Sunday Morning Online Worship

Current Parking Information

This Sunday

Nursery: 8:30 am-12:30 pm

Rooms 102-103

Text Talk: 9:45 am

Room 112

Percolating Presbies: 9:30 am

Second Floor Youth Suite

Godly Play: 9:45 am

First Floor Children’s Hall

Adult Faith & Fellowship: 9:45 am

Ground Floor Fellowship Hall

New Members Received: 9:45 am

Library Room 108



Church Street Collaborative Blood Drive: 8 am-2 pm

Central UMC Parking Area on Church Street



Parents' Night Out: 4:30-7 pm

First Floor Children's Hall & The Draftsman



Youth Group: 4:30-7 pm

Second Floor Youth Suite

If you have questions, please reach out to the church office or email life@fpcasheville.org.

Faith Formation on Sundays

• Text Talk meets at 9:45 am in Room 112 to discuss the weekly sermon scripture.
• Percolating Presbies meets at 9:30 am in the second floor youth suite.
• Godly Play meets at 9:45 am on the first floor children’s hall.
• Adult Faith & Fellowship: “God’s Welcome” meets at 9:45 am in the Fellowship Hall. This Sunday, we continue our study of God’s Welcome. Come explore what it means to make room—for one another, for the stranger, for questions, and for the Spirit’s transforming power. As part of our church-wide theme, Making Room: Living Into the Welcome of Christ, our Faith & Fellowship series invites you into a deeper practice of Gospel hospitality.

Interested in joining FPCA? Our Session will welcome new members on the third Sunday of the month at 9:45 am. Our next class will be this Sunday, Oct. 19 in the library. For more information, please contact Nancy McNeill.

Parents' Night Out

On Sunday, Oct. 19, from 4:30 to 7 pm, grown-ups may bring children to the church for a fun night with friends and pizza, while the adults walk to The Draftsman for dinner together. RSVP to life@fpcasheville.org.

Church Street Collaborative Blood Drive

The three Church Street congregations are joining together to host a blood drive on Sunday, Oct. 19, from 8 am to 2 pm. The bloodmobile will be parked in the Central UMC parking area along Church Street. Blood donations are urgently needed in our community right now, and The Blood Connection is offering donors $40 in rewards. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are strongly suggested. Find more information and make an appointment here.



Saturday Sanctuary

Our congregational ministry of hospitality, warmth, food, and relationships with our downtown neighbors kicked off on Saturday, Oct. 11, and runs every Saturday through March. Whether you enjoy visiting and playing games with neighbors, washing dishes, cleaning floors, or serving food, there is a place for you in this vital ministry. This year a team will prepare food with Equal Plates on Friday mornings, in addition to our Saturday volunteer shifts. Email David Germer to be added to the weekly email list (which includes a week-by-week volunteer sign-up).

The Men's Group will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 9 am in Room 112.

Accompaniment Training to Support Immigrant Neighbors

Leaders from Faith Communities for Immigration Justice, a local grassroots organization, will host a training tonight, Thursday, Oct. 16, from 6 to 8 pm. This training is for those who would be willing to accompany members of the vulnerable community either to court appointments (in Asheville or Charlotte) or for other transportation needs, such as doctor’s appointments, shopping, school pick-up, or other outings when our immigrant neighbor doesn’t feel comfortable going alone. Contact David Germer for more information or to sign up.

November–December Gallery Theme: “Making Room”

This fall, we’re curating a show that will be up through Thanksgiving and the season of Advent, a perfect time to ponder hospitality, margin, and welcome. Create in any medium around Making Room: in our lives, our church, and our community. How is God calling us to make space for all people? Find further inspiration in this Moment for Mission by Alan Schlesinger. Please submit by: Sunday, Oct. 26

Capital Campaign Town Hall on Sunday, Oct. 26

Were you unable to attend our recent town hall at the church retreat? Patrick will lead a repeat of our conversation during Faith & Fellowship, at 9:45 am on Sunday, Oct. 26. He will present the vision for our Building a Wider Welcome for Future Generations campaign, followed by small group conversations to gather valuable feedback from our congregation. 

Lunch Bunch will be meeting on Monday, Oct. 27, at 11:30 am, Tupelo Honey South, 1829 Hendersonville Road. Lunch Bunch is a great time for fellowship and enjoying a good meal with others in the FPCA family. Restaurants have accessible parking. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Shannon Jordan so we can reserve seating. We hope to see you there!

Presbyterian Women

Women connecting in Bible study, service, and fellowship, usually led by ministers in our congregation. A place for friendship, prayer, and shared mission. PW will gather on Monday, Nov. 3, at 10:30 am in Room 112, when Rev. Alice Petersen will lead a lesson on the testing of Jesus in Luke 4. There are books to be purchased for $14 in the church office or contact Sandra Strickland at life@fpcasheville.org, make checks payable to Presbyterian Women FPCA.

Building Bridges Asheville Panel Discussions

Building Bridges’ mission is to foster antiracism by educating people on how to intentionally engage in dialogues about racism. Building Bridges’ vision is to deliberately dismantle and disrupt racism, one conversation at a time. Over the next two Monday evenings in October, there will be panel discussions from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at Omega Middle School (62 State Street) in West Asheville near Haywood Road. These hour-long discussions are open to the public:

• Mon, Oct. 20 - How Race and Racism Show Up in the Criminal Legal System in Asheville and Efforts to Make a Change
• Mon, Oct. 27 - How Race and Racism Show Up in the Healthcare System in Asheville

Racial Justice Film Screening: Black In Asheville, Part 2

Last year, we hosted filmmaker Todd Gragg at FPCA for a screening and Q&A following his stunning work of local history: Black in Asheville. His follow-up—about urban renewal impact—will be premiered at the YMI Cultural Center (just a couple blocks from FPCA on Market and Eagle Streets) on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 7 to 9 pm. All are welcome!

Liturgical Arts for Ordinary Time

Did you notice our new green Ordinary Time banners? They remind us that this is a season of spiritual growth. These banners show that the growth goes in all directions, even “out of bounds,” as we are called to live beyond our comfort zones. The incomplete cut paper openings remind us that our spiritual growth is also incomplete. Notice the changes week to week! Interested in Liturgical Arts? Ask Cathie Dodson, Donna Sorrow, Eve Bennett, Janet Armstrong, Betsy Herman, Cosette Williams, or Jane Vann—or email life@fpcasheville.org. Come join the Team.

Eco Tip from the Creation Care Team: Leave the Leaves

If you can, try to leave the leaves that fall instead of bagging them up and discarding them.

• These leaves are full of insect larvae, snails, and slugs that are beneficial to wildlife. Plus plants and soil microbes benefit from decaying leaves that provide natural fertilizer.
• When you throw away your leaves, you are also disposing of about 45% of your spring butterfly and moth populations. 
• We all love fireflies, but they are experiencing alarming declines. Firefly larvae depend heavily on the fallen leaf layer.
• You shouldn’t leave the leaves on your turf grass, as it may kill it, but you can rake them up and use them as mulch in your flower beds and under native trees. Your leaf layer should be about 3-5 inches deep.
• If you have extra leaves left over, you can pile them up in a corner of your garden and turn them into leaf mulch, which is an incredible compost for your garden that you can use in the coming seasons.

Do you have an extra car that needs to find a new home?

Imagine how difficult it would be to live and work in Asheville without a car! Working Wheels repairs and recycles donated cars, transforming them into working wheels for working families. The process is simple, the donation is tax-deductible, and the impact is real. Visit WorkingWheelsWNC.org to donate, volunteer, or learn more.

Serve

God has created each of us with gifts and interests and FPCA has a place for you to serve! To find out ways that you can serve that will make a difference AND feed your soul, please contact Shannon Jordan.

If you enjoy greeting people and supporting the ministry of the church during the week, consider volunteering at the front desk to answer phones and welcome guests. Email your interest to Lucy Hazlehurst. 

Looking for a place to serve on Sundays? We are adding to our usher teams, our scripture reader team, fellowship team, or children's ministry team. Reach out to Shannon for more info.