GCPC Weekly News | November 24, 2021
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Click "View entire message"
at bottom of email to see the FULL newsletter
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YTL made a Thanksgiving card for GCPC! | |
Sunday Adult Education - Caste | |
A true fall GCPC harvest! | |
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Advent Devotional - "Close to Home"
Sign up to receive a copy of the Advent devotional, "Close to Home," created by A Sanctified Art. You can choose to receive a printed copy mailed to your address or a digital PDF copy sent directly to your email.
A Sanctified Art is a team of artists in ministry who create multimedia resources for worshiping communities of all shapes and sizes. They work collaboratively to bring scripture and theological themes to life through visual art, poetry, liturgy, curriculum, worship installation art, coloring pages, graphic design, and more.
A Sanctified Art was founded with dreams to fill the Church with more art, inspiration, creativity, and God-breathed mystery. Their mission is to provide spiritual nourishment for church leaders and the communities they serve. They are committed to expanding imagination around the divine image and providing resources with inclusive and affirming theology.
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This year, pledging through Realm is even easier! (Watch a tutorial video here.) Simply CLICK HERE to submit your pledge online, all in one form.
If you would also like to set up automatic eGiving from your bank account or credit card, be sure to checkmark Add a scheduled gift for this pledge after the pledge confirmation and follow the prompts.
You will receive an email confirmation of your pledge and a separate confirmation for eGiving, if applicable. Questions or concerns? Please contact Natalie Weaver, Stewardship & Financial Administrator, at nweaver@gcpcusa.org or leave a message at 828.254.3274.
WAYS TO PLEDGE:
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Online pledge card HERE
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Email Nweaver@gcpcusa.org
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Call 828.254.3274 and leave a message for Natalie Weaver
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Request a mailed pledge card from the office
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GLORY TO GOD
Dear GCPC Community,
We are encouraging all members of GCPC to add their voice to our worship. Will you consider the "Glory to God" Challenge? This is fun for all ages and it's easy to do too! The instructions, video link and uploading instructions are provided below. Please let me know if you have any questions or need assistance. I would love to add your voice to this project.
Keeping the song alive,
Jeff (jjones@gcpcusa.org)
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Click below to get the video you will use to rehearse and record with: | |
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Once you've made your recording click this Google link to upload your recording of Glory to God and you're done!
Thanks for being a part of our Glory to God Challenge!
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Worship Preview | Sunday, November 28, 2021
First Sunday of Advent
Celebration of the Lord's Supper
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Sermon:
"The Night Shift"
by Marcia Mount Shoop
Scripture:
Luke 21:25-36
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*For the full revised common lectionary, please click here. | |
| Thursday & Friday, November 25 & 26 | Happy Thanksgiving! | Church office closed | | Sunday, November 28 | Kids Zoom Adventure | 10:15 am on Zoom | | Sunday, November 28 | Livestream Worship | 10:45 am on Youtube | | Sunday, November 28 | ALL Youth Group | 5:30 pm @ GCPC | | Monday, November 29 | Memorial Service for Queen Mother Maggie Belle Gladden | 1:00 pm@ GCPC
(also on Youtube) | | Tuesday, November 30 | Church Office Open | 10:00 am - 4:00 pm | | Wed., December 1 | Hybrid Bible Study | 10:00 am @ GCPC
(also on Zoom) | | Wed., December 1 | Hybrid MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) Group | 11:00 am @ GCPC
(also on Zoom) | | Wed., December 1 | Choir Rehearsal Pod | 7:00 pm in Sanctuary | | Thursday, December 2 | Men of GCPC Mtg. | 8:30 am on Zoom | | Thursday, December 2 | PW Circle 4 Mtg. | 7:00 pm on Zoom | | |
GCPC Kids Zoom Adventure | Sundays | 10:15 AM | via Zoom | |
You will receive an email on Friday with the zoom information.
Email Cat Kessler (ckessler@gcpcsua.org) if you would like to be added to the list.
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Lectionary Bible Study (Hybrid) | Wednesday, December 1 | 10:00 AM | 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!
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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 (11/21-11/27): Cathy Froehlich | email: oremont2@gmail.com
Next week (11/28-12/4): Martha Ensign Johnson |
email: marthaensignjohnson@gmail.com
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Prayer requests will stay on the GCPC Prayer List for one month. Please let any staff know if you (or your loved one) would like to remain on the list for longer.
Iglesia Jerusalem congregation
Marge and Warren Weidner (Jane Stoffer’s sister and brother in law)
Jami Schaefer (friend of Sarah Van Gunten’s life long friend, Sherry)
Debi Miller (friend of Marcia Mount Shoop)
Joan Haag (Carolyn Haag’s mother)
Jeff (Tricia Hynes’ son)
Davis (son of Linda Upchurch)
Maria and Esteban Goicoechea (La Mariposa and her husband)
Winnie Martel (Prayers for Winnie and Susie Churchfield)
Jennifer Martin (Yvonne Smith’s daughter)
Tayler Alexandria (Marta’s goddaughter)
Gregg Young (Leslie Sharpe’s brother)
Lee Smith (Mary Berg's husband)
Henry Spradlin (Kelly Spradlin's brother)
Don Pressley (Amanda Pressley’s brother-in-law)
Jack Waskey (Anna Hamel’s father)
Seminarians
Bob Higgins
Florence and Steve Riedesel
Susan Smialowicz
Laura Ross
Bill Williamson
Elizabeth Fisher
Doris Prak
The Seddon Family
Tyler Elstrom
Barry Sharpe
Sharon
Michelle Chromey and family
Marilyn Roderick
Our sympathy and support are extended to Phyllis Utley and family following the death of her mother and GCPC member, Queen Mother Maggie Belle Gladden on Friday, November 19th. Please keep the whole family in your prayers.
A Service of Witness to the Resurrection and Celebration of Life for Queen Mother will be held at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church at 789 Merrimon Avenue in Asheville and livestreamed on Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church's YouTube Channel and on FaceBook Live on Grace Covenant's FaceBook page at 2pm on Monday, November 29, 2021. The Rev. Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop will be officiating. Due to COVID concerns we encourage people to participate remotely especially if you are not feeling well or at high risk for COVID. Masks and social distancing will be required in the GCPC building.
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GIVING TUESDAY | Tuesday, November 30 | 12 - 2 PM | Live @ GCPC
Watch here
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On Tuesday, November 30th, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will participate in national #GivingTuesday, which highlights the work of non-profits and other organizations. The PCUSA will have live satellite links to churches and ministries all across the country from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The first two hours will be hosted by Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church! We’ll be discussing poverty with BeLoved Asheville and the Presbyterian Hunger Program, racial justice with Faith 4 Justice (the ministry that was shown during our October Presbytery meeting), New Worshipping Communities with the Artisan Church New Worshipping Community in Lincolnton, and meeting with the Asheville Young Adult Volunteers.
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
VRQ—BBQ Cook Team | Tuesday, December 7 | 4:30 or 5:30 PM
On the First Tuesday of each month, a team of folks gather at the Veterans Restoration Quarters, (1329 Tunnel Road) to grill hamburgers and prepare supper for more than 200 US Armed Forces Veterans living in transitional housing at the VRQ— an ABCCM Ministry.
The VRQ continues to have a good record of preventing COVID infection for staff, residents and volunteers. They are still using the infection control method of preparing the trays then the residents are allowed in, spaced apart, and seated one per table. They have also been responsible in cancelling or limiting our participation if there has been any significant exposure or community conditions change. Policy is that all employees are to wear masks. I have been assured by Danny Szemple, volunteer coordinator, that any volunteer may ask an employee to put on their mask to cover both mouth and nose.
Because changes may occur without notice IT IS IMPORTANT THAT I KNOW WHO IS COMING each month so that I can communicate any changes. The second concern is that the number of volunteers has been down. Some of our regulars are unable to come because of the pandemic. We need to have at least four and preferably six willing to be there to cook and three to help prepare the trays each month. If more want to come, we can always find things for them to do.
Thanks for responding if you can be there. We do this routine on the first Tuesday of each month. Hope to see you there.
~Bill Neeriemer, bill.nmer@gmail.com
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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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Community Working Together | |
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Recognizes November as Native American Heritage Month
At the Nov. 16, 2021 regular meeting, the Board of Commissioners proclaimed the month of November as Native American Heritage Month. Buncombe County employees and members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Amy Saunooke and Sonja Saunooke accepted the proclamation from Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara.
“When I was young, I can remember my grandfather Edward Saunooke talking about growing up on the reservation,” Sonja Saunooke said. “He talked about the poverty, he talked about the boarding schools, he talked about the Cherokee language and how it’s dying, and he talked about the violence toward his people. This proclamation is a positive direction toward truth and reconciliation for the Native Americans, my grandfather, my family, and over 13,000 enrolled members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and the citizens of Buncombe County as well. WADO, which means ‘thank you’ in Cherokee.”
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Acknowledgement
Buncombe County Register of Deeds humbly acknowledges that the land we are on is the ancestral land of the Anigiduwagi, more commonly known as the Cherokee. This land was acquired through violence, oppression, coercion and broken treaties.
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Congregational Need: A GCPC family is in need of housing during the winter of 2022. If anyone has a spare apartment or is in the need of a home-sitter during this time, please contact Richard Coble (rcoble@gcpcusa.org) for more information. | |
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Roof Repair Party! | December 11 & 12
You may remember that the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville offered physical sanctuary to a woman who was known as "Mariposa" (her real name was withheld to protect her identity) for over a year. Grace Covenant, as a supporting sanctuary congregation, assisted in this effort and was a huge help in terms of volunteers and supplies.
Mariposa is now in her own home and currently involved in a legal case seeking residency. Their family's roof is badly in need of repairs. A roofer from Land of Sky UCC is currently seeking volunteers to assist him in these repairs.
EVEN if you do not have roofing experience, but you could help from the ground, you can help! December 11 and 12!! Half-day or whole-day or both days!!
Here is a sign up form and information about the work.
You can contact Richard, Kathy Meacham, or Sara Wilcox, the pastor of Land of Sky (sara@landoftheskychurch.org), with any questions.
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El Refugio continues to support Detainees at Stewart Detention Center
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Blue Ridge Pride
Click here to read November 2021 newsletter
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Young Adult Volunteer Program & Hands and Feet of Asheville Recruitment Season
The Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program is an ecumenical, faith-based year of service for young people (ages 19–30) in sites across the United States and around the world.
YAVs accompany local agencies working to address root causes of poverty and reconciliation.
Alongside this work, volunteers explore the meaning of their faith and accountability to their neighbors in the community with peers and mentors.
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Continuing Education - Spiral of Transformative Change - SIGN UP NOW-This Begins in 2 Weeks!
One of the commitments of FCOS is continued education for accountability and the deeply important ongoing work of dismantling white supremacy. We are thrilled to be able to learn from our local leaders, Marisol Jiménez and Tamiko Ambrose.
Spiral of Transformative Change is a "webinar series, in which we will gain a foundational understanding of structural racism and racial equity work; apply a trauma and equity lens to group dynamics and accountability practices; and continue finding meaningful steps you can take on the spiral path of transformative change." Jiménez and Ambrose remind us that "none of us are going to “workshop our way out of structural racism” but [they] firmly believe shared frameworks and language are a foundation upon which individuals and organizations can begin building their strategies and actions. It is one step of many we must all commit to undertaking in our collective work to dismantle structures of racism and oppression in our lifetimes."
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‘Stated Clerk reflects on outcome of Kyle Rittenhouse trial’ -
J. Herbert Nelson says there is injustice in what many call justice
"As we approach this time of Thanksgiving in this country, I can’t help but feel disheartened. I think about all of the people we’ve come to know in the past year and a half who won’t be able to celebrate this special time with family and friends. The names of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Daunte Wright and so many others come to mind. Lives snuffed out by the injustices of those sworn to protect us.
While their voices are silent, thousands across this country have spoken for them. Peaceful marches from one coast to the other, pleading for justice. So many times, we’ve seen those peaceful marches end in bloodshed, and lives have forever changed because people refuse to see the otherness of the other."
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Members of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church and Nassau Presbyterian Church worked together on projects like building a Habitat for Humanity house |
‘Facing the ‘unpretty things’ about our country’s history’
Predominately Black and white churches move closer to reconciliation through ‘Bending the Moral Arc’ conversations
~ by Paul Seebeck
Less than a mile apart in Princeton, New Jersey, Nassau Presbyterian Church and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church have a long history as PC(USA) congregations in this historic community.
In Nassau’s beginning in 1776 as First Presbyterian Church of Princeton, enslaved and free Black Americans worshiped in segregated seating. In 1840 they formed their own church on Witherspoon Street.
“Our churches are joined together by a really long and frequently troubling history,” said Nassau member Pam Wakefield, “but churches are working actively to find solutions to problems together as Christians.”
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Pledges & Prepay
Now that 2022 pledges have started to come in, you may wonder if you can prepay that before the end of the year. The answer is "yes," but please be sure to differentiate between the current year (2021 General Fund) and next year (2022 General Fund).
If you are prepaying a 2022 pledge for next year, please be sure to notate that on your gift- simply write "2022 pledge" in the memo line of your check or select 2022 General Fund online.
If you have questions about your 2021 pledge balance or need assistance in submitting a 2022 pledge, please reach out to Natalie Weaver in the Finance Office at nweaver@gcpcusa.org or leave a message at 828.254.3274.
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A Christmas Celebration with Montreat College Choir & Orchestra | Saturday, December 4, 2021 | 7:00 PM | Anderson Auditorium | Lookout Road, Montreat, NC
Montreat College will host its annual Christmas Concert in Anderson Auditorium on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. This event is free of charge as a gift to the community. The concert will feature the Montreat College choir and a live orchestra made up of Montreat students and community members.
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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 - Wednesday. 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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