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

I thought it was called “Sunday school.”

           Well, it was. For a very long time. And with plenty of good reason. But several months ago, our own Director of Children’s Ministry, Lenore Champion, suggested we change our language we use around the Christian education of our members and friends here at FPC. It’s something many churches have done. In particular, we have come to do a lot of Christian education that doesn’t just happen between 9:45 and 10:45 a.m. on Sundays, in part because of the pandemic. The weekly book group has been meeting Tuesday evenings and mid-day Wednesdays. “Non-Sunday Sunday School” also applies to the Books That Matter Group, as well as studies I’ve led with youth on The Cost of Discipleship and the TV show, The Good Place. The Meaning in the Middle class/fellowship group, which used to be called “Scratch,” also used to meet on Sunday mornings, but it has found new life on Sunday nights at 8. You get the idea. 

           Thus, we have started using Faith Formation to refer to those ministries that help us children of God (of all ages) to learn about our Christian faith, the world, and how the two connect. It’s a more inclusive term, a more accurate term, and hopefully moves us away from the Mom-do-I-have-to!?! aspects of Sunday school participation. Hopefully, it will inspire us to be creative and expansive in the ways we imagine and plan these ministries of Christian education. We are a people of faith who take the Bible seriously, and so we know that words do, indeed, matter – in how we view ourselves, the world, and our God. 

           And what a time for Faith Formation! I am thrilled that, after a hiatus of 4½ months, our Faith & Community class returned this past Sunday with the beginning of five weeks on Dear White Christians. This book tackles the issue of acts of reparations through the lens of Christian faith. It is the recommendation of our McPherson Lecturer and child of the church, Macky Alston. Macky is a documentarian, and he will be with us on March 27 for a faith formation class, worship, and an afternoon event with other leaders from our presbytery and denomination. (Save the date!) With all the ways we have been learning about and working towards racial equity over the last few years in particular, I can think of no better welcome back series. 

           Meanwhile, faith formation for all ages is again safely possible within our building, from children’s classes to the stalwarts of the Journeys and Lectionary classes. These sorts of ministries and the community they provide have sustained many of us through the throes of the pandemic. Like so many things, they are usually better when we get to be together in spirit and in body.

           One last faith formation note: For the five weeks between Easter Sunday and Memorial Day weekend, all of our adult faith formation classes will have one topic. Not the same topic – Faith & Community will have Robert Brawley teaching Amy-Jill Levine’s The Misunderstood Jew while Lectionary tackles some Hebrew Scripture apocrypha – but one topic each for those five Sundays straight. I can imagine a church schedule in years to come where classes always change topics at the same time, hopefully making it easier for folks to try different options, meet new people, and have their faith formed in fresh ways.

God with us in the hard,

John

Congratulations to Bob and Sheila Breitweiser who will observe their 60th wedding anniversary on February 28, 2022.

Sympathies: The love and concern of the congregation are extended to Hendrika Vande Kemp on the death of her sister Toni Vandekemp, on February 21.

Added this week:

• Maxie Honeycutt, in Duke Hospital following a fall
• Norma Cardoni, mother of Sheila Breitweiser. Norma is 98. She fell last week and broke her hip.
• Dr. Rosalind Mugua, sister of Mercy Ndambiri-Curlett, in Kenya (heart problems)
• Hayes Hunter and Efren Alvrado, friends of Webb Cummings and Jordon High School students seriously injured in a car accident

Paul Cornsweet     

Harold Dunlap    

Kerry Holbrook 

Mitzi Lesher-Thomas

Katy Loebrich

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. 

Sunday, March 6

First Sunday in Lent

John Weicher, preaching

Sunday, March 13

Second Sunday in Lent

Mindy Douglas, preaching

LOVE WINS

Book Discussion

Sundays, 9:45-10:45 a.m.

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

ZOOM LINK

For more info,

contact Mitzi Lesher-Thomas.

FPC SPONSORING TWO WORKSHOPS

INTRODUCTION TO MANAGING YOUR

NERVOUS SYSTEM DURING A TIME OF STRESS

Sunday, February 27, 3-4:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 20, 3-4:30 p.m.

(The workshops will be held outside at FPC,

weather permitting)

You are invited to attend a two-session presentation on how the nervous system operates under stress and how it can be supported during trauma. 

Speaker: Jane Austin, Coach, Spiritual Director, and SEP (Click here to read Jane's bio.)

After attending a workshop, you are encouraged to sign up here for a 30- minute, one-on-one session with Jane.

About the Workshops:

“Stress? Who me? During a pandemic? In the face of grief and loss? I don’t know what you are talking about.” Or maybe you do. And here’s the thing:

Times of stress can adversely affect the nervous system unless we learn to recognize certain signs and signals. In this workshop, you will be empowered with knowledge and tools to manage your own nervous systems. 

“When you learn to touch into your sensations, feelings, thoughts, and perceptions without becoming activated, your capacity grows, and you become more resilient.” (Peter Levine, In an Unspoken Voice)



As with most things, the way out is the way through. This workshop will be about taking the path of the way through hard times. 

Please join members of FPC for one or both workshops.

No fee to attend. Love offerings accepted.

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. 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.  

WINTER BOOK STUDY

January 11 - March 2, 2022

Here is the Zoom link

ZOOM LINK.

View the SCHEDULE HERE.

2022 McPherson Lectureship

March 27-28, 2022

Last winter McPherson Lecturer Macky Alston visited First Presbyterian's Faith and Community Class, promising to return for a full lectureship when it was safer to gather. He shared a preview of his current documentary film project, Acts of Reparations, a collaboration with Selina Lewis Davidson, in which they explore different ways communities are engaging in conversations and activism to heal the effects of slavery and racism. 

On Sunday, March 27, he returns to continue this conversation. We hope you will join us when he leads the Faith and Community class, 9:45-10:45, in an exploration of what it means as individuals to live into our values. At 11:00 he will lead worship service, asking what it means for the church to live into its values. In the afternoon he will be joined by Alonzo Johnson, National Coordinator of the Self-Development of People for the Presbyterian Church USA, who will engage the congregations of First Presbyterian and Covenant Presbyterian in considering what it means to work towards a racially repaired world. 

More about Macky Alston here.

March 1 begins both a new month and the Growing thru Grief spring “Introduction to Grief” series titled “When Hearts Break: Navigating the Landscape of Loss.” Heidi Gessner will be leading this six-week series on zoom:

           March 1: Am I Losing My Mind? Understanding Grief

           March 8: Dark Night of the Soul: Grief as a Spiritual Crisis

           March 15: Who am I Now? Identity and Roles

           March 22: I’m Not Sure I Can Do This: Coping with the Pain of Loss

           March 29: The Wisdom of My Torn Heart: Remembering through Writing

           April 5: Where Do I Go from Here? Finding Meaning

Everyone who attends needs to register each week. Contact admin@growingthrugrief.org by 8 am on the Monday before the meeting if you’d like to join us.

Heidi Gessner is an Ordained United Church of Christ Minister who served as the Palliative Care Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator for UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill for nearly 20 years. Heidi provided emotional and spiritual support to patients and their families, as well as the hospital staff. She’s facilitated grief support groups for many years – both talking and writing groups.

As the primary family caregiver for her mother with Advanced Parkinson’s Disease, Heidi stepped away from the hospital a few months into the COVD Pandemic to help with her care. Since then, Heidi’s continued her grief work in the community, as well as working privately with individuals. She cultivates transformative living by exploring creative and practical ways to integrate loss and find meaning.

Heidi’s also focusing on her wedding business, Weddings by Heidi, coaching engaged couples and officiating their weddings.

Grief and joy, it seems, are two sides of the same coin.

Finding Comfort & Hope

March 18-20, 2022

Montreat Conference Center, Montreat, NC

Join us at Montreat Conference Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. We are offering this weekend retreat for those who are grieving the death of a loved one.

Led by the Faith & Grief team of grief support educators who have experienced their own grief journey, this weekend retreat provides you with a safe venue to explore the dynamics of your grief. The retreat includes presentations on the nature of grief, small group discussions, and spiritual practices designed to promote comfort on your grief journey.

We will observe all health recommendations and we are limiting the number of participants at this retreat.

Scholarships are available from FPC for members wanting to attend.

For more info about the retreat and to register to attend, go to https://www.faithandgrief.org/montreatretreat/

To register please complete the two steps below:

Step 1: Complete the Participant Registration Form

Participant Registration

Retreat Early Bird Participant Fee $169/ per person, if you register by February 28th, 2022.

Step 2: Make Your Room Reservation at Montreat

Make Room Your Reservation

Room Accommodation including Meals

Single Room $231

Double Room $292

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. Your support is appreciated.

Launched in 2018 with an historic wave of nonviolent civil disobedience, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is a national campaign to address the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation + denial of health care, militarism & the war economy, and the false moral narrative of religious nationalism.

Drawing on the history of moral fusion movements, the Poor People’s Campaign is

made up of over 40 state coordinating committees, over 200 partner organizations

and thousands of religious leaders, bringing together the nation’s 140 million poor and low-income people across race, ability, religion, gender and sexual orientation, region, and issue. Alongside faith leaders, organized labor, advocates, activists and other people of conscience, the Poor People’s Campaign seeks to address these injustices and revive the heart and soul of our democracy, with an agenda rooted in the needs and priorities of the 140 million, as well as our deepest Constitutional and moral values.

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 on April 10.

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.