The other day, as I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed and a friend was kvetching about all. the. things. - her feeling of being overwhelmed was just too much and she wanted to see if she was the only one. Turns out, she wasn't. Comment after comment was not only indicating that she was not alone, but told their own stories of where they were at with their respective feelings of a full plate. And I've had similar conversations with my friends as well.

Where are you at? How are YOU? How are you feeling?

One way that we would ask that as a gathering question in a ministry group of which I was a part: What color is your soul today?

This banner picture reminded me of that question as I was sitting down to write this "blurb" for today's newsletter. There's a lot (A LOT) going on in the world - both in our own orbits and the larger ones when we think about our community (end of the semester, COVID numbers again on the rise, an unceasing end to the political calls as the next primary looms on the calendar) and our world (the war in Ukraine, leaked Supreme Court draft opinions). It seems almost too much to take. And that doesn't even take into account what is going on in our own lives!

And then I saw this Twitter post on yet another friend's Facebook page:
As you navigate the upcoming days, I encourage you to check in with yourself: what color is your soul?

If it's not too much to take on, I encourage you to check in with at least one friend or family member and ask them the same question. And give each other permission to be honest with each other.

I leave this prayer with you - one that was (also) shared amongst clergy on social media the other day. She wrote that it was shared at her session meeting the other evening:

A Prayer for the Tired, Angry Ones by Laura Jean Truman

God, We’re so tired.
We want to do justice, but the work feels endless,
and the results look so small in our exhausted hands.
We want to love mercy, but our enemies are relentless, and it feels like foolishness to prioritize gentleness in this unbelievably cruel world.
We want to walk humbly, but self-promotion is seductive, and we are afraid that if we don’t look after ourselves, no one else will.
We want to be kind, but our anger feels insatiable.
Jesus, in this never-ending wilderness, come to us and grant us grace.
Grant us the courage to keep showing up to impossible battles, trusting that it is our commitment to faithfulness,
and not our obsession with results, that will bring in Your peace.
Grant us the vulnerability to risk loving our difficult and complicated neighbor, rejecting the lie that some people
are made more in the image of God than others.
Grant us the humility of a decentered but Beloved self.
As we continue to take the single step that is in front of us, Jesus, keep us from becoming what we are called to transform.
Protect us from using the empire’s violence—in our words, in our theology, in our activism, and in our politics—for Your kingdom of peace.
Keep our anger from becoming meanness.
Keep our sorrow from collapsing into self-pity.
Keep our hearts soft enough to keep breaking.
Keep our outrage turned towards justice, not cruelty.
Remind us that all of this, every bit of it, is for love.
Keep us fiercely kind.
Amen.

Be well, and I pray that I see you Sunday.

Pastor Kathryn
Sunday (Virtual) Worship Information

Sunday worship is in-person, but will continue to be available through Facebook Live, Zoom, and YouTube.

Worshipping via Zoom allows for worship participants to, at the least, see each other during worship, should a participant join through computer. Zoom also allows for worship participants to join by phone, should they not have access to a computer.

To join by phone, call: (646)558-8656

When you dial in you will be asked for a meeting ID number: enter 847 7231 7808The password is: 658602Depending on the time you dial in, you may not hear anything to start with. When the Prelude begins, you will hear audio.

To access worship by Zoom via computer, please click here.

(If you'd prefer to access the worship service through the Zoom website, please enter Meeting ID 847 7231 7808 - the password is: 658602.)

To access worship by Facebook Live, please click here.

To access worship by YouTube, please click here.

Don't forget - you can access this week's bulletin via the church's website or by clicking here.
Volunteer with Applewood, Backpack Beginnings,
and Greensboro Housing Authority!
Fellowship has started an ongoing partnership between Backpack Beginnings, Greensboro Housing Authority, and The Applewood Community. Please contact Mary Howe to sign up: maryhowe0712@gmail.com or call/text at 336-698-6541. Please click here to sign up. 
Wondering what to do with all of those grocery shopping bags? The Missions committee will be collecting “gently used” plastic grocery bags for Backpack Beginnings. Please bring any you don’t use to church with you, leaving them on the Missions table in the Dogwood Lobby closest to the double doors leading towards the classrooms.
Fellowship Presbyterian has online giving available through the Presbyterian Foundation.

Click this link to be taken to the online donations page.
Prayer Concerns and Celebrations

  • We celebrate with Anna Hartis, who was one of 3 charter high school students in North Carolina to receive a $10,000 SECU People Helping People Scholarship. She will be attending UNC-Greensboro in the fall. Congratulations!
  • Katie Steele fractured her radius (arm) last weekend. Her pain is tolerable. She sees a hand surgeon on May 12.
  • Linda Kershner is currently hospitalized for a UTI, Kidney Stones, and Sepsis. She is in good spirits and feels confident that she is continuing to heal with the doctors indicating she will most likely be home by the end of the week. She is grateful for the prayers.
  • Traci Rankins requests prayers as her breast cancer has returned and is now in her lungs and possibly liver. She has more tests and doctors appointments to understand her treatment plan. She is confident in the power of prayer and is grateful for all of them; she does, however, request privacy as she and her family continue to understand the journey ahead.
  • Libby Ansel, sister of Lesa Layno, is grateful that the experimental treatments appear to be helping to fight the cancer in her body. Lesa asks for the prayers to continue.
  • We celebrate with all of the students who are graduating from college in the upcoming weeks.
  • Dottie, an 80-year old friend of Ben Wordsworth who lives in his apartment complex, requests prayers for her health and for her current living situation. She was one of the first occupants in that complex, so her rent was very low at the time. Due to rent increases, she can no longer afford to live there and must move out by the end of the month. 
  • Arch Gravely, Peggy Koppel’s cousin, passed last week from esophageal cancer at age 71.
  • Peggy Koppel also requests prayers for Lori and Richard Huffman and Jim Dutton.
  • Rev. Joel Long, former transitional pastor of Fellowship, is recovering at home from his recent heart surgery.
  • Prayers for Ukraine and those caught in the crossfire as the war continues.
  • Continued prayers for our church members: Sarah Haack, John Koppel, Mary Howe, Julian Bullock, Lea Groves, Nancy Baughman, Bruce Weaver, and Marjorie Van Horn.
  • Continued prayers for the family and friends of our congregation: Peggy Koppel’s neighbor Rosalie Russo has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, Kurt (Fred Campbell’s friend), Dennis (John Archambault’s cousin), Todd Southard (John Archambault’s friend), Michael Boswell (Peggy Koppel’s friend), Suzanne (Judy Meyler’s sister-in-law), Johnny Ziegler (Terry Anderson’s uncle), Todd Martinez (coworker of Gary Anderson), Katherine and Donald Bennett (Barbara Smith’s sister and brother-in-law), Felicia Schaps (Lindahl's daughter-in-law's mother), Ashley Long (Joel and Ann Long’s daughter-in-law), Joyce Berger (Kandee’s mother), Gwen Flowers & her family (Linda Ueland’s sister), Dorothy & Edward Archambault (John Archambault’s parents), , Tim King family (Phyllis King’s son), Roger Eliason (Tye Wittmann’s coworker), Jenny George (Betsy Craver's cousin).

If you have any additional prayer concerns, please contact Linda Ueland (336-314-5481) or call Martha at the church (336-288-5177).

Upcoming Events

May 8: Mother’s Day
  • 9:15-11:15am: Professional Childcare available (Fellowship Hall)
  • 9:30am: Worship with Communion (Sanctuary)– in-person, on Facebook Live, Zoom, and YouTube
  • 10:30am: Fellowship Time (Dogwood Lobby)
  • 10:45am: Adult Education Hour – The Gospel According to Ted Lasso (Library)
  • 11am – 12 noon Food Drive for Greensboro Urban Ministry (Front Drive)
May 10:
  • 10am: Greensboro Newcomers’ Board (Parlor)
  • May 11:
  • 7am: Men's Koffee Klatch (Panera Bread – Lawndale Location)
  • 12 noon: Bulletin and Blast Deadline
May 12:
  • 9:30am & 1:30pm: Meyler Oil (Fellowship Hall)
  • 1pm: Bridge (Library)
  • 6pm: Mission & Programs Committees (Zoom)
May 13:
  • 6:30pm: Family Movie Night on the Lawn
May 15:
  • 9:15-11:15am: Professional Childcare available (Fellowship Hall)
  • 9:30am: Worship – in-person (with masks), on Facebook Live, Zoom, and YouTube
  • 10:30am: Fellowship Time (Dogwood Lobby)
  • 10:45am: Adult Education Hour – The Gospel According to Ted Lasso (Library)