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Worship Preview | Sunday, April 2, 2023
Palm/Passion Sunday
In-person and Online Service
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*For the full revised common lectionary, please click here. | |
| Thursday, March 30 | Process Theology Class | 6:30 - 8:00 pm | Fellowship Hall & Zoom | | Sunday, April 2 | Hybrid Worship
(In-person and online) | 9:30 am @ GCPC
(also on Youtube) | | Sunday, April 2 | Fellowship Time | 10:45 am | Narthex | | Sunday, April 2 | Formation for All Ages | 11:00 am
*please see details below | | Sunday, April 2 | Memorial Garden Mtg. | 6:00 pm on Zoom | | Monday, April 3 | PW Circle 5 Mtg. | 10:00 am on Zoom | | Monday, April 3 | Volunteer at La Milpa! | 1:00 pm | Asheville First Church of the Nazarene (385 Hazel Mill Rd.) | | Tuesday - Thursday | Church Office OPEN
| 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
(Spring break hours) | | Tuesday, April 4 | Prayer Group | 10:00 am | Jerusalem Room | | Tuesday, April 4 | VRQ CookTeam | 4:30 or 5:30 pm | Veterans Restoration Quarters | | Tuesday, April 4 | Guatemala Comm. Mtg. | 5:30 pm on Zoom | | Tuesday, April 4 | Worship Council Mtg. | 5:30 pm on Zoom | | Tuesday, April 4 | PW Circle 2 Mtg. | 7:30 pm on Zoom | | Wednesday, April 5 | Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Group | 11:00 am | Jerusalem Room (also on Zoom) | | Wednesday, April 5 | Lenten Bible Study | 12:00 pm |Jerusalem Room (also on Zoom) | | Wednesday, April 5 | Centering Prayer | 6:00 pm | Sanctuary | | Wednesday, April 5 | Choir Rehearsal | 7:00 pm | Sanctuary | | Thursday, April 6 | Maundy Thursday | 6:00 - 7:30 pm | Fellowship Hall | | Friday, April 7 | Good Friday Tenebrae Taize Service | 7:00 pm | Sanctuary | | |
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“Feeling Our Way in the Puzzle: God, Evil, and the Human Condition in Process Theology” | Thursdays | March 9, 16, 23, 30 | 6:30 - 8:00 PM | Fellowship Hall | taught by Marcia Mount Shoop
Some of the hardest parts of the life of faith today are making sense of the traditional ways Christianity has explained things like Divine power, the existence of evil in the world, and why humans are the way we are. Process Theology invites us to shed many of the faulty assumptions of the Western philosophical tradition like materialism, superiority, and linear understandings of time for a cosmology and theology that coheres to the realities of the created world.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81603526931 Passcode: 789
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Children's Formation (K-5th Grade) | Sundays | 11:00 AM | Sanctuary
Children will continue to explore the parables and the life of Jesus through Godly Play on Sunday mornings. Every Sunday there will be a special Lent Children’s Bulletin with art and activities to get our kids thinking more about Lent. Each week there will be a Lent Focus Prompt and Activity in the family email.
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Adult & Youth (Middle/High School) Formation: "Why Being a More Light Congregation Makes Us a More Faithful Church" | Sundays | 11:00 AM | Fellowship Hall and Zoom (password: 789)
In this class, we will be exploring how GCPC can continue to live into our values as a More Light Congregation. The mission of More Light Presbyterians is a non-profit organization dedicated to allowing the full participation of LGBTQIA+ people in life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in society. Throughout the study, we will be hearing from leaders in More Light and the greater denomination via zoom.
| NOTE: This week, we are asking all participants to read Rev. Bertram Johnson's Time Magazine article, "Finding Resilience As A Queer Person During The Holidays" before our class on Sunday. You can find the article at this link: https://time.com/6242427/lgbtq-loneliness-resilience-holidays/ | |
April 5: Bertram Johnson is the Interfaith Minister at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Rev. Johnson is a faith leader who has spent more than two decades serving churches, non-profits, and faith-based organizations dedicated to social justice, spiritual care, and public health. He is a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and was the first openly gay African American to be ordained in the PCUSA. He will be discussing his recent article in Time Magazine about "Finding Resilience As A Queer Person During The Holidays" https://time.com/6242427/lgbtq-loneliness-resilience-holidays/
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Serve Volunteer Opportunity -
Fight Food Insecurity!
Join us on Monday, April 3, at the MANNA FoodBank mobile market organized by our covenant partner Colaborativa La Milpa. Help put food on the tables of families experiencing food insecurity in the Emma community of Asheville. Come for an hour or the whole afternoon. We need more GCPC helping hands and loving hearts.
* NOTE NEW LOCATION: Asheville First Church of the Nazarene, 385 Hazel Mill Rd., Asheville
SCHEDULE:
- 1-3 PM Set up tables of dry and canned goods; bag produce.
- 3-5 PM Restock items, assist families as they fill their carts.
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
VRQ—BBQ Cook Team | Tuesday, April 4 | 4:30 PM to cook or 5:30 PM to work the serving line | Veterans Restoration Quarters
On the first Tuesday of each month a team from GCPC gathers at VRQ, 1329 Tunnel Road, to grill hamburgers, prepare and serve supper for the veterans housed there. Volunteers are still masking while they are there.
If you can help please contact Bill Neeriemer, bill.nmer@gmail.com.
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MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) Group | Wednesday, April 5 | 11:00 AM | Jerusalem Room (also on Zoom - password: 789)
This support group introduces techniques for daily living with such issues, led by Paul Rogers, a retired physician in our congregation. We meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of every month. *New participants welcome at any time. Contact Richard, rcoble@gcpcusa.org, with questions.
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Wednesday Lenten Bible Study | March 1-April 5 | 12:00 PM | Jerusalem Room and Zoom
Throughout Lent, we will be discussing Jill Duffield’s book Lent in Plain Sight. This devotional work enables us to see God’s transformative work through the ordinary: “ordinary people, ordinary objects, ordinary grace.” Together we will delve into Scripture and practice together as we delve deeper into our spiritual Lenten journeys.
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Centering Prayer | Wednesdays | 6:00 - 6:30 PM | Sanctuary
Join us on Wednesdays to sit in sacred silence and feel God closely. If you are not able to join us in person, we invite you to light a candle and hold silence wherever you are.
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Important Announcements... | |
Please welcome Marilena Stephens and Elizabeth Fangman to the GCPC Childcare Staff team! | |
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Marilena Stephens, originally from Atlanta and has lived in Asheville for 9 years. Graduated from Boston College.
Marilena is a strong Animal Care advocate, particularly primates and horses.
Marilena loves adventure, travel, books and film. She is looking forward to being a part of the Grace Covenant Community!
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Originally from the Charlotte area and now in Asheville as a student at UNC.
She is majoring in biology.
In her free time she loves to go outside and sit in the sun or hike!
She also loves to read and dance.
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Mark your calendars!
Sunday, April 16 | 5:30 PM | A-B Tech/Mission Health Conference Center
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So long Winter Safe Shelter (for now)!
Winter Safe Shelter, a collaborative effort between GCPC, Grace Episcopal, and Trinity United Methodist
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Dear WSS Supporters,
It's a bittersweet time as we approach our last day of Winter SafeShelter. March 30th will be our last evening open and the morning of the 31st will be our last morning.
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Counterflow is looking to rent a house if anyone has a rental property or Airbnb or knows someone who may be interested. Please contact Anna at 202-997-4658.
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We still could use a handful of volunteers on Friday from 8am-1pm to help guests move and move items into storage.
Also, watch this space as we will be planning an Appreciation event for April. We couldn’t have done this without you! And we are hoping to have another Winter (or Year Round) Shelter next Winter.
Love,
The WSS Team
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Deacon of the Week:
The deacons of Grace Covenant are available to talk and pray with you by phone or online and to coordinate care. If you have difficulty reaching your assigned deacon or if you do not know who your assigned deacon is, please feel free to reach out to our deacon of the week.
This week (3/26-4/1): Ellen Sizemore | email: ellen.sizemore@gmail.com
Next week (4/2-4/8): Carolyn Haag | email: cjhaag88@gmail.com
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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.
Iglesia Jerusalem congregation
Cathy Wooten (William High’s mom)
Maria, Esteban, and Erik Goicoehea
Ann Bartlett (friend of Amanda Pressley)
Juanita Lathem (Marilyn Roderick’s mother)
Joseph Tierney (Paul Tierney’s father)
Ruth Fenk (Cathy Froehlich’s mom)
John F. Riedesel (Steve Riedesel’s brother)
Prayers for AC Reynolds community in the wake of the second student death in the last two weeks
Susan Smialowicz
Doris Prak
Michelle Chromey and family
Andrea Rosal
Sharon Sasse
Reed Carney
Laura and Jonathan Ross
Margaret Rada
Mary Byers
Gloria Moe
Ken Richards
Susie Churchfield
Karen Rohls
Dea Sasso
Please click here to see a letter of thanks from Ken Richards.
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Save the Dates!
Adult Formation | April 16-May 21
Our Adult Formation and Education Sunday school class will be reading William Yoo's new book, What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church. Two copies will be available in the church library but also we encourage participants to purchase your own copies: https://www.cokesbury.com/9780664264673-What-Kind-of-Christianity
Members of the Power and Race Team (PART) and the Me and White Supremacy groups will be leading our discussions.
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Asheville Area Piano Forum's 17th Spring Benefit Concert
at GCPC on April 16, 2023
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Presbyterian Womenʼs Circles are Zoom meetings. Please join us.
Circle 1: Second Monday of each month, 10:00 a.m.
Circle 2: First Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Circle 3: Second Tuesday of each month (some Zoom and some in-person), 7:00 p.m.
Circle 4: Second Tuesdays of each month, 10:30 a.m.
Circle 5: First Monday of each month, 10:00 a.m.
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Need to set up a church zoom meeting?
Contact Anna Louise and she can get you all set up!
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The Garden season is fully underway!
On Thursday, March 23, Allison and a team of 12 volunteers spread compost and weeded beds in preparation for the starts that will be ready to plant soon!
If you would like to join a garden work team this year, please email Betsy Wilson (betsywilson1111@gmail.com) or Amy Wiesner (amywiesner@charter.net).
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Community Working Together | |
An article about the Marvelous Math Club . . .
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Simply Marvelous
We have a gem in our congregation, someone who played a big part in getting elementary school-age kids to shift their narrative of math from “ugh” to “wow” and from “I can’t” to “I can”. Once upon a time, there were parents who wanted a math presence in their community so their children would be more successful with math schoolwork and homework. They conferred with Asheville City Schools’ Parent Engagement Coordinator—our own Marta Alcalá. She invited Dr. Samuel Kaplan of UNC Asheville’s Department of Math to present strategies for achieving the goal. In collaboration with parents, they started a math tutoring program in the community room of Pisgah View Apartments public housing.
Using a “drop-in” model from UNC Asheville, each week undergraduate tutors put up a sign saying, “Free Help with Math”. When they first began, just two to five kids showed up each week, and they stayed just long enough to complete their homework. The numbers were disappointing given the enthusiasm parents had demonstrated initially.
Applying a racial equity lens and lived experience as a BIPOC person, Marta knew that the words “Free Help with Math” might work for university students seeking support, but for Black and brown children the phrase hit in a very different way. The language “Free Help with Math” only reinforced in the children the narrative in public schools that Black and Brown children with certain home addresses are the reason for the school system’s persistent “education achievement gap”. That choice of language was keeping the children away.
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Celebrate Spring with the children of Covenant Partner Raíces Emma-Erwin, part of the Colaborativa La Milpa! We've been invited to come to the party Saturday, April 1st, 4:00-6:00 PM at 528 Emma Road, AVL. | |
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Pisgah Legal Services Lunch and Learn: Immigration and Justice in WNC | Wednesday, April 19 | 12:00 – 1:15 PM | St. Mary’s Episcopal Church – Emmaus Hall (337 Charlotte St, Asheville)
Join Pisgah Legal Services’ immigration team to learn more about our Justice For All program, which helps eligible immigrants in WNC work legally and secure legal status and addresses other basic needs. The program will have a special focus on our Afghan Asylum Project.
This event is free and open to the public and there is free parking on-site.
A light lunch will be provided thanks to generous supporters of Pisgah Legal Services’ immigration work.
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BeLoved Asheville | Raise Another Home Auction | Saturday, May 6 |
AB Tech/Mission Event Center
Amazing food by local chefs
Craft beer & wine
Silent & Live Auction
& this year dancing with DJ Nex Millen
CELEBRATE the success of last year’s Auction in building a home in the BeLoved Village! And let’s come together again to RECREATE this amazing success by building another home and launching our replication efforts!
Tickets on Sale NOW!
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Do you have an extra car that needs to find a new home? Imagine how difficult your life would be without a car! Working Wheels repairs and recycles donated vehicles, transforming them into working wheels for working families. The process is simple, the donation is tax-deductible, and the impact is real. To donate, volunteer, or learn more, please visit www.workingwheelswnc.org or call 828-633-6888. | | | |
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“I have a place to rent, but it is too far from my work, so I am staying with friends and friends of friends. This vehicle means I can have my own place to live and can get to work every day. This vehicle will change my life. Thank You!”
~ Sal, referred by Pisgah Legal Services
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Interfaith Initiative -
Social Justice Opportunities
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Buncombe Community Remembrance Project | | |
Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts | |
Westminster John Knox Press publication wins prestigious Wilbur Award from the Religion Communicators Council -
Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts’ ‘Then They Came for Mine’ offers a blueprint for ways churches can facilitate healing from the impact of racial violence
~ by Westminster John Knox Press
Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts’ “Then They Came for Mine: Healing from the Trauma of Racial Violence,” a book published last fall by Westminster John Knox Press, has been awarded the 2023Wilbur Prize, the highest honor given by the Religion Communicators Council.
“Then They Came for Mine” was named the winner in the category of excellence in communication of religious issues, values and themes in public media. Learn about other Wilbur Award winners here.
Lewis-Giggetts is an NAACP award-winning writer, an educator, and the author or collaborator of many books in several genres, including “Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration.” She offers those who read her work and hear her speak an opportunity to explore the intersection of culture, identity, and faith at the deepest levels. She is the founder of HeARTspace, a healing community that uses storytelling and the arts to serve those who have experienced trauma. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Essence Magazine, Oprah Daily and more.
According to the description of “Then They Came for Mine,” Black Americans’ resilience during centuries of racially motivated violence is beyond remarkable. But continuing to endure this harm allows for generations of trauma to fester and grow. Healing has to be the priority going forward.
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Two Louisville churches, Mid-Kentucky Presbytery offer half-day workshop on implicit bias - Shawnee Presbyterian Church and Harvey Browne Presbyterian Church have worked to form what they call ‘The Beloved Community’
~ by Mike Ferguson
For the last 15 years, members and friends of Shawnee Presbyterian Church and Harvey Browne Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, have been working together to bridge the racial divide by forming a collaborative they call “The Beloved Community.”
On Saturday, more than 70 people in Mid-Kentucky Presbytery benefitted from that work in the form of an implicit bias workshop offered by Dr. Veda Pendleton, a ruling elder at the Harvey Browne church. Pendleton is a parent educator; diversity, equity and inclusion instructor; and the author of the book “Prepped.”
The Beloved Community members said that the multi-racial group “exists to examine their own beliefs about social justice issues within the body of Christ while seeking ways to effectively address the issues in the Louisville community. To that end, The Beloved Community has offered events that provide information and activities that allow participants to seek their own answers to social justice inequities individually and collectively.”
Implicit bias, which can be defined as the beliefs that sit in the back of our brains and inform our actions without our explicit knowledge, can be a difficult topic to discuss.
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PC(USA) Special Offerings -
One Great Hour of Sharing | February 22 - April 9
Millions of people lack access to sustainable food sources, clean water, sanitation, education, and opportunity.
The three programs supported by One Great Hour of Sharing - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self-Development of People - all work in different ways to serve individuals and communities in need. From initial disaster response to ongoing community development, their work fits together to provide people with safety, sustenance, and hope.
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Stewardship & Sustainability | |
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2022 Giving Statements in Realm
Can't seem to find your 2022 Giving Statement as you prepare your taxes? No worries- Realm can help! Simply log in here, click Giving on the left menu, and look for the blue 2022 Contribution Statement button the right. That will download in a PDF format that can be emailed or printed.
Prefer we pull it for you? Just reach out to Natalie in the Finance Office and she can email or print and mail your statement if preferred. Her work days are Monday - Thursday, 10am - 4pm, and she can be reached at natalie@gcpcusa.org or 828.254.3274.
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IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO SUBMIT YOUR 2023 PLEDGE!
CLICK HERE or scan the Qr code to the right to submit your pledge online, all in one form. You will receive an email confirmation of your pledge.
WAYS TO PLEDGE:
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Online pledge card HERE
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Email giving@gcpcusa.org
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Call 828.254.3274 and leave a message for Natalie Weaver
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Fill out a pew pledge card and put in the Sunday offering plate
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Request a mailed pledge card from the office
Questions or concerns? Please contact Natalie Weaver, Stewardship & Financial Administrator, at giving@gcpcusa.org or leave a message at 828.254.3274.
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Tourism contributes to the local economy but has also significantly impacted the quality of life for working class residents, especially around housing.
Interested in learning more about how tax dollars could go toward affordable housing in Buncombe County?
Join Buncombe Decides, a completely volunteer-run, grassroots organizing project, this Saturday, April 1st at a Different World - 701 Haywood Road in West Asheville. Doors open at 1, but the program won't start until 2pm.
This is a chance to find out how a coalition of local groups are coming together to canvass our community, listen to stories, and collect support to send tourist tax funds toward affordable housing and to increase worker representation when funding decisions are made.
To find out more, including how you can support the movement go to buncombedecides.org/lift.
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Join Outlook Editor/Publisher Teri McDowell Ott in a conversation with Kendall Vanderslice, a professional baker and practical theologian.
In this webinar, participants will learn how to bake bread alongside Kendall. The resulting bread can be used at home or as communion for one of their Holy Week worship services (this workshop takes place on Tuesday of Holy Week). Participants will learn how to mix up a batch of dough together, then Kendall will walk everyone through the process of shaping and baking dough — they’ll be able to complete this process with their own dough by the next morning.
During this demonstration, Teri and Kendall will speak about the spirituality of baking — specifically baking bread — and Kendall will be available for questions.
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UNC Asheville is proud to host a screening of the documentary Black in Asheville with Filmmaker Todd Gragg, co-sponsored by Africana Studies, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Department of Health and Wellness, the Humanities Program, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Sara and Joseph Breman Professorship & the Roy Carroll Distinguished Professorship.
This event is open to the entire campus community of students, faculty, and staff, as well as the general public. Popcorn, sweets, and beverages will be served. Get Your Free Tickets HERE. The trailer for the documentary can be viewed HERE. More information about the documentary can be found HERE.
The screening will begin April 5th, 2023 at 6pm in the Mullen & James Humanities Hall on UNC Asheville campus, and will be followed by a Talkback with the Filmmaker, Todd Gragg.
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The church office is open Tuesday - Thursday, 10am - 4pm.
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 new video doorbell to assist with security. To access the building or office, please enter through the far left glass doors off the courtyard (labeled Enter). Ring the doorbell to have the door unlocked. The GCPC office is down the hall to the right, just past the Sanctuary.
You can also reach our office by phone at 828.254.3274. Follow the prompts for the staff directory to dial by name or press 0 for the main office.
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
828.254.3274
www.gcpcusa.org
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