FBC Raleigh News • April 4, 2023
AFFORDABLE HOUSING LISTENING SESSION

If you're a resident of Wake County, you know that the affordable housing crisis in our city has reached an all-time high. As a church, we are doing what we can to make a difference with Housing All, our emergency assistance fund that helps members of our community with rental and utility assistance. But what can we do to make a broader impact in our community? How might our church be a part of the solution that creates a more sustainable housing network for all of our neighbors? When the Dream Team polled community leaders during one of our listening sessions last year, affordable housing was one of the biggest needs they addressed for our city. One Wake is a non-partisan, multi-racial, multi-issue group of religious congregations, associations, and other non-profits in Wake County trying to make a difference with this growing issue. In partnership with One Wake and Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, we will be hosting a listening session in our Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, May 2 from 7-8:30pm. In addition to other downtown churches, you're invited to come and discuss ways that we might partner together to make a difference with housing in our city. Please help us spread the word and save the date! For questions or further information, email Leah.
HOLY WEEK SERVICES

We have three opportunities for worship during Holy Week, the annual recognition of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. On Sunday, we began by remembering Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem that includes shouts of “Hosanna!” and the waving of palms, but which also takes place under the shadow of the cross.  We continue with a Maundy Thursday service (a name derived from the Latin mandatum which means “command” or “mandate” and refers to Jesus’ last teachings at the table, recorded in John 13) on Thursday, April 6, at 7pm in the sanctuary and on our YouTube channel. This service will include the celebration of communion. Finally, on Easter Sunday we will worship and celebrate the resurrection together in the Sanctuary. This is a week that defines our faith, one that points to the central mysteries of crucifixion and resurrection, and each part of this story is significant. Thus, we encourage you to participate in as many of the services as possible and to reflect daily on the meaning of this week for your life and the whole world. To experience Maundy Thursday and Good Friday without experiencing Easter is to miss the ultimate joy that is ours. To experience Easter without experiencing Maundy Thursday or Good Friday is to miss the cost of our salvation and to hide from our responsibility. To experience all of the events of this week is to know authentic joy – the joy that comes because love prevails over fear, hope prevails over despair, life prevails over death. Who would want to miss that?
CLOTHING MINISTRY DONATIONS ON HOLD

As the Clothing Ministry takes a spring break for Easter, please hold all of your donations until Tuesday, April 11. Our volunteer sorters will be back next week and will gladly receive them then! We are so grateful for your continued support that provides much-needed clothing for our neighbors in need.
EGG HUNT

On Saturday, we met in the sanctuary with friends from our sister church, First Baptist Wilmington Street, to sing, hear the Bible story of the empty tomb, hunt eggs, and enjoy refreshments and face-painting, all made possible by our preschool and gradeschool Sunday School teachers!   It was one of those iffy weather days, so we had the hunt indoors! The parlor became hunting grounds for our toddlers and twos, and many of our second-floor classrooms became prime hiding spots for our three-year-olds through fifth graders!   And the Fellowship Hall was transformed with pastels and bunnies to be the perfect place to enjoy refreshments, goggle the goodies in the eggs, and get our faces painted!   Whether rain or shine, we know we have a good time when we’re together! 
RPD CHIEF PATTERSON VISITS THIRTY-NINERS

The 39’ers were privileged to have RPD Chief Estella Patterson as their guest speaker on Thursday, March 30. As seen in the picture to the left, she was well-received by both our seniors and children from our weekday preschool. Chief Patterson came to Raleigh after 25 years with the Charlotte Police Department as well as military tours in Kosovo and Iraq. She spoke of her passion for reaching out to youth, improving working conditions for her officers and making Raleigh safe for everyone. Our visit is best described in the following email received the next day by Dr. Chapman and me:

THANK YOU!
On behalf of Chief Estella Patterson, we would like to thank you for inviting us to your Thirty-Niners (taking their name from comedian Jack Benny who claimed to be forever 39 years old) program and lunch and allowing Chief Patterson to speak. What joy it was to meet and deputize your preschoolers and infant toddlers. You have a quiver full, and we’re excited to see you training them up in the way they should go. We’re forever thankful for your participation in the Adopt-a-District initiative. Food and fellowship go a long way, and for our officers, it’s encouraging to know how much people care about what they do. Your clothing ministry and partnership with the BBQ food truck aligns with our mission to serve and provide for those experiencing unkept needs. We’ll continue to work on building impactful relationships with our faith-based communities and will continue to synergize our partnership for the betterment of our city. 
Michael N. Ballen, MBA
Community Engagement Coordinator 
Raleigh Police Department 
In thanks for their visit and opportunity to ask questions, we gave them tokens to be used at our “And Also with ‘Cue” food truck. They immediately redeemed the tokens in support of this ministry. - Nancy Moore Phillips, Thirty-Niners Program Coordinator 
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
FBC will be providing volunteers to participate in a Habitat for Humanity project off Poole Road here in Raleigh. The dates we are scheduled for are: Saturday, April 22, and Saturday, May 20. If you have questions or would like to volunteer, please contact John Baldwin by email or phone (919-600-9124).
NOMINATING UPDATE

If you are looking for ways to connect or reconnect with fellow members of the FBC family, the Nominating Committee would like to suggest that being a part of one of our many church committees is a great way to get engaged! We have many different types of committees—from Hospitality to Community Outreach to Finance and so much more—that guide the work of our church as a whole. And being a part of a committee is a great way to make new connections with familiar faces at FBC. If you are interested in a particular committee, or would just like more information about how you can be involved, please email Lynn Loomis or Dolores Bailey.

REPLACING YOUR
FLAT SCREEN TV?

If you are replacing a 50” or larger flat-screen smart TV that is still in working order, we would be happy to receive it at FBC as a donation. Most of our classrooms are not equipped with monitors for use with PowerPoint or to stream content from the internet. If your TV is 50” (diagonally) or larger, has full working inputs, and a remote, we will find a home for it in a classroom. We even have a dedicated volunteer TV-hanging crew (Charles Petty and Jerry Dudeck) that will mount it. If you have extra HDMI cords and/or you are removing the old wall mount, we would be happy to receive those as well. Please contact Wayne Hager, Church Administrator, before you bring your donation to the church. Thank you!
FURNITURE NEEDED!
 
We are so excited to offer a new Sunday School class for young couples at FBC. If this sounds interesting to you, please join us on Sundays at 9:45am in room 224. Our weekly gatherings will offer food, fellowship, and exciting conversation about fostering strong community and building new connections as we grow together in our faith.

As we continue to spruce up our new classroom, we are looking for a couch and upholstered chairs! If you have some items you'd like to donate, please contact Tonya and Lin Carter and/or Lou Anne and John Liverman. 
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):
April 5: Holy Week – no Wednesday night activities.
April 12: hamburger steak and gravy with rice, fried apples, and mixed veggies; non-meat option: non-meat patty; kids: hamburgers.
April 19: chicken fried rice with egg drop soup and Asian vegetables; non-meat option: mock chicken fried rice; kids: spring rolls.
April 26: shrimp and grits with veggie medley; non-meat option: mock shrimp and grits; kids: pizza rolls.
2023 CHURCH CONFERENCE DATES

Mark your calendar for the following 2023 dates for church conference:
May 24, August 30, September 27,
October 25, November 15, and December 13

BIBLE VERSES FOR DAILY USE
  • Wednesday, April 5: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13:21-32
  • Thursday, April 6: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19;  1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35
  • Friday, April 7: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42
  • Saturday, April 8: Job 14:1-14 or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24; Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16;  1 Peter 4:1-8; Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42
  • Sunday, April 9: Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10
  • Monday, April 10: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21; Colossians 3:5-11
  • Tuesday, April 11:Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Exodus 15:1-18; Colossians 3:12-17
DEACON ON CALL
April 2–April 8 • John Smith (919-512-9797)
WEEK AT A GLANCE • April 4–12
Tuesday, April 4
10am Staff meeting (CR)
10:45am WMU Group 2 (Springmoor)
1pm WMU Group 2 (Independence Village)
7pm Properties Committee meeting (Zoom)

Wednesday, April 5
No Centerpoint/Wednesday night activities
7pm Adult choir rehearsal (310/S)

Thursday, April 6
7am Band of Brothers (Zoom)
7pm Maundy Thursday service/Communion (S)

Friday, April 7 Good Friday
Church office closed

Sunday, April 9 Easter
8:30am JBC worship and potluck lunch (FH)
9:45am Sunday School
11am Worship (S/YouTube)
Monday, April 10
10am Clothing ministry closed
6:15pm Finance Committee meeting (Zoom)
6:30pm High School Bible study (Wade home)
6:30pm Music Made in Heaven rehearsal (302)

Tuesday, April 11
10am Staff meeting (CR)
10:45am WMU Group 2 (Springmoor)
1pm WMU Group 2 (Independence Village)

Wednesday, April 12
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)
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,
April 5–8!

LUNCH:
Wednesday–Friday at church, 11am–1:15pm
AMONG OUR FAMILY

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

A NOTE OF THANKS

For all the delicious meals and visits from the Prayer Shawl Committee and the Sharing Thoughts Sunday School class, for Myra Brickell and Dawn Wade for organizing the meals and visits, for cards, phone calls, prayers and concerns, Charles and I are forever grateful for our First Baptist Church family. Thank you, family. 
Charles and Grace Parker 
THE RECORD WE WROTE
As of March 30, 2023:
Current Week Revenue: $27,807.38
Month-to-Date Revenue: $124,456.51
Year-to-Date Revenue: $429,007.27
Month-to-Date Expenses: $130,019.55
Year-to-Date Expenses: $375,680.58
Global Missions: $22,729.00

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