SAVE THE DATE – GADDY LECTURES

First Baptist Church is very fortunate to have a fund that enables us to host significant speakers and musical artists who enrich the life of our congregation and offer a service to our community. It is the Gaddy Lectures and Concert Series Fund established in the year 1999 in honor of the late beloved church member Mary Lily Gaddy. In the past, this fund has enabled us to hear novelist Clyde Edgerton and singer/songwriter Ken Medema. It has helped us to experience “The High Lonesome Mass” with the Chuck Nation Band and the play “Defamation.” And it has played a role in funding other lectures and presentations as well.

We are delighted to announce that the next Gaddy Series event will take place March 28-29, 2025, 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. Look for more details on this event in upcoming issues of the Rose Window Weekly.

Moving forward, we want to be more intentional in planning for future Gaddy events. We would like to alternate between the Gaddy Series and the churchwide retreat in the spring. Therefore, our next retreat would be in the spring of 2026. We would also like to alternative Gaddy events between lectures and concerts. Thus, we anticipate a concert in the spring of 2027. Alternating years will allow time for the fund to earn the necessary income, and balancing the focus will honor the full intent of the fund. We look forward to being challenged and inspired in different ways, and we give thanks to the Gaddy family for envisioning and making possible this fund.

CROP WALK

The Greater Triangle Area CROP Hunger Walk is our October church-wide mission project and it starts and ends at First Baptist parking lot on Sunday, October 27. Funds raised support local agencies and the international work of CWS (Church World Service). Click here to see information about each of these agencies.

You can participate in this month's mission by walking and/or contributing monetarily. Walk day sign-in is at 2pm with the walk beginning at 3pm. You may join the FBC Team (no separate youth team this year) here.

Walkers this year are asked to donate $5 for the GTA Crop Walk t-shirt. This money is being used to pay for the 200+ disaster hygiene kits that will be assembled by walkers beginning at 2pm. So plan on coming to join with other walkers in putting together the hygiene kits. This will be a fun activity for children and adults! Another fun activity is to use the Calendar of Blessings to count your blessings each day during the month. You are encouraged to set aside an amount of money for each blessing and then donate it to the CROP Walk at the end of the month.

Please consider donating when you register. If not walking, you may donate to support any walker by going HERE and searching for the walker. You may also make a general donation to our team.

You may donate through the Vanco Online, PayPal, or the Credit Card Kiosk. If you prefer to write a check, please make it payable to FBC and write "CROP Walk" in the memo line and either place it in the offering plate or mail it to the Financial Administrator (FBC, 99 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, 27603). Donations for this year's Walk will be accepted through November 30.

ANNA RECEIVES BWIMNC AWARD

Anna Anderson, church member and CBF field personnel in eastern North Carolina, was recognized with the Anne Thomas Neil Award at the 2024 Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina Symposium last week. This award honors those who have made significant contributions to the advancement of women in ministry. Congratulations to Anna!



THEOLOGY ON TAP

CELEBRATES TEN YEARS!

The group will celebrate ten years of building friendship and fellowship on Thursday, September 19, by gathering at Lynnwood Brewing Concern (located at 1053 E Whitaker Mill Road), at 6pm for dinner, beverages, and conversation. All are welcome to attend, but we hope anyone who has joined us over the last ten years will stop by for the momentous occasion! 

RISE AGAINST HUNGER

MEAL-PACKING

Last year, we packed another 10,000 meals and reached our goal of 100,000 meals packed for distribution around the world. The fellowship hall was bustling with the sounds and cheers of 80 volunteers as they hustled to reach this goal of our first 100,000 meals. More importantly, they hustled to do their part to make a difference in the lives of many who struggle to find food. We can’t stop with the success of reaching this goal. The need for food is still there. We'll have lunch planned to feed you when you join us on Sunday, September 29, at 12:15pm in the fellowship hall. The supplies will be there, but we need at least 60 volunteers to pack the meals. Bring your family or bring a friend—all are welcome!

There’s a job for everyone. Standing, sitting, running (for the youngest), and even ringing the gong! The choice is yours. Please RSVP to Nancy Moore Phillips by Wednesday, September 25.

SEPTEMBER MISSION PROJECT

The Toy Joy planning team has begun planning for this year’s Toy Joy event, which will be held on Saturday, November 16.

As part of our churchwide missions, you can support our Toy Joy ministry in one of several ways. First, we will have a second donation drop-off/collection day in the near future. At that time, we will collect new or GENTLY USED toys, games, puzzles, stuffed animals, and books. Please make sure that all used items are clean and in very good condition, with ALL of their pieces and parts included (otherwise we cannot use them). 

We also are including links below for wish lists from Amazon, Walmart and Target if you would like to shop for new items to donate. You can either purchase items and bring them to church or have them shipped directly to the church address.

Amazon wish-list

Walmart wish-list

Target wish-list

If you prefer for our Toy Joy team to do the shopping, you may also donate funds directly to the church, specifying TOY JOY in the memo line. We will use those funds to purchase items as needed to serve families we register. To make it easier to donate to Toy Joy, we have included QR codes below.



In October, we will share additional ways to volunteer and support this wonderful ministry!

THE FALL FESTIVAL'S COMING!

Mark your calendars for Sunday, October 6, from 3-7pm at Optimist Farm Park (2908 Optimist Farm Road, Apex, 27539) for our annual Fall Festival! This is sure to be a fun afternoon of fellowship, food, and games for all ages! The cost will be $10 per person (4+), maximum of $40 per family.

Payment can be made at:

• Vanco Online

• PayPal

• On the credit card kiosk

• By check, with "Fall Festival" in the memo line

Please click here to register, so we can know an accurate number for food preparation.

3pm – Gates open; obstacle course inflatable

4pm – FBC Olympics (competitions – pie eating contest, egg toss, relays, etc. – more details later)

5pm – Cookout (prepared by Troy Dye and team)

6pm – Campfire, s'mores, and music

7pm – Event concludes

Anyone with a musical instrument is invited to play with Bob Kimball and Michael Cooke around the campfire. As in the past, bring a chair and blanket! We're looking forward to seeing everyone there! - Social Committee

THIRTY-NINERS RESUME WEEKLY 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. Come check us out before you are “too old” to get here.                            

SEPTEMBER 

19 Monthly mission project: seasonal clothes-sorting, FBC clothing ministry

26 Lunch Outing: High Park Grill, 625 East Whitaker Mill Road (11am reservations)

OCTOBER 

3 Fire Education in Our Homes with Lemuel Hubbard, Fire Prevention Coordinator/Deputy Marshall, Office of the Fire Marshall, Raleigh

10 FBC Programs from Birth to Elementary School with Crystal Bacon, Weekday Preschool director, and Nikki Harris, Infant Toddler Center director

17 State Fair Food and Games: bring a handmade item for show-and-tell

24 Holiday monthly mission project: Toy Joy preparation 

31 Halloween Memories: trick-or-treat visit from the children of ITC, showing off their costumes and receiving candy from us.

NOVEMBER 

7 Water Pollution, Recycling and Our Drinking Water, Source-to-Tap with the City of Raleigh Educational Resources  

14 Southern Supreme Fruit Cake (1699 Hoyt Scott Road, Bear Creek, NC) shopping trip with lunch at Bestfood Cafeteria, 220 11th Street, Siler City (12 noon)

21 Meals on Wheels of North Carolina, Non-Profit Statewide Network 

28 NO MEETING FOR THANKSGIVING 

DECEMBER 

5 Holiday monthly mission project: write Christmas cards to home-bound members, make ornaments for Lewis Lobby tree

12 Baptists on Mission Disaster Relief and More with Richard Brunson, executive director 

19 Thirty-Niner family Christmas luncheon: bring a gift for White Elephant exchange 

26 NO MEETING FOR CHRISTMAS 

Jan 2 NO MEETING FOR NEW YEARS 



CENTERPOINT RETURNS

We are excited about the return of Centerpoint! While we enjoy the different rhythms of summer life, we always look forward to gathering again on Wednesdays, reconnecting with each other, and being challenged by creative programming for all ages. We will follow the same schedule as last year which is listed below.

Adult Wednesday Night Schedule:

5:15–6:15pm — Meal served

6:15–6:30pm — Prayer time and announcements (FH)

6:30–7:15pm — Centerpoint program (FH)

(Zoom will be offered for church conferences only)

6:30–7:15pm — Evening Handbells (Rm 302) | Director: Anna Anderson

7:30–9pm — Sanctuary Choir (Rm 310/S) | Director: Warren Howell

September Adult Centerpoint Program: 

September 18: ‘The Lord Bless You and Keep You’: The Priestly Blessing in Scripture and Christian Tradition. What does it mean to seek or to give a blessing from God? How do our words of blessing or prayer affect our experience of God or our relationship to other people? Dr. Stephen Chapman, associate professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School, will conclude his two-week Bible study examining the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:22-27 in the context of the Old Testament and in the history of Christian teaching and worship.

Children's Wednesday Night Schedule:

Wednesday evenings begin with praise and thanksgiving as God’s children of all ages gather to sing and move to music, learning songs, playing instruments, and preparing their gifts to share with the broader church in worship throughout the season. After choir, children will head to their missions class for interactive learning about our CBF Field Personnel, and how they share God's love across the globe!

5:15–6:15pm — Meal served (FH)

(Children should remain in fellowship hall for a prayer of blessing at 5:40pm)

5:45–6:30pm — Children’s music programs

• Music & Movement for 3s (preschool suite); leaders: Lynn Loomis, Sherri Henderson

• Pre-k/kindergarten music (preschool suite);leaders: Kimberly Taylor, Amy Galvan,

Hollis Yelverton

• Grade-school Choir (Rm 311, 307); director: Warren Howell

• Grades 1-2; leaders: Rhonda Lowe, Maria Childrey, Diane Ellis

• Grades 3–5; leaders: Ginger Graves, Maureen Howell, Becky Mercer,

Sarah Catherine Rhodes

6:30–7:15pm — Children's Missions

• 2s / 3s Mission Friends (Rm 124); led by Elizabeth Riley and Valerie Moore
• Pre-k/k Mission Friends (Rm 131); led by Jennifer Bissett and Lacey Pegram
• 1–5 Grade RAs (Rm 233); led by Dawn Wade, Dorothy Holly, and Hope Phillips
• 1–5 Grade GAs (Rm 229); led by Daniel Rohrbaugh and Wade Sasser

**Childcare is available for babies/ones from 5:45–7:15pm.   

Youth Wednesday Night Schedule:

Wednesday nights are one of the primary gathering opportunities for the youth. Wednesdays focus on offering three things. First, ways to develop our faith in conversation and creative projects. We’ll do that this semester with studies on Jonah, Hebrews, the words of Advent, as well as a creative outlet celebrating All Saints Day. The second is service opportunity. These are chances for us to serve our community, this semester we especially lean into the projects around FBC. Finally, we aim to be engaged with our community by incorporating special events where the youth get a chance to join with others in and around FBC that we don’t normally interact with on a regular basis. All of this leads to a myriad of ways to build our faith and our friendships together. Programming is for both middle and high school students during Centerpoint on Wednesday nights.



6:15–6:30pm — Prayer time and announcements (FH)

6:30–7:15pm — Youth Bible study (Blue Room)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SUPPER

We would love for you to join us for a mid-week meal! The supper line is open each Wednesday night from 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):

September 18: pork tenderloin with baked apples and macaroni and cheese; non-meat option: mock meat; kids: chicken nuggets.

September 25: breakfast for dinner.

October 2: roast beef with potatoes and carrots; non-meat option: veggie meat patties in gravy; kids: macaroni

October 9: Mediterranean meatballs with lentils, rice, and roasted vegetables; non-meat: chickpea stew; kids: pita and hummus

October 16: Mexican chicken casserole; non-meat option: vegan Mexican casserole; kids: nachos

October 23: smothered chicken with cabbage, pinto beans, and sweet potatoes; non-meat option: mock chicken

October 30: meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corn; non-meat option: veggie meatloaf; kids: nuggets



VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN THE WEEKDAY PRESCHOOL

Do you know Spanish? Would you like to come and read a book in Spanish and/or sing a song or teach a few words to our preschoolers? We are looking for a friend to come visit preschool once or twice a month and expose the children to the Spanish language, most likely between the hours of 10am–12:30pm, any day of the week, but preferably Wednesdays.

We also have other volunteer opportunities in the preschool suite! We always love folks to come read a book or lead a craft, creative movement, or yoga! The possibilities are endless! Please reach out to Crystal if you are interested in helping out!