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Worship Preview | Sunday, April 24, 2022
Second Sunday of Easter
Sanctuary and Youtube
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*For the full revised common lectionary, please click here. | |
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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. We will have a table in the welcome center to check your child in and do a temperature check.
All families are encouraged to submit a family health & wellness form. This will help us know more about your children’s health needs as we move forward. Please contact Cat Kessler if you have any trouble submitting the form.
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| Thursday, April 21 | GCPC 20s/30s/& Beyond Gathering: Dinner& Trivia | 7:00 pm @ Creekside Taphouse | | Thursday, April 21 | PW Circle 3 Mtg. | 7:00 pm on Zoom | | Friday, April 22 | Winter Shelter Support Team Mtg. | 11:00 am on Zoom | | Saturday, April 23 | Memorial Service - Landon Hedges | 2:00 pm @ GCPC
(also on Youtube) | | Sunday, April 24 | Hybrid Adult Education | 9:00 am in Fellowship Hall (also on Zoom) | | Sunday, April 24 | Kid's Zoom Adventure | 10:15 am on Zoom | | Sunday, April 24 | Hybrid Worship
(In-person and online) | 10:45 am @ GCPC
(also on Youtube) | | Sunday, April 24 | 4th/5th Grade Connect | 12:30 pm @ GCPC | | Sunday, April 24 | Long Range Visioning Team | 12:30 pm on Zoom | | Sunday, April 24 | Hybrid Deacons Mtg. | 12:30 pm in Jerusalem Room (also on Zoom) | | Sunday, April 24 | Asheville Area Piano Forum- Spring Concert! | 3:00 pm @ GCPC | | Sunday, April 24 | Confirmation | 3:30 pm in Fellowship Hall | | Sunday, April 24 | ALL Youth Group | 5:30 pm in Fellowship Hall and Atrium | | Tuesday, April 26 | Church Office Open! | 10:00 am - 4:00 pm | | Tuesday, April 26 | Session | 6:00 pm on Zoom | | Wednesday, April 27 | Hybrid Bible Study | 10:00 am @ GCPC
(also on Zoom) | | Wednesday, April 27 | Choir Rehearsal Pod | 7:00 pm @ GCPC | | |
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GCPC 20s/30s/& Beyond Dinner and Trivia | TONIGHT, April 21 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | Creekside Taphouse (8 Beverly Rd, Asheville)
Get ready for some trivia! Come out and join the team! We will put our minds full of all things trivial together for some fun, food, friendly competition, and fellowship! Questions? Contact Richard Coble: rcoble@gcpcusa.org
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Adult Education | Presbyterianism 102: Going Deeper into Presbyterian Belief and Practice I Sundays | April 24 - May 22 I 9:00 - 10:00 AM | Fellowship Hall 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
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4th/5th Grade CONNECT Gathering | Sunday April 24 | 12:30 - 2:30 PM | @ GCPC
Join us following worship for community building and games outside. Bring a sack lunch — we will provide drinks and a treat.
**We are looking for parent volunteers to help out this week. Email Amy Kim if you're interested!**
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Asheville Area Piano Forum | Sunday, April 24 | 3:00 PM |
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
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Confirmation Class | Sunday, April 24 | 3:30PM | GCPC Fellowship Hall
Please bring your Confirmation binder, journal, a water bottle and a mask.Cat Kessler will lead us in exploring questions about prayer.
* We will serve pizza after Confirmation for anyone staying to attend All Youth Group at 5:30!
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All Youth Group | Sunday, April 24 | 5:30-7:00 PM | @ GCPC
It’s been a while! We are excited to see everyone on the 24th. Marcia and Micah will be with us to help us begin to plan for Youth Sunday on May 22nd.
Remember you can participate on and/or off screen. Email Melva if you are unable to be at youth group, but want to participate.
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Hybrid Lectionary Bible Study | Wednesday, April 27| 10:00 AM | Atrium (masked) or via Zoom
Join the pastoral staff to read and study our sermon texts for Sunday. No preparation needed; just come ready to open scripture and discuss!
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/93439349183
Meeting ID: 934 3934 9183 | Passcode: 789
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GCPC Prez Beez Softball
The GCPC softball team, The Prez Beez, are in need of players! Our league is open to anyone ages 18 to100. We have a lot of fun and are competitive. We need folks that can play on Tuesday evenings. If you are interested please contact Terrence Greene (828-273-1256) or Bill McNeff (828-458-7737). Season runs until mid June.
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Cancer Ministry at GCPC
GCPC is starting a cancer ministry in our community in partnership with new member, Anne Turnage. Anne has helped start a ministry with cancer survivors and thrivers in many faith communities as her family has lived in several places. You can check out the wonderful community she helped form in Houston at this LINK. You can find more about Anne's story on that same webpage HERE.
We are still just in the very beginning stages of imagining what might be most helpful to the members of our community. If you have ever been diagnosed with cancer and would like to be a part of this new ministry, please join us after church on May 1 in the Jerusalem room or by zoom as we imagine how we might support and minister to one another and our community!
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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 (4/17-4/23): Paul Tierney | email: paul@tierneyandco.net
Next week (4/24-4/30): Cathy Froehlich | email: oremont2@gmail.com
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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)
Jeffrey and Jennifer Hedges (Parents of Landon, Joe and Janice Brumit's godson, who passed away on March 14)
Seth Turnbow (Anne Raustol’s twin brother)
Loyda Kyremes (Amy Kim Kyremes-Park's mother)
Vince and Michele (Gordon Gaiser’s niece and nephew-in-law)
Gayla Fedele (friend of Karen Rohls)
Jeanine Buelens (relative of Bill McNeff)
Bill Ross (Jonathan Ross’ dad)
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)
Waylon Hennessee (Kathy Jacob's grandson)
Bob Higgins
Susan Smialowicz
Doris Prak
Michelle Chromey and family
Mary Ida Spradlin
Susie Wheelis
Sherrie McCleary-Small
Bob Schaefer
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Hybrid Spring Memoir Series | Monday, May 2 | 6:00 PM | Fellowship Hall and Zoom
Join us for a series of book talks focusing on memoirs written by people of faith. Please pre-read the book to ensure lively discussion. The church now has copies of the books. Please contact Richard or Anna Louise if you would like to come by and borrow one of the copies.
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May 2 | Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo | Facilitator: Alexandra Lusak
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Racial Justice Book Series | May - August | 6:30 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.
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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.
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Need to set up a church zoom meeting?
Contact Anna Louise and she can get you all set up!
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An impromptu planning crew made their way to the Cole Family Farm to plant potatoes last Friday. The potatoes were put to bed under a nice bed of soil.
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A small team of gardeners weeded the whole garden on Wednesday!
Next week, regular Wed/Sat morning garden workdays begin starting with Paul's team at 9am on Wednesday, April 27th.
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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. The rocks will delineate the flower beds and help keep grass from creeping in. You can paint or decorate your rocks or just leave them be. We can have a rock decorating day with kids at the church when we get enough. Please drop off your rocks by May 1st 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.
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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.
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Community Working Together | | |
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RAZOM (focuses on medical supply purchases)
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Earth Day Vigil | Sunday, April 24 | 4 - 5 PM | First Baptist Church
Please join the Creation Care Alliance at the First Baptist Church Asheville sacred/garden labyrinth for their annual Earth Day Vigil. This will be a time of prayer, music, lament, celebration, community building, and faithful action. Learn more on the Creation Care Alliance website and email sarah@creationcarealliance.org with any questions. This event is open to people of all faiths and spiritual traditions. Light refreshments will be served following the service.
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Support the Homeowner Grant Program with Buncombe County Commissioners
Last year, the Racial Justice Coalition pushed for the Buncombe County Commission to adopt a homeowner’s grant program as a way of mitigating some of the harm caused by their inequitable increase in property taxes. Now, there is a chance that this program won’t be renewed because of the high costs of administering it.
The need for the Homeowner Grant Program is just as strong as last year, and getting rid of it is not a viable option.
Will you join us in asking the Buncombe County Commissioners to renew, simplify, and expand this program, rather than shutting it down?
Click here for more information and instructions for taking action.
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Habitat for Humanity News!
Volunteer dates are still available on the calendar! If you are interested, please contact Bill Ryan at bill73ryan@gmail.com.
GCPC will be participating along with a dozen or more faith families in this years' Habitat for Humanity House of Faith. There will be several ways to help, but for now we are looking for construction volunteers, with no experience required.
The house construction begins on Tuesday, April 26 and we work Tuesday through Saturday until July 1st, with the weeks of June 7-18 off. All days are 8:15 -3:15 except Friday which is 8:15-noon. There will be no more than 8 volunteers on the site and we will be closely supervised by a patient and pleasant professional. Anyone age 16 and up can help.
Information is also available at the Welcome Desk in the narthex.
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Hood Huggers and Peace Gardens Announce their Spring Liberation Celebration Weekend of Events! | | |
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Peace Gardens Annual Spring Plant Sale | Saturday, April 23 | 11 AM - 6 PM | 47 Bryant St.
We will have spring plants and many festivities happening, including a Puppet Show, Live Music, Food, Libations, Community Store, BIPOC Vendors, and some info on the growing initiative, Blue Note Junction!
All proceeds are reinvested into the BIPOC community.
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Rebuilding Affrilachia World Tour Pop-Up Art Show | Sunday, April 24 | 11 AM - 6 PM | 8 River Arts Place
We will be featuring works made from salvaged and repurposed wood and metal and represent DeWayne B-Love Barton's African American heritage and his lifelong work rebuilding communities. This day is special in the story of liberation in Asheville. Live music, refreshments, info on growing initiatives, and more will be part of this one-day-only pop-up.
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Raise A Home Auction | Saturday, April 30 | AB Tech Mission Health Event Center (16 Fernihurst Dr., AVL 28801)
BeLoved Asheville’s Raise a Home Auction will feature both a live and a silent auction to support the BeLoved Village. With 75% funding in place for this $1.2 million project, you can help complete the Village project by attending the RAH Auction on Saturday, April 30th!
Reserve your ticket and help us reach our goal! Construction will be in full swing late spring/early summer. Join us for a night of community and celebration and help us Raise A Home in the BeLoved Village! See all the details and your invitation below.
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Equity Immersion Travel Experience | June 16-20, 2022
Intentionally scheduled over the Juneteenth weekend to center the liberation of Black people in this country and its impact on liberation for all of us if liberation is what we choose. This will be a good opportunity for people looking to develop or even deepen their racial equity analysis. It will be a four-day experiential workshop with an intimate group of no more than 20 participants. From Atlanta to Montgomery to Selma, Birmingham and back to Atlanta, we’ll explore the history of racial inequality and connect the dots not just to today, but also to our own lives… however we identify racially. This uniquely American story belongs to all of us and, of course, all of us can have a role in affecting change.
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Sharing good medicine to ‘create the type of world that is pleasing to God’ -
Co-Moderators’ series comes to an end
~ by Pam Wineman
“Decolonizing Holy Week” was the focus of the final broadcast of “Good Medicine” on April 13, hosted by the Rev. Gregory Bentley and Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart, Co-Moderators of the 224th General Assembly (2020). Their two-year term ends in June. Since October 2020, they have been hosting “Good Medicine” on a regular basis on their Facebook page.
For the finale, they were joined by Brenda Blackhawk and the Rev. Dr. Mark Lomax. Blackhawk is the congregational organizer for racial justice with the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Lomax is the founding pastor of the First Afrikan Presbyterian Church of Lithonia, Georgia, and associate professor of homiletics at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. He will be a guest preacher at the 225th General Assembly this summer.
What quickly became apparent during the discussion is that the events of the first Holy Week more than 2,000 years ago are just as relevant today as they were then.
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Prayers of Liberation & Hope for Immigration Relief -
Faith leaders discussed immigration justice during Holy Week
~ by Fred Tangeman
As Ramadan, Passover and Easter converged last week, faith leaders from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition met over Zoom and Facebook Live. Their goal was to “channel the liberatory spirits of these holy days into our fight for citizenship,” in the words of the event description.
During the lunchtime gathering, a rabbi, imam, Roman Catholic DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient and Presbyterian pastor shared personal reflections about immigration and discussed the need to continue working toward immigration relief through pathways to citizenship this spring.
They discussed the call to support immigrants found in all their faiths, how new trends of migration are impacting the current immigration system and the importance of remaining hopeful about relief in all seasons. You can watch the full recording here.
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Members and resource staff for SCRTR, courtesy of valerie izumi. | |
Final Report: Special Committee on Racism Truth and Reconciliation -
PC(USA) urged to 'be a repairer of the breach' created by systemic racism
~ by Fred Tangeman
The Special Committee on Racism Truth and Reconciliation has issued its final report in advance of this summer’s 225th General Assembly, when commissioners and advisory delegates will consider its 11 recommendations.
The report can be read at the Special Committee’s web page on pcusa.org or PC-Biz.
The final report urges Presbyterians to build on the denomination’s past efforts to meaningfully address racism. To do that, reparative action by national church agencies, mid councils and congregations is required.
“There can be no reconciliation without reparations,” the report’s “Call to Worship” section states. “Truth + reparations = reconciliation.”
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Worldwide about 33% of soil is degraded; in the U.S., soil is disappearing 10 times faster than it’s being replenished naturally. Can a city-dweller do anything to help? Join Frank Franciosi, US Composting Council, and our very own Susannah Tuttle, NC Interfaith Power & Light, in a webinar on building healthy soil, protecting water resources, and increasing food productivity while increasing the ability of soils to store carbon and help combat global warming. Learn how you can, in this one-night action, have a role in making it happen by supporting composting legislation in Congress. The North Carolina Council of Churches is a co-sponsor of this event.
Click here to register.
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Green Money: Nature Makes Good Business Sense | June 2-3, 2022
Click here to see the pdf flyer version with active registration links.
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GCPC Staff member, Micah Hayes, also serves as Communications Coordinator for the UNC Asheville Prison Education Program.
Click here to see his latest video.
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Haywood St. Congregation
PBS stations throughout the country will be broadcasting the documentary on the Haywood Fresco in April and May. Locally, the film will be broadcast on SCETV in Asheville on April 11 at 10pm, WTVI in Charlotte on April 16 at 11pm, and on the WORLD Channel on Easter at 12:30pm (EST). For more air date times and locations, please check your local PBS listings. The film is available to stream until May 1, 2022 at PBS.org.
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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:
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Call the main office at 828-254-3274.
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Listen through the office closure notice, which will then take you to a staff directory.
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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.
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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.
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
828.254.3274
www.gcpcusa.org
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