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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
"Downtown by history and by choice"
Bi-Weekly Newsletter
December 29, 2021 - Issue 25
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Contact Valerie in the church office if you encounter missing or non-working links in this newsletter. | |
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In this issue you will find the following:
- Pastoral Letter
- In Our Thoughts & Prayers
- Christmas Pageant Thank You with video link
- Year-End Giving
- 2022 Pledges Update
- Worship info/ 150th Anniversary Celebrations
- Faith Formation for Children
- Faith Formation for Adults
- Youth Corner
- Congregational Life/Fellowship Events
- Stewardship Corner
- Service & Mission Opportunities
- Community Invitations
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From the Pastor
Dear friends,
We are here again. You know the place. The place of fear and worry and cancelled plans (we just cancelled our trip to Boston for a New Year’s Eve family wedding), COVID exposures, isolations, and diagnoses. This year we are vaccinated and boosted, but this omicron variant is tricky, and easy to catch, and more and more people, even vaccinated ones, are testing positive. Thankfully, the variant is less severe and easier on most bodies. If you are vaccinated and boosted, you have an extra layer of protection.
Our COVID team continues to monitor the current situation in our area and is keeping us advised on in-person gatherings as we move into January. Yesterday, I sought their guidance on a specific situation from the weekend and share this statement from them:
A worshipper at Sunday morning’s (December 26) service informed us that they tested positive for COVID on Tuesday, December 28th. This person has already contacted the people with whom they interacted on Sunday morning. We are grateful for their notification of church staff so that we can assist with any follow-up necessary. If you were at the Sunday morning service, we do not believe that you are at elevated risk.
As cases increase in our community, please take a moment to review the NC DHHS secretarial advisory and corresponding press release issued on 12/20 to help us all prepare for the omicron variant. It outlined the importance of:
· Vaccinate & Boost. Getting boosted just as soon as you are eligible is the most powerful thing you can do to curb the impact of omicron. Vaccination will slow the spread, save lives, and preserve hospital capacity. And it’s not too late to be vaccinated, a shot now will still help. Vaccines are free, safe, and highly effective. Find your spot to take your shot!
· Test. While there is increased demand for testing, be sure to plan in advance and you may need to try a different option than your usual testing method. Find more information on testing options at this website: http://ncdhhs.gov/gettested
· Mask. Wear a face covering indoors in public, even if you are vaccinated.
The holidays can be a stressful time, especially this year. Remember the “scoop” on managing stress to help keep you in a healthy mental space as we move together through this next phase of the pandemic:
Stay connected to family and friends – Social connections build resiliency.
Compassion for yourself and others – Self-compassion decreases trauma symptoms and stress.
Observe your use of substances – Early intervention can prevent problems.
Ok to ask for help – Struggling is normal. Asking for help is empowering.
Physical activity to improve your mood – Exercise boost mood and lowers anxiety.
This Sunday, we welcome back to the pulpit Marilyn Hedgpeth. Marilyn served as associate pastor for seventeen years and retired at the end of 2019 (good timing, right?). Our COVID team advises us that it is still safe to gather, masked and vaccinated, in person, and to share communion in the safe way we have done it in the last few months, with gloved servers and individual cups. We will also continue to stream our live worship online, on our YouTube channel, linked through our website at www.firstpres-durham.org. We hope you will join us in the way that feels best for you and your family. If you have any cold symptoms – cough, fever, sore throat, or runny nose, please worship with us online.
Friends, we walk this road together, strengthened by God’s love for us in Christ Jesus, guided by Christ’s redemptive hope, and surrounded by the light of Christ that shines through this community. We are not alone. Christ is our peace.
May you find that peace as we move into the New Year. God is with us. Emmanuel.
With love,
Mindy
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CONDOLENCES: The love and concern of the congregation are extended to Libby and Dub Gulley on the death of Libby's mother, Lee Patterson, who died December 24 in Atlanta, GA. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Libby and Dub at the following address:
Libby and Dub Gulley
1313 Woodburn Road
Durham NC 27705
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CONCERNS:
Kerry Holbrook is having surgery on December 30.
Paul Cornsweet
Harold Dunlap
Mitzi Lesher-Thomas
Gerald Arrowood, brother of Al Arrowood
Greer and Jenn Brown, friends of Logan Tice
Jim Brown, father of Chris Brown
John Carter, brother of Conrad Carter
Mimi Cummings, mother of Drew Cummings
Gera Fleming, mother of Christyn Kinck
Ben Jernigan, grandson of Mickey Velkey
Roger Kalthoff, husband of Jane Williams
Jim Lesher, father of Mitzi Lesher-Thomas
Vivian Mast, friend of Josh Walters
Paul McCombs, friend of the Walk-in Ministry
Shawantha Purcell, friend of Jane Brown
Richard Smith, husband of Laura Casteel's co-worker
Toni Vandekemp, sister of Hendrika Vande Kemp
Jean Vollrath, friend of Jean Cary
John Wakefield, cousin of Vernon Neece
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THANKS to everyone who helped with acting, taking video, making recordings, and editing our Christmas Pageant Video for 2021!
In case you missed it on Christmas Eve, you can watch the Pageant Video HERE.
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Timely payment of 2021 pledges by December 31 will allow First Presbyterian to pay its end-of-year bills promptly and to meet its benevolence obligations for 2021.
Please remember that the church must receive your charitable contributions by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, December 31, 2021; or the gift must be postmarked by December 31, 2021, if mailed, to be deductible on your 2021 taxes.
If you wish to make a contribution by credit card, this may be done through the church’s website (www.firstpres-durham.org) at any time. To be deductible on your 2021 taxes, please initiate the gift by TODAY, Wednesday, December 29. On-line contributions scheduled for December 31 will not reach us in time.
If you wish to make a donation through a gift of stock, please notify Tom Bloom, Business Administrator (t.bloom@firstpres-durham.org) as soon as possible.
Members aged 70 ½ + who own an IRA may be able to make a tax-excludable gift directly to First Presbyterian and have that gift satisfy any required minimum distribution for this year. Please contact your IRA administrator ASAP if you wish to consider this giving option for tax year 2021.
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2022 Pledge Update
At a Glance
Inclusion and welcome, service, justice, worship, and building community are the reasons we celebrate Justice and Joy this Stewardship season. The Stewardship Committee and I are grateful that so many of you have already answered the call to support our Justice and Joy campaign to support our life together. We have received 159 pledges, totaling $902,544, representing 84.5% of our campaign goal. Thank you to all who have already pledged. If you have not yet, please return your pledge card in the mail or make your pledge at our website online. We are close to our $1,068,000 goal and can reach it with your support! Thank you for building justice and joy in the heart of Durham.
- Sharon Hirsch, Stewardship Committee
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FPC Holiday
Schedule and Reminders
The Church Office will operate on the following schedule during the Christmas
and New Year's Day holiday weeks:
Thursday, December 30 - Staff on call / working from home
Friday, December 31 - Staff on call / working from home
Monday, January 3 - Office is closed.
Church Newsletter Schedule
The first newsletter for 2022 will be issued Tuesday, January 11.
Please submit your news to Valerie in the church office
by Sunday, January 9.
Weekend reminder emails will continue to be sent on Friday afternoons.
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Organized on New Year’s Eve 1871, First Presbyterian Church has been a beacon of Christian faith and hope where “cross the crowded ways of life” in downtown Durham for 150 years. We are pleased and excited to announce that former pastors and associates will return to the pulpit in January 2022 as our 150th Church Anniversary celebration continues Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m.
January 2 – Marilyn Hedgpeth
January 9 – Joseph Harvard
January 16 – Cherrie Henry
January 23 – Sam Miglarese
January 30 – Lori Pistor
The 150th Anniversary service will take place on Sunday, February 13.
Other special presentations are planned. On Sunday, February 20, the youth will lead worship. Nora Tisdale will preach on Sunday, March 20, and Macky Alston will return on Sunday, March 27 as our 2022 McPherson Lecturer.
All are welcome to join us in-person in the sanctuary.
Worship will also be live streamed.
(Click WORSHIP from the church’s website opening page to watch worship live.)
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Sunday, January 2
Lectionary and Journeys classes
will meet this Sunday at 9:45 a.m.
11:00 a.m. – Worship & Communion
Marilyn Hedgpeth, preaching
For those of you who will worship via the live-streamed broadcast, remember to assemble your bread and cup before worship begins.
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Sunday, January 9
Joseph Harvard, preaching
9:45 - 10:45 a.m.
Faith Formation for children, youth, and adults
(All classes will meet in-person at the church.
Some classes will offer an online via Zoom option
as well. See details below for each class.)
Worship is at 11:00 a.m. in-person
and live-streamed.
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No Faith Formation class(es) for children this Sunday, January 2.
Upcoming: January 9th: First day of Faith Formation IN PERSON.
We will have a SPECIAL Pajama Day--wear your PJ's and bring a snuggly blanket. If it's not raining, we will be outside for extra safety. If we go inside, please wear your masks.
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FAITH FORMATION FOR ADULTS | |
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LECTIONARY CLASS
Sundays (in-person and masked)
in the Robert Daye Meeting Room (East Parlor) or via Zoom
9:45 a.m. (ZOOM LINK)
The class will begin at 9:45, preceded at 9:35 by sharing of news and concerns, and will end by about 10:45.
On January 2:
The glory of the Lord has risen upon us. The wise men from the East understood the significance of that glory when they saw the star. Do we see the presence of the Lord as clearly as they did? Do we act on that experience as boldly as they did?
On January 9: Something happens in baptism – a cleansing, a rebirth, an anointing, a spiritual empowerment. Is the power in the water itself, or in the hands of the baptizer? Was the voice of the Lord heard at your baptism?
For phone access (audio only), call 253-215-8782.) If you need a copy of the handout of scripture readings, contact David Smith.
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MnMs CLASS
(formerly the Scratch group)
Sundays at 8:00 p.m. via Zoom
ZOOM LINK
January 2 - no meeting
January 9 - first meeting of 2022 and we'll start our new book (TBD)
New faces are always welcome!
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JOURNEY'S CLASS
We meet on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.
in the Wilson Parlor and via Zoom.
ZOOM LINK
We will meet on January 2 to discuss and decide on our next topic and resource materials. Please think about this undertaking and bring your ideas and books to Sunday's class. All are welcome to join the discussion. Andy Henry, Eric Wiebe, and Paul Baldasare are class leaders.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASS
We’re hybrid, so join in person (Youth Room) or via Zoom, Sundays from 10-10:45 a.m. We will resume this class on Sunday, January 9.
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CONFIRMATION CLASS meets in person on Sundays from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in the youth room. We will resume this class on Sunday, January 9. | | |
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Free copies of the These Days devotional book for January-March 2022 are now available from the church foyer/narthex. Contact the church office to have a copy mailed to you.
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MUSICIANS NEEDED
The First Presbyterian Wind Ensemble has been playing together and providing music for occasional worship services for more than nine years. During that time, our numbers have varied (sometimes a quintet, sometimes more or less) and so has our instrumentation. Now we're looking for a new member or two. If you play (or played) a woodwind instrument, such as clarinet, oboe, flute, sax, bassoon, or French horn, please contact David Smith (davidjudysmith@frontier.com) or any of the other members of the group for more information. We would especially like to find a clarinetist.
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First Friends New Year's Hike
WHEN: Sunday January 2, 2022
beginning at 2:00 p.m.
(with a rain date of Sunday, January 9)
WHERE: Brumley Nature Preserve North (3798-3400, Old NC 10, Durham, NC 27705). Many distance options are available..
Led by Eric Wiebe and Cynthia Shimer
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Presbyterian Women
Circle and Bible Study
Monday, January 10 (Church Office is closed on January 3rd)
10:30 a.m. - 12 Noon
Watts-Hill Hall (face masks required)
Susan Dunlap leads the Bible Study.
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Things That Matter Book Group
The Things That Matter Book Group will meet on Tuesday, January 11 at 3:30 p.m. at the church (Watts-Hill Hall) to discuss Mad Moon written by FPC's very own Alissa Miles. Mary-Jo Keenan will lead the discussion.
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Recycling home items
This time of year, many of us clear out unwanted household items to make way for new, or just because we have no further use for them. Some items can be repurposed—like craft projects and toys.
Here are area nonprofits that accept your serviceable discards. If in good condition, let someone else love them! Take your items to the site to donate. Scrap Exchange requires an appointment, made on-line.
Alas, some things we keep too long and must be discarded in your waste bin. Make the call and do not force the non-profit to pay for it to go to the landfill. If something like a grill needs to go, call the City of Durham One Call and request a pickup.
Durham County official site: Club Blvd, toward the east, is the county waste facility. They ask you to bring your hazardous items—paint, aerosols, any chemicals, and put in the designated site for them to dispose. There is an electronics swap shop—not open recently.
Check HERE to see a table of non-profits and addresses and what type of discards they accept.
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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. | | | | |
