THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2023

We hope you will join us for worship at 10:10 a.m. for the fifth Sunday of Lent! We will meet in the Sanctuary or via livestream. All are welcome! 


Reading from the New TestamentHebrews 12:1-3

Reading from the Old Testament: Lamentations 3:19-33

Sermon: “…there may yet be hope”

Preacher: Dr. Matt Brown

Affirmation: The Apostles' Creed


Listening devices are available during worship. Please stop by the Connection Center or contact Kay Dano for more information.


We encourage you to wear your name tag to worship. If you do not have a name tag or have misplaced yours, please contact Nancy Metzler, director of hospitality and connection.

The All Church Reads discussion groups meet this week on March 26 and March 27 to discuss Part III of The Colorful Image of God by Katherine B. Martin. See Realm for group discussion times. Even if you missed the first two discussion groups, you are still welcome to join!


Also, please save the date for April 23 at 5:00 p.m. for "An Evening with Katherine Martin" in Mecklenburg Hall. All are invited to attend!

IMPORTANT OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY

SAVE THE DATE

SEEN AROUND CHURCH THIS WEEK

On Sunday, March 19, we celebrated Mr. Rogers Sunday by highlighting all we can learn from his work. From singing "Jesus Loves Me" to donning cardigans, we felt the energy and love of all that Mr. Rogers stood for!


Throughout the weekend, we also lived out his message of serving our neighbors. On Saturday, SMPC delivered 200 bag lunches to our neighbors at Roof Above (each bag included two sandwiches, a water bottle, fruit and snacks), and on Sunday, our SMPC youth made 930 sandwiches for Roof Above during Operation Sandwich! That’s over 1,000 sandwiches in two days!


We are so thankful to every one of you who contributed sandwich ingredients, assembly time and transportation. We are so proud to serve our neighbors in these small ways!


In case you missed Dr. Whitney Bayer’s sermon, “Welcome to the Neighborhood,” from Mr. Rogers Sunday, you can listen on our podcast!

The sanctuary and narthex were alive with neighborly love on Sunday

Dick Engle is a perfect neighbor in his cardigan

Even Clara Guzman's dolls dressed in their cardigans! (Not pictured: Clara's cardigan! It was there!)

Terry Gaines preps bag lunches for Roof Above

Avery Loftus loads the car with bag lunches to take to Roof Above

Thank you to all of our bagged lunch helpers! Pictured L-R: Toby Sunstrom, Carol Morgan and Ruby Robinson

SMPC Youth prep sandwiches for Roof Above. Pictured L-R: Sydney Wilcox, Colin Lee, Lily McAnally and Denise Wilcox

930 sandwiches strong! L-R: Addison Hicks, Brooke Hicks, Addison Fraser, friend of SMPC Youth and Davis Lee

Thank you to all the youth and their parents for helping with Operation Sandwich!

Congratulations to our third graders who received their bibles on Sunday during worship! This cute crew attended classes with Director of Spiritual Formation Rebecca Guzman for two weeks prior to receiving their Spark bibles and are ready for this important step in their faith journeys! We pray that they always find comfort, strength and guidance in the Word.

Scout Pack 119 held its annual Pinewood Derby on Sunday, March 19. As in years past, all the Scouts did a fantastic job building their race cars. Competition was fierce! Congratulations to all the winners (including Daniel Lee, son of SMPC members Barbara and David Lee)!

EVENTS AND CLASSES

NEW! Men’s Breakfast GroupToday, March 23, 9:30 a.m., Big View Diner, 6637 Lancaster Hwy, Charlotte, NC 28277 – This group meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month to enjoy breakfast and conversation. All are welcome. | Contact: Bob Tyler

Making Space Mom's GroupToday, March 23, 7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Chapel 206 - Moms of all ages are invited to join us for study, service and fellowship. | Contact: Allison Reeves

JOY ClassSunday, March 25, 8:45 a.m.-9:45 a.m., Room 301 - This group is participating in the All Church Reads. We are reading The Colorful Image of God by Katherine B. Martin. All are welcome. | Contact: Rebecca Guzman

Sunday Morning StudySunday, March 25, 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m., McQueen Room - This group meets weekly until next Sunday, April 2 to study Invitation to the New Testament, which examines how the New Testament writers and the early Christian community wrestled with the implications of the story of Jesus for their lives and their communities of faith. Come to one session or all. Everyone is welcome. | Contact: Melissa White

Handiworkers Group, Tuesday, March 28, 10:00 a.m., Palmer Building Room 104 - All knitters, needlepointers, quilters, cross-stitchers and crocheters (beginners, experts, and anything in between) are invited. We meet weekly to work on projects (to keep and to donate). | Contact: Nancy Metzler  

Conversations with Dr. Matt BrownWednesday, March 29, 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Zoom - Everyone is invited to join us as we discuss the scripture for the coming week’s sermon. | Contact Matt Brown for the Zoom ID#

Friday Morning Men's Group, Friday, April 7, 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m., Chapel 206 - This group meets on the first and third Fridays of each month and would love to have new folks join (notice the group is skipping the last Friday of March as there are five Fridays this month!). We are reading a new book beginning with this meeting: Searching for Happiness by Martin Thielen, author and retired methodist minister. Contact: Curt Ireland

OUTREACH

Bread Donation and Delivery - Volunteers are needed every Friday morning to deliver bread donated by Panera to the Dilworth Soup Kitchen. | Sign up

Bag Lunches for Roof Above - Roof Above provides 300 lunch bags each day to help feed those in need. SMPC is committed to providing 100 bag lunches a month. Volunteers are needed. | Sign up 

Desserts for Center of Hope - Sunday, April 9th slots are open to bring desserts for the women and children who temporarily call Center of Hope home. | Sign up | Contact: Terry Gaines

Loaves and Fishes, Fridays, 1:00-2:00 p.m. or 2:00-4:00 p.m.2027 Emerywood Drive, Charlotte, NC 28210 - Loaves and Fishes is looking for some strong bodies to help them do the lifting and delivering of boxes of food from their Food Pantry to cars every Friday from 1-2 p.m. They are also looking for help with client services from 2-4 p.m. every Friday. The minimum age to volunteer is 14, and closed toed shoes are required. | Contact: Jane Royther

CHILDREN

BAM! (Bible and Music)Sunday, April 2, 5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. - BAM! is our Sunday evening program for children in kindergarten through 5th grade. During BAM!, children sing, creatively engage with Bible stories, and explore various instruments in peer age groups. They occasionally sing, play instruments, or display their creations during Sunday worship. Because we have dinner together every Sunday, children need to have a child participation form on file AND register by Friday for each Sunday they will attend. | Register by Friday, March 31 | Contact: Rebecca Guzman

Vacation Bible SchoolMonday, July 23 - Thursday, July 27, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Ready for some fun with the ultimate hero team? Hero Hotline VBS invites children of all ages to answer the call to serve God together. Ages 3-Rising 6th Grade (Rising 5th and 6th Graders participate in a concurrent program, Mission Possible.) There will be an extended day option this year. | Register | Contact: Rebecca Guzman

YOUTH

Family Trivia Night, Sunday, March 26, 5:00-6:15 p.m., Mecklenburg Hall - All families with children and youth are invited to attend (adults included!). You will pick your team when you arrive. Please bring a device such as a smartphone or laptop to access Kahoot. A prize awaits the winning team! | Register | Contact: Lindsey Odom

April BYG (Big Youth Group), Sunday, April 2, 5:00-6:15 p.m., Mecklenburg Hall - BYG provides an opportunity for youth to grow in faith and love through bible study, small group time, good food, fun games, and amazing company. The Theme for BYG that we will focus on is "Proclaiming the Resurrected One." Pizza will be served!| Register | Contact: Lindsey Odom

Calling all high school and college seniors! If you are a Class of 2023 high school or college student, please fill out this form so that your information can be included in the 2023 SMPC Graduates booklet handed out on Senior Sunday, June 5. The form is due Sunday, April 16. | Fill out the form | Contact: Lindsey Odom

SMPC PRESCHOOL

2023-24 Registration Now Open - At SMPC Preschool, we believe each child is unique. Our mission is to provide an environment where your child can develop socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically, learning through play. | Register | Contact: Director Carol Watkins or SMPC Preschool Finance Administrator Mary Lynn Rawls

SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Worshiping together in person is a joy - and requires many helping hands! A number of volunteer opportunities are available on Sunday mornings and we need you. | Contact: Nancy Metzler


WORSHIP MINISTRY

Flowers for Worship - The 2023 sign-up calendar to provide flowers for Sunday Worship is now available. You may provide your own arrangement, have a florist supply your arrangement, or make a donation to the Sanctuary Building Fund, and the Worship Committee will provide the flowers.| Sign Up | Contact: Karen Malmut, 704-591-9496

GIVING

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Click above to financially support the work of SMPC. Gifts to the Operating Fund support the day to day ministries, programs, and operations of the church. Gifts to the Strength to Strength Fund support our sanctuary mortgage. Gifts to the School Lunches for Haiti Fund support students at the OFCB school in Bayonnais, Haiti. For other gift designations, select the Other Fund, and note the gift's intent in the box provided. | Contact: Mary Katheryne Zagora

STAY CONNECTED

Church communications just got easier! SMPC recently converted our church database software from from AccessACS (mobile app: ChurchLife) to Realm (mobile app: Realm Connect). 

 

If you haven't set up your Realm account, please click here to get started. Additionally, please download the mobile app, Realm Connect. | Realm Connect in the App Store | Realm Connect on Google Play | Contact Mary Katheryne Zagora.

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LIVE STREAMING WORSHIP

SUNDAYS, 10:10 A.M.


ON WWW.SMPCHOME.ORG, THE BOXCAST APP ON YOUR TV, AND FACEBOOK LIVE.



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