IN THIS ISSUE . . .

Pastoral Letter

Joys / Concerns

Worship

Faith Formation

Fellowship Events

Service and Mission Opportunities

LINKS and SIGN-UPS

Online Giving

Online Calendar

Phishing & Spoofing



Ways to Give

Sign up to deliver worship flowers

Office volunteers - open dates

Letter from Pastor/Head of Staff



Dear friends,

The Session has called our Annual Congregational Meeting for Sunday, March 3, 2024. Following worship, we will share the following reports:

1)   Nominating Committee report – Click here to view the report. Stephen Berry, chair of the Nominating Committee, will present three slates of nominees for consideration by the congregation:          

a.    Nominations for Ruling Elder – Al Arrowwood, Michael Bacon, Kathy Conner, Mimi Dunn, Laura Hanson, Jordan Jones, Mary Jo Keenan, Josh Walters

b.    Nominations for Deacon – Matthew Eggleston, Kerry Holbrook, David Lorimer, Julio Manceras, Bill Wigger

c.    Nominations for at-large members of the Nominating Committee – Tom Bacon, Bert Clere, Shirley Frederick, Jancy Johnstone

2)   Pastor’s State of the Church report (including sharing the annual report – LINK)

3)   Finance report - Presentation of the budget approved by the Session

4)   Approval of revised By-laws (LINK)

5)   Approval of changes in terms of call for full-time, installed pastors (Esther Hethcox, John Weicher, Mindy Douglas) – The Session approved a 3% cost of living increase for all staff. That increase will be reflected in terms of call (a.k.a. salary and benefits package) of our three full-time, installed pastors, requiring congregational approval.

This is an important meeting. I hope as many as you as are able will be able to stay to hear these important reports.

Grace and peace to you all this week.

Mindy

• Tony Chavez is recovering from a heart attack.
• Dan Huff is recovering from surgery.
• Mal King is dealing with neck pain.
• Jennie Bodkin, sister of Mindy Douglas, is experiencing a recurrence of breast cancer.
• Jasper Gunn, child of Wilson and Pam Gunn, is recovering from surgery.
• Richard Mangeot, husband of Karolyn Mangeot, is recovering from surgery.

Additional concerns here.

Welcome New Members



The following persons were received into membership on Sunday, February 18 by the Session and introduced and welcomed during worship:

Richard Anderson lives in Durham and is retired. He grew up in Pennsylvania and Penn State University is his alma mater. Richard’s hobbies are running and guitar. He joins FPC by letter of transfer. 

Carolyn Ragans currently lives in Raleigh and is retired.  She is the daughter of a Presbyterian pastor and was ordained an elder in 1982. Carolyn retired as a Christian educator after serving on staff at First Presbyterian Church, Orlando, FL. Her hobbies include travel, reading, and working with special ministries. Carolyn joined FPC as an affiliate member in 2022. She is now upgrading her status to full membership.

Janice (Jan) Sapp lives in Durham and is a retired United Methodist pastor. Jan grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  She moved to Durham in 2018 from South Carolina. In retirement, Jan enjoys bookbinding, knitting, and sewing. She joins FPC by reaffirmation of faith.

The following persons were received into membership on Sunday, February 25 by the Session and introduced and welcomed during worship:

The Blackwood Family: Brantley and Jeff are married and live in Durham. They join FPC by reaffirmation of faith. They have two teenage children, Lainey and Kirbey, who are active with FPC Youth Group. Lainey Blackwood is a 12th grader and joins FPC by reaffirmation of faith.  Kirbey is an 8th grader and is currently enrolled in FPC’s Confirmation Class. 

 Allison McCorkle is the wife of FPC member Chip McCorkle and daughter-in-law of Wendy and Mac McCorkle. Allison and Chip live in Durham and have two children, Lucy (age 6) and Finn (age 3). A third child is due in the spring. 

Allison was born and raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts.  Her interests are spending time with her family, traveling, and exploring North Carolina, having recently moved here from NYC. Allison joins FPC by reaffirmation of faith.

I would like to send my heartfelt thanks and gratitude for all the outreach and support I received after my recent hip surgery.  Thank you to all the people that supported me with delicious hot meals, flowers, cards, phone calls and emails. Having the support of my Church family during this time meant so much to me and I am so very thankful and grateful. 

All my best, Caroline Rourk

About the Lecturer

Willie James Jennings is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School. He is a graduate of Calvin College, later earning the M. Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary and the Ph.D. in Religion and Ethics from Duke University. Jennings is an ordained Baptist minister who is widely recognized for his writing in the areas of liberation theologies, cultural identities, and anthropology. He is the author of The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale, 2010), Acts: A Commentary, The Revolution of the Intimate (Westminster/John Knox, 2017), and After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging (Eerdmans, 2020).

If you would like to order copies of Dr. Jennings’ books in advance from

Rofhiwa Books, please use this link: https://rofhiwabooks.com/collections/willie-jennings-lecture.

The McPherson Lectureship is dedicated to enriching the faith and life of First Presbyterian Church as well as the Durham, NC community. This lectureship is made possible through an endowment initially given to FPC by the McPherson family in memory of lifelong members Dr. and Mrs. Samuel D. McPherson, Sr, and Dr. Samuel D. McPherson, Jr. It was established in 1999 by Mrs. Margaret “Peaches” McPherson (wife of Dr. McPherson, Jr.) and her family. Following Mrs. McPherson’s passing in 2018, the lectureship now also honors her life of service and generosity. 

  All are welcome.

A Request for

Mission Leadership

Each year Durham becomes home for a large number of immigrant and refugee families, people who are fleeing from unbearable conditions in many countries around the globe. A large portion of these families are Latino, and many of them turn to Iglesia Emanuel for assistance. Over the past several months, people at Iglesia have reached out to us at FPC asking for help in providing clothing, furniture, rides to important appointments, etc., for several of these families. The need for assistance is ongoing as new families continue to arrive.

This is potentially an important ministry for FPC, but, as with any project, it needs leadership to keep it organized and to shepherd our resources efficiently. The leader of this ministry might first reach out to our congregants for particular items by placing requests in our Newsletters. Then if resources are offered, they could coordinate with Iglesia in getting those resources to the particular family in need.

Your Service and Mission Committee is looking for someone who would be willing to take on the leadership of this ministry. The amount of time involved would largely depend on the particular individual and how much time they could offer. 

If you are interested in learning more about this ministry, enacting the love of Christ through our work to lift up our fellows in a time of desperate need, please contact Gordon Campbell, Chair of the Service & Mission Committee: 

mgordoncampbell73@gmail.com or (919) 641-5665.

Thank you for your attention to this request.

The February 23, 2024 PCUSA Mission Yearbook entry is about the Congo Mission Network Conference March 14-16 and is a good, easy read. 

We are all welcome to attend in person or by a video link, where we can see Jeff and Christi Boyd, the mission co-workers that FPC helps support. John and Sue Fricks definitely plan to be there.

https://www.presbyterianmission.org/yearbook/February-23-2024/

Congo Mission Network Conference 2024

You may not know it, but some of the money you give to FPC goes to help support Jeff and Christi Boyd in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  For decades, the Boyds have been PCUSA mission co-workers in Africa working on joint projects with local people on projects from an all-girls model school to trauma healing ministries to a trafficking prevention campaign.

The Boyds will be in the U.S. with Congolese educators and leaders at the Congo Mission Network Conference in Charleston, SC, on March 14-16 to talk about “Education for Transformation – Equipping Congolese Youth”. You can attend in person at the Charleston Atlantic Presbytery Conference Center or you can join on-line for just $25. The details about in-person conference attendance and lodging in Charleston are at https://congopartners.org/2024-conference/ or you can talk with FPC members John and Sue Fricks, longtime participants in the Congo Mission Network.