February 22, 2021
Winter 2021 Service Times:
9:00 AM - Sanctuary | 11:00 AM - Sanctuary & Livestream
No nursery or Children's Worship available at either service.
No Wednesday Communion Service until Spring 2021
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Numbers 19:9
Then someone who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the Israelites for the water for cleansing. It is a purification offering.
The book of Numbers describes the journey of the Israelites as they wander in the wilderness because of their disobedience, disbelief, rebellion, and lack of faith. It chronicles the time just after God delivered the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai and ends just before God’s next-generation crosses over to the Promised Land. This wilderness journey can be seen as a time of reflection and preparation for the fulfillment of God’s promise. This 40-year journey was filled with God’s regulations and instruction, the people’s disobedience, God’s punishment, their promise to change, their failures, their disappointments, and God’s consistent fulfillment of his promises. Yes, that is the constant in this wilderness story, God always provides. This is the story of a generation of people who just didn’t get it right, yet God still delivers on his promise. Numbers 19:9 comes within this wilderness journey after the people have begun to complain about their hardships, their dissatisfaction with their provisions, their longing to be back in Egypt, their anger with God and Moses. They rebel again and again and God continues to offer forgiveness and issues regulations to bring them back into right relationship with him and each other. For the Israelites if a person touched a dead body, they were deemed unclean and thereby unable to approach God in worship. God provided, however, a means by which to be cleansed. A heifer was to be sacrificed and burned completely. Someone considered pure would gather the ashes and take them to a place outside the camp that was considered clean. An unclean person could mix the ashes with water for purification, be washed, and able once again to approach God. Yes, God provides!
We too may feel that we are on a wilderness journey. It is a journey filled with uncertainty, sickness, death, political unrest, intolerance of differences, inequalities, disobedience, disbelief, rebellion, and lack of faith. We are complaining about wearing masks or about those who don’t. We are complaining about who was elected or who wasn’t. We are dissatisfied with our provisions; we long for things to be back to normal; we are angry with those who don’t think like us, or worship like us; we are angry with those we profess to love, and those we label too judgmental. We are even angry with God for not ending this pandemic, for not healing our loved ones, for not answering our prayers at all or not with the expediency we expect. Yes, we too are unclean! Where is our heifer? Once again, God provides. Yes, God provided his only son to be our heifer, pure, unblemished and without sin to die for us so that we can be made ceremonially clean and never again separated from God. He has taken away our shame and declared us good! May this Lenten time be our time of reflection and preparation. May we choose to be grateful for the lessons we are learning. May we be washed clean from our guilt and all that blinds us from being able to see as Christ sees thereby freeing us to love our neighbors despite our differences. May we be Christ’s light in the darkness carrying the cleansing ashes to those in need. Yes, we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ so now it is up to us to respond with gratitude and discipleship.
-Ellen Austin
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Throughout Lent, each day will feature a devotional and music selection available on the RCPC Blog. You can also subscribe to the RCPC Blog to receive the daily Lenten Devotionals to your email inbox February 17-April 4, 2021 |
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Wednesday Dinner to Go
Reserve your dinners by Tuesday at noon to pick up at 6:00 PM-6:30 PM on Wednesday. In case of rain, food will still be prepared for you to pick up if you registered for the event.
Wednesday Dinner to Go - February Dates, all 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM:
February 24
Registration is required by Noon on Tuesday the week of the event either using the online link in the This Week @ RCPC or by calling the church office, 540-343-5541 x 111, and leave Anne Currin a message. There will NOT be a paper sign up sheet in the Gathering Area. Meals are a suggested donation of $7 for an individual 12 years and up, $5 for children ages 4-11, and free for 3 and younger, with is a max of $20 for a family.
The Fellowship Committee will be wearing masks, gloves, and socially distancing to get the food into individual or family boxes. Plastic utensils and napkins will be provided. We ask that you place all trash in the provided garbage cans.
Curbside pickup directions:
- Wear a mask for pick-up
- From Grandin Road, please enter the parking lot closest to The Maridor. Drive to the end of the lot and circle around to the side entrance. (Preschool pick-up traffic pattern). The driver's side of your car will be next to the side entrance of the building.
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Place on the DRIVER'S SIDE window white 8.5"X11" sheet of paper, with last name and number of meals in large black letters
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Step out of car to place donation envelope on tray and pick-up meal(s). On the envelope: last name, number of meals, and amount of donation.
- Please pick up meals even if there is inclement weather.
- We hope you enjoy the meal because it will be prepared especially for you! May it be a reminder of God's provision and the caring of your church family during the pandemic.
If you have made a reservation, please plan to pick-up your meal.
We always welcome new volunteers!. Please contact Matt Cook at matt@cookmail.us or 540-903-4685 if you are interested.
February 24 Wednesday Dinner to Go Menu:
- Chicken Pot Pie, Salad, Bread, Cake
- Veggie Casserole
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Adult Small Groups for 2020-2021
There are available spaces in our small groups for new participants. If you have not been a part of small groups in the past now is a great time to join! Sign-ups for small groups will be made available online, or you can contact Leigh Sackett if you would like more information about our small groups.
Our small groups will be reflecting on the previous Sunday worship service sermon and the Sunday scripture. A weekly small group lesson is provided, participants discuss and share how the word read and proclaimed connects to our world today and to our personal lives and experiences.
Below is a list of our small group offerings and facilitators.
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Andrew Whaley – Mondays, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – via Zoom
- David Dixon – Tuesdays, 5:00 pm – Church Parking Lot
- Jennifer Bryant (30-something women’s group) – Tuesdays, 8:00 pm - via Zoom
- Leigh Sackett - Wednesdays, 7:00 pm – via Zoom
- Elise Hansard - Fridays, 10:00 am – via Zoom
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Lunch and Learn in Lent
On Thursdays from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM from February 18 to April 1, join Andrew on Zoom for a special book study. We will be reading and reflecting on The Hope of Glory by Jon Meacham. Meacham, a graduate of the University of the South at Sewannee and former editor of Newsweek, is a Pulitzer Prize winning historian, author of American Lion (a biography of Andrew Jackson) and The Art of Power (a biography of Thomas Jefferson) as well as books on the Bush family and John Lewis. A devout Episcopalian, Meacham has composed this short book as a reflection of the seven last words of Christ from the cross. As we make the forty-day journey through Lent, we will reflect on the meaning and power of the crucified one using these reflections as our guide.
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Lent Opportunity for Discipleship
& Praying for Each Day
Throughout Lent, our opportunity for generosity ties into the Lenten practice of almsgiving. Alms are a monetary sacrifice to help people in need, in a broader sense these are acts of mercy. Jesus gives a clear mandate of alms (Mark 6, Luke 12). Driven by our love of God and our love of neighbor, you’re invited to tangibly practice almsgiving during Lent by collecting items to support the Presbyterian Community Center’s Food Pantry. Grab a box or a bag and set it out in your home. Each week during Lent, we ask that you’ll pick up specific items off the list of things needed.
You’re invited to drop off the items to the church on different Saturdays throughout Lent. While you could add everything to your Kroger ClickList in the beginning, we ask that you intentionally practice giving alms throughout Lent, opening yourself to be drawn into a deeper encounter with Christ who is present in those whom we give of ourselves in love.
Food items are to be canned, jars, bagged, or boxed. You don’t have to pick up all of these items each week but these are the ones we’ll be focusing on each week:
- Week #1 - drop off February 27: gloves, hats, and socks, toothbrushes, and toothpaste
- Week #2 - drop off March 6: tuna, chicken, salmon, beanie weenies, and pork and beans
- Week #3 - drop off March 13: corn, peas, baked beans, pinto beans
- Week #4 - drop off March 20: oatmeal & dry cereal, zipper seal bags
- Week #5 - drop off March 27: canned fruit, rice, dry beans
- Week #6 - drop off April 3: hand sanitizer, toilet paper, dish soap, laundry detergent (small containers), tissues
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE DROP OFF TIME WILL BE FROM 10 AM TO NOON EACH WEEK.
As we give throughout Lent in hopes of this practice transforming us to give always, we can pray each week as we gather our items together, the following prayer:
God, you blessed us to be a blessing to others. Let our almsgiving be a blessing to our neighbors. May this practice of giving draw us closer to you, opening us to continually look for ways to give to all of your beloved children. Amen.
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FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS
February 22-28
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22 Alex Bryant
Sheldon Johnson
Dick Jones
Tombe Moja
Daniel Pugh
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24 Harriet G. Vance
25 Chuck Gilliland
Julianne Henny
Betty Lacy Legard
Will Smith
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26 Susan Currie
Dane Hardison
27 Katie Highfill
Sarah Armistead Shaff
28 Bill Dodson
Courtney Pugh
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VIDEO BOARD IN THE GATHERING AREA
Have an upcoming event? Pictures from a recent event? Want to get information displayed on the video board in the Gathering Area? Please send the information to Carole Banks at pixiebowls@gmail.com
THE HERALD
The Herald is a monthly newsletter that comes in your mailbox the first of each month. The deadline for articles is the 10th of each month to appear in the next month's newsletter.
THIS WEEK
The This Week is published every Monday morning via email. This publication is for weekly activities at RCPC. If you would like to receive this email please contact Julie Satterwhite at julie@rcpres.org or call the church office at 540-343-5541 x 107.
The deadline for for the This Week is noon on Wednesday prior to the Monday publication.
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PRAYER REQUESTS
Alice Cabaniss, Rachel Erb Birch, Dawn Blakeman, Mary Frances Donnelly, Chuck Foley, Bill Gordge, Dick Kepley, Susan Lindstrom, Bruce Long, Helen Lovelace, Ann Moomaw, Susan Moore, Jennifer Owen-O'Quill, Lois Pollash, Marion Raney, Bucky Thomas, Bryan Tims, Marcia Via, and all caregivers.
Correction:
Our sincere thoughts and prayers are extended to Jane and Craig Sisson
on the passing of Craig's mother, Norma Sisson..
(Prayers request as of Friday, February 19)
Names in bold indicate an addition to the prayer list this week.
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Monday, February 22
9:00 AM - Preschool
10:00 AM - Monday Morning Prayer Group
1:00 PM - Small Group - Whaley
7:00 PM - Confirmation Class
7:00 PM - Session (virtual)
Tuesday, February 23
9:00 AM - Preschool
12:30 PM - Open Door Prayers
5:00 PM - Small Group - Dixon
8:00 PM - Small Group - Bryant
Wednesday, February 24
9:00 AM - Hunger Mission Packing
9:00 AM - Preschool
3:45 PM - God Alive Hiking
6:00 PM - Dinner to Go
7:00 PM - Small Group - Sackett
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Thursday, February 25
9:00 AM - Preschool
10:00 AM - Centering Prayer
12:00 PM - Lunch and Learn in Lent
8:00 PM - Evening Prayer Service
Friday, February 26
9:00 AM - Preschool
10:30 AM - Small Group - Hansard
Sunday, February 28
9:00 AM - Worship
11:00 AM - Worship
12:30 PM - Discover RCPC (Class 4)
1:00 PM - Great is Our Faith-Second Graders @ Mrs. Leigh's
6:00 PM - Youth Group (virtual)
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1837 Grandin Road SW, Roanoke, Virginia 24015 540.343.5541 |
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