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Table of Contents
- Pics of the week
- This Week @ GCPC - Calendar and description of events this week @ GCPC
- Stewardship & Sustainability
- Important Announcements
- Prayer List
- GCPC Community Garden News
- Upcoming @ GCPC
- Community Working Together - Includes info from Covenant & Ministry Partners
- GCPC Out & About - Info about events in the wider Asheville community
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Worship Preview | Sunday, April 26, 2026
Fourth Sunday of Easter
In-person and online service
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Deacon of the Week:
The Deacon of the Week is available to talk, provide support, and coordinate care if needed. You are not alone. You are loved. Please reach out to our deacon of the week if you have any needs or concerns.
This week (4/19-4/25) Bob Giduz | email: Giduzr@gmail.com
Next week (4/26-5/2) Michelle Chromey | email: monelchromey@gmail.com
Deacon of the Week Prayer
Lord have mercy. Shower us with your Divine Grace. May our human family feel your compassion, healing, and forgiveness. We lift up those who are hurting, confused, downtrodden, and struggling. May we find our connection to You through one another with hope, faith, and love as our lifelines.
~ Michelle Chromey
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How to Make Your 2026 Pledge
| | | Sunday, April 26 | Childcare (Ages 0-Pre-K) | begins at 9:00 am | | Sunday, April 26 | Worship Service
(In-person and online) | 10:00 am on Youtube | | Sunday, April 26 | Campus Vision Team Mtg. | 1:00 pm | Indie Room | | Tuesday, April 28 | Prayer Group | 10:00 am | Youth Room | | Tuesday, April 28 | Session Mtg. | 6:00 pm | Fellowship Hall | | Wednesday, April 29 | GCPC Choir | 6:45 pm | Choir Room | | Thursday, April 30 | GCPC Ringers | 6:30 pm | Balcony | | Friday, May 1 | Parents' Night Out! | 5:30 - 8:30 | Fellowship Hall/Atrium | | Saturday, May 2 | Garden Workday (Team 2) | 9:00 - 11:00 am | Community Garden | | |
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GCPC Choir | Wednesdays | 6:45 PM | Choir Room
The choir is open to all youth and adults who have a love and curiosity for creating music together! No previous experience or training is necessary. You will be welcomed with open arms and supported as you discover or rediscover your singing voice. Childcare is provided for those who have little ones. I hope you will consider adding your wonderful presence and voice to our choir! ~ Ray
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GCPC Ringers (Bell Choir) | Thursdays | 6:30 PM | Balcony
Would you like to be part of a Hand Bell Choir? Rehearsals will take place on Thursday evenings in the balcony from 6:30 - 7:45 pm. All high school youth and adults are welcome! All that is needed is curiosity and joy for making music in community. You will be gently supported on your music journey. Please contact Ray at ray@gcpcusa.org if you are interested!
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Parents' Night Out | Friday, May 1 | 5:30 - 8:30 PM | Fellowship Hall/Atrium/Outside
Our next Parents' Night Out event will be Friday, May 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. As the weather continues to warm up we will spend as much time outside as we can! This may include time on the playground, group games, visits to the community garden, and more.
There will also be some crafts and other activities for the kids. As always, kids are asked to bring their own dinner and we will provide snacks, drinks, and dessert.
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GCPC Blood Drive | Saturday, May 16 | 9 AM - 2 PM | Fellowship Hall
Every year the Deacons host a Red Cross Blood Drive at GCPC. This year's Blood Drive will be on May 16.
Remember that the Power Red slots are to donate two units of red blood cells during one donation. Please view eligibility requirements for this slot before you sign up.
A Deacon will be at a table after worship for the next several weeks to get you signed up to help save lives! Or you can sign yourself up at the link below!
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Grace Abounds Food Pantry | Thursday, May 14 |
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Sanctuary
We believe the pantry embodies the church’s commitment to service and compassion. We try to keep our shelves stocked with canned goods, rice, beans, crackers, granola bars, cereal and other items. We also provide diapers, baby wipes and feminine products. Our pantry is stocked completely with donations. This is where we need your support to keep our pantry open.
Needs for next pantry day:
- boxed cereal
- pasta/pasta sauce
- crackers
- tortillas
- dried beans
Everyone please bring one (or more) this Sunday!
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GCPC Community Garden
NEEDS VOLUNTEERS!
The 2026 garden season is just around the corner and we need more volunteers for the garden team. This is a wonderful way to commune in nature with GCPC members and neighbors alike, all while growing food to share with various communities around Asheville. All ages are welcome... come grow with us!
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Prayer requests will stay on the GCPC Prayer List for one month. Please let any staff member know if you (or your loved one) would like to remain on the list for longer. Email prayer@gcpcusa.org to add someone to the prayer list.
Iglesia Jerusalem congregation
The Reparations Process in Asheville/Buncombe County (From PART)
Kathy McNeff Gerace (Bill McNeff’s sister)
Richard Charles Goater (JoAnn Schafer’s brother)
Ruth Fenk (Cathy Froehlich’s mom)
Mark Tierney (Officer in the Air Force reserves; Paul Tierney’s son and Margaret Belk’s stepson)
Lisa Bishop (friend of Marta Alcalá)
Joseph Harris (Tamiko Ambrose’s dad)
Susie Churchfield
Michelle Chromey and family
Alexandra Lusak
Jude Kaye (Linda Van Sciver’s wife)
Mesheala Sundblade
MC Ellis
Liz Huesemann
Jane Stoffer
Anne Turnage
Jimmy Hare and family on the death of his sister, Mary Beth
Chelsea West and family on the death of her uncle, Alan Dupas
GCPC member, Mary Byers, died on Monday, April 20th. Please keep her family in your prayers. Our sympathies and support are extended to them. We will keep you posted as we learn more details about a service.
| | | | On Wednesday, April 22 (EARTH DAY!), twenty garden volunteers harvested 10.5 lbs. of chard, 45 lbs. of collards, 4.7 lbs. of kale, 61 lbs. of lettuce, and 64 lbs. of spinach that was shared with Grace Abounds Food Pantry and Bountiful Cities. They also fertilized some beds. | | |
ALL Youth Group | Sunday, May 3 | 4:00 - 6:00 PM | @ GCPC
Join us May 3 from 4pm-6pm for a Youth Service project at the church.
Meal provided by Mesheala. Activities include : Organizing the Grace Abounds Food Pantry with Cathy and harvesting fresh vegetables with Allison.
This is a time for our GCPC youth to come together to learn the importance of fresh food that comes from the Earth and how it nourishes our community. As well as sharing a yummy meal together!
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PART (Power and Race Team) will NOT meet in May.
Our next meeting will be on June 4 on Zoom @ 6PM
Rev Tami Forte will explore with PART her doctoral research on GCPC's essential work of dismantling structural racism in the life of our church, decentering whiteness, and divorcing ourselves from white supremacy. This will be an opportunity to reflect together on how we are moving toward true equitable belonging.
Tami is now on staff at GCPC as the Community Engagement Manager for Helene Recovery. She will supervise, administer, and facilitate community engagement, partnership collaborations, stakeholder discernment, and coordinate disaster case management. This is such good news. Thanks be to God.
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Pride Collective Gathering | Saturday, May 16 | 11:00 AM | Tropical Gardens Miniature Golf
Let’s go golfing (miniature that is)! Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 16 at 11:00 am for a rousing round of miniature golf at Tropical Gardens, located at 956 Patton Avenue.
Only $9 per person and includes a sno-cone afterward!
Then, those who want to can scoot down to Chipotle for a yummy lunch!
Let me know if you’re in by Friday, May 15. Thanks and FORE!!!
Chris Callaway at christinecallaway4@gmail.com
| | Community Working Together | | |
Hard 2 Recycle East | Saturday, May 9 | 10 AM - 2 PM | AC Reynolds High School
Your favorite waste reduction drive-thru event comes back to AC Reynolds High School.
[Volunteer here] [See accepted items here]
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The next local, in-person Racial Equity Institute (REI) Phase I Workshop is taking place for two full days, Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9.
From the REI website: "REI’s two-day workshop is designed to develop the capacity of participants to better understand racism in its institutional and structural forms. Moving away from a focus on personal bigotry and bias, this workshop presents a historical, cultural, and structural analysis of racism. With shared language and a clearer understanding of how institutions and systems are producing unjust and inequitable outcomes, participants should leave the training better equipped to begin to work for change."
We hope you will be able to attend this training. Please register here to reserve your spot. Contact information for organizers to whom you can direct your questions is also available on the registration page.
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"All Politics is Local"
This statement "All politics is local” is often attributed to former US Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. It refers to the idea that even in the midst of critical international, national, and state issues, most elected officials are evaluated by their constituents by how they deliver locally.
Many of the issues that are getting the greatest attention are the national and international challenges created by the federal administration as well as the statewide difficulties caused by the NC General Assembly. These are important for all of us to address, but what happens locally often affects us just as much or even more.
With that in mind, participating in our local democracy is as necessary as trying to impact state, national and international issues. In Buncombe County, one group that is focused on local issues are the creators of the Government Accountability Project of Asheville (GAPavl). Every Monday, they update their website with ways for people to learn about the local issues GAPavl is targeting along with ways to take action.
With this year’s elections a little more than 6 months away, many are looking at how to get people to vote. That is important, and for everyone who is doing this work, thank you. However, the day to day work that is needed to advocate for local governments to move in the direction of social justice is also very important. GAPavl encourages people who have the time and interest to get involved in the local work they are doing. Ways to do that include:
- Checking out the weekly GAPavl report (see the link above). You can also subscribe to the weekly GAPavl Report newsletter here. It offers the latest issues they are addressing and includes four categories: Urgent, Problematic, Questionable and Positive. Being informed on those issues can help you understand the needs of the community and share those needs with others.
- Taking action in ways called for by the GAPavl report.
- Volunteering to do research for GAPavl to find out what other communities are doing to address similar issues that GAPavl brings to awareness locally.
Each of these are valuable, and if this interests you or you have questions, feel free to email info@gapavl.org.
Thanks for all you continue to do to maintain our democracy, support social justice, and make positive change! If there are people wishing to subscribe to this e-newsletter, they only need to complete this form and click the subscribe button.
Ron Katz
Editor
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12 Baskets Café & Asheville Poverty Initiative
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The MLK Association of Asheville & Buncombe County M.A.R.C.H. newsletter
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The church office is open Tuesday - Thursday, 10am - 3pm.
We recommend calling ahead or emailing to set up an appointment if you are wanting to meet with a specific staff member. Please note, many staff are off or work remotely on Monday and the office is not open on Friday.
Coming to visit? We have a video doorbell to assist with security. To access the building or office, please enter through the far left glass doors off the courtyard (the one labeled Enter). Ring the doorbell to have the door unlocked. The GCPC office is to the right, down the hall, past the Sanctuary.
You can also reach our staff by email or phone at 828.254.3274
Marcia Mount Shoop - marcia@gcpcusa.org, x. 203
Ray Landis - ray@gcpcusa.org, x. 207
Anna Louise Murchison - annalouise@gcpcusa.org, x. 201
Sue Kersbergen (FINANCE OFFICE) - sue@gcpcusa.org
Denise Ochoa (FINANCE OFFICE)- denise@gcpcusa.org
Olivia Goldstein - olivia@gcpcusa.org
Jonathan Barros - jonathan@gcpcusa.org
Dani Hernandez - dani@gcpcusa.org
Marcella Martinez - marcella@gcpcusa.org
April Andrews - april@gcpcusa.org
Jasmine Moore - jasmine@gcpcusa.org
Chelsea West - chelsea@gcpcusa.org
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
828.254.3274
www.gcpcusa.org
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