|
Click "View entire message"
at bottom of email to see the FULL newsletter
| |
#GCPCathome (and in the sanctuary!) | |
Worship Preview | Sunday, May 15, 2022
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Presbyterian Women Sunday
Sanctuary and Youtube
| |
*For the full revised common lectionary, please click here. | |
|
Reservations are no longer required for childcare on Sundays at Grace Covenant!
As long as it is dry outside we plan on spending the majority of the morning outdoors. Please dress your children with this in mind.
| |
| Saturday, May 14 | Garden Workday
(Team 4) | 9:00 am | GCPC Community Garden | | Saturday, May 14 | ALL Youth Lock-In | 7:00 pm @ GCPC | | Sunday, May 15 | Hybrid Adult Education | 9:00 am in *Jerusalem Room (also on Zoom) | | Sunday, May 15 | Kid's Zoom Adventure | 10:15 am on Zoom | | Sunday, May 15 | Hybrid Worship
(In-person and online) | 10:45 am @ GCPC
(also on Youtube) | | Sunday, May 15 | Deacons Mtg. | 12:30 pm | Jerusalem Room
(also on Zoom) | | Tuesday, May 17 | Church Office Open! | 10:00 am - 4:00 pm | | Tuesday, May 17 | Finance Council Mtg. | 5:30 pm on Zoom | | Tuesday, May 17 | Serve Council Mtg. | 6:30 pm on Zoom | | Tuesday, May 17 | PW Circle 3 Mtg. | 7:00 pm on Zoom | | Wednesday, May 18 | Garden Workday
(Team 1) | 9:00 am | GCPC Community Garden | | Wednesday, May 18 | Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Group | 11:00 am | Fellowship Hall
(also on Zoom) | | Wednesday, May 18 | Choir Rehearsal | 7:00 pm @ GCPC | | Thursday, May 12 | Men of GCPC Gathering | 8:30 am on Zoom | | |
|
Youth Lock-In | Saturday, May 14 @ 7:15 p.m. - Sunday, May 15 @ noon | GCPC
As we prepare for Youth Sunday on May 22nd we will have a lock-in for those participating in the service on Saturday, May 14th.
Your voice and presence is needed on Youth Sunday whether you are on screen, at church or helping behind the scenes. Youth Sunday is hybrid so we need youth assisting in many areas to make this year just as special as past years!
We hope you will join us for this night of fun, fellowship and preparation for Youth Sunday worship! We will spend the night at the church (bring your pajamas and sleeping bag!) and attend worship together on Sunday morning. A negative at-home COVID test is required to attend, and there is no cost for this event.
Sign up here to attend the lock-in!
| |
|
Adult Education | Presbyterianism 102: Going Deeper into Presbyterian Belief and Practice I Sundays | April 24 - May 22 I 9:00 - 10:00 AM | Jerusalem Room* and Zoom
To be Presbyterian is to join a way of life informed by a particular rhythm: God calls us in grace and love; we respond in gratitude. This 5 week course will explore the many ways that Presbyterians can understand this rhythm in our lives today. No prior understanding of Presbyterianism is needed! Come and let's explore together! Facilitators: Richard Coble, Matt Wiedle, Janice Kominski
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84169676300
Meeting ID: 841 6967 6300 Passcode: 789
*Note room change for this week.
| |
|
There will be NO Bible Study next Wednesday, May 18. The last two Bible Studies before summer will be held on May 25 and June 1.
| |
PW Birthday Offering - Sunday, May 15th | |
|
As GCPC celebrates our 69 years of ministry this month, the Presbyterian Women Birthday Offering is celebrating 100 years of Giving in support of PW’s mission partners around the world and at home. Since 1922, the gifts of Presbyterian Women and PCUSA congregations have supported the building of schools, hospitals, shelters and housing for families in need. Additionally, the birthday offering has funded programs for leadership & teacher training, emergency relief, college & seminary education, community & diversity building. PW continues to transform the church and mission work, and women’s roles in both. Through times of great change, Presbyterian Women has remained constant in answering God’s call to care for all.
As we celebrate this centennial year of the Birthday Offering, please give in honor of the women who generously gave in years past. Give in hope for the proise of generous women who will ensure this transformative PW ministry for many years to come.
The PW Birthday Offering will be collected in worship on Sunday, May 15, but you may give through Realm at anytime by clicking on “Giving” and selecting "Presbyterian Women Birthday/Thank Offering."
| |
|
Presbyterian Outlook Special Edition - #TrustBlackWomen
From the Outlook:
"This issue has been turned over to Black women to highlight and center the voices of these trustworthy leaders, scholars, theologians, writers and artists. Framed by the barrier-breaking leadership of Katie Geneva Cannon, contributors highlight issues of representation, call for rest as a form of resistance and advocate for the needs of Black women and girls.
The call of this issue is the call of the faithful: trust Black women. Listen to them. Learn from them. Honor them."
Copies are available on the credenzas outside the sanctuary in the narthex.
| |
|
Sunday Flowers for the Sanctuary!
The 2022 Flower Chart is now available! Please consider signing up to give flowers one Sunday. GCPC will place the order each week. Click on the button below to access the calendar and check which dates are available.
After signing up, email Anna Louise (annalouise@gcpcusa.org) your dedication for the bulletin or include it in the comment section in the sign-up.
Please mail your $75 check, payable to GCPC (with Flowers in the Memo line) to 789 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, NC 28804
| |
|
Deacon of the Week:
In this time of physical distancing, the deacons of Grace Covenant continue to be available to talk and pray with you by phone or online and to coordinate care. If you have difficulty reaching your assigned deacon or if you do not know who your assigned deacon is, please feel free to reach out to our deacon of the week.
This week (5/8-5/14): Pam Baker | email: pam.dunkin56@gmail.com
Next week (5/15-5/21): Bill Ryan | email: bill73ryan@gmail.com
| |
|
Prayer requests will stay on the GCPC Prayer List for one month. Please let any staff member know if you (or your loved one) would like to remain on the list for longer.
Iglesia Jerusalem congregation
Debi Miller (friend of Marcia Mount Shoop)
Maria and Esteban Goicoechea (La Mariposa and her husband)
Winnie Martel (Prayers for Winnie and Susie Churchfield)
Seth Turnbow (Anne Raustol’s twin brother)
Vince and Michele (Gordon Gaiser’s niece and nephew-in-law)
Chip Lambert (GCPC Community member who is hiking the App. Trail)
Jordan Lemmond (Matt Wiedle and Lara Hollaway's son)
Diane Jones (Marta Alcala-Williams' friend)
Joseph Tierney (Paul Tierney’s father)
Don Weddell (Robin and Gordon Gaiser’s friend)
Donna Krueger (Robin and Gordon Gaiser’s friend)
Brittney Connoley (Amy Kim Kyremes-Parks' cousin)
Margarita del Carmen Leiva Nuñez (Marta Alcala-Williams' friend)
Rachel Morgan (Anna Louise Murchison's friend)
Pat O’Hara (Christa Hyatt’s sister)
Shabnam and Sana (Afghan Family partnering with GCPC’s Circle of Welcome)
Dakota Ferris (Mary Lou Nash’s grandson)
Deanna Fleenor (Mike Fleenor's sister)
Hans and Loidaly awaiting the arrival of their first child
Bob Higgins
Susan Smialowicz
Doris Prak
Michelle Chromey and family
Bob Schaefer
Frances Johnson
Don Moe
Our sympathy and support are extended to Ashley Parks and family on the death of her father, Robert (Bob) McMillan, on Tuesday, May 10 in Mills River. Please keep the family in your prayers.
| |
|
Racial Justice Book Series | May 26 | 7:30 PM | 4th Thursday of the Month
The Racial Justice Book Series returns this summer with four books about the systems, consequences, and remedies of the deep entrenchment of white supremacy culture in our country and church.
All meetings will be in hybrid format. Come in person or tune in via zoom! The church library has copies of all the books. Contact Richard or Anna Louise to reserve a copy.
| |
|
Presbyterian Womenʼs Circles are Zoom meetings. Please join us.
Circle 1: Second Monday of each month, 10:00 a.m.
Circle 2: First Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Circle 3: Varies (Click here to see schedule for 2021-2022), 7:00 p.m.
Circle 4: First Thursday of each month, 7:00 p.m.
Circle 5: First Monday of each month, 11:00 a.m.
| |
|
Need to set up a church zoom meeting?
Contact Anna Louise and she can get you all set up!
| |
Last Thursday, YTL volunteers harvested 4 lbs. of spinach from the World Garden by the Administrative Building to enjoy with their families. They also planted Mt. Magic tomato transplants in one of the beds. wildflower seed, zinnia seed and cucumber and zucchini starts were also planted. | |
Saturday's Team 2 had 14 volunteers and harvested 74 lbs. of collards, 100 lbs. of lettuce, and 22 lbs. of spinach shared with Western Carolina Rescue Ministries! They also planted basil in Bed 14 and flowers in Bed 15. | |
|
WE NEED ROCKS!!!
Donate a rock for our new flower beds!
Have an extra rock or two laying around that you don't need? We are looking for rocks about the size of a cantaloupe or a football, or maybe a spaghetti squash, to help line our new perennial flower beds at the Community Garden. Please drop off your rocks by May 22nd in the black bin labeled "GARDEN ROCKS" in the GCPC courtyard or down by the compost bins at the Community Garden near McDonald's parking lot.
| |
|
Planning on giving regularly to GCPC? Let us know by submitting a pledge, which helps us maintain sustainable financials and more accurately budget. Anyone can pledge any amount- every single gift helps support the ministry and mission at GCPC!
WAYS TO PLEDGE:
Questions, concerns, or need help setting up eGiving? Contact Natalie Weaver, Stewardship & Financial Administrator at 828.254.3274, natalie@gcpcusa.org, or stop by the office Tuesdays 10am - 4pm.
| |
Community Working Together | |
Buncombe County Public Libraries’ (BCPL) Laptop/Hotspot Loan Program | |
|
GCPC's Circle of Welcome
Our Afghan friends, Shabnam and Sana, continue to adjust and integrate into life in Asheville. They are making great strides in learning English, making friends, working or attending school. It's beautiful to see their growth. Please prayerfully consider the following urgent need for housing.
They will need to find a new home soon and ideally, this will be affordable and on a bus line. Maybe you know of someone with a garage apartment or a short-term rental that can be longer-term. We need help with this urgently so please reach out soon!
Contact Bonnie Parker at bparker@lscarolinas.net.
| |
GCPC Ministry Partner, Working Wheels
Do you have an extra car that needs to find a new home? Imagine how difficult your life would be without a car! Working Wheels repairs and recycles donated cars, transforming them into working wheels for working families. The process is simple, the donation is tax-deductible, and the impact is real.
To donate, volunteer, or learn more, please visit www.workingwheelswnc.org or call 828-633-6888.
| |
|
Habitat for Humanity News!
GCPC is participating along with a dozen or more faith families in this years' Habitat for Humanity House of Faith. June volunteer dates for GCPC are still available on the calendar! If you are interested, please contact Bill Ryan at bill73ryan@gmail.com. More information is also available at the Welcome Desk in the narthex.
| |
|
The future homeowners for the House of Faith are Jesse and Kayla Coffey and their three children! Click here to read their bio.
Another way to support the Habitat house is to send a donation directly to: Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, 33 Meadow Road, Asheville, NC 28803.
Or call 828-251-4702 for a way to give electronically. Please mention that the money is toward this year's House of Faith and is connected with GCPC.
| |
|
AVL GreenWorks Hard 2 Recycle Event | Saturday, May 14 | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | North Buncombe High School (890 Clarks Chapel Rd., Weaverville, NC 28787 - Student Parking Lot)
Drop off your broken appliances, old computers, white styrofoam, and cardboard and show the people you love that you were listening the first time they asked you to clean out the garage. See what's recyclable here.
Also, bring your old jeans to H2R and the Nesbitt Habitat Collaborative will turn them into insulation for a Habitat for Humanity home. By recycling your old jeans, you keep easy-to-recycle denim out of the landfill and give it a new life.
| |
|
Green Money: Nature Makes Good Business Sense | June 2-3, 2022
Click here to see the pdf flyer version with active registration links.
| |
|
Buncombe County Remembrance Project
| |  |
|
Interfaith Initiative -
Social Justice Opportunities
| | |
Photo by Kate Oseen via Unsplash | |
Humans are being trafficked all over the world, including our neighborhoods -
Mission Co-worker Cathy Chang tells ‘A Matter of Faith’ that people of conscience can help reduce suffering by using both eyes and ears
~ by Mike Ferguson
In the days before the Rev. Cathy Chang, a mission co-worker serving in the Philippines, was red-tagged having been accused of supporting groups perceived as terrorists through stickers and a tarpaulin affixed at her home in Quezon City, she spoke on the scourge of human trafficking with the hosts of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.”
The Rev. Lee Catoe, managing editor of Unbound: An Interactive Journal of Christian Social Justice, and Simon Doong, a mission specialist with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, host the weekly podcast, which dropped Thursday.
Listen to their conversation with Chang here.
| | |
The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins’ book, “Unbroken and Unbowed: A History of Black Protest in America” | |
Understanding Black protest -
Book explores both heart and history
~ by Darla Carter
When San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick knelt during the singing of the national anthem at the start of a National Football League game in 2016 in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in the U.S., a firestorm was ignited. As public criticism was heaped onto Kaepernick, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins became concerned about the negative way the African American athlete was being portrayed.
“I kept hearing what he did was unpatriotic and that he was just bringing focus on himself. I wanted to challenge that,” said Hawkins.
Hawkins is no stranger when it comes to being a voice that challenges others to think more critically. It is a call he embraces in his work overseeing the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. And this particular call to challenge that was sparked by Kaepernick morphed into an idea for a book that looks deeply into centuries of Black protest.
| | |
|
GCPC Staff member, Micah Hayes, also serves as Communications Coordinator for the UNC Asheville Prison Education Program.
Click here to see his latest video.
| |
|
HOW TO CONTACT STAFF:
The church office is open weekly for walk-ins on Tuesdays, 10am - 4pm. Our staff can also be reached by email or voicemail Monday - Friday. To leave a voicemail for a staff member to return your call, follow these steps:
-
Call the main office at 828-254-3274.
-
Listen through the office closure notice, which will then take you to a staff directory.
-
Enter the first 3 letters of either the staff member's first or last name on your phone keypad (i.e. to reach Natalie Weaver, you'd enter 628 for NAT or 932 for WEA).
- You'll be directed to the staff member's individual voicemail, where you can leave a message to be returned as soon as possible.
-
If you just want to leave a message for the general voicemail box, press 0.
You can also reach our staff by email- please see our website for each staff member's individual email address.
| |
|
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
828.254.3274
www.gcpcusa.org
| | | | |
