Stewardship is a time to reflect on how the church fills our cup and how we fill the church's cup. By considering how you plan to offer your time, talent, and gifts in 2025 and sharing those intentions, we are able to build our church budget and calendar in a way that reflects our whole church!

Click below to pledge your treasures for 2025!

Completed Pledge Cards can be...

• Emailed to peni@fpccov.org
• Brought/mailed to the Church office
• 1169 Clark Street SW, Covington, GA 30014
• Placed in the offering plate during worship

Stories of Stewardship: Danny & Beth Vining

Danny Vining:

Stewardship is helping to keep Christianity thriving in our community. We do this by giving our time, talents, and pledges. Worshipping God and being a part of a church helped to make me a better parent and to also witness my children thrive as parents. I enjoy being an active member of the Chancel Choir and the Ambassador Choir for many years. My woodworking skills were put to the test by building flag stands for our Kirkin' O' the Tartan celebration. I remember a valuable quote from John Wesley, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you can."

Beth Vining: 

Gods asks us to be good stewards over everything He has blessed us with. We want to honor Him with our use of those gifts given out of a place of love and obedience to Jesus Christ. I love making sour dough bread! It is my privilege and honor to prepare our communion bread and pieces for the

use in the sacrament of Holy Communion. I volunteer to care for our potted plants that are placed in the sanctuary, narthex, hallways, and office area to support the Worship Team. These peace lilies are well known for air-purifying abilities. The peace lily is hardy, forgiving, and will even let you know when it is thirsty: Just look for the telltale droop. The Pastoral Care Team is dear to my heart as support in sending cards to persons in need of comfort, healing, as well as offering a listening ear or providing a meal if needed.

As a member of the Presbyterian Women of FPC, I invite you to join this precious group of women of all ages. Circles of women around us that weave invisible nets of love that support each other when we are weak or lonely and sing with us when we are strong.  

Click below to fill out your Time & Talent survey!

Completed forms can be...

• Emailed to catherine@fpccov.org
• Brought/mailed to the Church office
• 1169 Clark Street SW, Covington, GA 30014
• Placed in the offering plate during worship
• OR you can fill out the Google form edition to submit it with no downloading required!

Ministry Highlights

Soul Feast:

Soul Feast is our monthly church family dinner! We would love for you to be a part of all that goes into making Soul Feast a faithful ministry opportunity for our church family as we break bread around the table! Our next Soul Feast will be held on November 13th!

What does offering my time and talent mean?

You can sign up for help with set up: Set up includes preparing the tables, helping set out the food, etc

You can sign up to help cook a main dish, side dishes, or desserts! 

You can sign up to help clean up: Clean up includes cleaning tables, putting away dishes, etc. 

You can sign up for only one month out of the year or make this a monthly commitment! 

Signup to be an usher on Sunday mornings! Would you like to help open up the church, greet people and hold the door as they enter, pass out worship guides, and generally help congregants be ready for worship on Sundays? You might love being an usher! Click below or talk to Jodi Atkins to signup for a slot in November!

Space Update:

Dear Church family, 

This past week, we went live with our updated security system. Please note that access to the building is under new protocols. 

We are excited to announce we have completed 99% of our building updates in regards to fire, sprinkler, and security! It is a joy to be good stewards of safety in our church. Our goal is to ensure the safety of our staff, congregation, guests, and all others on our campus and to empower our FPC Family to move with confidence in case of an emergency. As of this week we are live with our updated security system! Please note that access to the building will be under new protocols. We have been working diligently to make sure this will be a smooth transition. Change brings about growing pains so we encourage you to extend grace and contact Neeley or Catherine with any questions. We are truly grateful for the faithful work of our congregation in our proactive efforts to care for our space and people! 

With gratitude, Neeley

We can all feel it. It's the tension around the election. We have all experienced the polarization of our nation. So we ask ourselves, How do we model Christian unity in division? How do we worship and serve alongside those with whom we disagree? How can we be a House United? Allen R. Hilton, in his book, A House United, offers us to consider the conversation that Christianity has the potential to heal our differences and bridge our divides. You are invited to join Neeley and Erin as we gather at the table of grace to reflect on Hilton's writing. We will promise one another that our time together is not on politics or political candidates rather how we can live within and engage one another as disciples of the Prince of Peace. Contact Pastors Neeley or Erin for more information. 

First Presbyterian Church Covington is seeking a dedicated, dynamic Preschool Director to help develop and lead a creative, child-centered program that celebrates growth in all aspects of childhood development. The Preschool Director will oversee the daily operations of the preschool ensuring a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for children aged three months through Pre-K 4. This role involves program development, staff management, and fostering strong relationships with families, church family and community, at large.

Click HERE or visit fpccov.org/jobs to read the full job description and to learn how to apply.

All are invited to join the newly named

"Good Enough Book Club"

as we read and discuss

No Cure for Being Human

(And Other Truths I Need to Hear)

by Kate Bowler on Tuesdays at 5:30pm in the Parlor!

Discussion will be led by Erin and Neeley!

Childcare is provided.

Click HERE to email Erin with any questions.

Visit pda.pcusa.org to learn about providing Hurricane Relief through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

Giving Statements Emailed

The third quarter statements of giving with year-to-date information through October have been emailed as of October 30, 2024. Please be sure to open it and check to see if it is accurate. Call or email Peni in the church office if you find errors or omissions so that they can be corrected before December 31^st. Thank you for your continued support of Covington First Presbyterian Church!

Peni Kehoe

Finance Administrator

peni@fpccov.org

August Finance Report:

August was a better month than July! We had higher income—enough that we took in $354 more than we spent. We are still below our budgeted income so if you can catch up on your Pledge or make an additional offering to the budget, it would help keep us on budget for the year. Third Quarter statements will go out this week. If we have your email address in REALM you will receive it through your email.    

We appreciate your support of the ministries of FPC!

--The Finance Team

Remember you can make your offering by sending a check or by logging on to your Realm account or by using “Text to Give” your offering! Text* FPCCOV followed by your donation amount to: 73256 and follow the link to give online. Select “2024 Pledge” if you made a stewardship pledge. Select “Non-Pledge” for a general offering.

Finance Reports are updated following approval in monthly Finance Team meetings.

This week we welcome and celebrate William Dobbs, son of Luke and Kayla Dobbs, following his baptism on Sunday, November 3rd!

In baptism, we are called to a new way of life as Christ’s disciples, sharing the good news of the gospel with all the world. 

   Presbyterians celebrate baptism as a communal act of public worship! Sunday we, as the body of Christ, said "YES" to walking alongside William as we seek to nurture and love him as his family of faith! 

    Speak to Pastors Neeley or Erin if you are interested in baptism for yourself or your child.

Our updated security system is now live!

Safety as Stewardship: Just as the shepherd is concerned about saving the one lost sheep (Luke 15), we also need to protect the people, resources, facilities, and ministries entrusted to our care. That’s good and faithful stewardship. How can we do anything less?

Thank you to the everyone on our sprinkler, fire, and security taskforce for all of the hard work and discernment that has gone into making sure that updates make our FPC Family safe while ensuring the comfort and flow of our life and ministry as a church can be maintained.

To learn more, check out our 2024 Security Plan (available in the narthex) and join us following Soul Feast on November 13th for an update from our Security Roll Out Team.

Interested in serving FPC by helping make plans, practices and policy that support safety as stewardship? Then select "Security team" under the Facilities Team section on your Time and Talent! Click HERE to fill out your Time and Talent online!

Please keep the following people and their families in your prayers this week:

Most recent prayer requests

Requests will be moved to “ongoing” after three weeks unless the office is notified

• Trevor Sookdeo, friend of Donna Weesner - critical health concerns
• Mary Lee Aldridge, friend of Alice Walker - cancer
• Mike Crews, son-in-law of Miriam Wheeler - in the hospital
• Dianna Doss, niece of Miriam Wheeler
• Vicky Chicola, sister-in-law of Susan Landwehr
• Pops, family of Paisley Lane - leg surgery
• Charlotte Riley, mother of Susan Landwehr - ill in the hospital
• Bob Wheeler, family of Miriam Wheeler

Ongoing prayer requests

Requests will be removed from “ongoing” after six weeks unless the office is notified.

• Wesley Berg, friend of Tom Crews - pancreatic cancer
• Arthur Raines, nephew of Danny Vining - complications from neck spine surgery
• Janice Campbell, friend of John Leavitt
• Charlie Kennon, brother of Larry Kennon
• Nancy, friend of Mark & Jennifer Fogarty - stage IV pancreatic cancer
• Ava Moss, friend of Donna Weesner - cancer
• Jill Chandler, sister of Brad Hawley - cancer
• Peggy Stallings - recovering from surgery
• Parker Ford, friend of Angie Woodham - non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Kim Fratesi, friend of Mark & Jennifer Fogarty - pancreatic cancer
• Danny Vining - recovering from surgery

Military Service

• Koen Ardis - Navy
• Billy Scarborough - Marines
• Clint Williams - Army
• Daryl Williams - Army

Independent and Assisted Living

• Penny Blakeney - Prema at Ashton Hills
• Homer Borders - Presbyterian Village
• Jean Elder - Florida with her daughter
• Dot Fincher - Madison, GA
• Louly Hay - Presbyterian Village Athens
• Carol McGiboney - Prema at Ashton Hills
• Jon Paschal - Annandale Village, Suwanee
• Louise White - Prema at Ashton Hills

Prayer requests and updates may be given to either of our pastors, put in the offering plate, or emailed to catherine@fpccov.org