Worship Service Times

9:00 AM - Chapel

10:00 AM - Sunday School

11:00 AM - Sanctuary & Livestream

Baby & Toddler Nursery is available during both services

Podcast Raleigh Court Herald March Issue

Church Office Hours

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

Friday 8:30 AM-1:00 PM

Online Pledge Form

Lenten Devotional Day 11

Luke 15:3–7

Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

I was a classroom teacher for 30 years. Every single morning, right after the tardy bell rang, I took attendance. And if any student happened to be absent, something tangible changed. The chemistry of the entire class shifted. If any one of us was not there, we were missing something, and we all felt it.

Maybe we were missing Katie's probing questions that always seemed to push our discussions deeper. Maybe we were missing Anders's puns that made us groan and laugh at the same time. Maybe we were missing Syleah's quiet kindness, the way she noticed when someone was struggling and offered help without being asked. Each student brought their own gifts, their own experiences, their own way of being in the world. And when any single one was missing, school just wasn't the same.

This is what gives me a different take on Jesus's parable of the lost sheep. It’s easiest to focus on the one who is lost, wandering, and vulnerable. But I find myself thinking about the shepherd. Ninety-nine sheep are safe. Ninety-nine are accounted for. Reasonably, the shepherd should be satisfied. The flock is 99% complete. The mission? 99% successful.

But the shepherd doesn't think that way. The shepherd knows that this place - this flock, this fold, this home - isn't complete without every single one. When one goes astray, the shepherd doesn't shrug and make do. The shepherd goes searching, not out of obligation, but because the absence matters.

Think of those you have lost - those who have died, those who have moved away, even those with whom contact has simply faded. The empty chair at the table. The phone call that doesn't come. The laugh we don't hear anymore. Life isn't the same. Such absence creates a space that no one else can fill, no matter how many others might gather around us.

Now turn that around. When you are missing, it's not the same for others. Your friends aren’t complete without you. Your family isn't complete without you. Your church community isn't complete without you. Truly, the body of Christ isn't complete without you.

You are not interchangeable. You are not expendable. You are not a rounding error.

The Good Shepherd knows your name. The Good Shepherd knows what the fold loses when you wander, what set of gifts, what particular presence, what irreplaceable you is absent. And the Good Shepherd will not rest until you are found and brought home, carried on shoulders with joy, because of who you are.

During this Lenten season, we are invited to examine where we have wandered, where we have drifted, where we have gotten lost in the wilderness of our own fears, doubts, and distractions. But we are also invited to remember: even in our lostness, we are missed. Desperately, personally, by name.

You matter. Your presence matters. Your absence leaves a hole that no one else can fill.

This place, and every place, isn't the same without you.

God, our Loving Shepherd, help us to know, deeply and truly, that we matter to you. When we feel invisible, remind us that you see us. When we feel replaceable, remind us that you know our names. When we wander, come find us. And when others wander, give us your heart to notice their absence...and to go after them with your relentless love. Amen.

-Wade Whitehead

Instant Church Directory

Make sure to add your picture!

After many months of research and testing, the Hospitality Committee is excited to announce that we have an online directory for RCPC! Instant Church Directory will allow us as a congregation to stay connected on the go with a digital directory that includes pictures. Follow the instructions below to gain access to the directory through the website and/or mobile apps (available on iPhone and Android).

• Website: members.instantchurchdirectory.com (also linked at rcpres.org and click “Connect with Us”)
• Sign in with the email address you’ve provided RCPC—not sure what that email address is? Email Julie@rcpres.org or to find out or update. Follow the prompts in the email you’ll receive to finish setting up your log in.

Need help getting access or uploading a picture, email Julie@rcpres.org

Youth Group Dinner Cooks

Do you like cooking for a crowd? We could use your help cooking a meal for our Youth Group. Click below to see dates open for dinner. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F4AABAB2CA6FC1-58223510-youth#/

Easter Flower Dedications

If you would like to dedicate Easter Flowers in honor or memory of someone special, please fill out the envelope in the pew rack with name(s) for dedication along with a check, with "Easter Flowers” noted in the memo. Place the envelope in the offering plate. The deadline to order is March 29 (Palm Sunday). A list will be included in the bulletin on Easter Day, April 5. Cost per dedication is $13. You can also complete the form online at tinyurl.com/2026RCPCFlowers.

 Savvy Seniors

Our next session will be Tuesday, March 17. Come join us at 10:00 AM to hear Delayne Caldwell, from the Local Office on Aging (LOA), speak on Elder Rights and the services that the LOA has to offer YOU! Let's show her what a Pot-of-Gold really looks like at RCPC by sharing in a St. Patrick's Day potluck luncheon afterwards. Bring a dish to share for lunch at 11:30 AM. Enjoy fellowship, good food, and chat with Delayne. Sign-up and let us know what dish you are bringing to share either online at tinyurl.com/RCPCSeniorsMarch or on the paper form in the Gathering Area

Digital Lenten Devotional

Each day during Lent, except Sundays, the daily Lenten Devotional will arrive in your email inbox and be available on our Facebook page, facebook.com/rcpres. To receive the devotional by email click the link below.

The Lenten Devotional theme this year is The Way of the Shepherd. The shepherd reveals a kind of power rooted not in what can be taken, but in what can be given. Not in coercion, but in care. Not in fear, but in faithful presence. The shepherd knows the flock by name, tends to their needs, searches for the lost, protects the vulnerable, and stays close—even in the valley of the shadow of death. In Jesus, that Good Shepherd takes on flesh—walking among us, feeding the hungry, healing the wounded, welcoming the outsider, and laying down his life for the sheep.

Annual Men’s Group Book Study

Each winter a number of men at RCPC and a few friends in the community gather to study a book that

carries us to springtime. This year they have chosen the book, "Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He Wants to do With You", by John MacArthur. They will have a limited number of books available through the men's group church budget. The group will meet on Tuesday nights at 7:00 PM starting on February 24 in Room 202. All men are invited to join. They hope to collaborate at some point this spring with the Monday night men's group as well - more to come on this opportunity. For questions or more information, feel free to contact Andy Travers (atravers4@gmail.com) or Mark Derbyshire (samd123@vt.edu).

February Adult Sunday School

Full Class Descriptions Available Online at rcpres.org/adult-education

The Seekers

February 22—March 29: This American Gospel: Public Radio Parables & The Grace of God, led by Andrew Whaley

Parent as a Verb

February-May: Book Study, Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms by Justin Whitmel Earley led by Eric Kessler

Confessions of the Church

January - May: Confessions of the Church: Nicene and Apostles Creeds. Led by Mike Lockaby

Mission Partner Support

Each month, we designate all cash and coin to one of our local mission partners. For the month of March, we are supporting the Presbyterian Communion Center. 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 PCC in the text box. We’re thankful for your generosity in the month of February, as we raised $2,104.21 for Family Promise.

Hunger Mission Team Volunteers

The Hunger Mission team that serves Lincoln Terrace Elementary could use your help with food packing in the New Year! We pack food bags for 109 students each Thursday at 10:00 AM. You can signup to help with packing by using the UPDATED link below or contact Paula Derbyshire at 540-309-8816. If Sign-Up Genius isn’t for you, we welcome walk-in packers. We could not do this work without you! Thank you.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0949AAAC28A7F94-57911905-lincoln#/

CarePortal Reboot

CarePortal's mission is to work with area churches to invest in family preservation to help address instability before it escalates, preventing family breakdown and keeping children in safe and loving families. CarePortal connects vetted family needs (typically through an agency such as DSS) to responding churches, like us, so we can help meet the need. Typically our responses have been relatively small acts of kindness and support that can make a huge difference in keeping families together. We will have an information meeting on re-energizing CarePortal at RCPC on Sunday March 8 directly following worship at 12:15 PM. Kim Tulou, who is the Roanoke CarePortal Regional Manager, will be with us to provide more information and answer any questions. If this ministry appeals to your heart, please join us!

Rotary Club

Win a Harley or $10,000 - Over the last 7 years, our church and the Rotary Club have packaged more than 175,000 meals in the fall food packaging events. Those meals have supported our 2 elementary backpack programs, the PCC food pantry, and a few other local organizations. This spring the club is selling raffle tickets for your choice of either the Harley (2026 Low Rider ST) or $10,000. Tickets are $20 or 3 for $50. See Fred Hoffman to support this fundraiser that supports us. Cash, check (written to RCRV), or Venmo are accepted. The drawing will be on April 9 at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood. You are welcome to attend. Email Fred at fred@hoffdad.net if you have questions or would like for him to have tickets available for you the next time you see him.

PORCH Communities

If there are no Porch Communities near you and you would like to donate food to those in Roanoke who are having a tough time making ends meet, you can bring a food donation to the church once a month and leave it at the desk by the entrance to the church with a tag on it that says Pheasant Ridge Porch Donation for Carol Prichard and sje will pick it up and add it to the donations from Building 4 at Pheasant Ridge. She will take our donations to St. Francis Pantry. Please bring your donations by the end of the second week of each month. If you have any questions please contact Carol at cbp449@gmail.com or 603-504-4754.

The Pantry accepts all shelf-stable items with a current use-by date and the most needed items are: 

Canned bean, Canned Vegetables, Canned fruit, Boxed Instant potatoes, Boxed Noodles and Pasta, Spaghetti sauce, Mac and Cheese, Soup – small and large cans, Tuna packs, Vienna sausage, Breakfast items (boxed), Boxed Cereal/Crackers, Diapers, Toilet Paper, Reusable Bags

Prayer Requests

Marvin & Roena Barbre, Dawn Blakeman, Jackie Blakeman, Beverly Day and family (friend of Camilla and Johnsey Cabaniss), Nate Ellison (son of Jay and Polly Ellison), Lauren Escue (daughter of Mac & Stella Snead), Nancy Farthing, Carolyn Hampton (sister-in-in-law of Mary Hampton), Debra Harris, Cameron & Susie Hutto, Susan Lindstrom, Alan Loving (brother of Bruce Loving), Megan Mallare (friend of Kathy Grove), Louise Morris, Betty Nance, Connie Pearlman, Amy Starr Redwine, Cheri Sathe (mother of Lizzie Kessler), Shirley Scruggs (sister of Susan Davis), Campbell Tims (granddaughter of Kay Tims), and all caregivers.

Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with Liz Heddleston and her family following the passing of her father, Kevin Barry, on Wednesday, February 25.

(Prayers request as of Friday, February 27. Names in bold indicate an addition to the prayer list this week.)

WEEKLY SCHEDULE FOR GROUPS

• RCPC Preschool: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM
• Centering Prayer at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church: Monday, 10:00 AM
• Scouts-Troop 2 B: Monday, 7:00 PM
• AA-Primary Purpose: Tuesday & Thursday, 10:30 AM
• Tai Chi: Tuesday & Thursday, 5:30 PM
• Hip Sober Chicks: Thursday, 6:30 PM
• Opera Roanoke Chorus: Thursday, 7:00 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