IN THIS ISSUE . . .

Pastoral Letter

Joys / Concerns

Worship

Summer Faith Formation

Fellowship Events

Service and Mission

Opportunities

LINKS

Online Calendar

Phishing & Spoofing



Ways to Give

Pastoral Letter

John Weicher,

Associate Pastor for Youth & their Families

Friends,

“If I could find a way to do them all year long, I would.”

               I find myself saying that a lot these days. It’s my easy answer to First Pres. folk when they talk about how busy I have been with our youth on summer trips. Already, our high schoolers have been to Shady Valley, Johnson County, Tennessee with Appalachia Service Project. Then, our middle schoolers were in Charlotte with CROSS Missions. 

Not to be outdone, Lenore and some of our children went to Montreat for the Passport Kids conference (with FPC Raleigh). Soon enough, our middlers will head to Massanetta (to join advocate leaders Lorenzo Mbugua and Ruby Gentithes) for their MS conference. And finally our high schoolers will be at the Montreat Youth Conference. “Wow, John, you must be tired from all of those trips.” “If I could find a way to do them all year long, I would.” 

               It’s not just a pat answer, however, but a true and deeply felt one, too. Over my years of youth ministry, I have come to believe that the longer events are always the best events, for the simple reason that they are longer.

Click HERE to read the rest of John's letter.

Growing out of the mess,

John

WORSHIP NEWS

Sunday, July 16

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

11:00 a.m. Worship

John Weicher, preaching

* * * * * * * * * *

Sunday, July 23

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

11:00 a.m. Worship

Mindy Douglas, preaching

SHARE INSIGHTS WITH THE THRIVING CONGREGATIONS COMMITTEE

Sunday, July 16

9:00-10:00 AM & 12:15-1:15 PM

Watts-Hill Hall

In these listening sessions you should voice anything you think is vital to take First Presbyterian into God’s work for us, your insights, what you see, and are called to in your heart.

Thank you. CLICK TO SIGN UP!

This summer, the children's class will meet from 9:45-10:45 a.m. as a one-room schoolhouse on the second floor of the CE building, room 208. The theme is "Journey with Jesus." Parents and youth are invited to assist. Sign up HERE.

Faith and Community Class

Lectionary Class

Lectionary Class: Join us each Sunday at 9:45 in the Robert Daye (East) Parlor for discussion of the lectionary readings.

on July 16: The growth of a seed is amazing: put it in good soil, add rain and sunlight, and a miraculous transformation happens. What other everyday miracles surround us?

on July 23: Where do the “weeds” in your life come from – the troubles, the challenges, the disappointments, the failures? Must you handle them all by yourself, or is there another source of help?

MnMs (Meaning in the Middle) Fellowship - Summer Plans

We encourage the 9:45 a.m. in-person class to attend the other adult classes being offered this summer.

8:00 p.m. Zoom Time

We will be taking the month of July off.

We'd love for folks to plan some spontaneous pop-up in-person activities throughout the summer. Share ideas and details with Mary Berry and Emily Diy.

YOUTH CALENDAR

SUMMER 2023

Massanetta Middle School Conference – July 18-21

Montreat Youth Conference

– July 23-29

Memorial Service: A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will be held for Arthur Clark on Saturday, July 22 at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary of FPC. The family will greet friends at a reception in Watts-Hill Hall following the service. If you wish to help with setup, cleanup, or bring food for the reception, sign up here.

Concerns:

• Elizabeth Rose, mother of Mary Ashley Rose
• Larry Hethcox, father of Esther Hethcox, diagnosed with prostate cancer
• Sylvia Elder, grandmother of Esther Hethcox in hospice care

Click HERE to see other prayer concerns.

THINGS THAT MATTER

BOOK GROUP

Our next book group gathering will be this evening, Tuesday, July 11, at 7:00 p.m. Jane Williams will be hosting us at her home, 2804 Ashland Drive in Durham. Dale Gaddis will be leading a discussion of Riverman by Ben McGrath. If you haven't already, please let Jane know if you will be attending.

FIRST FRIENDS

Saturday, July 15 - 6:00 p.m.

Kim & Jon Abels will host at their home. RSVP via the EVITE.

 Ukraine Eyewitness

REPORT FROM THE FRONT

A Conversation with 

Peter Lumsdaine, 

member of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) national committee to abolish nuclear weapons

Monday, July 17

7:00 p.m. - Watts-Hill Hall 

 Join us for an in-person briefing and discussion of a unique April 2023 visit to Ukraine & Poland. 

 Where is the war going? 

 What is the answer?  

What can we do?

All-Church Summer Sizzle

Sunday, August 13 (

Time TBD)

Deborah & Tyler Momsen-Hudson 1339 Holden Roberts Farm Rd Hillsborough, NC 27278 dmomsenhudson@gmail.com

919-697-1898

Activities: Bean bag golf, basketball, and kickball. Please bring a lawn chair and potluck dish for eight. House and entrance are handicap accessible. 

Weather permitting.

SERVICE & MISSION

Volunteers needed. Contact Jen if you can serve at Urban Ministries.

Jen McGonigle - 202-421-5870

UMD opportunities:

https://umdurham.org/volunteer/

Food Pantry

The summer is humming along, and lots of us are enjoying some blessed vacation time, but one thing has not changed. Families in our community who are facing food insecurity still come, week after week, to the Emanuel Food Pantry in search of nutritious food. It takes a huge number of volunteers to prepare the boxes and bags of food that we distribute to 650 families every week. Won’t you consider giving 2 hours of your time to pitch in? When you volunteer, we promise you will have fun and will leave knowing that your efforts have made a significant difference in the lives of our neighbors. Sign up here and be part of this important ministry! Questions? Contact Margaret. We cannot wait to see you!

Help retire medical debt

in North Carolina

Please share the link below with anyone who wants to eliminate medical debt for our eligible neighbors in NC.

Link to give: 

https://ripmedicaldebt.org/campaign/building-beloved-community/