THE BANNER
June 30, 2021
A Note from Ellen
“Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit?”

Dear Friends,

I want to share how grateful I am for the session of FPCC. Our meeting last week was on the long side, and the spirit around those tables remained gracious, faithful, and compassionate. They embody their “yes” to the ordination question above. One of my favorite aspects of presbyterian polity is that leaders—clergy, elders, and deacons—serve alongside one another as colleagues in ministry, as a team. As a team we wrestle with difficult decisions and discern as best we can—under the guidance of God’s Word and Spirit—what we are called to do, who we are called to be, and where we are called to go as the church here and now. And as a team, we support one another, listen to one another, raise concerns directly with one another, extend grace to one another, and pray for and with one another. We will not always agree, and we will never lead perfectly. My hope—my top agenda for our life together is that we do our best to be faithful. I believe that we are off to a wonderful start.

Grace and peace,
Ellen
VBS: S'more Adventures with God
God does provide us with everything we need. A heartfelt thank you to each and every volunteer who worked to make our VBS week a success. A team of almost forty volunteers and ten First Kids staff members worked together to shepherd the children and lead music, art, mission, Bible story, recreation, and snack rotations each day. Our daily Bible verses focused on shelter, light, direction, and water.

It was wonderful to see, hear, and feel the energy and joy of ninety-four children on campus. For more photographs, please visit the First Presbyterian Church, Concord NC Facebook page or our Instagram account: @firstpresconcordnc.
Middle School Camping Retreat
All Middle School Youth signed up for the July 9-11 camping trip should check their e-mail for important information about the trip.
We are excited about our upcoming weekend retreat!
Friends Empowering Haiti
Our friends in Bayonnais, Haiti continue to struggle daily with gang violence, Covid-related deaths, kidnappings, and food shortages. In a recent email from Actionelle Fleurisma, he noted that food has become more and more needed, and there are days when they cannot feed the children at school. The lunches that Friends Empowering Haiti provide are often the only meal the children receive in a day.

The Friends Empowering Haiti board is doing all it can to raise funds for the food shortage issue but could use your help. Friends Empowering Haiti has a school bus that will be shipped to Haiti the end of this month; it will be filled with solar panels for the Bayonnais school and their community. The bus will be parked at First Presbyterian the week of July 1-8 to help raise awareness of the food crisis. The banner seen above will be on the bus. As you drive by our church, please take note of the bus and pray for our ministry in Bayonnais. To donate money to help feed the children please go to www.friendsempoweringhaiti.org

For more information, please contact Betsy Liles at 704-791-6166 or dinnerbell6@gmail.com
Attention Youth: T-shirt Design Contest!
All Youth are invited to submit designs for the back of our 2021-2022 Youth t-shirt.
Use your creativity to create a meaningful message and/or artwork for shirts that we will wear for community mission work, trips, and more throughout the year.
Designs are due by Tuesday, July 20th to the church office, attn: René Prager or via e-mail: r.prager@firstpresconcord.org.
July Market Drop Off for Mission
Tuesday, July 6th is the next drop off day for the Church Street Mission Market, 1:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. We’ve had some wonderful donations thus far but will need many more to offer the level of the sale we have in the past.
 If you have any questions or need to schedule a different time for drop off please call Carrie Myers (704) 467-0962 or Gina Goff (704) 794-2228. Starting in August we will be accepting donations every Tuesday afternoon in preparation for the October 2nd event. Home decor, art, kitchen, small appliances, like new purses and shoes, outerwear, children’s books and toys, seasonal decorations, garden and silk flowers, vintage. If you somehow made it through the pandemic without clearing out those closets....get to it! We appreciate your generosity and support!
Boy Scout Eagle Project at Memorial Garden
Below is a description written by Ellis Sheridan of his Eagle Project. Ellis is the son of Kirby and Dave Sheridan and is a lifelong member of FPCC. He is a rising senior in the STEM program at Central Cabarrus High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 38 at Poplar Tent Presbyterian Church.

"There is a new addition to our Memorial Garden. Bee Hotels! My name is Ellis Sheridan. I am a rising high school senior in our congregation as well as an active member of Boy Scout Troop 38. For my Eagle Scout project, Providing for Pollinators, I wanted to protect and promote the well-being of our native bee species through structures known as bee hotels. The location chosen, the Memorial Garden, is a perfect spot to support our pollinators.
 A bee hotel provides a home to solitary bee species. These are bees who do not live and work in a hive (e.g. mason or carpenter bees). Surprisingly, only about 10% of bees work in a hive setting; most are solitary bees. There are three hotel structures in the Memorial Garden, each with different sized holes in order to house the various bee species.
The benefit of bee hotels is mutual. The bees help the Memorial Garden to thrive and, in return, the garden provides a food source and habitat to these local and endangered species. Next time you stop by the Memorial Garden “bee” on the lookout for these hotels. "
Reopening News on the Website
Visit the NEWS section of the church website for up-to-date information on the re-opening of our Church campus for worship and other activities. We anticipate things to change frequently over the next several weeks and will post all updates for the congregation under that section of the website.
Sign-up Links
Lay Liturgists
Sign up here to be a lay liturgist to
read scripture in worship on Sundays.
.
Sanctuary Flowers
To give the congregation a gift of
sanctuary flowers, please click here
to sign-up for one or more Sundays
during the year.
Worship Sign-Up
Click here to sign-up for our
Sunday worship services.

Calendar
Sunday, July 4, 2021
Rev. Ellen Crawford True, Preaching

Thursday, July 1
Haiti Bus at FPC (Parking Lot)
Saturday, July 2
Haiti Bus at FPC (Parking Lot)
Sunday, July 4
Haiti Bus at FPC (Parking Lot)
9:00 a.m. Choir Practice (Choir Room)
10:00 a.m. Worship (Sanctuary or Live-stream)
11:00 a.m. S & D Class (Fellowship House)
11:00 a.m. Journey Class (Education Bldg)
Monday, July 5
Haiti Bus at FPC (Parking Lot)
Office closed for holiday
Tuesday, July 6
Haiti Bus at FPC (Parking Lot)
2:00 p.m. Staff Meeting (Fellowship House)
6:00 p.m. Cub Scouts (Davis Hall)
7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts (Davis Hall)
Church Report
Condolences
The sympathy and condolences of the congregation are extended to the family of Jean Sharp who died on June 24 in Concord.
Birthdays
July 1 - Cary Gluf, Steve Mervin
July 2 - Bryson Hough, Parish Moffitt
July 3 - Carrie Myers
July 5 - Seth Jones, Laura Lyon, Kay Wall
July 6 - Bob Bratton, Brenner Moore, Susan Payne
July 7 - Will Davis, Hannah Ross Patten, Adele Patten, William Patten, John Schneider
**To enjoy a sung happy birthday, click here!**
Staff
Ellen Crawford True
Senior Pastor/
Head of Staff 
ellen.crawfordtrue@firstpresconcord.org

Associate Pastor 
for Care and Mission

René Prager
Interim Youth
Programs Coordinator



Director of Music and Organist

Choirmaster

Suzanne Russell
Church Administrator

Kim Mazzola
Financial Administrative Asst.

Heath Ritchie
Maintenance Superintendent


Director of First Kids


Wedding Director
Contact Info
First Presbyterian Church
(704) 788-2100

70 Union Street North
Concord NC 28025 

Mailing Address: 
PO Box 789 Concord NC 28026-0789

Church Office Hours: 
Monday - Thursday, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Closed Friday
The Commons Prayer Room Hours:
Closed

Memorial Garden:
(704) 786-8009
36 Spring Street SW
Concord NC 28025
 
Garden Hours: 
Tuesday - Saturday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Closed Monday