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“would that we could wake up to what we were
— when we were ocean and before that
to when sky was earth, and animal was energy, and rock was
liquid and stars were space and space was not
at all — nothing”
~ Marie Howe, from
"Singularity"
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Sunday Preview
Sunday, November 17, 2019
New Member Sunday
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
Worship services @ 8:15 & 10:45 AM
Education Hour (for all ages) @ 9:15 AM
Homily:
"Taste and Be" by Marcia Mount Shoop
Scriptures:
Isaiah 65:17-25; Luke 21:5-19
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GCPC Blood Drive | Wednesday, December 18 | 2:00 - 6:30 PM | GCPC Fellowship Hall
The GCPC blood drive is next month! Click
HERE
to sign up for an appointment online.
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Presbyterian Women (PW) Christmas Social | Monday, December 2 | 5:30 PM | Fellowship Hall
Please join the Presbyterian Women for a festive evening of fellowship, food and a Christmas carol sing-along. $15 per person for a delicious catered dinner.
Our mission will be Asheville Poverty Initiative's
12 Baskets Cafe. An offering will be taken at our dinner. If you would prefer to donate an item, the following are needed - sugar, creamer, salad dressings, ketchup, mustard, napkins, paper towels, toilet tissue, trash bags (large and small) and cleaning supplies (Dawn dishwashing soap, Simple Green concentrate, Pine Sol, Magic Erasers, etc.) Sign-ups will be in the narthex this Sunday. Please email or call Cathy Froehlich with any questions:
oremont2@gmail.com or 828-775-1016.
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Facing the End as a Community of Faith: Grief, Planning, and Funerals | Sundays in November | 5:00 – 6:00 PM | Sanctuary
What does it mean to approach grief and death from a Christian perspective? How we even begin to make sense of advanced planning in light of the multitude of options today? Join us on Sunday evenings in November to learn about the end of life through the lens of faith.
- Nov. 17: Understanding, writing, and notarizing Advanced Directives with Ashley Caswell, LCSW and Johanna Williams of Four Seasons Hospice.
- Nov. 24: Navigating funerals and our options with Frank Starling, RN of the Center for End of Life Transitions
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We STILL Need Your Pledge!
To submit a 2020 pledge,
you can fill out an easy
online option here
or put your completed pledge card in the Sunday plate, bring it by the office, or mail it to 789 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC 28804. Pledge cards are available in the pews, narthex, and at the Welcome Desk.
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Stewardship Campaign Update
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FACES OF GCPC - TAKE NOTE!
Abundance has many faces at GCPC........the chancel choir, one of the forms of abundance many of you have mentioned in your feedback to the Stew Crew, enriches us with inspiring, carefully-chosen music linked with scripture, sermon, season, and theme.
Congregants and choristers alike have expressed that their experience of worship is deepened via the extraordinary musical offerings during Sunday services, weddings, memorial services, and special events. Newcomers and visitors also remark that the music is
noteworthy.
And we can all celebrate the new sounds of abundance in the revitalized handbell choir, "The Covenant Ringers," and the new youth choir!
Pledge dollars directly fund this many-faceted ministry-----from salaries and stipends to maintaining instruments to risers and supplies--your pledge helps our congregation make a joyful noise!
Reaching our stewardship goal will surely be music to all of our ears!!!!
~ Robin Gaiser,
Stew Crew (and musician)
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Pledge Confirmation
Can't remember if you turned in a pledge card yet? Not sure if it went through online?
Rest easy, you should receive a pledge acknowledgement in the mail within a week of when the pledge was received confirming your total pledge recorded.
If you didn't receive this acknowledgement, we may not have your pledge.
Please keep the confirmation letter for your records and let Natalie Weaver, Stewardship & Financial Administrator, know if you have any questions or if changes are needed: 828-254-3274, ext. 202 or
nweaver@gcpcusa.org
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The fate of about 700,000 young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as ‘Dreamers,’ now lies in the hands of the Supreme Court. The Court began hearing oral arguments about the legality of ending the DACA program on November 11. It will issue its decision sometime between January and June 2020.
If the DACA program is ended, these young people will lose their work permits and be vulnerable to deportation. At this time it appears that the majority of justices on the Court are inclined to allow the administration to end DACA. Faith communities across the U.S. are uniting in prayer vigils for the protection of these youth.
This PCUSA video from 2017 features young people in one Presbyterian Church speaking about what DACA has meant to them.
https://vimeo.com/233883403
~ Contributed by Anne Stokely
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Power and Race Team (PART)
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November is Native American Heritage Month
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Racial Justice Book Series | TONIGHT, Thursday, November 14 | 7:00 PM | Jerusalem Room
For November
, we are reading
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies
by Resmaa Menakem.
"
The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. In this groundbreaking work, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of body-centered psychology. He argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn't just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans—our police.
My Grandmother's Hands
is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide." (from Amazon)
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“People, Not Property” Volunteer Opportunity
Descendants of enslaved people in the US can’t look for their ancestors in birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, or detailed census data. Why not? Until 1865 (5 generations ago), enslaved people were considered to be “property”, just like a piece of land. Their humanity denied, they were only occasionally mentioned in property-related deeds like bills of sale, deeds of gift, wills, and other documents that track the transfer of ownership. But these deeds sometimes include names, ages, occupations, and movements of enslaved ancestors; they can yield valuable information for historians, genealogists, and descendants trying to trace their families.
You’ve probably heard of Buncombe County’s Registrar of Deeds’ work digitizing “Slave Deeds”. Now there’s a project at UNC Greensboro to digitize and make available the records of additional NC counties. “People, Not Property—Digitizing Slave Deeds in North Carolina” needs volunteers to locate and label, index, and transcribe property deeds that mention enslaved persons so that a searchable data base can be built. If you have a computer and internet access, you can work at home on this important project that allows this painful truth to be told and that “reclaims the names of the victims.”
The online training manual teaches you how to decipher antique script and read deeds. The manual also addresses “historical trauma”, the emotional distress that affects all people who engage with this work regardless of how distant one feels from the histories. Confronting the realities of slavery is painful, but you will be participating in the healing work of honoring the humanity of people who were enslaved . Learn more about “People, Not Property” and volunteer at
https://library.uncg.edu/slavery/deeds/.
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Asheville Greenworks Hard 2 Recycle Event - South | THIS SATURDAY, November 16 | 10 AM - 2 PM |
16 Miami Circle, Arden
(use the Long Shoals Rd entrance)
Hard 2 Recycle events are free to the public collections geared to bring awareness to alternate modes of recycling to our area. Our goal is to educate and collect and divert items that would normally end up in the Landfill i.e Styrofoam, electronics, books, batteries and much more.
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GCPC Ride Share Facebook Group
Tired of not finding a parking spot? Want a chance to get to know fellow members, and be a more responsible steward of the earth? The GCPC rideshare Facebook group is your answer.
Just search for it on Facebook, join the group, and post what your ride needs or offers are. Include details like when you come to church, either on Sunday or other days during the week, and how many people you can take -- or need to get rides for. Read other peoples posts and respond. It's simple and it really works. Check it out!
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This Sunday's Education Hour (for all ages)
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Adult Education - Fall Term | Sept. 15 - Nov. 24 | 9:15 AM
Pressure Points - The Church and Native Americans: Grappling with the Past, Facing the Future | Fellowship Hall
This 11-week program will outline a Christian's response to social issues related to Native American Peoples of North America. This will involve educating ourselves about the history of native peoples (from their perspective using The Great Courses as an academic basis for this education) prior to European contact and the philosophical/theological/political concepts that were employed against Native peoples after contact. In the second half of the course's term, we will deal specifically with Cherokee Indian issues as a case in point of our country's and our church's involvement in oppression of native culture, highlighting the Cherokee Nation/ECBI's response to that oppression. Ultimately, we would like to posit for our class how we should prayerfully yet actively respond to these issues in the future.
Facilitators:
Buzz Durham, Mike Fleenor, Jaan Ferree, Mary Berg, Marcia Mount Shoop
The Improv -
The Spirituality of Vulnerability: Brené Brown and Richard Rohr
| Choir Room
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path” (Brené Brown,
Daring Greatly). In this class, we will be discussing how the insights of shame researcher Brené Brown and spiritual writer and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr can inform our spiritual lives.
Facilitators:
Richard Coble, Nancy Gaskin, Paul Rogers
Digging In - Living the Questions | Jerusalem Room
Living the Questions is for those who are looking for a resource that encourages questions they’ve always wanted to ask and sparks open dialogue in a safe place. It’s also for those asking what a meaningful faith can look like today. Living the Questions provides a context where people can pursue their questions and deepen their understanding as part of a life-long spiritual journey. This video-based program (along with downloadable participant guides and readings) includes conversations with scholars and clergy. Spirituality, Bible, God, creation, Jesus, Gospels, Paul, evangelism, evil, suffering and forgiveness are some of the topics we’ll consider.
Facilitators:
Denise Snodgrass and Tim Hamel
Toddlers (ages 2-3) | “God Loves Me”
| 9:15 – 10:15 AM | Toddler Room (downstairs, Children’s Center)
Preschool/Kindergarten (ages 4-5) | Godly Play
| 9:15 –10:15 AM | Preschool Sunday School Room (downstairs, Children’s Center)
Elementary (grades 1-3) | Godly Play
| 9:15–10:15 AM | Temple Room (Education wing, upstairs)
Elementary (grades 4-5) | “CONNECT”
| 9:15–10:15 AM | Indie Room (Education wing, upstairs)
Middle School & Senior Highs (grades 6-12)
| 9:00-10:15 AM | Youth Rooms, (Education wing, upstairs)
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*Nursery care is available throughout Sunday morning beginning at 8:10 am.
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OTHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES...
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Bible Study | Wednesdays | 11:00 AM | Garden Room
Join the pastoral staff to read and study our sermon texts for Sunday. No preparation needed; just come ready to open scripture and discuss!
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Fall Garden Potluck | Friday, November 22 | 6:00 PM | GCPC Fellowship Hall
All gardeners and friends are invited to the end of the year pot-luck celebration! PLEASE BRING your favorite main dish, salad, or dessert, and your favorite garden memory. Come early (5:30pm) and help set up or stay late to help clean up!
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Room In The Inn (RITI) | November 10 – 17 | GCPC
The RITI team has been overjoyed with this congregation's gracious support and love of Room In The Inn. When a plea was made for more mattresses/cots to accommodate more women in the frigid temperatures, the need was filled immediately. Your abundance overflows. Also, a humble thank you to all who stayed the night, drove, and prepared food.
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Ministry Partner News and Events...
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GCPC is featured in this edition of the More Light Presbyterians Newsletter!
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Asheville Writers in the Schools presents "Mountain of Words" |
Saturday, November 23 | 6 – 9 PM |
YMI Cultural Center
(
39 South Market Street)
Join us for an intergenerational literary and art event featuring nationally renowned journalist Latria Graham, award-winning poet Juan Sanchez Martinez, Cara Forbes, a frequent contributor to Natives in America and Word on the Street writers Sharissa Thomason, Niobe Wright and Ilah Pennacchini. All hosted by spoken word artist Shanita Jackson. The evening begins with a multimedia art showcase and music DJ'd by the Word on the Street Squad. Great food provided by Benne on Eagle, themed raffles baskets and much more. Child care provided. Click
HERE
to reserve your free ticket.
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Sisters at the Sea Retreat 2020 | February 6-9, 2020 | Folly Beach, SC | $210 (early bird rate)
“Cultivating an Inner Life of Grace & Clarity: Spiritual Practices for Everyday”
With guest retreat facilitator, Rev. Carol Hovis
Do you identify as a woman age 25ish-50ish who would like a weekend of connecting and rejuvenating in a beautiful natural setting? Mark your calendars for our lucky number 11th
annual SOS (“Save our Sanity”/“Sisters at the Sea”) retreat! This year’s guest facilitator, Rev. Carol Hovis, will help us explore approaches to spiritual contemplation that we can practice in even the smallest moments of our day-to-day rush, to develop and deepen throughout our lifetimes. Register today to ensure this special time of building friendships and centering your faith in the new year!
Registration:
- Early Bird Rate (by December 9th): $210
- Regular Rate (December 10th and after): $240
- $50 non-refundable deposit due at registration. Checks should be made to GCPC with “2020 Sisters at the Sea” in the memo line. Full and partial scholarships available (complete registration form to apply).
- TO REGISTER TODAY: Visit http://bit.ly/Sisters2020 to register online, or pick up a registration form at the GCPC Welcome Desk.
- *Registration ends on Jan. 15.*
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GCPC 20s/30s Gathering: "Friendsgiving!" | Monday, November 18 | 6:30 - 8:30 PM | GCPC Fellowship Hall
If you are in your twenties or thirties (or nearly these ages), let's give thanks for community by sharing in an evening of food, conversation and connection. Everyone is invited to make or bring a dish that represents their family or background. We will share gratitudes and get to know one another better.
*Childcare provided.
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Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Group | Wed., Nov. 20 | 12 PM | Garden Rm
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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SAVE THE DATE!
"Las Posadas" | Thursday, December 19 | 6:30 - 8:30 PM | Cathedral of All Souls
The Cathedral of All Souls invites GCPC to celebrate "Las Posadas" with them in December. The event is a traditional celebration of Mary and Joseph trying to find room to be sheltered and cared for. The Church La Capilla
http://lacapilla.org
presides over the event and our role is to host and gather and bring the party! We provide food, piñata, and hopefully LOADS of people!
While the tradition is really focused on the exile of Mary and Joseph we acknowledge in our worship and singing and prayers together that many of our LatinX brothers and sisters are being turned away today and we pray for all to find homes and shelter and care and love during this time of re-birth of compassion.
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Centering Prayer | Wednesday Nights | 6:30 - 7:00 PM | Sanctuary
(Due to holidays, there will be no Centering Prayer on Nov. 27, Dec. 11, Dec. 25, or Jan. 1.)
Christianity has a rich and ancient tradition of intentional and prayerful silence as a spiritual practice. Sacred silence teaches us to listen devoutly, humbly, and with trust. It is beautifully simple and a spiritual skill whose gifts goes deeper and gets more powerful the more one practices it. This practice is open to all and is come as you are able. Questions? Contact Marcia at
mmshoop@gcpcusa.org
.
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Deacon of the Week
Each Sunday morning there will be a deacon available for everything from praying with you to giving you a tour of the building. This deacon will be wearing a purple sash and stationed in the narthex before 10:45 worship and in the front of the sanctuary after worship. He or she is also available during the week if you or someone you love needs assistance from our board of deacons.
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Youth Sunday School:
Youth Choir, Drama & Fun
(6th - 12th graders) | Sundays | 9:00 - 10:15 AM | Youth Rooms
This fall we will be fearlessly jumping into our faith in creative ways. We will begin at 9:00am sharp with breakfast, followed by Youth Choir, Energizers, Games and and an on-your-feet Bible Study. See you at the first class and get ready for a fun, meaningful experience!
Questions? Contact Samantha at
sgblock@gcpcusa.org
.
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Prayer List
[We are happy to pray for anyone who is in need. Concerns will stay on this list for a month unless we hear otherwise. Please keep us updated.]
Iglesia Jerusalem congregation
Pat Cocke (Les Stradley’s friend)
Deborah Strong (Robin Gaiser's cousin)
Nancy and Richard Schaadt (Donna Robertson's sister and brother-in-law)
Jeffrey Ferris (Mary Lou Nash's son)
Rebecca Wells' brother, Jamey
Jeff Combs (Bill McNeff's friend)
West Asheville Presbyterian Church
Marcia Zuzel (friend of Kim Hottle and Melissa Shook)
Virginia Bibee (Jamie Bibee Lloyd's mother)
Suzy Carter (David Carter's wife and Yvonne Smith's friend)
Jon Stone (Madge Francis' nephew)
Hettie Lou Garland
Betty Smith
Margaret Rada
Bob Higgins
James Harwell
Joyce Summerlin
Cory Hartbarger
Mary Ellen Horne
Penny Ponder
Florence Riedesel
Donna Robertson
Elizabeth Fisher
Earl Fowler
Amanda Pressley
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Grace Covenant Community Out and About...
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2019 Fall Enneagram Gatherings
Mondays, 6-8pm
and
Fridays, 10am-12noon
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Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration | Sunday, November 17 | 5 - 7 PM | Congregation Beth Israel (
229 Murdock Ave
)
In mutual respect and thanksgiving, people of all ages are invited to join Asheville's faith communities as we share expressions of gratitude from a variety of traditions, marking this shared national holiday in both unity and harmony. Our GCPC Youth Choir will be sharing a song, accompanied by the incredible
Abraham Jam.
Light refreshments will be served.
More information here.
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Making Room for Joy – an Advent Retreat with Jeannie Dubose | December 6-7 | Lake Logan
Enter the Advent Season with this 24-hour retreat facilitated by Jeannie Dubose. Whether you are in the midst of a sunny stretch or a blue patch, come explore how “Making Room for Joy” can draw you closer to God. We will reflect on the theological context for this topic, as well as addressing how part of accessing our delight includes a willingness to acknowledge our losses. In addition, we will engage music, images, poetry, scripture, and interactive questions — all as portals for awakening, as John O’Donohue says, “to what your heart would love to say.”
Click
HERE
for more details.
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Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church | 828.254.3274
789 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28804
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