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News & Updates from Your CPC Family
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Worship in Spirit and in Truth by Unknown
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Worship Service Online
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Worship Service
: 10:30 a.m.
Worship will be streamed to the internet
on Sunday, March 22 at 10:30 a.m.
(You do not need a Facebook account to access this link.)
Online Service Participants - 10:30 a.m.
Ministers:
Rev. Dr. Duane Hix, Rev. Mitzi Lesher-Thomas
Music Director:
Ed Yasick
Soloist:
Julie Henry
The Message: In Spirit and in Truth, Duane Hix
Scripture Readings: Exodus 17:1-7;
John 4:3-24 (sections)
(Please, if you have Joys and Concerns, submit them by e-mail
to Duane or Mitzi prior to the service. We will record these to publish
in the weekly Joys and Concerns update and will include them
in our announcement during the service.)
Joys and Concerns for the week of Mar. 15 may be found
at this link
.
Pastor Nominating Committee minutes and reports
The 2019 Annual Report is available for review
at this link.
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CPC and COVID-19: Response and Resources
March 20, 2020
CPC AND COVID-19: OUR MINISTRY, OUR LATEST DECISIONS
Friends and Members,
The flurry of special e-mail updates from last week is behind us now, and we have been given enough breathing room to plan for the next few weeks. Thank you for understanding the rush of information we sent. Here is a category-by-category update on our recent responses and future plans.
ACCESS TO THE CHURCH CAMPUS
As of March 16, we have canceled or postponed all activities at the church campus for at least 2 weeks. This includes Scouts, committee meetings, and all groups like Circles, Sunday School and support groups, whether specific church organizations or outside organizations. The office area will be open, so staff can use their separate offices. Precautionary sanitation procedures like disinfecting door handles, keypads and common areas will help keep our staff safe.
PASTORAL CARE CONCERNS
The Pastoral Care team will continue to send out lists of Joys and Concerns so you can know who might need an extra prayer or a phone call of support. The Deacon moderators will be asking the Deacons to double their contacts with members on their "beloved" lists. We are especially concerned about home-bound members tended by healthcare workers, as some agencies are hesitant to send out their workers, so staff will explicitly contact these people. If you are in that category, or know someone who is, please call the church office, or send an email to office@carypresbyterian.org.
We are also aware that many of our members may lose work hours and income. For any in that situation, please remember that the church has a substantial Pastor's Discretionary Fund. We can help with utility bills, rent payments, food purchases, etc. Members and extended families in the church, plus recommended others, are immediately eligible for help. Simply contact Dr. Hix at dehix@carypresbyterian.org or by phone, 919-819-7198 to meet with him and get assistance. Also, a concerned member has volunteered to purchase gift cards for church members up to a preset limit. These cards will also be available through Dr. Hix.
WORSHIP AND DEVOTIONS
For this Sunday, March 22, worship will be streamed to the internet on Sunday morning at 10:30 on the Cary Presbyterian Facebook Page at this link. (You do not need a Facebook account to access this link.) This slightly shorter service will include most of the familiar elements. On Friday prior to Sunday, we will send out a bulletin that will allow you to participate in parts of the service, including words to hymns and prayers. The link to this worship site will be in the bulletin and in the weekly e-link. The service will also be recorded and available online at the church website. (Remember, previous church services are also available for access on Soundcloud via the CPC website at this link.)
Unfortunately, the choir's cantata will be cancelled for April 5 and rescheduled for next year. We are uncertain about Maundy Thursday as of now, but we do not expect to produce the "Have You Seen My Son" drama originally planned.
Your relationship to God extends beyond worship, so we will also offer the following over the next few weeks:
- An Monday Mindfulness Meditation session led online by Jason Troiano, (Tentatively scheduled to begin March 30. Please watch for more information.)
- A continuation in some form of the Lenten Bible study through the CPC Facebook Page (no Facebook account is needed for access), Wednesday nights at 6:30, beginning March 25.
- Activities for children sent out to families by Children's Ministry Coordinator Jen Pierce. (Parents, remember also that the church library has lots of videos and books for your family - and yourself!)
- Until normal Sunday services resume, E-Link (containing the weekly bulletin) will be emailed to our mailing list on Friday mornings.
MISSION AND DISCIPLESHIP
We recognize that CPC members are generous and conscientious members of our communities. If you want to extend the mission of CPC beyond our doors, please consider contributions of food or money to Cary's own Dorcas Ministries, the Food Bank of North Carolina, or the Summer Food Service Program in which we participate.
You may offer volunteer hours or funds to this at this
We also remind you that expenses at CPC continue even though the offering plate cannot be passed at worship, so please send your pledges and contributions to the church until we meet again in person. Here is the link to our online giving option -
Please remember that your church staff, the Deacons and Session will respond to your needs as best we can under current circumstances, and we hope you will keep in touch with us.
While we can offer spiritual guidance and companionship and help to restore calm to a chaotic situation, we will not try to be an ongoing source of official medical and emergency pronouncements. We believe you will be best served on these issues if you consult the Center for Disease Control website for official information (cdc.gov) rather than relying on hearsay or informal blogs.
We are bound together by a gracious God who transcends all the difficulties that nature's untamed moments throw at us. Do not be afraid, but do not be foolhardy. Presbyterians believe in a good God of providence who nonetheless asks us to use our best collective wisdom to respond with grace and courage in times of crisis.
Dr. Duane Hix, Bridge Interim, on behalf of the CPC Staff
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TECH DEACONS NEEDED to HELP US STAY CONNECTED
The current restrictions on travel and social interactions have led our society into even more dependence on electronic communication than normal. We will be presenting our worship services online, and indeed, nearly all of our ways of staying in touch will be either by telephone or internet.
Not everyone, however, is readily knowledgeable about how to connect to Facebook, for instance. And if we begin to utilize the ZOOM platform for meetings, and potentially for worship, even more may have difficulty connecting.
We are appealing for congregation members who have skills and talents in this area of internet connectivity to become what we could call Tech Deacons for our congregation.
We hope to publish a list of 8 - 10 names of people who would be willing to assist other congregation members who would like to embrace Facebook or ZOOM or other websites and platforms during this period of relative isolation.
If you have such skills, please contact the church office or the pastors
and offer your services. We do not expect an extreme need, but we do not want to fail to offer our members and friends of the church every opportunity to join in worship and meetings. Thank You!
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At Home Faith Formation for Families
Since we're currently not able to be together, below are a few on-line resources for families (or anyone!) to use.
I recommend pausing after each of the wondering questions to allow time for your child to ponder and answer. I encourage you to read the Bible story with your child afterwards. It comes from Luke 19:1-10.
This family devotional called Pandemic Hope encourages the use of the Faith5 model of sharing, reading, talking, praying and blessing. There is a daily Bible reading and faith practice link. There is also a page of Hymnal Handwashing Hits
as well as prayer BINGO. Don't be overwhelmed at the 8 WEEKS of activities!
If you would like a weekly downloadable resource from Illustrated Ministry, you can sign-up at this link
.
They will send you a link every Friday with a lesson plan and coloring sheets. I will also post this resource on the CPC Family Facebook page. This week's lesson will be based Psalm 23.
(
If you do not have access to a printer at home, please let me know and I will mail your printed copies of whatever resource you need - especially coloring pages.)
Jen Pierce
, Children's Ministry Coordinator
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POSTPONED; CPC Spring Blood Drive, April 22
Thank you to those of you who had already made appointments for our April 22 blood drive. The Blood Drive Committee has decided to postpone the drive until later in the year. When COVID-19 seems no longer a threat and church activities resume, we will get back together to identify a new date and let you know.
Meanwhile, the need for blood in our community is critical. We strongly urge you to contact The Blood Connection to make an appointment to donate at their center at the following at
5925 Glenwood Avenue,
Suite 150, in Raleigh. You may make an appointment at this link , or you may call them at 864-751-1168. The Blood Connection has assured us that donating is safe; all possible precautions are in place to protect the health of donors.
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DORCAS MINISTRIES: A PARTNER IN MISSION
We want to take this opportunity to remind the congregation of how much the church staff depends on Dorcas Ministries to assist us in local mission. If we receive a request for financial assistance from a resident of Cary or Morrisville, we ordinarily immediately send the person to Dorcas. It is able to provide a range of services far wider and with greater accountability than we could offer at the church. Their counseling and job-training programs lead to more substantial impact on the aid recipient. Their store, with clothing and furniture, provides a wonderful source of goods for households struggling to maintain their dignity and hope.
As the covid-19 epidemic sweeps through our community, Dorcas has had many more requests for assistance, at the same time that they have had to close their store, which provides them a significant source of income. Therefore, we hope that church members and friends will think of Dorcas if you are considering ways to help locally in this stressful time. You may make a financial contribution at https://dorcascary.org/donations/
We hope you can help this important arm of our Christian concern in our community.
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CPC Calendar for March 22
through March 29
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CPC Calendar is on the CPC Website
If you're interested in the dates of services and events at CPC or need
to know what rooms are available at the church at specific times on specific days, you can find that information on the
CPC website calendar at this link.
(When you go to the CPC website, find a link at the top of the home page.
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Send Your News and Announcements
Bulletin and e-Link announcements
for an upcoming newsletter or bulletin
need to be received in office email
by 12:00 noon on Wednesday
prior to the first day they need to run.
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The CPC Church Directory is Online
Remember - the CPC Directory
is linked on the church website!
You can access our directory by clicking the Member Directory link at the top of our website home page.
Correct your info, add pictures, etc. online by following that link.
If you have not accessed the directory yet, an invitation will have to be sent to you by Servant Keeper. If you need this new invitation, email office@carypresbyterian.org with your name and an invitation will be requested for you. All invitations are good for only two weeks.
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The public CPC Facebook page is a great continuing source of information about what is upcoming and what has happened at CPC. Visit it frequently for news and pictures you won't see elsewhere, and share the posts with your friends and on your own Facebook page!
Follow the links to the public page and the CPC family page below:
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CPC Church Service Podcasts
CPC Service podcasts are added weekly to Soundcloud and to the website
on this page.
They appear with the most recent service at the top of the page, with the illustration from that week's bulletin as an identifier (Soundcloud page shown above).
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Did You Know?
Cary Presbyterian Church is a part of a larger family of churches comprising the New Hope Presbytery.
From Efland to the Outer Banks, spanning 33 counties, with 122 congregations representing 28,314 members, we are a Mid-Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA) serving eastern North Carolina.
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