FBC Raleigh News • June 30, 2020
CLOTHING MINISTRY UPDATE

The Clothing Ministry team has continued to meet remotely and led several small teams of volunteers to sort, bag, and label summer clothing into sets based on size and gender. With that work nearing completion, we’ve turned our focus to the plan for distribution. Just as planning efforts in our community continue to change and evolve because of COVID-19, our plans for distributing our summer stock have also changed.

Instead of a one-day sign up and distribution at the church on July 11, we are now planning to partner with a few local agencies who currently have direct contact with families in need (including several organizations who we know serve guests of our clothing ministry). We will be working with these groups to deliver the prepackaged items for distribution so our guests won’t have to figure out transportation to our church and possibly wait in lines outside on a hot July day. 

We anticipate needing volunteers to help sort and box-up packages by sizes/gender or deliver these items to local agencies during the next several weeks. Once we have the details confirmed, we will provide information and sign-ups for this work. If you would like to receive this information directly, please email Sabrina Tyndall at cmvolunteercoordinator.fbc@gmail.com and she will add you to the group email list to receive notifications. 

Thanks to all who have already participated, whether by praying for our work, helping to sort and bag clothes, or sharing ideas for new ways to serve. We are grateful for each of you and your support. - FBC Clothing Ministry Team
WEEK AT A GLANCE • JUNE 30 - JULY 6
All regularly scheduled programming is canceled.
BIBLE VERSES FOR DAILY USE
  • Monday, June 29: Psalm 47; Genesis 22:15-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
  • Tuesday, June 30: Psalm 47; 1 Kings 18:36-39; 1 John 4:1-6
  • Wednesday, July 1: Psalm 47; Isaiah 51:1-3; Matthew 11:20-24
  • Thursday, July 2: Psalm 45:10-17; Genesis 25:19-27; Romans 7:1-6
  • Friday, July 3: Psalm 45:10-17; Genesis 27:1-17; Romans 7:7-20
  • Saturday, July 4: Psalm 45:10-17; Genesis 27:18-29; Luke 10:21-24
  • Sunday, July 5: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 and Psalm 45:10-17
  • Monday, July 6: Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Genesis 27:30-46; Romans 1:18-25
DEACON ON CALL • JUNE 28 - JULY 4
Jennifer Bissette
CHURCH CONFERENCE MINUTES
On Sunday, June 28, we held our first official Zoom Church Conference. It was well attended, and we appreciate all who were able to join us.
The minutes from the meeting are linked below.
QUARANTINE COOKBOOK
BENEFITING INTERACT

Mary Jordan and Noel Tucker have been working on a cookbook during these quarantined months to benefit InterAct. It is called The Quarantine Cookbook and it includes over 150 recipes, art creations, and quotes from 64 unique and wonderful people. The cookbook was made to share good thoughts and recipes that were made during the COVID-19 crisis while collecting funds to help victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence is a real issue every day and the need has only increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. All proceeds from the sale of the Quarantine Cookbook will go to InterAct, Wake County's only non-profit provider of domestic violence and sexual assault services.
 
Digital copies via email are $5 and a printed copy, including mailing costs, is only $10. Digital copies will be emailed and printed copies will be mailed after payment either through Venmo or by check is received. Please keep in mind that printed copies may take a few days to get to you. Purchasing one of the cookbooks digitally is on the honor system, so we ask that folks don't forward their copy. 
 
Feel free to share the word and pass along this info. Even if you don't like to cook, there are some good quotes and some educational information about InterAct.
 
Click here for the link to order with the Venmo code. For further questions, please email Noel Tucker  
SUMMER BOOK CLUBS

As we continue to deepen our collective and individual understanding around racial justice and reconciliation, we are inviting you to the table for our summer book club series. Because we believe these conversations thrive in smaller group settings, there are five different books to choose from. Below, you'll read a brief description of the book and see the leader for each study. Groups may choose to meet via Zoom or they may decide to meet outside in someone's back yard. Sign up by emailing the leader of the group for the book you'd like to read and then participants can discuss which night works best for the group. Please make sure to sign-up by today, June 30 . Each person is responsible for ordering their own book , and groups will target to begin the first or second week of July. As the summer months are upon us, we hope these opportunities to connect around racial justice offers space for difficult yet hopeful conversation. For any further questions, email Leah.
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
Leader: Sarah David

In The Color of Law , Rothstein describes how government policies and laws supported and even required race-based discrimination. It goes on to explore how that discrimination shaped our cities and systematically prevented African Americans from accumulating wealth and passing that wealth on, and how those policies still affect African Americans.
There's a Storm Comin: How the American Church Can Lead Through Times of Racial Crisis by Dr. Harold Dorrell Briscoe Jr.
Leader: Matt Strickland

George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Atatiana Jefferson, Philando Castile...The killings of these unarmed men and women ignited racial firestorms across the country. These shootings cause considerable psychological distress in individuals and racial tension in communities and cities. Drawing from current sociological, psychological, and political research, Dorrell makes the case that the church must take proactive measures to prepare for racialized crises. Churches must prepare for these crises to reduce their severity and impact in their communities and cities. Dorrell recommends strategies drawn from the academic and professional fields of climate change adaptation and natural disaster mitigation. These insights are synthesized with biblical data to create a framework that gives churches practical steps to prepare for and respond to racialized crises that inflict trauma to the social fabric of America.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Leader: Amy Galvan

This 2020 remix is an adaptation of Kendi's National Book Award-winning  Stamped from the Beginning  (2016). Jason Reynolds brings his compelling conversational style to Kendi's well-researched work. Reynolds and Kendi walk readers through the history of racism and antiracism in America, from the early justification of slavery to Black Lives Matter.  This book, written to be accessible and appealing to teen readers, is a book that will challenge youth and adults alike to think critically about our nation's past and the norms of our culture. The style of this book will keep you reading. The content will give us much to discuss.
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Leader: Cara Lynn Vogel

How to be an Antiracist,  by Ibram X. Kendi, serves as a challenge to those who want to learn how to be antiracist. An early premise of this work is that there is only racist (that which or who acts to maintain a hierarchy based on race) and antiracist (that which or who acts to prevent that hierarchy). With this definition, Kendi openly discusses his own racist history and challenges the reader to look deeply into his/her own life.
I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
Leader: Matt Bullard

From a new leading voice in racial justice, Austin Channing Brown gives an eye-opening account of what it's like to grow up black, Christian, and female in white America. In this memoir, readers will journey with Brown as she navigates America's racial divide from childhood, to present day. She writes in detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice with stories that bear witness to the complexity of America's social fabric. Austin takes readers from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations, ultimately showing a way forward for us all.
MORE PICTURES NEEDED

We have really enjoyed seeing your selfies in the past few streamed worship services! We want to continue using your pictures in the postlude, so we’re asking for more of them. If you have pictures of yourself or your family that you’d like to share, please email them to Claire Willmschen . These can be selfies or pictures of your family doing a fun activity before or during quarantine -- whatever you’d like! We just want to remind ourselves of the wonderful congregation we have at FBC.
CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED
TO THE PUBLIC

Although we are well into Phase 2, our church office remains closed to the public for the immediate future. We regret any inconvenience this causes, but we feel like this is another small thing we can do as a church to embrace the requests of community leaders to help limit the spread of COVID-19. We will monitor the answering machine and respond to messages quickly, and we encourage you to contact any of the ministers if you have a pressing need. We have linked each of the ministerial staff member's emails below, so please do not hesitate to reach out with concerns. Chris Chapman , Mary Alice Seals , Trey Davis , Lynn Lingafelt , and Leah Reed .
WAYS TO GIVE

There are several different ways in which you can continue to support the church financially during this time of social distancing. We know many people are facing their own financial challenges right now and have been very generous already, but a number of people have asked how they could support the church while we are unable to gather together physically. Wayne Hager has provided the following answers to this question.

• We continue to receive mail daily. Any gifts mailed to the church will be processed and deposited as soon as possible.
• We will continue to debit bank accounts through auto drafts as we have been instructed by donors.
• If you have set up a recurring donation through one of our electronic options, those donations will continue without interruption unless YOU make a change.
• If you wish to begin electronic giving, please go to this link where each of our options is explained.
• If you are considering a stock gift, please visit this link for instructions. 

If you have any financial or giving-option questions, please email Wayne Hager.
AMONG OUR FAMILY
A link to the entire prayer list may be found below.
Please use your church directory for mailing addresses.

JUNE 2020 MEMORIAL & HONORIFIC GIFTS 

Clothing Ministry Fund 
In Honor of: 
Dick & Sonia Moore’s Wedding Anniversary 

Day Mission Fund 
In Memory of: 
Jim Clary

General Fund 
In Honor of: 
John & Carmen Hiott 

Music Ministry Fund 
In Memory of: 
Robert B. Scott
THE RECORD WE WROTE
Week of June 29, 2020
Current Week Revenue: $8,114.00
Month-to-Date Revenue: $101,145.16
Year-to-Date Revenue: $778,149.02
Month-to-Date Expenses: $78,356.49*
Year-to-Date Expenses: $670,130.53*
Heck Jones: $ 4,295.00
*On June 28, the Church Conference approved the 2020 Budget which shifts service contract expense to the Church Maintenance Endowment Fund. This reduces already-incurred expenses by $21,453.25, and is adjusted in the June expense total.
SUBMIT A ROSE WINDOW WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENT

Do you have an announcement that you would like to include in the Rose Window Weekly ? All information must be submitted by Thursday at noon, to be included in the following Tuesday's edition. Just fill out the Google form in the link below, and we'll make sure to include it in next week's publication.



For any questions concerning the Rose Window Weekly ,
contact Leah Reed. Email Leah here.