Tell Me More: Anyone interested in learning more about life at FPC is invited to join Pastor Ellen and others for a conversation on Sunday morning at 9:45 AM in the sunroom in the Fellowship House. Coffee and refreshments will be provided

Are you ready to break out your favorite hairnets?! One of our favorite service projects of the year takes place this Sunday in Davis Hall from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Rise Against Hunger is an organization that packs meals for the hungry all over the world and they ask congregations like ours to assemble the meals. It's super fun. There's music. There's an assembly line. There are jobs for everyone. And there's even a gong. Last year, we packaged 10,000 meals in under two hours. You do not want to miss this!

If you have not yet, you need to register ahead of time to participate. You can register using the link below: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FA8AE2EA1FA7-rise

Thank you to everyone who helped to make Rally Day 2023 a success – especially Margaret Campbell for the delicious breakfast and to the Christian Education committee for their work in coordinating, setting up, and serving breakfast!

We welcomed about ninety people in Davis Hall. They enjoyed breakfast and mingling through the sixteen tables hosted by passionate congregation members. If you weren’t able to join us on Sunday morning, please pick up one of the orange papers highlighting the many ways to get involved this fall. 

Please contact Gina Goff , Carrie Myers, Sallie Dotger, or Harriett Phillips if you have time to volunteer for the Market for Mission. It truly takes our ‘village’ to make this sale happen. And as we learned from Betsy Liles in the mission minute, the need in Bayonnais is great. 

Volunteers are needed:

• Oct. 2-6 - help set up the week before the sale (especially Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
• Oct. 2-6 - any day this week, a truck and assistance to pick up heavier items
• Oct. 7 - work the sale, 7:30 AM -2:00 PM. OR
• Are you an early morning person? Perhaps you can come in for an hour 6:30 AM to 7:30 AM to help with set up outside.
• If you can’t work the sale we need ‘rested’ volunteers to come in at 2 PM to help with the pack up/clean up.  

And, of course, on Sunday, October 1st, immediately following worship - we need EVERYONE who can participate to help with the EXODUS of items from their current storage areas to Davis Hall. YOU have really turned out to make this mobilization work for the last two sales and we couldn't do it without you!

Volunteers will receive an email with their assignment and guidelines the week before the sale. Please feel free to contact us with questions. Grateful!!!

Pre-covid FPC had a vibrant communion ministry. Help us restore our vibrant communion ministry. PLEASE CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING!

Once a month set-up/clean-up (the 1st weekend of the month):

Saturday set-up - fill the trays with bread and juice, takes about 50 minutes - 1 or 2 people needed

Sunday clean-up - after the 11:00 service

Detailed instructions for set-up and clean-up are in the robing room. Materials for set-up will be ready for you on the preparation table.

Our church family is grateful for your willingness to serve in this important ministry.

Please email Pam McDonald with any questions, or to volunteer: danielpam151@yahoo.com

Our Youth Group enjoyed an afternoon at Topgolf on Sunday. It was a fun opportunity for fellowship, food, and some golf.

Next Sunday, we will join the congregation for Rise Against Hunger at 3 PM in Davis Hall.

Lunch Bunch Antique Road Show

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Lunch at 11:45 AM ($9.00)

followed by

The Antique Road Show

Have you ever wondered how much the lovely teapot that Aunt Nellie gave to you is worth?

What about the pottery jug you found in Grandmother's cellar? It says Erect on the front but that town no longer exists next to Jugtown Pottery.

Your husband's aunt gave you two little figures. What is their background?

We hope you will join us for our fourth NEW Lunch Bunch. We have lots of interesting programs planned for the year. Everyone is invited. We hope you will join us for wonderful Christian fellowship.

Call the church reservation line, 704-788-2100 #7, to make your reservation for lunch by 4:00 PM on Monday, September 25.

Be sure and bring one or two items for the expert to appraise. We are so pleased he is coming to answer your questions. There is no charge for the appraisal.

Please join us for a brief usher training on Sunday, September 24 directly after worship. This will take no more than 15 minutes. We will review the role of ushers and the usher responsibilities in worship. 

We look forward to seeing you! Thank you for serving our church in this ministry. 

If you are interested in serving as an usher, please see the link below. The link is also available on the church website.

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/30e0948acab2dabf49-fpcusher 

Join us on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 @ 6:30 PM in Davis Hall for the feature length documentary produced by Carolyn Crowder, "At The River".

Carolyn traveled throughout the southeast interviewing Presbyterian ministers, now in their 80s and 90s, about what it took to go against the racist currents during those hard days of the Jim Crow south and the civil rights movement. Hear their stories of why they dared to do that.

Our Girl Scout troops held their first meeting and annual parent meeting on Thursday. Troops were excited to welcome several new faces!

Our Daisy troop had fun making and designing their own cookies, singing songs, and making bracelets.

The Brownies learned about what makes a good friend, how to make a friendly introduction, and played a friendship game. The Brownies also had a special visitor, Susan Pless, who shared how a book is written and published and read Scary O Typed, a story of kindness and friendship that she authored with her daughter, Hanna Smith.

Our Juniors spent time planning the year ahead.

Our older girls continued their outdoor badgework: making fire starters, pitched a tent, set up a camp stove, looked at different types of mess kits, and made an edible fire as they talked about fire safety.

The Girl Scouts meet again on September 21^st.  

Starting Thursday, October 5^th at 2 PM, we will gather in The Commons for a five-week study of Dr. Vivek Murthy’s book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. In Together, Murthy—the current Surgeon General of the United States—explores how loneliness has become a real public health concern, and what we can do about it. None of our lives are untouched by loneliness, but in coming together as a community and talking to one another, we will build and deepen the bonds that carry us through seasons of loneliness. 

Please contact Suzanne:suzanne.russell@firstpresconcord.org if you plan to attend so that books can be ordered for the first session. No reading is required ahead of the first meeting, and the study is open to the community. The study will conclude with a prayer service around the theme of loneliness and connection in The Commons on the evening of Sunday, November 5.

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.

Join us on

Tuesday Night, September 26th, 7:00 PM

Valerie and Harold Thomas'

Residence

889 Craigmont Lane

Concord, NC 28027

Calling all gardeners and outdoor lovers! 

Building & Grounds will be holding a clean up/ beautification day this Fall. It's usually held in November. We are still determining the date and will update when we have it. All are welcome. Please bring tools, gloves, and anything else you like to use when working outside.