Fast Facts

an e-update on life at

First Presbyterian Church

April 18, 2024

Worship - April 21, 2024

9:00 & 11:00 am

Sanctuary Floral Arrangements dates are available May 5, and June 9 and 16. To provide flowers in memory/honor of a loved one, contact Margaret Fancher at mfancher42@gmail.com or call 662-234-1359. Contributions to the flower fund are greatly appreciated. If you want a particular date to provide flowers on a Sunday morning, please reserve that date in advance.

Weekly Calendar

The Pantry Needs Your Help!

It’s (ALMOST) Pantry time and your help is needed to staff the Pantry during the month of June. Thanks to our community’s generosity, the building renovation is complete and we now have more storage and refrigeration than ever. We need approximately 10 volunteers every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 8 am to 11. We really appreciated everyone’s help at last June’s Pantry Pop-Up, and we are hopeful that many of the same individuals will help again this year. Although we recognize some may only be able to help a few days, in year’s past, some volunteered for the entire month, some every Tuesday, etc., and that would be greatly appreciated. Please keep in mind there is some handling of heavy boxes, pushing heavy shopping carts onto the parking lot and other activities which require some physical activity. If you have questions, please contact Martha Kelley, 662-232-8797, or Monte Ochs, 704-763-8446. Click here to sign up!

Happy Birthday to the Presbyterian Women!

Our Presbyterian Women celebrated their birthday this past Sunday. We are so thankful for each of you ladies and everything you do for us!

Upcoming Events

Our next dinner will be a combined gathering on April 25 at Brent and Ramey Hardin’s home. Their home is located in The Grove at Grand Oaks. We will meet at 6:00 pm. Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share and your own beverage. Please stop by/call the church office to sign up. When you sign up, please be sure to state what you are going to bring. If you have any questions, please call/text Brynnen Quick at 662-832-5060. Please reach out to Ramey at 662-832-8044 if you need further directions on how to get to their home.

Children and Youth Faith Formation

4th and 5th Grade Spring Bible Study

We are excited to host an after school Bible study for 4th and 5th graders Thursday afternoons from 2:45pm to 3:15pm! Students will meet with Dave and Ms. Ruth on the front lawn of FPC for a couple games, fellowship and biblical teaching. We will be meeting April 11, 18, 25 and May 2, 9, and 16! Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for the kids to walk over after school, bringing as many friends with them as they would like so they can have fun and learn together! 

PYF Summer Schedule

Believe it or not, summer is right around the corner! School may take a break for your kids, but PYF never stops! Please save the dates below on your calendar and make sure to sign your kids up to serve with PYF at the pantry by clicking here.

Vacation Bible School

Join us July 22-25 for this year's VBS! This year’s theme is Camp Firelight! Kids will  experience the stories through music, drama and storytelling, games, arts and crafts, science, and even snacks, they learn ways to connect with and trust God. And best of all, they understand they can connect with God at VBS, church, home, and every area of their lives. “Whenever I’m afraid, I put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3) Kids 4 years old through 5th grade are welcome to join! AND adults who want to volunteer to help lead VBS please email Dave at dgarveyfpc@gmail.com. Register your kids here.

Youth Summer Camps

Don't forget to sign your middle school and high school students up to join our YF group at camp this summer. Our rising 6th through graduated 8th graders are going to The Great Escape in Green Lake, WI July 7 through 13 and our graduated 8th through graduated seniors are going to the Montreat Youth Conference June 9-15! Register on Realm!

Music at First

Stewardship Committee Update

The 2025 Stewardship Campaign will start early this year!

We are so excited to invite you to participate in our ministry with your talents and financial support. Please remember, that we can only make plans according to the pledge commitments we receive.

We are energized and committed to continuing with the wonderful work we have started together! Be on the lookout for more information on Stewardship 2025 coming in June! Please join us to make solid plans for next year!

The Mission Team meets on the first Monday of each month at 5:00 in the Session Room of the Sanctuary building. Please join us as we seek creative and effective means to serve “the least of these.” If you would like more information, call the church office or contact David Shaw at dcshaw82@gmail.com.

Send a Kid to Camp!

A cornerstone of its ministry, Camp Hopewell's scholarship fund provides financial assistance for any child who wishes to attend camp. Various programs for children with Down's Syndrome, diabetes, and those with an incarcerated parent have provided a means for disadvantaged children to attend camp. Last year 70 of 381 campers benefitted from financial assistance. 13 were residents of Lafayette county. The cost of sending a child to camp for one week is $420. If you would like to contribute to the Hopewell scholarship fund please click here. Be sure to click the box "Scholarship Fund" to designate your gift. Recurring gifts are greatly appreciated. No amount is too small (or too large!). Thank you for providing a camping experience for a child this summer.

Need a helping hand? 

In Good Order is a group of FPC volunteers available to assist members who may need a little extra help with a yard project or light home repairs. FPC volunteers are available to change light bulbs, replace air filters, repair a dripping faucet, haul off a large limb in the yard, etc.  

If you would like assistance or know of someone who does,

 please contact the church office at 662-234-1757.

Each Friday volunteers gather at the OU Methodist kitchen for the weekly “Food Rescue.”  Left over produce from the Oxford Community Market as well as surplus food from Greek houses on campus are brought to the kitchen.  From these foods, volunteers assemble meal boxes and distributed them to residents of the various public housing facilities in Oxford.  Volunteers to assemble and deliver the meals are needed Fridays from 2:30-4:00.  From the underground parking garage at OU Methodist, go through the double glass doors to the kitchen.  All able-bodied Presbyterians are invited to assist in this creative food distribution program.  No need to sign up.  Just show up!

Memory Makers of Oxford (memorymakers@maxxsouth.net) is a respite day service for those with memory loss. Structured activities provide enrichment for participants while allowing a much need respite for caregivers to take a break from the daily responsibility of caring for their loved one.  Volunteers to assist with programing and provide snacks are always appreciated.       Call 234-3332 for more information. For a list of needed items, click here.

Cents-Ability is the PCUSA's initiative to combat hunger in our local communities. The Oxford Pantry and other food programs in St. Andrew Presbytery benefit from the program. You are invited to collect a few pennies per meal at your dinner table and save them for our quarterly collection. At FPC's last collection Sunday in February, donations totaled $214. Our next collection Sunday is May 5, so please keep saving those coins! Need a collection container? They are available in the Narthex of the Sanctuary and in the church office. 

LovePacks 

(lovepacksoxford.com) is an in-school pantry that provides food for 250 children in the Oxford and Lafayette county schools who experience hunger in their homes. For the month of April, peanut butter crackers are requested. Your contribution may be left at the church office anytime. Questions? Contact 

Carmille Hovious at 

662-380-1471.

FPC continues to partner with Doors of Hope Transition Ministries by providing office space and hosting the Step 2 Dinner the second Tuesday of each month. New volunteers to host the meals are encouraged. It's easy! Pick up the prepared meal from Larson's, serve the meal in the fellowship hall, and sit at table with new friends. The following have hosted the dinner previously and would be happy to cohost with you. Contact anyone of them with questions you may have.

For more information about the dinner and to sign up, click here.

Remember in Prayer 

FPC Members: The Family of Jean Blackston; Syd Shaw; Warner Biedenharn; Tina and Tony Montgomery's Family; The Charles & Laura Montgomery Family; The Family of Louise Waller; Majorie Selvidge; Becky Murphey; Curtis Wilkie; Ann Dickins; Margaret Fancher; Mrs. Pat Atkinson; The Family of William “Wylie” Coleman; Sarah, Cliff, and Sterlin Smith; Scottye Boone; Jean Blackston; Leon McCullouch 

Family and Friends: The Family of Dan Spaulding; Family of Jeanette Wilkinson; Beverly Biedenharn; Alex Saralvarez and Family; Sigrid Long; Family of Lynda Torbert Mathers;  Eileen Cheney and Family; Family of Susan Treas-Ewing; Thomas Hines; Olivia Flautt; Dr. Gladys Memnon and Friends in Bongnotte, Haiti; Family and Friends of Dr. Jack Davis Brown; Margaret Burnett; Doors of Hope Families; Lafayette County Detention Center inmates; Parchman Prison inmates; Haven House residents

U. S. Military: SSgt Jason Freeland, USAF 17th Special Tactics Sqaudron

Please pray, too, for those with unspecified needs.

If you wish to have a name removed or added to this list, please contact the church office.

The FPC prayer chain is ready if you or someone you know is in need. This is a confidential list that is independent from the names listed above. Please contact Carlisle Wood at carlislewood@gmail.com or

662-832-8606. All requests are held in strict confidence.  

Do you feel called to bring communion to the

farthest pew? 



If you’ve been ordained as a Deacon or Elder, you are qualified. Just sign up here, and stop by the church office to get a home communion kit

before you go.  

Upcoming Birthdays and Anniversaries

This Week's Birthdays:

18 Elsie James Bridgers, Tucker Bridgers, Adam Quick

19 Yung Chow, Bobbie Shaw

20 Laura Lovelady, Ruthie Miers, Eloise Neal

21 Spencer Patton

22 Todd Abbott, Don Giles

24 Jay Eads, Michael McClellan

If we've overlooked your birthday or anniversary and you wish to have it included in Fast Facts, please contact the church office.



These announcements are sent weekly from the church. If you don't want to receive them, or if your email address has changed, please send a message to the church office at fpcstaff924@gmail.com.