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Worship Preview | Sunday, December 14, 2025
Third Sunday of Advent

In-person and online service

Deacon of the Week:

We as Deacons know holidays may be difficult for some of our congregants. 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 (12/7-12/13) Michelle Chromey | email: monelchromey@gmail.com 

Next week (12/14-12/20) Tyler Cook | email: moonshinepressnc@gmail.com 



Deacon of the Week Prayer:

I pray for each of us during these final weeks of 2025. I pray for those in the throes of darkness & despair. I pray for those who feel left out in the cold.

I pray that our GCPC community can continue to be a source of support & comfort & wisdom. And that together we are able to be in co-creation and communion with the Light of the World. Amen.

~ Michelle Chromey

Click here to read the "Envision the Possibilities" Stewardship Letter

How to Make Your 2026 Pledge

• Scan the QR code for a link to the online Pledge Card
• Click here: https://onrealm.org/gcpcusa/-/form/pledge/envision 
• Email your pledge and giving frequency to giving@gcpcusa.org
• Visit Brett in the Finance Office at GCPC Tuesday-Thursday 10am-2pm. 

Intergenerational Advent Lunch and Formation | Sundays (Dec. 7, 14, 21) | following worship | Fellowship Hall

Every Sunday immediately following worship during Advent (November 30-December 21) we will gather in the Fellowship Hall for a simple lunch and a creative activity for all ages. GCPC member, Jen Edwards, will be guiding us in a collaborative art project, “Weaving Together of Heaven and Earth”, that we build on each week and that will finally adorn the sanctuary for Christmas Eve. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GCPC ADVENT ART 2025 PHOTO ALBUM!

Youth Choir | Sundays, December 14 & 21 | 1:00 - 1:45 PM | Sanctuary

Our children and youth will be sharing a song at the 4:00 pm Christmas Eve service! We will have two rehearsals. Both will take place immediately following the Advent lunch and intergenerational art project.

• Sunday, December 14, 1:00 - 1:45 pm
• Sunday, December 21, 1:00 - 1:45 pm

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Group Mtg. | Wednesday, December 17 | 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM | Garden Room (Admin. Building) 

This support group introduces techniques for daily living with such issues, led by Paul Rogers, a retired physician in our congregation and supported by other pastors in the GCPC community. We meet on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. New participants welcome at any time. Contact Anna Louise, annalouise@gcpcusa.org, with questions.

Music with Ray (Pre-K - 5th Grade) | 5:30 PM | Robing Room

Music with Ray is a nurturing space where children can discover and express their amazing creativity through play, singing, movement, and playing instruments (chimes/bells, Orff barred instruments, and drums). Children will have opportunities to share their music making in our Sunday morning worship services as they feel ready.

Centering Prayer | 6:00 PM | Sanctuary

Pray with GCPC with this simple ritual. Light the God Candle and say blessings in your silence. We turn to our inward self and repeat a phrase such as Peace of Christ. If your mind wanders, it is okay. Just return to your phrase. Be gentle with yourself. After 20-30 minutes the candle is blown out and we show or say the Peace of Christ to each other. Rest in the peace as you leave.

GCPC Choir | 6:30 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

GCPC Food Distribution | Thursday, December 18 | 11 AM - 1 PM | Sanctuary

Join us as a volunteer to help with food distribution on Thursdays and/or help us stock the supply center with the items listed below.

GCPC Writing Collective | Thursday, December 18 | *5:00 PM (note new time) | Indie Room

If you love to write and welcome a chance to be creative and supportive around writing in community, come to the GCPC Writing Collective on the third Thursday of the month in the Indie Room (Education Wing) at 6 pm. Come as you are and when you can. Bring a journal and something to write with or your laptop and any food you wish to have.

This will be a supportive, generative gathering that centers the way writing makes space for creativity, expression, connection, and healing. The group will be convened by Marcia Mount Shoop, Margaret Belk and others. Feel free to reach out with questions.

GCPC Ringers (Bell Choir) | Thursdays | 6:30 PM | Choir Room

Would you like to be part of a Hand Bell Choir? Rehearsals will take place on Thursday evenings in the Choir Room 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!

Parents' Night Out | Friday, December 19 | 5:30 - 8:30 PM | Fellowship Hall & Atrium

As the year draws to an end we will share in one final Parents' Night Out! This will be a holiday themed celebration for the children. We will decorate cookies, enjoy a hot chocolate bar, and create a craft to share with families.

Kids are asked to bring their own dinner; snacks and dessert will be provided. Parent's Night Out will be held in the Fellowship Hall and Atrium. Registration is open until Thursday, Dec. 18.

Meal Train for Olivia Goldstein

Olivia has had back surgery and needs our help and support! Let's show her some GCPC love while she is recovering!

Sign up here:

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/2wzmv8

Would you like to help usher on Sunday mornings at GCPC?

We are looking for a few more folks to helpm with ushering on Sundays. It is a great way to get to know folks at GCPC! If you are able to assist, please email Anna Louise at annalouise@gcpcusa.org.

REALM Contact Information Updates!!

Please take a moment to add/update your contact information (including mailing address) in Realm. This helps us stay connected as a community.

Click HERE to login to Realm.

GCPC Nametags

If you are in need of a new nametag,

please email Anna Louise at annalouise@gcpcusa.org.

On November 26th we cleaned all our equipment and tools for the garden and gleaned what was left growing and gave it to the Bountiful Cities Thanksgiving Share Market: 25.5 pounds of cabbage and 10 pounds of collards. 

Standing with Immigrant Families Across WNC

Pisgah Legal Services stands in solidarity with immigrant families across Western North Carolina and throughout our state. We recognize that recent developments—particularly in the Charlotte area—have sparked fear, confusion, and uncertainty for many of our neighbors. Concerns about traveling to work, taking children to school, and simply engaging in daily life have become deeply unsettling under the threat of detention or family separation.

To our immigrant neighbors: you are not alone. You have rights under the law, and Pisgah Legal is here to help you understand and protect those rights.

As part of our commitment to access to justice and making sure that people understand and exercise their legal rights, we have compiled a comprehensive set of resources to support immigrant families. These resources are available in our Immigrant Rights & Resources sheet.

Safe Shelter Update!

Winter Safe Shelter has been open for over a full month now, and both our Men’s and Women’s locations have been incredibly busy.

Winter Safe Shelter is unique in the fact that it’s open every night — offering consistent, immediate shelter through the winter months — and that it’s high-access, meaning that guests are not required to have IDs or to be sober to access temporary shelter.



If you are able to continue helping Safe Shelter during our winter expansion, here is our updated needs list. Drop off donations anytime Monday - Friday between 12pm-6pm or Saturday-Sunday between 8am-12pm at West Asheville Hub, 27 Balm Grove Avenue, Asheville, NC 28806"

The Asheville Gay Men’s Chorus is performing on Friday, Dec. 12th at 7pm & Saturday, Dec. 13th at 4pm. Both concerts are at AB Tech main campus Ferguson Hall. Unfortunately, the Saturday concert is sold out but there are still some General Admission tickets for Friday night!

Émigré - Saturday, December 13 | 7:00 PM (doors open at 6pm) | Dreaming Stone Arts & Ecology Center 

Join this special holiday show featuring Celtic folk songs, tunes & ballads alongside a Christmas-themed selection from Appalachia to Scotland.

Émigré performs a variety of music tracing the diaspora of the Irish and Scots across the ocean to North America. Their repertoire includes ballads and fiddle tunes from Great Britain and Ireland, as well as songs from the French-speaking regions of Canada, and melodies familiar in both Appalachia and the North Atlantic. The band’s name originates from the dispersal of people, ideas, and music that resulted from centuries of emigration from Ireland and Scotland, as well as from the unique music that emerged when these were combined with others from a world away. The sound of Émigré is characterized by rich vocal melodies in Scots Gaelic, French, and English, dynamic fiddle playing, and driving guitar accompaniment.

The Center for Faith and Life and First Congregational UCC warmly welcome you to First Baptist Church of Asheville on Wednesday, December 17 at 5:30 p.m. for an evening of Reading and Conversation with artist and writer Jan Richardson. Learn more about this event here.