MICHAEL'S GOING BACK TO SCHOOL!

Starting this fall, FBC has one extra college kid (again). Thanks to the generous continuing education funding here at FBC I am officially starting classes at Loyola Chicago for a Master’s Certificate in Spiritual Direction. The practice of spiritual direction has been a considerable influence in my career and personal faith, so I am very excited to pursue training as a director myself. My greatest mentors were spiritual directors and shared with me many times how the tools they learned in their programs helped them be the great ministers and teachers that they were. My hope is the same!

What led me to choose this path is that Loyola Chicago, as a Jesuit school, offers an ability to give specialized study on Ignatian Spirituality and training in the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. This kind of specialization that I was looking for sets it apart from many similar programs. I’m sure that I will get plenty of chances to speak more about what all of this means! However, for now I will say that I am so grateful for the chance to expand my toolkit as a minister here at FBC and I look forward to sharing more about this journey in the time ahead! -- Michael Hood

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), beginning 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! 

RA/GA TACO & QUIRKLE PARTY

On Saturday, Nancy Phillips hosted GA’s, RA’s and their moms for yummy tacos and a rousing round of Quirkle. A good time was had by all!

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 

5 WELCOME BACK! Treasurer report/annual dues, fall schedule, and outing sign-ups

12 Making our Homes Burglar-Proof with Senior Officers B.A. DiCello and Robert Smith, Raleigh Police Department 

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 

CHURCH CONFERENCE TONIGHT

Our regularly scheduled church conference will be held Wednesday, August 28, at 6:15pm. Please note that our prayer time will begin at 6pm, so the conference can begin on time. The Zoom link is below, as well as a call-in number for those who would rather join via phone. Our by-laws require 50 members in attendance (in-person and Zoom) in order to transact business. Please make plans to attend so we can vote on important matters for our church. Church conference will be held on the following dates for the remainder of the year: September 25, October 23, November 20, and December 18.

Church conference agenda

Finance chair summary report

Finance report 

Draft minutes of May church conference

View via Zoom with this link



meeting ID: 850 6201 7518, passcode: wDefe3. 

To view the speaker throughout the presentation, click the three dots

on the right portion of the screen and choose "pin this video." 

If you would prefer to call in,

use 646-558-8656, meeting ID: 850 6201 7518 Passcode: 490422.



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!  

CENTERPOINT RETURNS TONIGHT!

We are excited about the return of Centerpoint tonight,  Wednesday, September 4! 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 Programs:

September 4: An Innovative Approach to Crisis Ministry. This program will discuss assisting people in crisis through the use of guaranteed, direct income. Our speaker will be John Thorton, Executive Director of Held, Inc. in Greensboro. This non-profit organization assists people in need by providing community support and guaranteed direct income for a defined time period. Come hear about and explore this approach to community ministry.

September 11-18: ‘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 lead a 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 3's (Preschool Suite) | Leaders: Lynn Loomis, Sherri Henderson

• Pre-k/Kindergarden Music (Preschool Suite) | Leaders: Kimberly Taylor, Amy Galvan, Hollis Yelverton

• Gradeschool 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

• 2’s / 3’s Mission Friends (Rm 124) | Led by Elizabeth Riley & Valerie Moore
• Pre-K/K Mission Friends (Rm 131) | Led by Jennifer Bissett & Lacey Pegram
• 1-5 Grade RA’s (Rm 233) | Led by Dawn Wade, Dorothy Holly & Hope Phillips
• 1-5 Grade GA’s (Rm 229) | Led by Daniel Rohrbaugh & Wade Sasser

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

Youth Wednesday Night Schedule:

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

6:30-7:15pm - Youth Bible study (Blue Rm)

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 4: Baked chicken with carrots, green beans, and potatoes; non-meat option: mock chicken; kids: pizza rolls.

September 11: Hamburger steak with gravy and rice & broccoli Normandy; non-meat option: mock hamburger steak.

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

September 25: Breakfast for dinner.

AUGUST MISSION PROJECT

Rev. Stella Perrin was appointed in 2023 by CBF to serve refugees in Cyprus. Although Cyprus is a long way from Raleigh, Stella has connections with our church. She was Amy Galvan’s freshman roommate at Meredith and her son, Luke, attended FBC while a student at NCSU. Stella is working with Kofinou Refugee Camp in Cyprus to provide backpacks for the 100+ school-age children there. School in Cyprus is mandatory, but the government does not provide supplies. We have the opportunity to guarantee a vulnerable child is prepared for school in September.

For our August mission project, we will collect monetary donations that will go directly to the Kofinou Refugee Camp for school supplies. With each $20 given, a child at Kofinou Camp will receive a backpack and a school uniform shirt. You may give online here with Vanco, or Paypal. For checks, please note “Cyprus” on your contribution.

SAVE THE DATE

Sunday, September 29 – Annual Rise Against Hunger meal-packing event

will be held in the fellowship hall

following worship.

Sunday, October 6 – Fall Festival –

Please note that this date

is earlier than usual!

It will be held at Optimist Farm

beginning at 3pm.

Watch the Rose Window Weekly and Sunday bulletin

for more details on both events!

CHURCH PICTORIAL DIRECTORY

Our new church directories are hot off the press and are available for pick-up in the Lewis Lobby on Sundays and at the reception desk in the church office during the week. To cover the cost of printing, a suggested donation of $10 per directory would be greatly appreciated. You may contribute that amount in cash or electronically via the church website. Thank you to Bob Talley for his amazing photography skills that truly captured the spirit of every family pictured. Another special thank you to Diane Ellis for all her work organizing and bringing this project to life!

If you would prefer a free, digital copy of the church directory, you may view an interactive version on our website. We also encourage you to register for ACCESS ACS, our church database software. With ACCESS ACS, members can find the most up-to-date contact information for fellow members, as well as other limited information. Please note that when you are searching for fellow parishioners, in order to see photos, you will need to be in the "View a Family Directory" option. You cannot see photos under the "View an Individual Directory" option. You may suggest corrections to ACS information by emailing Jennie Herrick. 

To register, go to fbcraleigh.org/church-directory and click on the ACS Registration button. You will need to supply a first name, last name, and email address that matches the information we have in our ACS database. Once you have your ACCESS ACS account established you may sign in when you click “ACS Login” on the above link. If you are unable to create your account, please email Wayne Hager and he will assist you.

Corrections to the directory: We mistakenly misspelled the name of Ike Uzoma, of our Food Service Staff, in the new directory. Also, in the photo section, the names of Steve and Julie Woodson's sons were left off: Will and Drew. Our apologies to Ike and the Woodsons. Please make these corrections.