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On Sunday, December 4, GCPC got to practice and enjoy lots of poetry together. Here is a collaborative poem written by the intergenerational formation class. And here is a link to the Coffee House where Marcia shared poetry and reflections from her sabbatical and Elizabeth McCorvey shared her beautiful, poetic and powerful music. | |
Worship Preview | Sunday, December 11, 2022
Third Sunday of Advent
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
In-person Service and Youtube
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*For the full revised common lectionary, please click here. | |
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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.
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| Thursday, December 8 | Centering Prayer | 5:00 pm | Sanctuary | | Thursday, December 8 | Personnel Mtg. | 5:30 pm on Zoom | | Thursday, December 8 | Biltmore Christmas Choir Practice | 6:00 pm | Choir Room | | Friday, December 9 | Wisdom in the Woods Planning Mtg. | 1:00 pm | Garden Room | | Saturday, December 10 | Garden Steering Team Mtg. | 1:00 pm | Fellowship Hall | | Saturday, December 10 | AVL Gay Men's Chorus Holiday Concert | 7:30 pm | Sanctuary | | Sunday, December 11 | Hybrid Worship
(In-person and online) | 9:30 am @ GCPC
(also on Youtube) | | Sunday, December 11 | Fellowship Time | 10:45 am | Narthex | | Sunday, December 11 | Advent Intergenerational Formation | 11:00 am | Fellowship Hall | | Sunday, December 11 | AVL Gay Men's Chorus Holiday Concert | 4:00 pm | Sanctuary | | Monday, December 12 | PW Circle 1 Mtg. | 10:00 am | Fellowship Hall | | Monday, December 12 | Memorial Service for Roslyn Carney | 6:30 pm | Madison High School (also on Zoom) | | Tuesday - Wednesday | Church Office Open | 10 am - 4 pm | | Tuesday, December 13 | Session Mtg. | 6:00 pm | Fellowship Hall | | Tuesday, December 13 | PW Circle 3 Mtg. | 7:00 pm | Offsite | | Wed., December 14 | Choir Rehearsal | 7:00 pm | Sanctuary | | Thursday, December 15 | Men of GCPC Gathering | 9:00 am on Zoom | | Thursday, December 15 | Centering Prayer | 5:00 pm | Sanctuary | | Thursday, December 15 | Biltmore Christmas Choir Practice | 6:00 pm | Sanctuary | | Thursday, December 15 | Biltmore Christmas Choir
OPEN DRESS REHEARSAL
| 7:00 pm | Sanctuary | | Thursday, December 15 | GCPC 20s/30s/& Beyond Gathering | 8:00 pm | The Hop | | |
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Asheville Gay Men's Chorus HOLIDAY CONCERT! | Saturday, December 10 @ 7:30 PM and Sunday, December 11 @ 4:00 PM | Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church Sanctuary
Please join us for the return of the live Holiday Concert! The Asheville Gay Men’s Chorus will once again gather to provide great fun and music.
The Chorus is offering General Admission Tickets for $30 per ticket, and VIP Tickets (first 5 rows) for $40 per ticket.
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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/.
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Stewardship & Sustainability | |
GCPC we are doing it! We are getting so close to the million dollar mark! There are about 80 pledges still out there. We need you to get those in this week! As of today we need $258,000 to get there. What a great Christmas gift it will be for our community to have all the resources we need to continue all of GCPC’s life-giving ministries in 2023! ~ Marcia |  | |
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:
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Pledges Don't Auto Renew: even if you set up online giving without an end date, that doesn't recognize it as a pledge renewal in the system. We still need to hear from you to consider it a pledge and switch your eGiving over to the next year general fund.
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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:
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Online pledge card HERE
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Email giving@gcpcusa.org
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Call 828.254.3274 and leave a message for Natalie Weaver
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Fill out a pew pledge card and put in the Sunday offering plate
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Request a mailed pledge card from the office
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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 (12/4-12/10): Emma Maney | email: emmabrynn14@gmail.com
Next week (12/11-12/17): Leslie Sharpe | email: leslieysharpe@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
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)
Bob Higgins
Susan Smialowicz
Doris Prak
Michelle Chromey and family
Andrea Rosal
Sharon Sasse
Lisette de Groot
Reed Carney
Laura Ross
Margaret Rada
Paul Tierney on the loss of his aunt, Pattie Ellis, on 12/7/22
Our sympathy and support are extended to Susie Bleckley and family on the loss of her mother, Sarah Ralston, on December 5. There will be a Memorial Service for her on December 22 at 1pm at Asbury United Methodist.
A Memorial Service for Roslyn Carney will be held on Monday, December 12 at 6:30 pm at Madison High School. This service will be also be livestreamed on our GCPC Youtube channel.
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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: Second Tuesday of each month (some Zoom and some in-person), 7:00 p.m.
Circle 4: Second Tuesdays of each month, 10:30 a.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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Community Working Together | |
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Wilma Dykeman Legacy presents .... Writing Out of Pain | TONIGHT, Thursday, December 8 | 7:00 – 8 :00 PM (Hybrid Event) | West Asheville Public Library (942 Haywood Rd.)
Tamara Puffer, GCPC community member, will be sharing from her book, “Forgetting the Former Things: Brain Injury’s Invitation to Vulnerability and Faith.” She wrote this book with Joyce Hollyday and it is part of the Wilma Dykeman series on Writing Out of Pain.
This is a hybrid (Zoom plus in-person) event. To receive the Zoom link, please register at: OutofPain@wilmadykemanlegacy.org
https://www.wilmadykemanlegacy.org/events/forgetting-the-former-things2
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Bountiful Cities
FEAST Needs Cooking Equipment
and Groceries
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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.
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Racial Justice Coalition -
Support the Community Reparations Commission
The Community Reparations Commission passed their second unanimous recommendation last night, asking the City of Asheville and Buncombe County to formally commit to stop harming Black people in this region. The Commission is asking for an official audit of where the City and County are out of compliance with existing laws that are supposed to protect Black people and eliminate racial injustice. (Here is a link to their full statement on RJC's website.) Their request aligns with the truth of trauma-informed intervention: you can’t begin to heal from old wounds when you are still in danger and suffering new wounds every day. Click here to join in speaking out in support of the Reparations Commission’s common-sense request.
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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!
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UNC Asheville presents: | |
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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.
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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.
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Click here to read Pisgah Legal's Winter Newsletter
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Interfaith Initiative -
Social Justice Opportunities
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Buncombe Community Remembrance Project |
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The Rev. Dr. Laurie Kraus, second from left (Photo by Simon Chambers/ACT) | |
The PC(USA)’s ‘Advocacy Watch’ offers takeaways from COP27 climate conference -
Podcast episode features members of the Presbyterian delegation
~ by Darla Carter
A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) delegation has returned from the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt and is encouraging others in the denomination to find ways to show their concern for the environment.
“Get in touch with us, and we’ll connect you to groups and organizations” to collaborate with in your communities and churches, said Sue Rheem, a delegation member who co-hosts “Advocacy Watch,” the monthly advocacy episode of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.” “There are things that each one of us can do to make a change.”
Rheem, who coordinates the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, made the comment during the Dec. 5 podcast, which centers on COP27, a global event also known as the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
During COP, which takes place each year, world leaders come together to discuss ways to address the global climate crisis. In addition to representatives from nearly 200 countries, the event attracts nonprofits, indigenous groups and faith-based organizations and others to observe and take part in side events and other activities, such as protests and vigils. This year, there was an eight-member delegation from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Some of them appeared on the podcast.
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The Rev. Melanie C. Jones | |
Union Presbyterian Seminary panelists share their thoughts on just leadership and the care of souls -
While developing empathy requires work and emotional energy, it’s a source of hopeful stories
~ by Mike Ferguson
White Christians who do the hard work of educating themselves and empathizing with the centuries of racial trauma their African American siblings have endured can produce hope and healing that’s badly needed, members of an online panel convened by Union Presbyterian Seminary said Tuesday.
The Rev. Melanie C. Jones, director of the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership, moderated Tuesday’s panel, which discussed “Pastoral Paradigms: Just Leadership and Care of Souls.”
Tuesday’s discussion was part of the seminary’s Just Talk/Talk Just series. The 66-minute conversation is available here.
Asked by Jones to name roadblocks to healing, Cannon said for white churches, it’s “their inability or unwillingness to look at their racial histories, the reasons they have been instrumental in some of the trauma caused to some of our congregations.” Many “are unwilling to apologize or acknowledge there has been any harm done. That only causes more harm for people of color.” Roadblocks for Black churches include “the inability to be seen and heard” which “allows them opportunities to navigate the harm done to them,” Cannon said.
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NEW DATES!!
Fraught & Flummoxed: Courage and Creativity for the Elevation of the Gospel | January 30–February 2, 2023 | Montreat
In a time when the gospel of Jesus is threatened by the ascendance of Christian nationalism and white supremacy, what is the apprehensive, overstretched church leader to do? How does a leader tend one’s soul for the elevation of the gospel? How do followers of Jesus meet this moment with courage and imagination?
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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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