In this issue you will find the following:

• Pastoral Letter
•  In Our Thoughts & Prayers
•  Worship info
•  Faith Formation for Children
•   Youth Corner
• Faith Formation for Adults
•   Congregational Life/Fellowship Events
• ·Service & Mission Opportunities·       

From the Associate Pastor, John Weicher

It all starts with a paragraph or two. Every worship service we have, from Christmas Eve to Easter Sunday to the second Sunday in June, starts with a paragraph or two of scripture. As Presbyterians, we believe that just about the best way to know who God is and what God wants us to be about in the world is found in Scripture. So choosing a Bible passage (and usually two, or even three) is the very first act of creating a service of worship.  

These days, no one might know that better than our youth. With Youth Sunday coming on February 20, they have been hard at work throughout January crafting the service. It started with an evening of picking passages, and after several worthy submissions, the Spirit led them to Mary & Martha (Luke 10:38-42) and Ruth & Naomi (Ruth 1:15-22). These two stories of women of faith, of solidarity, of strong female relationships, and of perseverance, dovetail nicely together.  

In the following weeks, our middle schoolers and high schoolers took deep dives into each one before composing prayers, calls, confessions, and everything else that we say together in worship. We’ve done this with more than a touch of youth ministry fun and silliness. The Prayer for Illumination is written to the tune of a Taylor Swift song. Along the way to the Assurance of God’s Pardon, a group came up with 26 phrases meaning forgiveness – one starting with each letter of the alphabet. (You’ll hear some of the better ones in worship.) You get the idea.  

Meanwhile, preacher Laura McDow has been writing her sermon. Musicians Ruby Barron, Webb Cummings, and Charlie Kelley are preparing their pieces (and picking our hymns). Everything that comprises our service will have come directly from our youth, themselves, with the guidance of youth advisors Roxana Boyd, Lenore Champion, Brent Curtis and Ginny Horne. In the end, we’ll have about a dozen youth leading the service, in addition to a few who were a part of the creative process but are out of town on the Presidents’ Day weekend. And it all started with a couple of paragraphs.  

God with us in the hard,

John

Paul Cornsweet     

Harold Dunlap    

Kerry Holbrook 

Mitzi Lesher-Thomas

Katy Loebrich

Added this week:

Janice Faye West, mother of Randy Lang Howard, has received a cancer diagnosis

Thank you to everyone who supported our February 3rd blood drive as a donor or volunteer. We collected 33 units of blood from members and the community. The FPC Session has approved holding four drives this year. Stay tuned! Another blood drive will be announced again soon.

- Julie Whiddon, FPC's Blood Drive coordinator

Sunday Morning Custodian Wanted

First Presbyterian Church, an active, caring, and inclusive church in downtown Durham, is looking for a custodian for Sunday mornings (building and grounds preparation, security, and event set-up and clean-up). The position is 4-5 hours a week. Pays $25.00 an hour. Hours are approximately 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with some flexibility required. First Presbyterian Church will consider splitting Sundays between two or more interested applicants. Church members and close friends of the congregation are eligible. A criminal background check will be conducted. A full job description is available HERE. If interested, please send application letter and résumé (including contact information for two references, preferably from the two immediate past employers) to sexton-search@firstpres-durham.org. 

Worship is live streamed until further notice.

Click WORSHIP from the church’s website opening page

to watch worship live each Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

Sunday, February 13

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mindy Douglas, preaching

Worship online at 11:00 a.m.

The 150th Anniversary Worship Celebration scheduled for

February 13, 2022 has been postponed due to the pandemic.

A new date will be announced soon.

LOVE WINS (Book discussion)

All who are becoming more curious, more faithful, and looking for conversation partners join us Sunday mornings on zoom as we discuss Rob Bell's 2011 book LOVE WINS: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.

ZOOM LINK

Sundays, 9:45-10:45 a.m. 

FPC's Creation Care Committee will meet monthly on the second Thursday of the month. That actually makes the next meeting this week: February 10 at 6:00 p.m.



We'll follow-up on this year's possible plans, including but not limited to:

- Durham Congregations CSA with RAFI

- pollinator / native garden on Main

- Cool Congregation certification and goals;

-budget savings to CC budget

- intentional Intergenerational Faith formation on creation care

- proposal for Carbon Neutrality goal

- less ambitious but more frequent congregational communication

Join our Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86154617785?pwd=bXRGOEZRR3l6ZVBZVkN0eWtwcWJUdz09

WINTER BOOK STUDY

January 11 - March 2 2022

Here is the Zoom link

ZOOM LINK.

View the SCHEDULE HERE.

Enough: equal to what is needed; occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations; to a degree that satisfies.

Ah, there is the question - what satisfies a people who always seem hungry for more…options, privilege, access, possibilities?

On Ash Wednesday, March 2, as we begin the season of Lent, we invite you to consider enough. In the six weeks that follow, we invite you to reflect - in song, art, or writing - on just what is enough and then share those reflections with the community. Toss around the phrase “I’ve had enough!” and notice how tone, inflection and emphasis matters. The same with, “I am enough,” or “God, this is Enough.” Undoubtedly the list is long of things of which we’ve all had enough these last two years. Change the inflection point and we might ask “I’ve had enough…so why do I keep looking for more…power, influence, prestige, things/people to fill my time or make me feel loved. 

Lent always includes an invitation to turn from all that is old and broken and toward new life in Christ. As we turn from a scarcity mindset toward an ever growing awareness of God’s abundant grace, mercy, and love we hope you’ll share your reflections on the theme of Enough.

Specifically, share 

·    a song (YouTube link or original video recording), 

·    a reflection through visual art (again your own or something in the public domain), 

·    OR a poem or writing (whether original to you or the reflections of another - please limit these to 250-300 words max).  

We’ll share these reflections with the community via email and social media as our common devotion.

To sign up, contact John Weicher and he’ll work with you on content and a date.  

Grace & Peace,

Mindy, Mitzi, John, Kathy & Lenore

Growing thru Grief offers small group support to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Here is our remaining schedule for the month of February:

           Feb. 15           Using Art to Navigate Grief, by Tracy Lamar

           Feb. 22           Grief Waves, by Donna Kaye

 Our 4:00 p.m. meetings begin with a presentation about a part of the grief process and then we break into small groups for conversation and sharing. With the pandemic, we are meeting on Zoom, though we hope to return to in-person meetings. To register, contact admin@growingthrugrief.org by 8:00 a.m. on the Monday before the meeting.

Growing thru Grief is sponsored by a coalition of religious and civic organizations; there is no charge to attend.

The 10th annual Florence Forth road race is happening on Saturday, March 5, 2022. The race 5K/10K start and finish will be on Washington Street at the Bull City Running store. Please reach out if you have interest in volunteering or participating. The McDow Family is so grateful for the many years of support from First Pres! Learn more and sign up to support the race at https://florenceforth.org/

Food Pantry — still going strong!

Things are hopping at Iglesia Emanuel! As the price of groceries has increased, so have the number of families coming to our Food Pantry in search of nutritious food. We have been serving 640 families a week recently, a staggering number! We could not possibly continue to meet the needs of so many families without the ongoing support of the FPC congregation. 

There are numerous ways you can be a part of this vital ministry:

• Donate food — canned protein (tuna or chicken) and cereal are most needed
• Bag rice or beans from home. Sign up here.
• Provide financial support — always welcome! We use all financial gifts to purchase fresh vegetables, eggs, milk, fruit, and other essential items. Donate at emanueldurham.org 
• If you have the time and stamina, volunteer in person. Sign up here.

Next up — the tutoring program, now known as the Iglesia Emanuel Learning Center, will soon be opening its doors to help students from the Hispanic community improve their academic skills and boost their eagerness for learning. 

Questions or want to be involved? Contact Margaret Rubiera.

WHITE PRIVELEGE CONFERENCE

When Jan Edmiston was here in October she told us she came from the Presbytery of Charlotte. Well, the Presbytery of Charlotte is one of the major sponsors of this year's White Privilege Conference. This is WPC #23 and will be held both in Charlotte and virtually from March 9-12, 2022. FPC is also one of the sponsors and we would like to encourage folks from our congregation to participate if they can. The theme of the Conference this year is: Wade in the Water: White Supremacy, Race, Religion, & Reciprocity. Kathy Krahenbuhl has attended the White Privilege Conference for many years and highly recommends it and is happy to answer any questions folks might have about it. Kathy spoke with Jan when she was here and Jan was also hoping that we could have some FPC folks present for at least part of the conference. Here is the link so that you can explore the types of workshops, keynotes, and other offerings: https://www.theprivilegeinstitute.com/wpc23charlotte.

SAVE THE DATE: June 18, 2022

FPC's Racial Equity Task Force and the Service and Mission Committee are helping to fill a bus on June 18, 2022 to the Poor People’s Campaign March and Rally in Washington DC. You can sign up to go on the bus or you can support someone going on the bus who cannot afford to pay their full way (cost is typically $100). 

Click here for more information about this event. Your support is appreciated.

DURHAM CROP HUNGER WALK RECRUITER RALLIES

for TEAM LEADERS

Thursday, February 17,

6:00-8:00 p.m.

or Saturday, February 19,

10:00 a.m.-Noon!

at First Presbyterian Church, Durham

Watts-Hill Hall

The Durham CROP Hunger Walk is one of the largest, most successful walk-a-thon fundraisers in the U.S. for hunger and poverty relief, approaching the $5 million mark in total funds raised in its 48th year! After two years of virtual Walk events under COVID-19, the CROP Hunger Walk returns to an in-person outdoor gathering and event on April 10! 

This February, CWS is holding two "Recruiter Rallies" (socially distanced, masked, walk-through events) to equip 'captains' who want to organize teams with materials, tips and instruction, and other resources for a successful Walk campaign by their organization or congregation. Organizers will be oriented to the plans for April 10, the national CROP Walk website resources, organizing packets for their team, CWS/CROP work around the world, and local direct-service organizations supported by the Walk. 

Visit http://durhamcropwalk.org/ for more information, or email cropwalkdurham@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who is comfortable volunteering!  COVID prevention/spread guidelines remain in place. If you are fully vaccinated, contact Jen McGonigle to sign up for one of FPC's regular time slots each month, or call Jen at 202-421-5870.

Links here for other UMD opportunities:

https://umdurham.org/donate/casserole-recipes.html

https://umdurham.org/assets/files/Recipes-English-and-Spanish-Final-081214.pdf

There are also some other opportunities (hygiene kits/etc.) and they can be found at the link below: https://umdurham.org/get-involved/opportunities.html.