Dear Friends,

Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week when we remember Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We have spent the past few weeks in Mark’s account of Holy Week, so we will hear his account of Palm Sunday at the opening of worship, and we will hear the story of Jesus’ anointing by an unnamed woman. In both stories, there are voices who are eager to join the crowd either in celebration or in disdain. When have you been tempted to chime in? What helps you listen for the voice of God when the crowd gets it wrong?

May God bless our worship and our witness as we move through Holy Week together.

Grace and peace,

Ellen

Artwork: mosaic from the Cappella della “Casa incontri cristiani” a Capiago

Palm Sunday: At the beginning of Sunday’s service, worshippers of ALL ages are encouraged to join in the Palm Procession by waving palms from the pews or by walking in the procession itself. Please pick up a palm as you enter on Sunday morning.

Maundy Thursday: Dinner & Worship with communion. Our dinner will begin at 6:30 PM. Signup for dinner by Monday, March 25th. Click Here to signup for dinner

Holy Week graphic (art by John Stuart, www.stushieart.com) - see below

Usher sign up link:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0948acab2dabf49-fpcusher

Lay Reader sign up link:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0948acab2dabf49-scripture

link for online worship:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfpzVUz-ZgaCJuogIMor8Iw/live

link to Ellen's sermon podcasts:  https://bit.ly/Sermons_FPCConcord

Pew Prep

Please note that we will not offer Pew Prep on March 24 ^th and 31^st. We look forward to resuming on April 7 ^th.

If you are interested in helping with Pew Prep in April or May, please use this link to sign-up: Pew Prep: Pew Prep - Volunteers (signupgenius.com)

Youth Group News!

Our Youth enjoyed Fun and Games! on Sunday with Easter egg decorating, relays, pillow polo, and four square. Thank you to the Castrodales for providing a delicious taco bar for dinner!

We hope ALL Youth can join us on March 24^th for “Words of Wisdom”. Some special guests from the congregation will join us to share what life was like when they were teenagers and young adults. Be thinking of questions!

6^th-8^th grade – 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM; combined dinner 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM; high school 6:00 PM -7:00 PM – we will start and end in Davis Hall.

2023-2024 Youth: 3/24 Youth Group (signupgenius.com)

Easter Hams for Operation Breadbasket

The S & D Sunday School class invites the congregation to join in providing Easter hams to families-in-need served by Operation Breadbasket. S & D class members will purchase and deliver 100 hams to Operation Breadbasket in time for their Easter distribution. If you would like to donate, please make your check out to Brian Moore and either drop it off at the church office, or mail to him: 2401 Bethlehem Church Rd, Gold Hill, NC 28071. Donations can also be made using Brian's Venmo account @Brian-Moore-813. Thank you!

Session Highlights

At a Called Session meeting earlier this month, the Session met with Sabbatical Committee members who have been working on an extensive application for a Lilly grant, which will hopefully be awarded to our church to support Ellen’s sabbatical in the summer of 2025. The application was a stellar representation of our church and the Session unanimously approved it. The application has now been submitted.

At the same meeting, the Session approved a contract with Table 11, which will allow them to use our Davis Hall kitchen facilities for three one-week kids’ cooking camps this summer. The Session is excited that our church has the opportunity to be partners with our downtown neighbors to support this camp.

Finally, in support of our church’s ongoing efforts to be good stewards of our Earth’s resources, the Worship and Music committee is excited that we will be transitioning from plastic Communion cups to biodegradable cups. You will notice this change as soon as we use up the plastic cups that we have left. Thanks to Pastor Casey and Pam McDonald for leading the efforts on this!

Heart Songs

As you’ll see in highlights form their recent meetings, on March 7, 2024, the session approved FPC’s application for a Clergy Renewal Grant from the Lilly Foundation to fund Ellen’s renewal leave (also known as a sabbatical) in the summer of 2025. As you may recall, in her original terms of call, FPC offered Ellen the opportunity for a renewal leave after 4 years after learning that she had surrendered a planned renewal leave and the Lilly grant she had received to support that leave in order to accept the call to serve at FPC. With the help of a Renewal Committee (Francey Brown, Janna Mitchell, and Todd Phillips), the session, the staff, and Ellen are making plans for her time away. We will get word on whether our application is successful in August of 2024.

The application invited us and Ellen to consider what makes Ellen’s heart sing. The theme of the submitted proposal is:

“Tune my heart to sing thy praise…” The Apostle Paul describes the church as the Body of Christ comprised of many members with different gifts. Inspired by this rich image, our vibrant music ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Concord, NC, and Ellen’s lifelong love of music (she was born and raised in Music City!), we imagine church as a chorus…of many voices, making a joyful noise together. Amid pastoral transitions and other upheavals over the years, the rich thread of music has been a steady constant, a pulsing soundtrack or playlist, continually and faithfully inspiring our love for God and one another.

During Ellen’s time away, she will build a playlist of songs that reflect her time of renewal, and we will build a playlist that speaks to our renewal while she’s gone. We will swap playlists at a lunch in August of 2025. As part of the application, we also submitted a playlist—thanks to Hunter and Eliza Morrison—including suggestions from many of you, songs that Ellen should take with her as she goes (and plans to go). You may watch the video here: https://youtu.be/qpsqNtQJ2Ko. A full copy of the grant proposal is available in the office.

Spring is Blooming with Presbyterian Women

Save the Dates for two upcoming Annual Presbyterian Women’s events:

Spring Nurture Luncheon Saturday April 20^th and the Annual Birthday Luncheon Sunday May 19^th after the worship service.

Both are great events to shake off winter and enjoy the conversations and renewal of old and new friends. Men, you are invited as well to both events.

Circles have been busy this year with the following projects:

Circle 1 Active Card Ministry and support of the Blessing Box as well as the Backpack Program.

Circle 3 Our Circle Mission Projects include ROSE OF THANKS, a ministry for our service members in places where its difficult to get hygiene products. We collect this type of product to send, as well as hand colored cards of appreciation to go to the service members.  2. Christmas Missions: Monetary donations are given to be used for the local Salvation Army Angel Tree Program. Every year, Pat Waters shops for children drawn from the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree registration. Each year; we are able to serve a substantial number of children with our generous donations. Pat always works to get the perfect gifts, she recruits her grandchildren's help as well! 3. CVAN Christmas Wish list; In addition to the Salvation Army Angel tree, we contribute to CVAN with shopping cards to grocery or "big box" stores; as well as items from their wish list (kitchen, bathroom items, housewares, etc.), as well as wrapping paper. 4. In House Mission:  Our Circle polishes the silver in the Fellowship House yearly. 5:  MEMORIALS: We make a Memorial for our Circle members who pass away. A popular memorial is the donation of a book to our First Presbyterian Library in our member's memory. 

Circle 4 has several projects with local schools. The outreach to Wolf Meadow Elementary began with supporting a Girl Scout Gold Award project to provide outdoor play shoes for students who could not participate in recess or PE,because they didn't have appropriate footwear. Our involvement has grown to support the school's clothing closet with clothes and other supplies when the room was damaged in flooding. 

Circle 4 has also purchased plant growing kits for their gardening teacher, who teaches about the life cycle while growing vegetables and flowers in the school garden and greenhouse. Circle 4 has also provided feminine hygiene products for students at RCCC.

Circle 5 was convicted by the lesson of the bleeding woman in our study and the mention of Period Poverty, how some women have inadequate access to menstrual hygiene products. We are striving to help by donating different individually wrapped feminine hygiene products to 1Can to distribute into their blessing boxes. We are also attempting to help occasionally with several food items to be placed in the blessing box outside the church over the weekends.

As you can see the women of the church are very active! See something that interests you or want to become involved? It’s not too late! You do not have to be a member of a circle to help in Presbyterian Women. Email Dakeita Vanderburg for more information dakeita.vanderburg@allentate.com

Olympic Dreams Come True

Have you dreamed of being in the Olympics? Join us this summer for Vacation Bible School! We are seeking volunteers – rising 6^th grade through adults – to help with planning, preparation, and station and group leaders for the week of VBS!

If you are interested in being on the leadership team and/or a volunteer the week of VBS, please let us know by signing up on this link: VBS 2024: VBS Volunteers (signupgenius.com)

Two specific roles we are looking to fill: Volunteer Co-coordinator (communication with volunteers regarding schedule and t-shirt sizes) and Set Design (visualize where backdrops and art can be placed to create immersive environment)

If you have any questions, please contact either René Prager or Bill Cochran.

March Lunch Bunch

Join us for Lunch Bunch next Wednesday, March 27, at 11:45 AM. Enjoy another of Margaret's delicious meals and hear an amazing speaker, Ann Conway. We all go through difficulties and grief at times in our lives and her message will help prepare you for those "storms". Call the reservation line by Monday, March 25, 704-788-2100 #7. Invite a friend to join you! The cost for lunch is $9, payable at the door.

Save the Date

Save the date for the church picnic! April 14, 5 pm, Niblock Farm.

Campus Beautification Day

The next Campus Beautification Day will be Saturday, April 27, 8:00 AM - Noon

It will be a fabulous opportunity to spend time in the gorgeous spring weather and to get to know or expand  relationships with additional outdoorsey-minded members of the congregation. Bring gloves, tools and your smile.