Summer Worship Service Times

10:00 AM - Sanctuary & Livestream

Baby & Toddler Nursery is available during the worship service

Podcast Raleigh Court Herald June Issue

Church Office Hours

Monday-Thursday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM

Friday 8:30 AM-1:00 PM

Online Directory

Summer Worship Schedule

From now through September 6, there will be only one service at 10:00 AM in the Sanctuary.

Livestream, Nursery, & Children’s Worship will all be available.

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

    and favor is better than silver or gold.”

-Proverbs 22:1

I don’t suppose the Teacher who writes this proverb sees it as an either/or.  Either you can have a good name (a solid reputation) or you can have riches. Either you can have favor or possess silver and gold. What he knows is how easy it is to abandon the good name for the sake of wealth. 

There’s the new job with higher pay, but it’s a more ethically questionable company. Or the new position will cause you to compromise time with your family. By default most of us discern how we can use our extra resources for leisure instead of considering how we could use them to be generous to others.  We compromise our “name” for the sake of more resources.

For the first readers of Proverbs the temptation before them in the days of the Persian Empire would be to abandon the Torah and the covenant for the sake of gain in their society. What could be had if you stopped keeping the sabbath? What connections would you have if you didn’t follow the dietary codes? What opportunities would befall you if you ceased to keep the festival days?  This is not the difference between a “good name” in the eyes of the community around you but a “good name” before the Lord.

I think the word to help us discern this proverb is “honor.” Honor is out of fashion- from a byegone era of outdated social mores and old prejudices. But maybe we could be more open to the concept of living “honorable” lives, to be a people of integrity in our faith, our family, our finances, our field of expertise. This does not preclude material gain, but it asks of us a greater commitment to something beyond such gain. It asks of us honesty, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, and patience. Honor is the dedication to love in the easy and difficult times. 

It is to commit to our name. You may know this, but when we baptize someone, we say their first and middle name, but we do not say their surname. In place of the surname we say, “Child of the Covenant.” Our name is not our personal name. Our name is not our family name. Our name is “Child of the Covenant.” Our name is Christian. May our lives give honor to that name.

PRAYER:

Quiet my mind this day, O God,

to turn to you and trust your grace.

Turn me away from the easy answer,

the quick fix,

the postponed effort.

Turn me toward a life that honors you.

Lead me in the path of justice and righteousness.

Use me as an instrument of your peace.

Amen.

-The Rev. Andrew C. Whaley, Head of Staff

Fellowship Outing - Attic Productions

Want to catch a show? We're planning a carpool to Fincastle to see Attic Productions' matinee 2:30 performance of the musical Into The Woods on Saturday, July 25. Tickets are $15, and we hope to finalize reservations by July 22. We'll plan to catch dinner somewhere afterwards. You can turn your money into the church office, or get it to Jeff Bossert at jbossert71@outlook.com

Summer Fellowship Hours After Worship

August 2 & 16

Fellowship Hour Volunteers

The Fellowship Committee would welcome help from anyone who would like to help with Summer Fellowship Hours. You can help with set up (preparing coffee and water), providing snacks (baking/cooking or buying), or clean up (cleaning out coffee pots, water pitchers, and putting away supplies). If you're interested in helping, please contact Kathy Sebolt at 540-520-2538.

Summer Office Hours - Financial Administrator

For the months of June through August, Lori Tosoni’s officer hours will be Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM each day.

Property & Maintenance Workday

Friday, July 31 Time to get the church ready for the fall. Join us on Friday, July 31, throughout the day for a property and maintenance workday. We have plenty of tasks that need to be completed. If you would like to volunteer, email Mike Stacy at rcpcbuilding@rcpres.org for more information. 

Salem RidgeYaks Game - New Date!

We're planning a makeup date for the Salem RidgeYaks rainout last month. Our new game date is Friday, August 7 at 6:30. Anyone who held tickets for the June 12 game that was postponed will be able to attend this new date. To anyone who couldn't attend that earlier date, or needs a new ticket, you can sign up at the link below - tickets are $11/each. It's also Toy Story night at the ballpark, and there are post-game fireworks! Anyone with questions can contact Jeff Bossert at jbossert71@outlook.com.

Sermon Series for

May 31- August 30:

The Judges: Challenging Leadership in Chaotic Times

Israel lives in a season of communal transition. No more are they nomads wandering in the wilderness. They have entered the Promised Land, but Judges tells us this new life is far from peaceful. We are still many years from the later stability created by David and his kingship. Judges is the in-between times, the season of transition from one generation to another and from a tenuous desert life to a settled generational existence. 

This summer we will journey with the Judges through this season of intrigue, turmoil, acts of heroism, decisions of great hubris, and see how these stories speak to our lives in times of uncertainty, instability, and transition.

July 26 – Samson

Judges 14:1-20 – Petulant

August 2 – Samson

Judges 15:1-8 – Turning Tail

August 9 – Samson

Judges 16:4-22 – Pillow Talk

August 16 – Samson

Judges 16:23-31 – Ego’s End

August 23 – Micah

Judges 17:1-13 – Shelia-ism

August 30 – Ending

Judges 21:25 – In Our Own Eyes

Guest Preacher and Lecturers for the Summer Sermon Series

Dr. Elna K. Solvang

Wednesday, August 12 at 7:00 PM

“Reckoning with Violence and Trauma in Judges”

Dr. Solvang is a professor in the Religion Department at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. She is the author of A Woman’s Place Is in the House: Royal Women of Judah and Their Involvement in the House of David and of essays examining women’s agency in ancient royal households and in the Hebrew Bible.

The Rev. Dr. Jacq Lapsley

Sunday, August 30 at 10:00 AM

Sermon: “In Our Own Eyes” & After Worship Gathering

Jacqueline E. Lapsley, first female president of Union Presbyterian Seminary, is a leading scholar of the Old Testament. Previously, she was the dean and vice president of academic affairs, and a longtime professor at Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Flower Dedication

The RCPC Floral Guild offers to arrange flowers in memory or in honor of a loved one. If you would like to honor a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion on a specific Sunday, please contact Julie Satterwhite at julie@rcpres.org or call the church at 540 343-5541. The cost is $80, which is for two arrangements placed in the Chancel of the Sanctuary.

Mission Partner Support

Each month, we designate all cash and coin to one of our local mission partners. For the month of July, we are supporting the West End Center for Youth. You can place your money in the offering plate or make an online gift, noting that it is for Mission and making a note for the West End Center for Youth in the text box. As of July12, we have collected, $875.04 for the West End Center.

Raleigh Court Presbyterian Plawkers

The earth care committee is hosting weekly Plawking (pick up litter while walking) each Wednesday at 9:30 AM. Adults and children of all ages are welcome to join for a 45-minute walk and litter pick up! Email Jordan Nallen at jordancnallen@gmail.com to sign up or add your name to the sign up sheet in the Gathering Area.

Clothing Swap - August 2 

Looking to update your wardrobe more sustainably? Join the Earth Care Committee at our first clothing swap! Participants can bring items they no longer wear and "shop" from the collection of others, and also learn about best practices on reducing textile waste! All items brought to the event should be gently used, free of stains and holes. Please bring items to the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, August 2. and the swap will begin during the fellowship hour after the service. 

Prayer Requests

Marvin & Roena Barbre, Dawn Blakeman, Linda & Wayne Carter (friends of Ruth Marple), Beverly Day & family (friend of Camilla & Johnsey Cabaniss), Nate Ellison (son of Jay & Polly Ellison), Chuck Garst, Carolyn Hampton (Mary Hampton’s sister-in-law), Mary Hampton, Debra Harris, Jackie Hart (friend of Susan & Al Knighton), Bill Haynie, Mary Hopkins (great-aunt of Tyler Person), Cameron & Susie Hutto, Susan Lindstrom, Bob Nesmith, Connie Pearlman, Amy Starr Redwine, Kim Richards, Shirley Scruggs (sister of Susan Davis), Campbell Tims (granddaughter of Kay Tims), and all caregivers.

(Prayers request as of Friday, July 17. Names in bold indicate an addition to the prayer list this week.)

WEEKLY SCHEDULE FOR GROUPS

• Centering Prayer at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church: Monday, 10:00 AM
• AA-Primary Purpose: Tuesday & Thursday, 10:30 AM
• Tai Chi: Tuesday & Thursday, 5:30 PM
• Al-Anon: Friday, 11:45 AM

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