PENTECOST SUNDAY —

WEAR THE COLORS OF FIRE

This Sunday, May 19, we will celebrate Pentecost. This is the day when we remember the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples, officially beginning the birth of the Church. The passage describes the gathering of the community of disciples on the day of Shavuot, a Jewish festival. Jesus had earlier promised them the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and during the festival, the promise was fulfilled. The description of the event is vivid, with a violent rushing sound like wind, followed by tongues of fire. The fire is not destructive, but rather reminiscent of the fire Moses encountered at the burning bush. The language used is metaphorical, and the passage is rich in symbolism, indicating the power and importance of the event. To celebrate this important day in the life of the Church, you're invited to wear the colors of fire — red, orange, and yellow!

WILL WE SEE YOU IN GREENSBORO THIS JUNE?

General Assembly is an important event in the life of CBF, and this year it’s in Greensboro, June 19–21. This summer, we will re:imagine as we live out our faith through our unique Baptist identity. Together, we’ll consider transformation through imagination — our own and that of the Holy Spirit moving through us as a community. With the idea of re:, we’re exploring the idea of “regarding imagination” as well as the transforming quality of re-imagining — revising, reinvigorating, reenergizing and renewing. Click here to register.

MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK

Good news! Our clothing ministry received an unexpectedly large donation of men’s and women’s clothing, but it was a bit overwhelming. The Thirty-Niners were glad to come to the rescue! We postponed our regular planned program and 21 faithful attendees made quick work of sorting the donations. All was made possible by wonderful written instructions and direction from clothing ministry volunteers.

But please note: we are continuing to see new guests each week in the clothing ministry in record numbers. We are currently in need of spring and summer clothing for children and for men. We especially need children’s clothes from sizes 2T up to youth large. For men, we especially need shorts and casual short-sleeve shirts in all sizes.

Please place items in closed bags and drop in the clothing bin at the back door. Labeling bags by department and sizes is especially appreciated for quick processing. Thanks for all you do to support our community ministry! 

CHRISTI HARLAN

BOOK SIGNING

President Jimmy Carter, esteemed for his dedication to teaching Sunday School, also shared his wisdom and insights during his presidency. A groundbreaking book has been released, unveiling the transcripts of 14 lessons delivered by Carter to the Couples Class at the First Baptist Church of Washington, DC. Mr. President, The Class Is Yours not only presents the lessons themselves but also provides valuable historical context, such as the lesson delivered shortly after the successful Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel. Renowned author Christi Harlan will be present to sign copies and offer attendees the opportunity to listen to audio recordings of President Carter's teachings on Tuesday, May 21, from 5:30–7pm at the Hampton Inn and Suites located at 600 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh. The book is available in both paperback and ebook formats on Amazon, with paperbacks also available for purchase at the event for $20 each. For further details, please visit Christi Harlan's official website.

PROBLEMS SENDING TO

AT&T, YAHOO, BELLSOUTH EMAILS

If you have an email address that is AT&T, Yahoo, or Bellsouth, you may notice that you have not been receiving church emails lately. The church uses a Microsoft server to host our email domain. AT&T and its subsidiaries have decided to block email from Microsoft servers in an attempt to reduce spam. This is a unilateral move by AT&T to shut off all contact with Microsoft servers without any warning. They made no provisions for how legitimate domains like ours can do some type of authentication that will allow our church emails to be delivered. Our technology company has been in contact with AT&T and the only solution we have at this point is to tell people with an AT&T or subsidiary email to put our domain, fbcraleigh.org, into their "allowed list" in their email program. 

We do not think this problem will prevent you from receiving emails from Constant Contact, which sends the Rose Window Weekly, prayer concerns, and other churchwide emails. We do get a notification when our email to you has not been delivered, and we will attempt to resend it through a new church Gmail account, firstbaptistralsalisburyst@gmail.com. We will try to be proactive and send your emails to begin with from the new Gmail account; however, we may miss some addresses in group emails. Hopefully, AT&T will resolve this soon and allow us to contact you without our having to do a work-around. To be clear, we can receive AT&T emails, we just cannot send to those addresses

Feel free to contact Wayne Hager with questions. We apologize for this inconvenience!

DAN DAY LECTURE

Dr. Daniel Day, Pastor Emeritus, will be giving a lecture in the FBC sanctuary on Monday, May 20, at 5:30pm on the topic “The House Tommy Built and the Life Tommy Lived: Thomas E. Skinner, Baptist Pastor, 1825- 1903.” The lecture is the opening event for the May joint meeting of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, the Baptist History & Heritage Society, and the Association of Ministry Guidance Professionals. For those who wish to stay for the BBQ banquet (prepared by our own Troy Dye) and musical entertainment (Dr. Glen Jonas and friends) afterward in the fellowship hall, the cost is $25. Please make reservations HERE and make payments by May 15.



NABPR/BHHS/AMPG JOINT ANNUAL MEETING

On May 20-22, FBC will host three national organizations holding their annual meeting. We last hosted this meeting in May 2019.



• Volunteers are needed to help with quick room changes to accommodate the meeting schedule, assisting our facilities staff.
• Meal servers are needed to assist the food service staff before, during, and after meals.
• We will provide snack/beverage stations all during the meeting, so volunteers are needed to help refresh the stations all during the event.
• Greeters are needed to welcome our guests and provide directions from 2–7:30pm on Monday, 8am–6pm on Tuesday, and 8am–noon on Wednesday. 

FBC received rave reviews five years ago because of the volunteers who served our guests. If you are willing to help with any of these opportunities, please contact Wayne Hager, who is serving as the FBC space coordinator for the meetings. Email Wayne here. All who notify Wayne will soon receive a form to indicate when you can serve. Thanks.

CALL FOR PHOTOS

Calling all churchwide retreat participants! If you took any photos or videos from the weekend that you're willing to share we'd love for you to upload them to this Google Photos album. It will let us all better relive the great weekend we had, and even give us a chance to share some glimpse into the weekend for those who couldn't make it!



CHURCH PICTORIAL DIRECTORY UPDATE

We are in week two of the pictorial phase of the 2024 church directory. Please note that there are three options for having your picture included in the directory. You may have a new picture made at the church, use a picture from a previous directory, or send in your own picture.





 FOR A NEW PICTURE, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR A PHOTO SESSION:

• Sign up sheets are in the lobby before and after church activities on Sundays and Wednesdays.
• Text (919-610-6606) or email Diane Ellis .
• Use the Sign-up Genius online.

Photo Schedule:

TO USE A PICTURE FROM THE 2019 DIRECTORY:

•  Call, text, or email Diane Ellis.

TO USE YOUR OWN PICTURE:

• Email the picture to Diane Ellis no later than May 20. 

We have all heard the expression that organizations are only as good as the people in them. The same could be said for our church directory. You are an important part of our church and your participation in our directory will make it an accurate and updated representation of our church family. As a reminder, the final date for a photo session is May 22.

INFORMATION NEEDED FROM COLLEGE GRADS

Class of 2024, congratulations! We want to recognize your accomplishments and celebrate these milestones alongside each of you. If you are graduating from college, we would like to have the following information for our church's publications.

Please email Jennie with the following information:

• Graduate's name

• College

• Degree

• Your relationship to the graduate, and any family connections within our church.



All responses are needed by Friday, May 24.



WEDNESDAY NIGHT SUPPERS

You may reserve your spot at this link on the website or by calling the church office. Please remember to check-in with our volunteer collection team before getting your meal, even if you have pre-paid online. The volunteer will check-in your family and collect payment for the meal. We accept cash, checks, or credit cards.

Ages 0-3: Free

Ages 4-12: $4

Adults (over 12): $8

Family cap (over 3 people): $24

The menus for upcoming Wednesday night suppers are as follows (all meals come with salad and bread):

May 15 — BBQ chicken with baked potato and corn; non-meat option: mock chicken; kids: nuggets.

May 22 — Sweet and sour meatballs with rice and broccoli; non-meat option: veggie meatballs; kids: buttered noodles.

May 29 — End-of-year picnic at Pullen