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Worship Preview | Sunday, August 28, 2022
New Member Sunday
In-person Service and Youtube
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*For the full revised common lectionary, please click here. | |
| Thursday, August 25 | Racial Justice Book Series | 6:30 pm | Fellowship Hall (also on Zoom) | | Saturday, August 27 | Garden Workday
(Team 2) | 9:00 am | GCPC Community Garden | | Saturday, August 27 | 20s/30s/& Beyond Gathering: River Tubing | 10:30 am | Zen Tubing | | Saturday, August 27 | Youth Kick-off and Back-to-School Event | 4:30 pm | GCPC | | Sunday, August 28 | Hybrid Worship
(In-person and online) | 10:45 am @ GCPC
(also on Youtube) | | Sunday, August 28 | Summer Courtyard Fellowship | 11:45 am | GCPC Courtyard | | Monday, August 29 | Bible Study with Janice Kominski
(Metaphors that Hurt, Metaphors that Heal) | 6:30 - 8:00 pm | Fellowship Hall
(also on Zoom) | | Tuesday - Thursday | Church Office Open | 10 am - 4 pm | | Wednesday, August 31 | Garden Workday
(Team 3) | 9:00 am | GCPC Community Garden | | Wednesday, August 31 | Summer Bible Study | 10:00 am on Zoom | | Thursday, September 1 | PW Circle 4 Mtg. | 7:00 pm on Zoom | | |
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Metaphors that Hurt, Metaphors that Heal: Misogyny and the Prophets | Monday, August 29 I 6:30 - 8:00 PM I Hybrid
(Zoom and GCPC Fellowship Hall)
Join us for a series of three classes that use creative writing, body movement, and art to process and challenge misogynistic metaphors in Hosea, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah.
The final week we will cover the following:
- Week 3: Re-visioning Metaphors for Thriving; Jeremiah 13:15-27; restorative artwork exercise
Content warning: The passages in this study include imagery of physical and sexual abuse. The class will employ bodily practices to process this material, and pastoral care will also be available throughout the classes. These metaphors are a part of our Scripture and therefore our culture in and outside the church. Together, we will examine, critique, and rewrite these passages from the liberative lens of faith. Facilitator: Janice Kominski
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86426107293
Meeting ID: 864 2610 7293 Passcode: 789
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Fall Schedule Rollout Video #4 | |
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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!
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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 (8/21-8/27): Ellen Sizemore | email: ellen.sizemore@gmail.com
Next week (8/28-9/3): Beth Robrecht | email: bethrobrecht50@gmail.com
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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)
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
Our sympathy and support are extended to Carol Hovis and Chris Highland following the death of Carol's mother and GCPC member, Janet Hovis on Sunday, August 21, 2022 at Givens Highland Farms. Please keep Carol, Chris, and Janet's other daughters, Katherine and Brenda, and her grandchildren, Corynne and Dylan in your prayers. We will keep you informed as details of the service become available.
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SAVE THE DATES!
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
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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: Varies (Click here to see schedule for 2021-2022), 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.
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Need to set up a church zoom meeting?
Contact Anna Louise and she can get you all set up!
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On August 20, Team 4 had 14 volunteers that harvested over 33 lbs. of basil, 18 lbs. of beans, 29 lbs. of bell peppers, 3 lbs. of snacking peppers, and 20 lbs. of tomatoes that was shared with Loving Food Resources.
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On August 24, Team 1 had 7 volunteers and harvested 1 lb. of basil, 9 lbs. of beans, 1 lb. of okra, 26 lbs. of bell peppers, 4 lbs. of snacking peppers, 2 lbs of hot peppers, and 50 lbs. of tomatoes that was shared with the YWCA. | |
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Pledge Check Ins
If you have a 2022 Pledge, you should have received an email on 7/18 with a link to that statement, which shows your total pledge, progress with detailed giving, and remaining balance as of that date. These are delivered through our software from notifications@onrealm.org with a blue link towards the bottom, which will open your contribution statement in a PDF. You do not have to log into Realm or have an account to view this statement. Please review the details of your gifts and pledge for accuracy and let us know if you have any questions.
As a reminder, you can access your giving history and YTD gifts in real time by logging in at onrealm.org/gcpcusa and clicking the Giving tab. You can adjust the filter to show specific dates or funds.
Questions or concerns? Contact Natalie Weaver in the Finance Office at nweaver@gcpcusa.org or 828.254.3274.
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Planning on giving regularly to GCPC? Let us know by submitting a pledge, which helps us maintain sustainable financials and more accurately budget. Anyone can pledge any amount- every single gift helps support the ministry and mission at GCPC!
WAYS TO PLEDGE:
Questions, concerns, or need help setting up eGiving? Contact Natalie Weaver, Stewardship & Financial Administrator at 828.254.3274, natalie@gcpcusa.org, or stop by the office Tuesdays 10am - 4pm.
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Community Working Together | |
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Overdose Awareness Day | Wednesday, August 31 | 5:00 - 8:00 PM | Carrier Park Pavillion
This community event (hosted by WNCAP Harm Reduction, Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness, and SeekHealing) will offer people who have been impacted by a drug overdose experience, along with their friends and families, a chance to come together for collective reflection and grieving. The evening will host leaders from area nonprofits, comforting ambiance with music and light refreshments, and 1:1 emotional support available for those who need it. The event includes a facilitated authentic relating practice, grief ceremony - an intentional way to cherish those we’ve lost with a remembrance altar - sharing of stories of loss, candlelight vigil, and a reading of the names of the people who are no longer with us.
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The following email is from Hill Brown, former director of Steady Collective (see below). Steady Collective is a nonprofit which received a $20,000 Grace Cares grant from Grace Covenant in 2018. They used the grant funds to buy a refurbished ambulance to expand their mobile service for harm reduction services. | |
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Friends,
I am reaching out to all of you mostly to express my gratitude. I have been humbled by how much support I have received from faith leaders in this area. Y'all have helped carry me through to this moment.
A few weeks ago I was named the Southern Director of Faith in Harm Reduction, a faith based arm of the National Harm Reduction Coalition. FIHR has mostly made connections between faith communities and Harm Reduction programs in the Northeast (FIHR's office is located at Judson Memorial in NYC). This is a new era for the organization and I am excited to help facilitate this expansion to a region where Harm Reduction is so needed. In September I will be speaking at the NC Council of Churches Faith and Health Summit in Greensboro about how faith communities can partner with Harm Reduction organizations. I can't wait to talk about y'all and about how I really know what it looks like when a community of faith leaders understands Harm Reduction and rallies to support it!
If there is anything I can do for y'all or yourcongregations/ denominations in my new capacity, please let me know! FIHR offers everything from naloxone and naloxone trainings to faith based Harm Reduction toolkits to in-person workshops on issues impacting people who use drugs.
Thank you for showing up for me and for Harm Reduction in Western NC. You have shown me (and so many other people) what a merciful, justice filled, Christ-like approach to people who use drugs looks like! That's a huge deal.
With Love and Solidarity,
Hill Brown
https://faithinharmreduction.org/
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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.
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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.
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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. | | |
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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.
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Interfaith Initiative -
Social Justice Opportunities
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Buncombe County Remembrance Project |
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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.
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STAFF & OFFICE SCHEDULE
Wondering who's where, doing what, and when?! Here's an overview of where you can find our full-time staff this summer and who to contact for what:
Amy Kim, Director of Formation for Children, Youth & Their Families
In Office: Tuesday & Thursday, Sunday service, Remote: Monday & Wednesday
amykim@gcpcusa.org
Anna Louise, Engagement & Communications Coordinator
In Office: Tuesday - Thursday, Remote: Monday & Friday
annalouise@gcpcusa.org
Cliff, Property Manager
In Office: Monday- Thursday, Sunday service
cliff@gcpcusa.org
Jeff, Director of Music Ministries
In Office: Tuesday - Thursday, Sunday service, Remote: Friday
jeff@gcpcusa.org
Micah, Director of Technology & Media Ministries
In Office: Weekday schedule varies, Sunday service
micah@gcpcusa.org
Natalie, Stewardship & Financial Administrator
In Office: Tuesday & Thursday, Remote: Monday & Wednesday
natalie@gcpcusa.org
Richard, Associate Pastor
In Office: Tuesday - Thursday, Sunday service, Remote: Friday
richard@gcpcusa.org
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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.
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
828.254.3274
www.gcpcusa.org
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