2025 RA CAR RACES

On Sunday, our RAs and their fans gathered around tables to enjoy a traditional hotdog lunch, to hear each RA tell about his individual mission project, and to cheer as well sanded and creatively painted cars raced down a trusty wooden track. 

After multiple heats of breath-taking, split-second races all around, Jackson Bissette and Hayes Strickland—two of our fifth graders—found themselves racing their cars for the championship. In the end, Hayes won by a photo finish, taking home the trophy for fastest car. Crosby Rohrbaugh took home the trophy for outstanding paint job.          

Individual mission projects are posted in the fellowship hall, and you’re invited to come in and "read the walls" when you’re at church next. And while you’re there, check out their cool paint jobs in the display case in the lobby!

Many thanks to Daniel Rohrbaugh and Wade Sasser for leading these outstanding RAs each Wednesday night.

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME RETURNS!

Be sure to move your clocks

ahead one hour

this Saturday night, March 8!

ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE

As a Baptist congregation that follows the Christian year, we allow the Jesus story to shape our lives throughout the year and we allow a sacred calendar to shape worship. By doing so, we are borrowing from other Christian traditions, while making them our own. One tradition we have embraced for over a decade is the Ash Wednesday Service, which will be held tonight, March 5, at 6:30pm in the sanctuary.

The service includes congregational singing, prayers of confession and assurance, and a brief homily, but the central act is the imposition of ashes in the shape of a cross, as we speak these words, “From dust you have come, to dust you will return.” These ashes (created by burning the palm fronds from last year’s Palm Sunday service) offer a sign of our mortality and penance, a confession of our frailty and need for God. Our willingness to receive them demonstrates our commitment to self-examination as well as our openness to God’s grace. Our Ash Wednesday service provides sacred space in which to begin a season of spiritual renewal called Lent.

At 5:45pm, prior to the service, our first–fifth graders will meet Lynn in room 229 to learn a bit more about the Lenten season and, in particular, Ash Wednesday, including why we put ashes on foreheads during the service. Parents may pick their children up at 6:20pm and attend the Ash Wednesday service together.

In the meantime, our 2s–K preschoolers will have their typical first session (childcare for twos, Music & Movement for 3s, and choir for pre-K and Ks). During the service, all 2s–Ks will be cared for by Wednesday-night caregivers and can be picked up from the preschool suite afterwards.  

CENTERPOINT IN MARCH

March 5: Ash Wednesday—no Centerpoint program. Join us in the sanctuary at 6:30pm for our Ash Wednesday service.

March 12: We will have a presentation from Dr. Brian Klausner, the medical director for WakeMed's Community Population Health program, which works to improve the health of uninsured and homeless patient populations in Wake County. As medical director, he drives collaboration with community partners to ensure patients are connected to proper medical, mental health, and community resources. We will learn about the valuable and important work he is doing to serve the medical needs of our downtown neighbors and his autobiography, titled In the Gaps: Better Understanding the Expensive Human Suffering of Chronic Homelessness. Books will be for sale for $15 and proceeds will go towards non-profits working with the families moving into the new affordable housing complex King's Ridge in Raleigh. 

March 19: We will hear from our very own Michael Hood in his self-titled presentation "What To Do the Next Time You Get Hit by a Cannonball." This is an exploration of the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the imaginative spirituality that he championed, the spiritual exercises that he authored, and how these things are useful for us today, coming from FBC's own Ignatian spiritual director-in-training. Ignatian Spirituality is all about the use of the imagination, our "affect," and seeking God in the whole of life. However, it is also extremely practical with time-tested practices in discernment and devotion as its foundation. If a spirituality system from a 16th century Catholic order might seem the furthest thing from FBC to you, then you should definitely be interested!

WHAT'S FOR SUPPER?

We would love for you to join us for a mid-week meal! The supper line is open each Wednesday night, 5:15–6:15pm. You may reserve your spot at this link on the website or by calling the church office. Please note that every person eating Wednesday night supper must check-in with our volunteer collection team before getting their meal. Even if you have pre-paid online, please check-in with our volunteer. We accept cash, checks, or credit cards.



Ages 0–3: Free

Ages 4-12: $4

Adults (over 12): $8

Family cap (over 3 people): $24

The menus for upcoming Wednesday night suppers are as follows (all meals come with salad and bread):

March 5 (Ash Wednesday): chicken bbq with corn pudding and green beans; non-meat option: mock chicken bbq; kids: pizza rolls.

March 12: Pizza casserole with green beans and corn; non-meat option: non-meat casserole. 

March 19: Cornbread and beef casserole with potatoes and broccoli; non-meat option: non-meat casserole; kids: nuggets.

March 26: Honey-baked ham with macaroni and cheese and cabbage; non-meat option: non-meat patty in gravy; kids: pizza rolls.

GADDY LECTURES WITH

KRISTIN KOBES DE MEZ

March 28-29

We are looking forward to hosting the next Gaddy Series event on March 28-29 when we will hear from historian/writer/speaker Kristin Kobes Du Mez. Dr. Du Mez is Professor of History and Gender Studies at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the author of the New York Times best seller Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. She has spoken at a CBFNC General Assembly and more recently at Campbell Divinity School, informing and inspiring as much in these lectures as she does through her writing.

The Friday schedule will include dinner at 6pm and a first presentation at 7pm with a time for questions to follow. The evening will conclude at 8:30pm. The Saturday schedule will include a continental breakfast at 9am and a second presentation at 10am with a time for questions to follow. The program will conclude at 11:30am.

Childcare will be provided for preschoolers–gradeschoolers on both Friday evening from 6:30–8:30 and Saturday morning from 9:30–11:30. To register for childcare, please contact Lynn Lingafelt no later than Sunday, March 16. Lynn will be back in touch to gather information and share details.

Look for details on meal reservations in an upcoming issue of The Rose Window Weekly and know that you are welcome to invite friends and colleagues to join us.

This sign has been placed at all our entrances in response to a legal action CBF joined and the court decided had merit. It means the church’s status as protected space for immigrants and refugees has been restored. For more background on these matters, read the press release from CBF here.

DONATIONS FOR WHITE FLAG

There are some unbudgeted expenses that we are incurring as we continue our White Flag ministry for homeless women in our community; thus, the Finance Committee has approved giving people the option of supporting this important ministry with financial gifts. You may contribute by check (write "White Flag" in the memo line), cash (placed in an envelope with "White Flag" written on it), the credit card kiosk in the church office, or via electronic methods (see below).



Click here to contribute using VANCO. 

Click here to contribute using PayPal.

CBF ANNUAL GATHERING

The Denominational Relations Committee invites you to attend the upcoming CBFNC Annual Gathering March 27–28 at Pritchard Memorial Baptist Church in Charlotte. Keynote speakers for the Gathering will be Rev. Victoria White, Rev. Bill Stanfield, and Rev. Anita Thompson.  

For complete information, including registration, please click here.

INTRODUCING:

THE FBC YOUTH FRESH FOOD DRIVE!

This semester, donate fresh fruits and veggies to serve our youth group! On Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings there will be a cooler by the Lewis Lobby display case where you can drop items. We are looking for things like cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, apples, oranges, melons, etc. (fresh produce that can be prepped and consumed raw). Each Sunday, these items will be incorporated into the youth mealtime to offer an even more fresh, diverse, and delicious meal for our kids.

What is this all about? Here’s what Michael has to say: A big desire of the youth is to give the congregation various ways to get involved and give toward our youth group. One of the best things about Sunday nights is that we feed our kids for free, no questions asked (another big ambition)! Our meal together is also a core community-building time that our youth have each week. Chef Troy has been amazing at providing meals, and together we want to offer an even more fresh and vibrant mealtime for them. This means procuring produce for a fresh salad/veggie/fruit option every Sunday night, and that is where we could use some help from you! So, as you grocery shop throughout the week, consider coming home with an extra fruit or veggie or two and dropping it off at church for our youth!

Over the summer, our snack drive blew us away! Our youth were overjoyed with the provision and care that our church showed. It made a lasting impression, was an example of service, and kept them full in the meantime. So, let’s try a new challenge by enlivening our Sunday night mealtime together!

CHURCH CONFERENCE DATES

Mark your calendar for the following 2025 dates for church conference:

March 26, May 28, August 27, September 24,

October 22, November 19, and December 17.

MATERNITY LEAVE DETAILS

While Leah Reed, our Minister with Community, is on maternity leave, you may contact the following people with questions:

White Flag - Holly Ivel & Holly Cook

Clothing ministry - Sabrina Tyndall

Mike Morris Fellowship Fund - LaCount Anderson

Rose Window Weekly - Jennie Herrick

Social media (Facebook & Instagram) - Michael Hood

Mass emails to the congregation - Jennie Herrick or Wayne Hager

Website - Wayne Hager

First Foundations magazine - Jen Foster

And Also With ‘Cue - David With 

Sunday morning greeters - Mary Powell Rhodes

Community Ministries - Sam Carothers 

THIRTY-NINERS GATHERINGS

Come join us Thursdays at 10:30am in the fellowship hall for interesting speakers, mission projects, and once a month, a program that's a little out of the ordinary. We also have an outing each month, but mostly we enjoy spending time together, learning something new and useful, and always ending with a meal.

MARCH

6 Sharing Our Stories (member participation)

13 Selling Your Home? What to expect! (Ruth Ann Dyer, Fonville Morrisey Realtors)

20 LUNCH OUTING: Hibernian Pub (311 Glenwood Avenue; meet at FBC at 11:45am to ride in vans)

27 Clothing ministry project (Sabrina Tyndall, coordinator)