendations effective Sunday, June 6
• Those in chancel and pulpit areas will not be required to wear masks as long as all providing leadership in those areas are fully vaccinated. If any leaders in these areas are not fully vaccinated, then masks will be required for all. Upon leaving these areas, leaders must wear masks.
• Vaccinated members of the sanctuary choir will be allowed to sing from the choir loft without masks and to rehearse without masks in the choir room.
• Sunday School - All adult Sunday School classes will be permitted to meet in-person again, though each class may decide when it is ready to do so. Each class will also decide on the mask protocol inside of its meeting room. If a class decides its room is too small, every attempt will be made to find a larger room.
• Seating will be allowed on ever other pew (signs designated). Family units can sit together. A six-foot space is required between non-family units on the same pew.
• Hymnals and Bibles will be available in the pews, but we will not yet pass offering plates or communion elements.

We continue to wrestle with these decisions and are constantly monitoring changes as we are eager to continue moving forward. The Risk Management Team will continue to meet as needed to reassess our response to the information and data coming from our congregation, medical professionals, and community.
BIBLE VERSES FOR DAILY USE
  • Monday, May 31: Psalm 20; Numbers 9:15-23; Revelation 4:1-8
  • Tuesday, June 1: Psalm 20; Exodus 25:1-22; 1 Corinthians 2:1-10
  • Wednesday, June 2: Psalm 20; Numbers 6:22-27; Mark 4:21-25
  • Thursday, June 3: Psalm 138; 1 Samuel 4:1-22; 1 Peter 4:7-19
  • Friday, June 4: Psalm 138; 1 Samuel 5:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
  • Saturday, June 5: Psalm 138; 1 Samuel 6:1-18; Luke 8:4-15
  • Sunday, June 6: 1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15) and Psalm 138; Genesis 3:8-15 and Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35
  • Monday, June 7: Psalm 108; 1 Samuel 7:3-15; Revelation 20:1-6
DEACON ON CALL
May 30 - June 5 • Rhonda Lowe (919-819-8651)
WEEK AT A GLANCE • June 1-6
Tuesday, June 1
Preschool Teacher Workdays (until 6/4)
6pm Theology on Tap (Zoom/In-person tbd)
7:30pm Pathfinders Sunday School (Zoom)

Wednesday, June 2
8am Set-up for ITC Staff Recognition Event (Lobby, K)
4pm ITC Staff Recognition Dinner Celebration (Lobby, K)
4:30 1st & 2nd Gr Sunday School (Lingafelt yard)
7pm Youth Netflix Movie Night (Teleparty)
7pm Adult Choir Rehearsal (Choir Rm.)
Thursday, June 3
7am Band of Brothers (Zoom)
7:30pm College Group (Zoom)

Sunday, June 6
Graduation Sunday
9am Everette Miller Friendship SS Class (Zoom)
10am 6th Grade SS (Gotomeeting.com)
10am 7th & 8th Grade SS (Zoom)
11am Worship (S/YouTube)
BOOK STUDY BEGINNING SUNDAY

Starting this coming Sunday, June 6, the Journey Class is going to begin a summer book study. They will be reading The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus J. Borg.  The plan is to read and discuss a chapter each week and rotate discussion facilitators over the course of 11/12 weeks.  This first Sunday they will be meeting at 9am.  

Since not everyone is able to join in person there are two options:
• In person: Jen and Derek Foster’s yard (bring your own chair) - 3109 Hines Dr, Raleigh
• Remotely via this Zoom link.

The location of future sessions have yet to be confirmed, as all of our Sunday school classes are discussing the recent updated church guidelines regarding the option to return to in-person meetings. If you have any questions or would like to let the Journey class know you plan to join, feel free to reach out to Holly Ivel via email or at 919-628-9850.
JUNE MISSION PROJECT

For the month of June, we will collect money ($300 is needed) that will go to provide beach towels for the approximately 45 children who will attend Camp Hope. The camp is sponsored by InterAct and is for children who have experienced or been exposed to violence in their homes. FBC member, Allison Strickland, is the director of InterAct and recently hosted a virtual event with the congregation to give information on this important agency and the work that they do. If you would like to contribute, please make your check out to FBC and put "Camp Hope" in the memo line. You may mail it to the church to the attention of our Finance Manager, Katherine Rattie, or drop it off in the office during the week or in the collection plate on Sunday. 
THE CHURCH CALLS NEW MUSIC LEADERS

At a special Church Conference held via Zoom at 5:30pm on Sunday, May 23, the church voted unanimously to extend a call to Warren and Maureen Howell to serve as our new Minister of Music and Organist/Music Assistant respectively. It was the exclamation point on a pivotal weekend for our church as we had opportunities to meet the Howells on Saturday and then experienced worship they helped plan and lead on Sunday. We are grateful for their willingness to serve among us and we trust that their musical gifts and who they are will deeply enrich our ministry and shared life.

The Howells will begin work at FBC Raleigh on July 1. Until then, we ask that you be in prayer for them, for the faith communities in Kentucky where they have been serving, and for our church that we might be open to new leadership and welcoming to new friends. For those who would like to express personal words of welcome, Maureen and Warren have provided the following contact information. Their mailing address for a little longer is 720 Sunset Dr, Lexington, KY 40502. Their email addresses are: warrenhowell1962@gmail.com and maureenghowell@gmail.com.

We are also grateful for the tireless and prayerful work of the two search committees and for the gifts of creativity, caring, and stability Sue Crocker has provided during the interim. We could not have had better committees nor could we have found a more effective Interim Music Director. The committees worked incredibly well together and Sue brought a combination of musical gifts and knowledge of our church that no one else could have brought. How overflowing with grace we are and how excited to be headed into a new phase: our journey with a full staff! - Dr. Chapman
ARTFUL GIVING

Artful Giving is a ministry of First Baptist Church through which a donor may place a pulpit banner in memory or honor of someone, a ministry, or a group in lieu of purchasing cut flowers for the altar. The donor then makes a donation to the Day Mission Fund of FBC in the amount that would have been spent on flowers, or more if he/she wishes. The Day Mission Fund is used to support mission trips and other mission endeavors of First Baptist Church. An entire listing of our banners can be found on the church website. Please email Jennie Herrick or call her at 919-832-4485, ext. 200, about use of a banner on a particular Sunday.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR HELEN WRIGHT CENTER DELIVERY

For the past year through our partnership with And Also With 'Cue, we have been providing dinner to the women living at the Helen Wright Center. The Helen Wright Center offers emergency shelter to single women without children who are experiencing homelessness. Ever since the pandemic began, this has been a contactless experience that involves picking up the food from our church kitchen and delivering it to the Helen Wright Center where it is served by their employees. We have already committed to several dates in 2021, and would love your help in making these deliveries. If you are able to help deliver for one or more of these dates, please email Leah.

• July 1
• August 5
• September 2
• October 4
REMINDERS FOR IN-PERSON WORSHIP

From now on, no sign-up is required for worship. You will still need to enter the church either through the main front doors on the Capitol Square or through the back parking lot door with the covered ramp off the McDowell lot. From there, you sign in with sanitized pens so we can do our due diligence if contract tracing is needed. The doors will open at 10:30am and we will lock the back door at 11am, so please arrive in time to go through a check-in station monitored by deacons and get settled in the sanctuary before worship begins. We ask that those who are able consider parking in the government lot or deck or on the street so that those who are less mobile can have easy access to the McDowell lot entrance.

We will not require temperature checks at the doors, since hospitals are no longer requiring them, but please answer all the questions on the form and revisit them on the day of worship. We will require everyone to remain masked throughout the service and remain safely distanced (we will have pews marked appropriately). Please pick up an order of worship off the table either in the narthex or in the gathering room. There will also be offering baskets on those tables, since we will not be passing the plates during worship, and receptacles for trash and recycling when you depart. We will continue streaming the service on YouTube, for all who may want to continue worshiping virtually. We appreciate your patience as we adjust to a new rhythm on Sunday mornings.
CLOTHING MINISTRY REOPENING!
DONATIONS NEEDED

After a longer-than-expected COVID-19 closure, we are making preparations for a Clothing Ministry grand reopening! As you all may know, we have been doing some major renovations in our space, including new flooring and paint. We are deeply grateful for the many laborers we have had over the past few weeks that have helped paint, as we transform this space into something new and fresh. We can't wait for you to see it! Mark your calendar for our tentative reopening date - Monday, August 2, from 10am - 12pm!

Part of our reopening plan includes restocking our donations so we can safely open to the public. We will be accepting donations of new and gently used clothing (any season!) and shoes during drive-thru donation drop-offs in the back parking lot on the following dates:

Wednesday, June 9th, 11am – 1pm
Saturday, June 12th, 11am – 1pm

We ask that you bag all donations by categories – men’s, women’s, and children’s.
We are unable to clean or repair donated clothing, so please ensure that your clothing donations do not have stains, rips, or broken zippers and buttons. WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING DONATIONS OF HOUSEHOLD ITEMS other than suitcases, backpacks, and blankets.

If you are a regular volunteer of the Clothing Ministry, be on the lookout for an email soon about ways that you can help over the coming weeks! If you are not a regular volunteer but would like more information, please email Sabrina Tyndall. Thanks for your continued support of this ministry!
AAWC'S WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Each week, we post And Also With 'Cue's weekly schedule here in Rose Window Weekly as well as on our Facebook page to let you know our lunch schedule and if there will be outside events on the weekend for you to attend.

Come eat with us this week:

June 2 • Private event
June 3-4 • Closed for family travel

Do you have an idea about how to giveaway food in our community? Email Leah!
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.
CURRENT OFFICE PROCEDURES
DURING THE PANDEMIC

While the church office will remain closed to the public for the immediate future, we have someone in the office Monday through Friday, 8:30am-5pm to answer the phone and let people in for pre-approved activities. The staff and Church Council continue to monitor all realities related to COVID-19. In addition, we have formed a Risk Management Team (RMT) made up of John Baldwin, Sam Ewell, Ron Maness (chair), Alice Marshbanks, and Hollis Yelverton to help us make decisions. The RMT has developed a list of guidelines which can be found here. Any group wishing to schedule an in-person meeting or activity should contact Wayne Hager. We still encourage you to contact any of the ministers if you have a pressing need, using the following email links: Chris Chapman, Lynn Lingafelt, Leah Reed, and Michael Hood.
AMONG OUR FAMILY

A link to the entire prayer list may be found below.
Please use your church directory for mailing addresses.


MAY 2021 • MEMORIAL & HONORIFIC GIFTS

General Fund
In Honor of:
Carmen Hiott
In Memory of:
John Hiott

Mike Morris Fellowship Fund
In Memory of:
Caralie Brown
THE RECORD WE WROTE
Week as of May 27, 2021
Current Week Revenue: $28,510.00
Month-to-Date Revenue: $97,765.56
Year-to-Date Revenue: $602,532.10
Month-to-Date Expenses: $88,016.00
Year-to-Date Expenses: $498,506.54
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.