Market for Mission this Saturday!

Be sure to join the fun at our Market for Mission sale this Saturday, October 4, starting at 8:00 AM!

October Youth Schedule

10/4, Youth Market for Mission bake sale volunteers - 2025-2026 Youth: 10/4 Youth Market for Mission bake sale table volunteers

We are looking for Youth and adult volunteers to help staff the Youth Bake Sale table at Market for Mission. Please sign-up for a one-hour shift or help out all morning. Mrs. Prager is happy to sign-off on service hours if this helps to fulfill a needed requirement.

10/5, Sunday, Middle School Youth is 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM and High School is 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM. We have a fun program for our Middle School Youth and will enjoy an “All Youth” dinner from 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM. Thank you to the Castrodales for our meal! High School is 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM, or 6:00 - 7:00 PM if you are only able to come for the program portion. Our guest speaker, Kathy O’Brien founded Complete College Counseling and will be with us to share helpful information for all Youth thinking about or planning to attend college after high school graduation. Mrs. O’Brien will have important tips for freshmen through seniors. Parents are invited to attend and may find this presentation extremely helpful. Feel free to invite a friend! 2025-2026 Youth: 10/5 Youth Group

10/12 – CROP Walk – we hope Youth and their families will sign-up and participate. There is NO regular evening Youth on 10/12.

10/19 – NO regular Youth group on this Fall Break weekend. We will gather for lunch and the start of the Panthers game on the church lawn, hosted by the Finance & Stewardship committee. See you there!

10/26 – Wear your favorite college apparel! We will be packing care packages AND playing games. Middle School – 4:30-6pm, High School 5:30-7pm. 2025-2026 Youth: 10/26 Youth Group

Blessing of the Animals

This Sunday, October 5, at 3:00 PM, we will gather on the Fellowship House lawn for the Blessing of the Animals service.

We will be collecting donations for the Cabarrus County Animal Shelter. The staff and volunteers work very hard to provide a safe, comfortable, and loving environment for these animals. Please bring your donations, (see list below) and Session members will deliver the items to the shelter.

Invite your friends and neighbors as we gather to worship God and to give thanks for, celebrate, and care for all of God's creatures great and small. Join us for human snacks and pet treats!

See you there!

Requested Donations:

Newspaper

Paper towels

Dawn dish soap

Laundry detergent

Puppy pee-pads

Bleach

Canned paté cat food

Gently used towels and blankets

Cat toys

Durable dog toys like Kongs and Nylabones

Gently used leashes and collars

Gently used medium and large dog crates

Adult Sunday School Class Update

The Todd Hobbie class will NOT meet on October 5^th. Please join the class on October 12^th when Dr. Adrian Bird returns to continue his lecture series.

Introduction to Spiritual Practices meets in room E201 at 9:30 AM on Oct 5, 19, and 26. The class will discuss the spiritual practice of worship. On October 12^th class will begin at 9:45 AM. The topic on October 12^th is Sabbath.

The S & D class meets in the Fellowship House. The Journey class is gathering in The Commons.

Elementary School Sunday School

Our K-5^th grade children had a great time in Sunday School last week. We hope that your elementary school children will join us in October! Class starts at 9:45am in the Children’s Chapel in the Education Building. Students participating in Children’s Choir will be brought down to Sunday School directly from choir by Worship and Music volunteers. 

Cabarrus County Crop Hunger Walk

CROP Walk 2025 will start right here in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 2 :00 PM.

Go to events.crophungerwalk.org to donate and/or register to walk with the FPC/Kirby Bullard team. The money raised will be distributed between local hunger ministries and the worldwide ministry.

Please join us!

A Death Cafe conversation 

Most of us don't know what to say when someone dies. Yet this is an experience that we all have at some point in our lives. So why is this so hard ? And how can we as a culture replace fear and anxiety concerning death with acceptance and even hope? One way is to just talk about it, in a safe space, with people we know, and a facilitator.  

"Death Cafe" is just a discussion group for people to have an open and compassionate conversation about death and dying. Talking about death is really just talking about a part of life.

This is not a grief support group nor an end-of-life planning session. 

Churches are already involved in the spiritual aspects of illness and dying, and having a conversation in a church setting may deepen our understanding of this topic as a spiritual issue.

Join us on either October 19th or 26th in the Commons, where we will start promptly at 3:00 PM and end promptly at 4:30 PM. 

A Sign-Up Genius link is below.   

 https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4CA4AE2DA7FACF8-58160056-death

Racial Equity Reads

Racial Equity began their fall reading last night in the library conference room. We read the preface and chapters 1 and 2 of this book. We will meet next Monday, October 6, at 7:00 PM (and every Monday after that until we finish the book) via Zoom to discuss chapters 3 and 4 and anybody who would like to join us (even if you haven’t read anything) will enjoy a lively discussion!

Philip Curley is leading us and he is a knowledgeable facilitator. If you’d like to join us by Zoom, please contact Kirby Bullard at hankoreo@yahoo.com.

Salvation Army Shelter Collection

The deacons are collecting cleaning items and personal items for the Salvation Army shelter. You can place your donations in the bin in the foyer of the fellowship hall!

The items include: Laundry detergent, all purpose cleaners, women’s feminine products, shampoo, bar soap, deodorant, wash cloths, hair brushes, socks and twin fitted and flat sheets.

September Lunch Bunch

After a delicious lunch prepared by our wonderful chef, Margaret Campbell, we enjoyed learning about the Society of St. Andrew. It is a fantastic food recovery program that helps feed hungry people in the country. They work with farmers and people willing to glean nutritious food that would be plowed under or taken to the dump. We were all inspired by Maria Gandy who is over this area of North and South Carolina and by Charlie Barbee of the Barbee Farms. Charlie works with the gleaners when they go to the farm.

Also, they go to Farmers Markets and are given produce that vendors did not sell and distribute it to soup kitchens and the needy. Your contributions help with the distribution of the food they glean. Gleaning is mentioned and encouraged several places in the bible. I encourage you to Google the Society of St. Andrew to learn about them.

Come join us each month as we enjoy delicious meals, wonderful fellowship and learn about a variety of subjects.

Come join us October 21 as Casey brings us “ his view” of Japan.  

Exodus Thanks!

To all of the hearty souls who made multiple trips up and down the steps, jostled a two wheeler with boxes or pushed a double stroller filled to the brim with 'stuff'....a big, BIG thank you!! We hope you weren't too sore today! Please know your effort was so appreciated and allowed a smooth transition to the final week of preparations for the Market. Thank you!

“Art in the City” Youth Scavenger Hunt

If you were in downtown Concord on Sunday afternoon, you may have recognize our Youth and several adult volunteers. They were participating in the “Art in the City” Youth scavenger hunt. Nine awesome volunteers hosted stations around town near a mural, sculpture, or other work of art and the Youth and their adult chaperones followed clues to each of the eight stations before regrouping at Hawthorne’s for pizza. Thank you to each of the congregation members who helped with this project and to Fritze Batts for hosting our Youth dinner. 

Noisy Offering Results

Our collection on Sunday for the Backpack Program at Coltrane Webb was $493.17!!

Girl Scouts “Travel” to Madagascar

The Girl Scouts hosted Dr. Dollar, a National Geographic Explorer, who has spent a lot of time in research and conservation in Madagascar over the last decades. They girls enjoyed learning about the unique wildlife of Madagascar.