Worship Service Times

9:00 AM - Chapel | 11:00 AM - Sanctuary & Livestream

10:00 AM - Sunday school

Baby & Toddler Nursery is available

Podcast

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. - Ephesians 2:19-22

When I was a child and did something that baffled my parents, they would often say – “Just you wait, I can’t wait until you are a parent!” After raising seven kids between us, my brothers and I laugh at that statement now. Because whatever pain and trouble we caused our parents it has certainly been returned to us. Don’t get me wrong, all three of us have great kids, and we adore them and are proud of them, but the truth of parenting is – no one and nothing can prepare any of us for such a job as this!

When reflecting on Maggie Jarrett’s wonderful sermon from Youth Sunday, I posed this question in the adult small group lesson – “Love allows us to do things that are wonderfully illogical, because God’s love for us is illogical! When have you been overcome by the illogical Ruth-like love of another?”

In my small group, Ed Whitehead brought up the difficult balance of logic and love within parenting. As a parent, there have been several times where I have said, “hmmm, my logical sense of how things should be is not working in this moment.” But then, somehow, I drew from a well of love that is not my own. God’s love not only gives us patience for what challenges us within our children, but God’s love and a little bit of humility can also open us up to considering that our limited framework may prohibit us from really hearing and seeing our child.

You can’t live in a household with people for 18-20 some years and not have them shape you and change you, even when those people seem like strangers or act alien to you at times. They test the limits of love and push our boundaries of what we consider to be logical, acceptable, and beautiful. We have heard it said that the work of children is play, but the work of children and adolescents is also to link the generations; to stretch us so we don’t get stuck in our ways. And because we love them so, we allow ourselves to be stretched and we set our sense of logic aside to walk with them and to grow into new understandings together. I believe that is what it truly means to be a member of a household.

There is another household where we love illogically, get stretched, and are grafted together generation to generation! That is the household of our church family. At God Alive sometimes misbehaviors go beyond logic, but when you know a child, their joy, and their struggles, your love response for them becomes illogical. The same with adults in the church, we don’t always agree and sometimes we get hurt by the actions or inactions of others, but we commit to hearing each other and loving each other even and especially when it is illogical to do so. And it is even more illogical to love people we don’t even know, people who are suffering out in our community and world. Yet, this love that has been given to us by our Lord … it moves us! It moves us as a church family to give ourselves to those we may never meet. And then by something beyond our capabilities and beyond what we thought was our love limit we grow into a Holy Temple by the grace of our Lord. What a thing to behold!



May you be shaped and stretched by your own babies, by the babies of others, by the person two pews in front of you, and by the one in need not too far outside your door! What greater gift than to be God’s Holy Temple together! May it be so at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church and in your own humble abode as you abide in your Lordl! Amen!

~Leigh Sackett, Director of Christian Education 

Church Softball

Spring will be here soon and with spring comes Church Softball Season! We’d love to have a team play in the City Recreation League this Spring. In order for us to play we need at least 10 players and a willing team manager to coordinate the team. If being the softball team manager is up your alley please contact Jeff Bossert, chair of the Fellowship Committee – [email protected]

Pump-A-pint Winter Blood Drive Results

Not for lack of enthusiasm, but we just missed our goal and collected 42 units at RCPC’s first blood drive of 2023 on January 24th. Heartfelt thanks to all who signed up, showed up or volunteered to help with this vital mission. You are the BEST!

Mark your calendars now for the remaining RCPC 2023 blood drives:

April 25, June 27, October 3

Contact Lillian Alexander at [email protected] or go to RedCrossBlood.org if you’d like to schedule your April appointment now!

Thank you again for your continued support. Gratefully,

The RCPC Pump-a-Pint Mission Group

“This is My Story” - Sermon Series, January 15 - February 12

“Every time a story is well-told, the Gospel has been served” - Eugene Peterson. In January and February, we are embarking on an exciting adventure. Members of the This is My Story class will be sharing parts of their writings with each week’s sermon. This is an opportunity to hear how the Gospel has played out in the lives of our fellow travelers in the faith and is an invitation for you to look at your own story and God’s presence in it as well.

All RCPC Presbyterian Women

You are invited to an evening of potluck hors d’oeuvres, fellowship, and entertainment on Friday, February 24 at 6:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Bring a heavy hors d'oeuvre and enjoy intergenerational fellowship. Following food and fellowship, we invite you to join in or watch an introductory line dancing lesson! Please RSVP to Vickie Haynie at [email protected] by Monday, February 20, or on the sign-up sheet in the Gathering Area. Snow date is Friday, March 3. Blessings and Peace from the PW Event Team.

WINTER VBS: WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE!

We will dive into the Bible as we dive into water adventures at our One-Day Winter VBS - “Water, Water, Everywhere!” Winter VBS is on Saturday, February 11, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. All 3-year-olds through 1st graders are invited to attend. Come see how many animals you can fit on the ark, take a walk through the Red Sea, live in a whale like Jonah, grab a pole and go fishing like the disciples, calm the storm with Jesus on a wild boat ride, see what messages you can pull up from the well, and learn about water and what it means to our lives both physically and spiritually! Sign up online at tinyurl.com/WinterVBS2023

House of Bread Mentors Needed!

House of Bread has an urgent need for women to be mentors in our program for formerly incarcerated women. The time commitment is modest (one hour per week for 8 weeks), the schedule is flexible, and the only qualification needed is a willingness to engage in a relationship with someone you would likely not otherwise have met. The needs of our students are varied and mentors may be asked to help a student write a resume, find a foodbank, enroll in a GED program, or navigate the DMV. House of Bread will provide help with these resources and mentors need only serve as a supportive friend and advocate. For more information, please contact Lisa Goad ([email protected] or 540-266-2671).

Prayer Requests

Dawn Blakeman, Lisa Boylan, Donn Branch, Brendan Brown (Kathy and Les Brown's grandson), Bill Gordge, Billy Grove, Susan Lindstrom, Joe McCrobie, Betsy Neathawk, Nancy Smith (Alan Smith’s mother), Roger Tims, and all caregivers.

(Prayers request as of Friday, February 3 Names in bold indicate an addition to the prayer list this week.)

The Herald - Deadline for Articles: 10th of each month

This Week @ RCPC - Deadline for Articles: Wednesday of each week

Send submissions for The Herald and This Week @ RCPC to Julie Satterwhite 

Video Board in the Gathering Area - Send Information to Carole Banks