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Worship Preview | Sunday, May 31, 2026

Trinity Sunday

In-person and online service

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 (5/31-6/6) Therese Schuele | email: thereseschuele@gmail.com

Next week (6/7-6/13) Margie Groves | email: margie.groves@gmail.com

Deacon of the Week Prayer

"Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary." The beautiful words we sang on Sunday remind us of our commitment to offer refuge and safety to our neighbors. Help us to be creative and generous as we reach out to those who need our help to be free and safe. For those who need a spiritual sanctuary, let us show through our actions and words how our community welcomes and embraces all. Let us spread peace, "pure and holy, tried and true."

~ Therese Schuele

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
• Email Sue Kersbergen (sue@gcpcusa.org) or Denise Ochoa (denise@gcpcusa.org) in the Finance Office at GCPC to help you get set up. 

Summer Choir Begins at GCPC! | Sundays | 9:15 AM | Sanctuary

Come Sing this Sunday! All ages welcome! (Childcare is provided for ages 0 - K)

Come with a curiosity and joy for making music in community! No previous singing experience is necessary. Meet in the Sanctuary by the piano at 9:15 am on Sunday. We will learn a simple song or two to share in worship. Some chime ringers are needed, too!

Hope to see you Sunday!

Blessings, Ray

Grace Abounds Food Pantry | Thursday, June 11 |

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.

If everyone in the community can bring one item on Sunday we could restock the store!

Needs for next week:

• mustard
• mayonnaise
• ketchup
• BBQ sauce
• salt & pepper
• condiments

GCPC Campfire Collective | Thursday, June 11 | 5:00 PM | Garden Room

We all have stories to tell. Come share your real experiences and stories in the company of other folks of good will. Warm up, cultivate joy, go light or go deep.  Imagine sitting around the campfire together – remembering, sharing, laughing, connecting, opening our hearts and minds, learning, and supporting.

Each gathering will open with a moment of centering and reflecting on a theme or a question. Then each person will be offered time to share an anecdote or a brief story that carries personal meaning to which the group may respond. 

Come as often as you like. Everyone is welcome. Sharing our stories in a semi-structured framework, we will deepen friendships and build community. (And bring a whittling stick if you have one!) John Huie and others will facilitate. 

Our new neighbor, Mountain Madre!

Our newish neighbor, Mountain Madre, is now open for brunch on Sunday! Please stop by after church to enjoy some good eats.

They are also now open for lunch (and dinner) on Friday and Saturday as well as dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.

The owner, Danny Scully, has been a wonderful supporter of Grace Covenant since they have moved in! Let's share some love back!

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!

GCPC Nametags

If you are in need of a new nametag,

please email Anna Louise at annalouise@gcpcusa.org.

On Saturday, May 30 Team 2 had seven garden volunteers who harvested the following produce that was shared with Bountiful Cities. They also planted peppers in two beds and removed all broccoli plants after harvesting.

On Wednesday, June 3, Team 3 had seven garden volunteers who harvested the following produce that was shared with the YWCA. They also planted squash and tomatoes, weeded several beds, and staked the tomatoes and peppers.

What’s Happening in Worship on

June 14, 2026?

On June 14th a group of ordained clergy from the GCPC Community will lead the service. Marcia invited this group to fill-in during her sabbatical on the Sundays Rev. Dr. Tami Forte Logan is absent.

The June 14th service will include:

• Listening to a choric reading of the text
• Witnessing a dramatic tableau echoing Rembrandt’s: The Return of the Prodigal
• Congregational and choral music: We the People, Gathered in this Place!
• No preaching, per se, but through song and scripture and silence and sharing… the congregation will participate in the sermon. 
• Truth-Telling prompted by the congregation’s experience with the text:
  With which character in the parable (often called The Prodigal Son) do I most identify; and how does this awareness challenge me in this day and time?” 

• A definition of a parable: 
  At its simplest, the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its specific application, teases it into active thought.*


*C.H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1961) p. 5.  

GCPC Writing Collective | Thursday, June 18 | 5:00 PM | 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 5 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.

Cancer Support Ministry Gathering | Thursday, June 18 | 7:00 - 8:30 PM | Fellowship Hall

The Cancer Support Ministry is having a gathering on Thursday, June 18th at 7:00 PM here at GCPC. Coffee/tea and sweet treats will be served. We hope anyone that has had cancer, is a survivor, newly diagnosed or in treatment will attend. It is a great opportunity to share our experiences and create some joy in a difficult time. Please register on Realm or reach out to a committee member, Kimo Hyatt or Bill McNeff. There is no fee to attend. We look froward to seeing you there. 

Our speaker will be Kelly Harrison. Mr. Harrison is an ACE and ACSM Certified Personal Trainer. He specializes in Specialized weight loss, pre/post rehabilitation training, special populations, and sports performance. Kelley is currently working at the Reuters YMCA.

His presentation will discuss the positive benefits of exercise for those with cancer and those who are survivors.

Parents' Day Out | Saturday, June 20 | 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM | GCPC

Children up to fifth grade are welcome to join. We will spend the day outside, make crafts, and sharing meal.

The event will last from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall at GCPC.

Children are asked to bring lunch, but we will provide snacks, drinks, and dessert.

This event is free!

GCPC Goes to the Ballpark! | Thursday, July 2 | 7:00 PM | McCormick Field (HomeTrust Park)

Join us on Thursday night, July 2 for a Tourists’ game with your GCPC community!



All tickets cost $11.00. Please pay online with Realm or mail your check to the church (789 Merrimon Ave., AVL 28804) with "Tourists Game" in the memo line.

MISSION

The mission of the Alliance for Beyond Land Acknowledgement is to encourage individuals, faith communities, and other civic and/or charitable organizations to move beyond merely acknowledgement that the land we occupy is the ancestral land of the Anigiduwagi, more commonly known as the Cherokee, and to build stronger relationships with the Cherokee as well as other Turtle Island peoples living in our area.

VISION

We envision a day when the sovereignty of the Anigiduwagi (aka, Cherokee) over their ancestral lands is recognized and their wise stewardship respected.

GOALS

The Alliance for Beyond Land Acknowledgement formed following the Conference “Beyond Land Acknowledgement: Toward Reparations and Healing,” with these goals: 

• To strengthen relationships with Cherokees and other First Peoples with historical ties to our region.
• To learn how traditional tribal knowledge can be of benefit to everyone.
• To share ideas and resources for building understanding and solidarity with First Peoples of our region and beyond.
• To support efforts for justice, reparations, and healing from our country’s original genocide.
• To help interrupt the continuing oppression of First Peoples.

Family Jam | Saturday, June 27 | 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM | HomeTrust Park (formerly McCormick Field) — (30 Buchanan Place) 

Bring your kids, your friends, and your dancing shoes for a FREE outdoor concert festival! Enjoy live performances by Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Billy Jonas Band & Bluestreak, activities for all ages, and a summer day full of fun — all while supporting Food Connection’s mission to reduce food waste and ease hunger in our community. 



• FREE Admission

• Food & Drink for purchase

• Donations welcome

If you own a business or know of one interested in sponsoring this event, reach out to Natasha for sponsorship opportunities: natasha@food-connection.org

Parking: Street parking; Memorial Lot (above the stadium); Minnie Jones Health Center (257 Biltmore Avenue)

In The Heights | June 12 – 28, 2026 | Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Saturdays & Sundays at 2:30 PM | Asheville Community Theater

Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Sponsored by: The Teel Family Foundation

Community Sponsors: Cenzontle: A Language Justice Cooperative, L.E.A.F. Global Arts, Hola Carolina, PODER Emma

About the Show

Before Hamilton, there was In the Heights. With a vibrant score blending hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and soul, this Tony Award–winning musical tells the story of a tight-knit community on the brink of change in New York’s Washington Heights. Featuring unforgettable characters and songs like “Breathe,” “96,000,” and “Carnaval del Barrio,” this show is a celebration of heritage, home, and hope.

A Wilder Way: Midwifing the World to Come in an Age of Extinction @ Dreaming Stone

Join us August 19th – 23rd as we chart a wilder path together through storytelling, skill-sharing, hands-on learning, songs, ritual, somatic practices, and homegrown feasts.

This five-day gathering features some of our most beloved and trusted colleagues. They are collaborating on a journey that will help us find our ground and gratitude, expand our connections and our capacities, and offer tools for building the bioregional and liberatory cultures that can sustain and serve our communities and watersheds. It's time to propagate alternatives!

We are making this event accessible, with worktrade and scholarship options, AND partial childcare and youth programming to support young families!!!