|
Click "View entire message"
at bottom of email to see the FULL newsletter
| |
Youth Kick Off Bubble Party! | |
Worship Preview | Sunday, September 4, 2022
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
In-person Service and Youtube
| |
*For the full revised common lectionary, please click here. | |
| Thursday, September 1 | PW Circle 4 Mtg. | 7:00 pm on Zoom | | Saturday, September 3 | Garden Workday
(Team 4) | 9:00 am | GCPC Community Garden | | Sunday, September 4 | Hybrid Worship
(In-person and online) | 10:45 am @ GCPC
(also on Youtube) | | Monday, September 5 | Labor Day | Office Closed | | Monday, September 5 | PW Circle 5 Mtg. | 11:00 am on Zoom | | Tuesday - Thursday | Church Office Open | 10 am - 4 pm | | Tuesday, September 6 | VRQ Cook Team | 4:30 or 5:30 pm @ VRQ | | Tuesday, September 6 | Guatemala Comm. Mtg. | 5:30 pm on Zoom | | Tuesday, September 6 | Worship Council Mtg. | 5:30 pm on Zoom | | Tuesday, September 6 | PW Circle 2 Mtg. | 7:30 pm on Zoom | | Wednesday, Sept 7 | Garden Workday
(Team 1) | 9:00 am | GCPC Community Garden | | Wednesday, Sept 7 | Summer Bible Study | 10:00 am on Zoom | | Wednesday, Sept 7 | Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Group | 11:00 am | Fellowship Hall (also on Zoom) | | Wednesday, Sept 7 | Youth Leaders Mtg. | 7:00 pm on Zoom | | Thursday, September 8 | Men of GCPC Gathering | 9:00 am on Zoom | | Thursday, September 8 | PART Mtg. | 6:00 pm on Zoom | | |
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
VRQ—BBQ Cook Team | Tuesday, September 6 | 4:30 PM to cook or 5:30 PM to work the serving line | Veterans Restoration Quarters
On the first Tuesday of each month a team from GCPC gathers at VRQ, 1329 Tunnel Road, to grill hamburgers, prepare and serve supper for the veterans housed there. Volunteers are still masking while they are there.
If you can help please contact Bill Neeriemer, bill.nmer@gmail.com.
| |
Fall Schedule Rollout Video #5 | |
|
Children’s Center Request
We are currently looking for a teacher in our center. If you know of someone who might be interested, please have them contact our Center Director, Jeannie Aiken, at 253-0542 for more information.
Our 5 Star center is financially sound and operates 7:30am-5:30pm. Unlike many centers, we offer a living wage, excellent health insurance, Life and Long Term Disability, and as of this year—an optional SIMPLE IRA plan. It’s a great place to work!
| |
|
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 (8/28-9/3): Beth Robrecht | email: bethrobrecht50@gmail.com
Next week (9/4-9/10): 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
Maria and Esteban Goicoechea (La Mariposa and her husband)
Seth Turnbow (Anne Raustol’s twin brother)
Chip Lambert (GCPC Community member who is hiking the App. Trail)
Deanna Fleenor (Mike Fleenor's sister)
Trey and Alisha Thompson and 3 kids - Gabi 7, Arlo 5, and Eldon 3 (Patty and Brent Thompson's son and daughter-in-law and children)
Elizabeth (Susan Mim's friend)
Will Pressley
Ann Burnette (Amanda Pressley's friend)
Amy (Jan and John Brigham's granddaughter)
Sarah Ralston (Susie Bleckley’s mom)
Bob Higgins
Susan Smialowicz
Doris Prak
Michelle Chromey and family
Bob Schaefer
Frances Johnson
Gloria Moe
Earl Fowler
Robin Gaiser
Daniel Breen
Bill McNeff
Bill Williamson
Former GCPC member, Bob Hassall, passed away on Tuesday night in Durham, NC. His memorial service will be on Saturday at 11:00 am at Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church in Durham, NC. Here is a link to the livestream. His memorial slide show is available here.
| |
|
Register Now!
A Journey Through “The Revelation of John”
Thursdays (Sept. 15 - Nov. 17) |
6:30 - 8:30 PM | Fellowship Hall
Rev. Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop, Instructor
This course is a deep dive into “The Revelation of John” that will involve a ten week commitment. Each week there will be an optional opportunity to prepare your spirit and mind with centering prayer in the sanctuary at 6:00pm prior to the beginning of class at 6:30pm.
Class participants will carefully read “The Revelation of John” in small amounts for each class and be asked to journal in response to prompts each week as well. We will explore the prophetic edges of this book as well as the liberative message that many miss when the book is mistaken for a prophesy of the future. Childcare will be available.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SYLLABUS
| |
|
Presbyterian Womenʼs Circles are Zoom meetings. Please join us.
Circle 1: Second Monday of each month, 10:00 a.m.
Circle 2: First Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Circle 3: Third Thursday of each month (some Zoom and some in-person), 7:00 p.m.
Circle 4: First Thursday of each month, 7:00 p.m.
Circle 5: First Monday of each month, 11:00 a.m.
| |
|
Need to set up a church zoom meeting?
Contact Anna Louise and she can get you all set up!
| | |
|
|
On August 27, Team 2 had 9 volunteers that harvested 3 lbs. of basil, 11 lbs. of beans, 1.5 lbs. of eggplant, .5 lb. of okra, 7 lbs. of bell peppers, 3 lbs. of snacking peppers, 3 lbs. of hot peppers, 4 lbs. of summer squash, and 101 lbs. of tomatoes that was shared with Western Carolina Rescue Ministries.
| |
On August 31, Team 3 had a bountiful harvest! | |
|
Where Your Giving Goes | Part 1
Ever wonder what the "General Fund" means? When you give, whether pledged or unpledged, and that gift isn't designated for a specific purpose (think "Reparations Fund"), it goes into the General Fund. That is the main source of income for a church and is what makes it possible for us to cover the budgeted (and sometimes surprise!) expenses. This includes some of the regular business day-to-day stuff like utility bills, building and lawn maintenance, office/kitchen/building supplies, computer software and tech support, internet service, insurance, payroll, etc. But there is so much more than that in the life and budget of a church!
-
When you give, you support events like Wisdom in the Woods, Sisters at the Sea, Family Faith Time, 20s/30s Group gatherings, Montreat, Massanetta, JOY Group outings, fellowship groups and much more.
-
When you give, you support programs for children, youth, and adults, including formation and education, bible study, cherub and chancel choir, Deacons, Sunday fellowship, book studies, and beyond.
-
When you give, you support teams at GCPC connecting with the community like Just Funding, Winter Shelter Team, Veterans Restoration Quarters, SERVE, Circle of Welcome, PART, Earth Team, Guatemala Committee, and Creating Sanctuary Team.
Thank you, Grace Covenant, for the many ways you support these ministries with your love, time and energy, and faithful generosity.
| |
Community Working Together | |
|
Writing Out of Pain: Four Memoirs by WNC Authors
Lecture and Book Discussion Series @ West Asheville Public Library
| |
 | |
Active Hope Training
Are you feeling discouraged, defeated, and disillusioned about the state of our world? Would you like to feel more encouraged, enlivened, and empowered? If so, consider joining a group of people to explore Active Hope, a free 7 week training, consisting of weekly online videos, with a weekly zoom meetup to discuss and practice the tools and ideas being offered. Active Hope, based on the work of Joanna Macy, is about finding and offering our best response when facing our concerns about our world situation. A survey of participants found that the course significantly strengthened their motivation to act for positive change, and their belief that they could make a difference, leaving them less overwhelmed by their concerns for the world and personally nourished by their experience of taking part.
Each section of the course, which you can watch at your own pace, introduces a practice that can be carried out by ourselves as a personal reflection, or as a structured partnered conversation or as a group practice. Each week has about 40-60 minutes of videos, and we meet for an hour and 15 minutes on a weekly zoom call.
You can get the flavor of it by watching an introductory video at www.activehope.info/free-training.
We’ll start the week of September 5, finding a time for the zoom meeting that works for all who are interested, probably during the daytime. If you’re interested, email debbygenz@gmail.com.
| |
|
Racial Justice Coalition Projects
As stated on their Mission Page, the Racial Justice Coalition “seeks to achieve and sustain deep equity by building power to those historically underrepresented, dismantling policies and institutions that uphold racism, and reimagining a community where justice exists for all people.” We pursue these goals in a number of ways, adapting as we go. Right now, we have two big projects that are ongoing priorities.
| |
With national attention on Asheville as the first U.S. city to pass a reparations initiative in the South, we have a unique position to provide insight to understanding this bold remedy designed to reduce structural racism and inequities. This campaign will fill the gap in evidence regarding the process of change and the perceived and real impact of a reparations commission on systems, structures, and the lives of Black citizens in Asheville. Because our community-partnered work through the Every Black Voice Campaign will be real-time rather than retrospective, our engagement has the potential to advance community-driven solutions that come from the people most directly impacted by structural racism. | |  |
Advocacy groups and the general public need timely information regarding policy decisions, across a range of issue areas, currently being considered by both City and County governments in order to effectively advocate local government to move toward racial justice. The Government Accountability Project (GAP) will regularly gather information from public meetings and other sources, as well as through direct relationship building with people inside government. This information will then be analyzed by our Strategy Team, made up of local community thought leaders, in order to distill what is most relevant to racial justice. This distillation of the most urgent matters making their way through the political process will be shared with the public, enabling more timely and effective advocacy. | | |
|
Jubilee Shelter Volunteers Needed!
Wanna know Asheville as more than just “Beer City USA”?
The “Jubilee Alternative Macro Shelter” needs volunteers. Volunteer at Jubilee! on Patton Ave. for the 5:15-8:30pm “intake” shift or come for the 8pm-9:30am “overnight” shift.
Opening the shelter consists of arriving and unlocking the door, turning on the lights, and making sure the area is tidy. The residents generally arrive between 5:30-6:30 pm. You greet them, take temps, and have them sign in at the main lobby entrance. They will settle themselves into their sleeping space and basically feel at home doing what they wish. There are books, tv, etc. They do not leave the shelter after arriving until the next morning. Some evenings, pans of food from other organizations arrive to share. It is not uncommon to have folks knock at the door hoping to spend the night, but there are procedures in place that JAMS has established. Each resident has been referred and interviewed.
Staying overnight is different from other ‘overnights’ in that the volunteer host does not need to be awake all night. Lights are out at 8:30pm. Most of the women go to bed then; others may stay awake quietly in the community room. Conversations are rich. You will learn about life ‘on the streets’ and see that Asheville is not the touristy, ‘Beer’ City for everyone. The volunteer host sleeps in the ’volunteer’ room and wakes everyone up at 8am. The women are responsible for preparing their meals, keeping their area clean, doing their ‘chores’, and leaving by 9:30am.
New volunteers will be oriented and will follow a veteran volunteer. To learn more and to help out, call: Pat Cheffins at (585) 766-1782. This shelter will be open until November.
| |
|
Interfaith Initiative -
Social Justice Opportunities
| | |
Buncombe County Remembrance Project |
| |
|
Dementia and Driving Safety: When is it time to stop driving? | Thursday, September 15 | 12:30 - 2:00 PM | Online
Driving is a skill that requires clear thinking, attention, anticipation and swift decision-making skills. The development of dementia often makes driving dangerous. At the same time, many drivers resist advice to set aside the keys and continue driving. Families often find themselves in a no-win situation as they try to persuade a loved one to stop driving. Learn about the effects of the disease on driving, red flags for driving cessation, if a formal driving evaluation is necessary, and how to talk with your loved one about driving cessation.
| |
|
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.
| |
|
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
828.254.3274
www.gcpcusa.org
| | | | |
