FBC Raleigh News • January 17, 2023
A NOTE ABOUT STEWARDSHIP

FBC Family,

Taking care of our home requires continued care and investment. Our church home is no different. The annual budget provides the blueprint for how we take care of our church home. The FY23 budget was created to meet the growing needs of our church and the community beyond. It will also allow us to better take care of those that take care of us, the staff. 

As you may recall, we need 80% of the FY23 budget or $1.26 million dollars to be pledged in order for the Finance Committee to recommend approval at the church conference. This 80% mark provides the needed confidence that we are able to meet the annual obligations outlined in the budget. Thus far, we have received 136 commitments totaling $1.05 million. This leaves us $210K short of the 80% goal. If this level is not reached, the Finance Committee will have to make adjustments to the budget.

We would like to thank those that have already made a pledge. If you have not had a chance to make your commitment, we would love your prayerful consideration and support. You can find a pledge form at the church office. A QR code linking to the pledge form can be found below and throughout the church. You may also just click here to go to the form.  

Please click here for a video message from Matt Strickland, of the Stewardship Committee.

Thank you for who you are and what you do. Take care.

Kind regards,

FBC Stewardship Committee
Chuck Underwood
Allison Strickland
Matt Strickland
THE ORDINATION OF MICHAEL HOOD

The power to bless is one of the greatest gifts we have as human beings. In the church, this gift is deepened by the knowledge that we are sharing in the blessing of God. This Sunday at 5pm, we will celebrate a sacred ritual of blessing called ordination as we affirm the gifts and calling of Michael Hood.
 
Michael has served as our Minister of Youth and College for just over two years. We have experienced his ministry in this time, an ordination council examined him on October 18, 2022, and the church in conference voted to affirm the council’s recommendation for ordination on October 26, 2022. All that remains is for us to follow in church tradition with the service of blessing and affirmation which will be followed by a reception in fellowship hall.
 
We invite you to join in this service of celebration and embrace your power to bless.
WINTERTIME IS READING TIME
 
The library volunteers invite you to come to the library and check recent additions we have chosen for your enjoyment. Whether you are looking for new information, Biblical insights, inspiration, true stories, or fiction, you will find good choices in our church library. Some examples are:
           
Faith Still Moves Mountains, by Harris Faulkner: a collection of inspirational true stories showing God’s love and intervention in difficult and frightening circumstances
 
Journey with Me by Dr. Randall Lolley: a collection of his sermons, one on each book in the Bible
 
Life and Death in High Places by Bruce Miller: a historical account of the murder of Ludlow Skinner, son of Rev. Thomas Skinner, pastor of Raleigh’s First Baptist Church
 
A Christmas Memory by Richard Paul Evans: an inspirational story
 
Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks: a novel by a favorite author
 
We Are the Light by Matthew Quick : a novel about love, grief and healing
 
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny: a novel by another favorite author
 
We hope to see you soon. 
ART BANNER UNVEILING

In May 2021 the church conference approved funding for an art banner measuring 30 feet by 12 feet, to be installed on the exterior large wall facing McDowell Street. According to the Department of Transportation, 44,000 cars drive by the church on McDowell Street each day – that’s 11 million annually!

In September 2022 the Art Banner Committee, comprising chair Jeff Hobart, Nancye Gaj, Timothy Brock, Royce Willmschen, and Leah Filomena announced the selection of well-known muralist Max Dowdle to create the image for the banner. Max has created murals throughout North Carolina including as close by as the NC Museum of Natural Sciences as well as up and down the East Coast. Find more of Max's art at ncpublicart.com.

The purpose of the art banner is to provide a visual representation of the identity and mission of our congregation to the downtown Raleigh community. Based on feedback from congregational sessions with the Dream Team, the Art Banner Committee asked Max to focus on themes of “caring community within” and the importance of outreach and ministry to our neighbors. We believe the image Max created is eye-catching and communicates our church’s values.

We proudly share the image of the newly created banner below. Max will speak to the church on Sunday, February 12, at 9am about his artistic process in creating the banner. There is more information to come. We hope you will be able to join Max and the committee that Sunday morning.
JANUARY MISSION PROJECT

The churchwide missions project for January will piggyback on the children’s mission project, which will be collecting monetary donations for Heifer International, a non-profit that focuses on giving animals to impoverished families to boost sustainable and dependable food sources.
 
This month, our Mission Friends, RAs, and GAs are learning about CBF’s ministry in Togo, West Africa, where nearly 81% of the rural population lives beneath the global poverty line. Karen Alford, a nurse practitioner, serves as a CBF field personnel in Togo, providing medical care as well as teaching the people there about sustainable food sources
 
At the end of January, our children will not only count their donations and decide what kind of animal they want to gift to an impoverished family, but they will also be given the opportunity of deciding what to purchase with our church’s LARGER pool of donations as well!
 
Here are some of our options with a larger pool of donations: 
  • A goat (for milk and cheese) - $120
  • A sheep (for wool to sell to buy food) - $120
  • An alpaca (for wool to sell to buy food) - $150
  • Or maybe even a heifer (for milk and other dairy products) - $500
 
Your contributions may be made with a memo for January Churchwide Missions or Heifer Project. 
 
Thank you for partnering with our children and for helping them to expand what they are able to do to help a family (or families) acquire food and financial security.
THEOLOGY ON TAP'S
JANUARY GATHERING

The next time Theology on Tap will meet is this Thursday, January 19, at Raleigh Times (14 East Hargett Street), starting at 6pm. Join in for dinner, drinks, and good conversation!
INCLEMENT WEATHER

Cancellation information about scheduled activities will be noted on a recorded greeting obtained by calling the office at 919-832-4485. Information will also be supplied to: WRAL-TV (1st Baptist, Salisbury St), WTVD-TV (First Baptist Church–Salisbury St.), and posted on our home page and on social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram). 
CHURCH CONFERENCE TOMORROW NIGHT

Our regularly scheduled Church Conference will be held Wednesday, January 18, at 6:15pm. The Zoom link is below, as well as a call-in number for those who would rather join via phone. Our by-laws require 50 members in attendance (in-person and Zoom) in order to transact business. Please make plans to attend so we can vote on important matters for our church.


View via Zoom with this link, meeting ID: 850 6201 7518, passcode: wDefe3. 
To view the speaker throughout the presentation, click the three dots
on the right portion of the screen and choose "pin this video." 
If you would prefer to call in,
use 646-558-8656, meeting ID: 850 6201 7518 Passcode: 490422.
2023 CHURCH CONFERENCE DATES

Mark your calendar for the following 2023 dates for Church Conference:
January 18, February 15, March 29, May 24, August 30, September 27,
October 25, November 15, and December 13

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS AT FBC

Beginning on Wednesday, January 25, Centerpoint will feature a three-week series led by Dr. Bo Prosser entitled, “The Praying Hands Emoji and the Prayers of the Saints.” Each week will include information and experiences designed to strengthen the spiritual life in the context of modern life in a digital age. Bo is a minister, educator, writer, consultant, coach, and speaker. He has served churches in Raleigh and Charlotte, and recently retired after 20 years in leadership roles with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. 

If you are not able to join us in person, we encourage you to join us virtually. We will begin at 6:15pm with a prayer time, and our program will follow.
 
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SUPPERS
 
We invite you to join us for a mid-week fellowship meal Wednesdays at 5:15pm. Reserve your spot at this link to the page on the church website or by calling the church office.

The menus for upcoming Wednesday night suppers are as follows (all meals come with salad and bread):
January 18: Seafood pot pie; non-meat option: vegan pot pie; kids: fish sticks.
January 25: Taco night; non-meat option: vegan tacos.
February 1: Mexican casserole: non-meat option: vegan Mexican casserole; kids: tacitos.
February 8: Sloppy Joes with corn and green beans; non-meat option: vegan Sloppy Joes.
BECAUSE PRESENCE MATTERS

Each year in December we launch the Global Missions Offering which supports CBF field personnel around the world, usually hearing from one of these personnel. This year, we heard from three of our own members — Libby Barnes, Sheila Jordan, and Nancy Moore Phillips — who had just returned from partnership mission work in Romania, helping provide food relief for people living with war in Ukraine. That presence; however, was only for a week and would not have been possible without the personnel and programs already in place.

As we enter the season of giving, please put this offering at the top of your gift list. 100% of your gifts for this offering will support the long-term presence of CBF field personnel serving in the United States and around the world.

HONDURAS 2023

For nearly twenty years, FBC has been sending mission teams to Honduras as part of Baptists on Missions Honduran ministry. This year's trip is scheduled for February 6 –13. The cost is $500 per person (covers food, lodging and ground transportation) plus airfare. Once again, our project is house construction. Picture a large pile of sand, bags of cement, two metal windows and two metal doors, tin roofing sheets, and 800 concrete blocks. Then imagine five days later presenting keys to a family so they now have a place to call home. If you are interested in going, or have an interest in future mission trips to Honduras, please contact Steve Brown at 919-349-4984 or John Baldwin at 919-600-9124.  

BIBLE VERSES FOR DAILY USE
  • Tuesday, January 17: Psalm 40:6-17; Isaiah 53:1-12; Hebrews 10:1-4
  • Wednesday, January 18: Psalm 40:6-17; Isaiah 48:12-21; Matthew 9:14-17
  • Thursday, January 19: Psalm 27:1-6; 1 Samuel 1:1-20; Galatians 1:11-24
  • Friday, January 20: Psalm 27:1-6; 1 Samuel 9:27-10:8; Galatians 2:1-10
  • Saturday, January 21: Psalm 27:1-6; 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; Luke 5:27-3
  • Sunday, January 22: Isaiah 9:1-4  •  Psalm 27:1, 4-9  •  1 Corinthians 1:10-18  •  Matthew 4:12-23
  • Monday, January 23: Psalm 27:7-14; Judges 6:11-24; Ephesians 5:6-14
DEACON ON CALL
January 15–21 • Dennis Ellis (919-395-8916)
WEEK AT A GLANCE • January 18–25
Wednesday, January 18
5:15pm Meal served (FH)
5:45pm Children's music (301,307,311)
6:15pm Church conference (FH/Zoom)
6:30pm Children's missions (PS/CS)
6:30pm Handbell rehearsal (302)
7:30pm Adult choir rehearsal (310/S)

Thursday, January 19
7am Band of Brothers (Zoom)
10am Japanese dance class (Blue Room)
10:30am Thirty-Niners (FH)
6pm Theology on Tap (Raleigh Times)

Sunday, January 22
9:45am Sunday School
11am Worship (S/YouTube)
11am JBC worship (226)
12:15pm Worship Committee meeting (parlor)
5pm Ordination of Michael Hood (S)
6pm Ordination reception (FH)
Monday, January 23
10am Clothing ministry open
6:30pm Music Made in Heaven rehearsal (302)

Tuesday, January 24
10am Staff meeting (CR)
10:45am WMU Group 2 (Springmoor)

Wednesday, January 25
5:15pm Meal served (FH)
5:45pm Children's music (301,307,311)
6:15pm Centerpoint (FH/Zoom)
6:30pm Children's missions (PS/CS)
6:30pm Handbell rehearsal (302)
7:30pm Adult choir rehearsal (310/S)
AAWC'S WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Each week, we post And Also With 'Cue's weekly schedule here in Rose Window Weekly as well as on our Facebook page to let you know our lunch schedule and if there will be outside events on the weekend for you to attend.

Come eat with us this week,
January 18–20!

LUNCH:
Tuesday–Friday in church parking lot, 11am-1:15pm

DINNER:
Friday at Village Lakes Neighborhood in Raleigh (5-7pm)
AMONG OUR FAMILY

A link to the entire prayer list may be found below.
Please use your church directory for mailing addresses.

THE RECORD WE WROTE
As of January 12:
Current Week Revenue: $16,346.16
Month-to-Date Revenue: $38,321.41
Year-to-Date Revenue: $38,321.41
Month-to-Date Expenses: $14,871.36
Year-to-Date Expenses: $14,871.36
Global Missions: $5,869.00

A NOTE OF THANKS

A huge part of our work in rural poverty work as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel and practitioners with Together for Hope is hosting mission team volunteers. We've hosted many teams throughout the years since beginning our work with CBF. The value and significance of the help we've received and the accomplishments teams have made is immeasurable. We added a new team to that list that past weekend when a group of 7 from First Baptist came to assist with a project in Ahoskie. 

The Gathering Place, formerly the First Presbyterian Church of Ahoskie, is in the process of being repurposed to provide space for the Roanoke Chowan Christian Women's Job Corps, the Ahoskie Food Pantry, a clothing and household donation site and ministry, a local piano teaching studio, and a meeting place for local community events. And later this month, a Global Service Corps mission volunteer couple will come to work in Ahoskie for a two-year assignment through a special program offered by CBF to folks who desire to work with field personnel in a mission setting.

Plans to renovate a part of The Gathering Place to include an apartment for that couple to live in while they work in Ahoskie is part of the overall repurposing plan. We are partnering with Roanoke Chowan Christian Women's Job Corps to help with those renovations and plans. This past weekend, John Baldwin, Jerry Dudeck, Tom Childrey, Dennis Ellis, Bob Kimball, Suzanne Sanford, and Cara Lynn Vogel spent Friday and Saturday changing fluorescent light fixtures in a fellowship hall with 15-foot ceilings, painting a hallway and two rooms which will be used for expanding the clothing ministry, and even the tuning of two pianos in the building. Their help with these projects is so valuable and so important to us.

We can't say thank you enough to these folks who came and gave of their time and energy to be a part of something important in that community and in our ongoing work. We appreciate the money received through a special missions endowment fund which helped to fund that weekend project and future projects there at The Gathering Place as well. Thank you, First Baptist Raleigh, for all the ways you partner in our community and beyond to build the kingdom of God. 

LaCount and Anna Anderson
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