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#GCPCinthesanctuary

PW Circle 4 Holiday Brunch

*For the full revised common lectionary, please click here.

A congregational meeting has been called for this Sunday, December 18 immediately following worship. We will be voting on the slate for Deacons, Elders and Nominating Committee members. You must be in attendance to vote and there will be both online and in-person ways to vote.

This Sunday we will celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

Remember that our at home practice has been to use anything you have for your elements. Your bread can be a cracker, bagel or even a donut. Your cup can be a glass of water or anything else you have on hand.

The spirit of our Presbyterian practice of Communion is that the body of Christ is not found in the elements themselves, but in the community gathered together to share this meal of revolutionary love.

TONIGHT!

Remember that there will be no Bible Study gatherings during Advent.

We hope that you will engage with the GCPC Advent Calendar for devotional time. You can sign up to receive alerts at the very bottom of our home page on the website.

Here is a direct link to the Advent Calendar: https://gcpcusa.org/advent-calendar/.

When you shop for gifts at 

smile.amazon.com/ch/56-0588479, AmazonSmile will donate

a portion of your eligible purchases to

Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church at no cost to you!

From a Friend in Finance…

You may not have met me in person before since I'm not around on Sunday, so if we haven't met yet, hi, I'm Natalie Weaver, GCPC's Stewardship & Financial Administrator! And hello again to all of you lovely folks I have had the pleasure of getting to know, in person, on Zoom, or by email/phone in my past 6 years in the GCPC Finance Office. 

This is definitely the busiest time of the year for my job, when stewardship and pledge season converge at the same time as budget development and year end accounting close. Oh yeah, and just a few holidays. Wish me luck, y'all!! That said, I end up having quite a few similar questions come up, so each week I will share a tidbit of knowledge here:

• Stewardship Shortages: We still have a ways to go to hit our stewardship goal and fund the budget...but what does that actually mean? If we don't have enough projected income, which is made up of pledged dollars, rental income, payments for activities, and other smaller revenue sources, then the Finance Council has to go back through the budget draft and start making cuts. That could be programming plans, special projects and events, staff expenses... ultimately, Finance can't submit the budget for Session review and approval until we're balanced to $0. So if we don't get enough money in, we have to reduce money out. That's why it's so very important to pledge if you can, to help us know what to expect for the next year!

ARE YOU AN eGIVER?

If so, have you set up your 2023 eGiving? This doesn't automatically renew, even if you pledge online. You either have to add it as a second step after submitting your pledge or contact Natalie in the Finance Office to her do it for you. Please take a moment to check before the end of the year. You can view this in Realm under Giving and click Scheduled. 

READY TO SUBMIT YOUR 2023 PLEDGE?

Submitting your pledge is quick and easy! (Watch a tutorial video here.) Simply CLICK HERE or scan the Qr code to the right to submit your pledge online, all in one form. 

If you would also like to set up automatic eGiving from your bank account or credit card, be sure to checkmark Add a scheduled gift for this pledge after the pledge confirmation and follow the prompts. These are two separate steps and forms - setting up a pledge does not renew eGiving automatically and eGiving without a pledge doesn't count towards our Stewardship and budget goals.

You will receive an email confirmation of your pledge and a separate confirmation for eGiving, if applicable. Questions or concerns? Please contact Natalie Weaver, Stewardship & Financial Administrator, at giving@gcpcusa.org or leave a message at 828.254.3274. 

Keep in mind, anyone can pledge any amount - every single penny helps support the ministry and mission at GCPC!

WAYS TO PLEDGE:

• Online pledge card HERE
• Email giving@gcpcusa.org
• Call 828.254.3274 and leave a message for Natalie Weaver
• Fill out a pew pledge card and put in the Sunday offering plate
• Request a mailed pledge card from the office

• GCPC Devotionals



• Email prayer@gcpcusa.org 

Deacon of the Week:

The deacons of Grace Covenant are available to talk and pray with you by phone or online and to coordinate care. If you have difficulty reaching your assigned deacon or if you do not know who your assigned deacon is, please feel free to reach out to our deacon of the week.

This week (12/11-12/17): Leslie Sharpe | email: leslieysharpe@gmail.com

Next week (12/18-12/24): Pat Cheffins | email: patriciacheffins@gmail.com

Prayer requests will stay on the GCPC Prayer List for one month. Please let any staff member know if you (or your loved one) would like to remain on the list for longer.

Iglesia Jerusalem congregation

Trey and Alisha Thompson and 3 kids - Gabi, Arlo, and Eldon (Patty and Brent Thompson's son and daughter-in-law and grandchildren)

Rebecca Longenecker-Singer (sister-in-law of Loidaly & Hans Rosario-Singer)

Bill Ross (Jonathan Ross' dad)

Dan Bronson (Laurie Stradley’s dad) 

Katharine Meacham Conover (Kathy Meacham’s mom)

Diane Eubanks (Marty Johnson’s sister)

Jamie Waskey (Anna Hamel's sister-in-law)

Richard Davis (Lori Davis’s father)

Bill Brown (Mary Lou Nash's brother) 

Bob Higgins

Susan Smialowicz

Doris Prak

Michelle Chromey and family

Andrea Rosal

Sharon Sasse

Lisette de Groot

Reed Carney

Laura Ross

Margaret Rada

Juanita Schneider

Susan Meade on the loss of her brother on 12/9/22

Here is a link to the Memorial Service for Roslyn Carney that was held on Monday, December 12 at Madison High School.

Presbyterian Womenʼs Circles are Zoom meetings. ​​Please join us.

Circle 1: Second Monday of each month, 10:00 a.m.

• Cathy Froehlich - 775-1016, oremont2@gmail.com

Circle 2: First Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.

• Ann Brown - (828) 279-4917, hbcove@aol.com 
• Heather Hudson - 501-442-6223, hehudson@charter.net

Circle 3: Second Tuesday of each month (some Zoom and some in-person), 7:00 p.m.

• Andrea Rosal - (828) 545-8466, ameach@gmail.com
• Lynn Saul - (704) 451-5268, lynniesaul@gmail.com

Circle 4: Second Tuesdays of each month, 10:30 a.m.

• Marcy Onieal – (828) 775-9433, marcy.onieal@gmail.com
• Connie Jones – 231-2680, Conjones@charter.net

Circle 5: First Monday of each month, 11:00 a.m.

• Lynne Noble – (828) 582-9346, lynnesnoble@gmail.com 

Need to set up a church zoom meeting?

Contact Anna Louise and she can get you all set up!

Creation Care Alliance will hold its annual Creation Care Symposium at Montreat for clergy and faith leaders Monday February 6, 1-5:30 pm and then an open symposium on Tuesday February 7, 8:30am-5:30pm. Grace Covenant is a progressive faith community. We have solar panels, we recycle, and we vote for laws to protect the God’s Creation, but I wonder if, as a congregation, we can’t do more. I would love for several of us to go to the Tuesday symposium so that we can get our EARTH TEAM very active again in new and ‘creative’ ways.

Check out the CREATION CARE ALLIANCE website for more info about this symposium and contact Susan Presson(4pressons@gmail.com) if interested in registering together as a faith community.

Bountiful Cities

FEAST Needs Cooking Equipment

and Groceries

Bountiful Cities FEAST program reaches over 1150 students per year with hands on cooking and gardening education, and with that many students our equipment and supplies are in need of restocking! We need everything from cutting boards to groceries. 

If you would like to purchase a grocery gift card you can send it to PO Box 898, Asheville NC 28802. Or you can donate to our FEAST Fund Drive and designate your funds for groceries. If you have gently used equipment you would like to drop off please reach out to cathy@bountifulcities.org to find out more. Or you can simply purchase off our wishlist and it will ship directly to our FEAST program. 

AVL GreenWorks | DIY Litter Cleanup | Ongoing (anytime, anywhere!)

Organizing a litter cleanup with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, or other community members is easier than you may think! Asheville GreenWorks provides cleanup supplies and safety information, and will coordinate trash pick up as needed. Supplies include gloves, safety vests, trash bags, trash grabbers, and a SHARPs container. Register now to learn more about borrowing supplies to organize your own cleanup!

UNC Asheville presents: 

Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Keynote Address from Clint Smith, “Our History, Reimagined” | Wednesday, January 18 | 7:00 - 8:30 PM | Lipinsky Hall

UNC Asheville presents “Our History, Reimagined,” a Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Address from keynote speaker Clint Smith in Lipinsky Hall on Wednesday, January 18. This event is free and open to all, no tickets are required.

In a conversation exploring Civil Rights movements over the decades, as well as how memorials tie into our perceptions and collective memories of these eras, Clint pushes the audience to wrestle with the complicated truths about the country we live in and helps crystalize how this history has shaped the contemporary social, political, and cultural landscape of our world today.

A Conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates | Tuesday, February 28 | 7:00 - 8:30 PM | Sherrill Center / Kimmel Arena 

UNC Asheville welcomes award-winning author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates in conversation in the Sherrill Center’s Kimmel Arena on Tuesday, February 28. The event, which will include a reading and question-and-answer session, is free and open to all but requires advanced registration through Eventbrite. Books will be available for purchase at the event.

To register, visit the event page on Eventbrite.

 The church office is open Tuesday - Thursday, 10am - 4pm.

We recommend calling ahead or emailing to set up an appointment if you are wanting to meet with a specific staff member. Please note, many staff are off or work remotely on Monday and the office is not open on Friday.  

Coming to visit?  We have a new video doorbell to assist with security. To access the building or office, please enter through the far left glass doors off the courtyard (labeled Enter). Ring the doorbell to have the door unlocked. The GCPC office is down the hall to the right, just past the Sanctuary. 

You can also reach our office by phone at 828.254.3274. Follow the prompts for the staff directory to dial by name or press 0 for the main office.

• Click for the Online Calendar
• Click to Make a Secure Donation or Give a Gift  

Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church

789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804

828.254.3274 

www.gcpcusa.org