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Worship Preview | Sunday, October 26, 2025

In-person and online service

Deacon of the Week:

The deacons of Grace Covenant are available to talk and pray with you by phone or online and to coordinate care. Please reach out to our deacon of the week if you have any needs or concerns.

This week (10/19-10/25) Liz Harris-Lamkin | email: chaplainehl@gmail.com

Next week (10/26-11/1) Tyler Cook | email: tylercook.gcpcusa@gmail.com 

Deacon of the Week Prayer:

God, while the churn all around is so vexing, grant us each and together the moment to moment ‘joys’ that come with gratitude:

• For these blue sky kind of days and leaves turning and dancing in the wind; our very own whirling dervishes calling us to center
• For new church members and their families, sharing the bread of GCPC community – Pearl, Robin, Jimmy, Aliana, and Sally.
• For violas and decorative greens, and big ole glistening spider webs
• For yummy, soft prayer shawls and blankets that hold GCPC folk closely during times of illness and change; for the hands of Prayer Shawl Ministry folks, like Cathy Froehlich, who knit love and attention in each stitch.
• And even for our budget campaign calling us to Envision the Possibilities. Yes we can!

For these and more than space in the newsletter can hold ……..We are grateful.     

Amen.

~ Liz Harris-Lamkin

Click here to read the "Envision the Possibilities" Stewardship Letter

How to Make Your 2026 Pledge

• Scan the QR code for a link to the online Pledge Card
• Click here: https://onrealm.org/gcpcusa/-/form/pledge/envision 
• Email your pledge and giving frequency to giving@gcpcusa.org
• Visit Brett in the Finance Office at GCPC Tuesday-Thursday 10am-2pm. 

Parents' Day Out | Saturday, October 25 | 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM | GCPC

Beginning in October we will be hosting a quarterly Parents' Day Out!

Kids 0-5th grade are invited to spend time with volunteers and staff on a Saturday while parents enjoy some free time. This event is free!.

ALL KIDS SHOULD PACK A SACK LUNCH. We will provide drinks and dessert.

Join us on Wednesday Nights for a delicious meal and opportunities for all ages to learn and grow together. Below you can register for a class, but please feel free to come even if you haven't registered.

Youth will hang out with Luke after dinner. Children 5th grade and under will do music with Ray. And we have three classes offered for the fall. 

“Confronting Whiteness: A Spiritual Journey of Reflection, Conversation, and Transformation in Anti-Racism” by Benjamin Boswell facilitated by Tami Forte Logan| Fellowship Hall

This is a course for anyone who is newer to the journey of disrupting and dismantling white supremacy culture in your life. If you have not done the three day training with the Racial Equity Institute (REI), Building Bridges, or the “Me and White Supremacy” series at GCPC in 2020, this would be a great class for you!



Books are available for purchase in registration! 

""The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating our Nation’s Upheaval and Racial Reckoning” by Resmaa Menakem facilitated by Marcia Mount Shoop | Sanctuary

This course is for anyone who has been doing your work around divorcing yourself from white supremacy culture for a while. Maybe you’ve done the REI three day training or Building Bridges. Maybe you have been involved in classes at GCPC on white supremacy like the “Me and White Supremacy” series in 2020. If you’re ready for going deeper together, this would be a great class for you!

Books are available for purchase in registration! 

"Encountering Scripture, Strangeness, and Self: A BIble Study” facilitated by Keaton Hill | Meeting Room 202

Scripture isn't complete without readers, those who are willing to encounter the texts with curiosity and creativity. In "Encountering Scripture, Strangeness, and Self: A Bible Study" led by Keaton Hill, we will pay attention, read for multiple meanings (especially contradictory ones), and allow what seems to be most familiar to become strange. Through our contemplative study, we will not only encounter Scripture, but play a crucial role in making the meaning we find.

GCPC Ringers (Bell Choir) | Thursdays | 6:30 PM | Choir Room

Would you like to be part of a Hand Bell Choir? Rehearsals will take place on Thursday evenings in the Choir Room from 6:30 - 7:45 pm. All high school youth and adults are welcome! All that is needed is curiosity and joy for making music in community. You will be gently supported on your music journey. Please contact Ray at ray@gcpcusa.org if you are interested!

Pride Collective Gathering | Saturday, November 1 | 10:00 AM | NC Arbortetum

For our November meeting, we will be going on a hike at the Arboretum, on November 1. We will be meeting to carpool at Discount Shoes (1263 Brevard Rd, Asheville, NC 28806) at 10am. The hike will be on easy trails and we will plan to hike for a couple hours. We will also be going to lunch after. Contact Malachi Gasaway or Therese Schuele with questions.

Looking for a way to stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors? Faith Communities for Immigration Justice's  campaign/fundraiser Love Thy Neighbor encourages us to push back against an anti-immigrant narrative and invite conversation with our neighbors and community.

Love Thy Neighbor YARD SIGNS are a visible witness of your support and an invitation to deeper conversation with your neighbors. Signs will be sold in the narthex after worship Sunday, October 26th and November 2nd. Choose a YARD SIGN in English or Spanish and place it in your yard or window. If your HOA prohibits signs, buy one for someone else's yard. Buy several and give them to friends and neighbors!

Price: $ 10.00 (cash OR check made out to GCPC with "yard sign" in memo line OR On Realm electronic bank transfer).

All proceeds support the work of GCPC covenant partner CIMA (Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas en Acción).

More information on the campaign at https://www.lovethyneighborwnc.org/

GCPC Nametags

If you are in need of a new nametag,

please email Anna Louise at annalouise@gcpcusa.org.

Power and Race Team (PART) Meeting | Thursday, November 6 | 6:00 PM | Zoom

Power and Race Team (PART) meets monthly and intentionally does the work of dismantling white supremacy culture within our own bodies, relationships, and community. Marcia Mount Shoop as facilitator uses tools from Tema Okun, Resmaa Menakem, and Desiree B. Stephen’s to guide our embodied practices of healing ourselves and the world.

Please join us because we are an open space as well as collaborative, generative and transformative.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/91314445389

Meeting ID: 913 1444 5389 Passcode: 789

GCPC Campfire Collective | Thursday, November 13 | 6:00 PM | Youth Room

We all have stories to tell. Come share your real experiences and stories in the company of other folks of good will. Warm up, cultivate joy, go light or go deep.  

Imagine sitting around the campfire together – remembering, sharing, laughing, connecting, opening our hearts and minds, learning, and supporting.

Each gathering will open with a moment of centering and reflecting on a theme or a question. Then each person will be offered time to share an anecdote or a brief story that carries personal meaning to which the group may respond. 

Come as often as you like. Everyone is welcome. Sharing our stories in a semi-structured framework, we will deepen friendships and build community. (And bring a whittling stick if you have one!)

John Huie and others will facilitate. 

GCPC Cancer Support Ministry Gathering | Thursday, November 13 | 7:00 - 8:30 PM | Fellowship Hall

Join us for coffee, tea sweet treats and a speaker! We hope anyone that has had cancer, is a survivor, newly diagnosed, or in treatment, will attend. Families and caregivers are also welcome. It is a great opportunity to share our experiences and create some joy in a difficult time.

Questions? Reach out to a committee member: Kimo Hyatt or Bill McNeff. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

If you are interested in joining a garden team this season, please reach out to GCPC Garden Manager, Allison Kiehl at allison@gcpcusa.org.

On Saturday, October 18, Team 2 had 8 volunteers who harvested the following vegetables and herbs that were shared with Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. They also planted spinach seeds.

Act Now: Access to Food and Health Insurance Are at Risk — Protect WNC Children, Seniors, and Families

The federal government shutdown is putting WNC residents in a precarious situation, and the impact could be absolutely devastating. 

Western North Carolina families are still recovering from Helene. Many of our neighbors are experiencing housing instability, mounting medical bills, lost incomes, and may now face unaffordable health care costs and the loss of crucial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

The federal government recently directed states to not issue SNAP benefits in November until further notice, due to a lack of funding caused by the government shutdown. 

These benefits are essential for families across North Carolina, and we need your help to make that message loud and clear to Congress. And it all needs to happen quickly.

Take Action Now. 

Please contact your congressional representatives TODAY and urge them to:

1. End the government shutdown immediately, and 
2. Ensure that ACA enhanced premium tax credits are made permanent.

These two actions are critical to ensure that food stamps are distributed and access to health care is protected. Otherwise, thousands will become uninsured and the ripple effect on our families, communities, and economies will be disastrous. 

Contact your members of Congress:

Rep. Chuck Edwards (NC-11):  (202) 225-6401 or 

https://edwards.house.gov/contact

NC Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd: 

https://www.senate.gov/states/NC/intro.htm

🔎 Not sure who your representative is? Find them here: 

house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Click here for a sample script.

Click here for the pdf version of the flyer.

REI Training | November 14 & 15, 2025 | 9 AM - 5 PM | GCPC

The Keep it Moving Coalition is offering this Racial Equity Institute Phase 1 Workshop in person happening over the course of two days in the Asheville NC area - participants are asked to attend the entire training Friday November 14th -Saturday November 15th 2025 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET both days. Particpants are asked to provide their own lunch. Some light snacks and coffee/tea will be provided.

Working Wheels

Do you have an extra car that needs to find a new home? Imagine how difficult your life would be 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.

To donate, volunteer, or learn more, please visit www.workingwheelswnc.org or call 828-633-6888.

Queer The Vote: Mecklenburg County Phone Bank for School Board | Monday, October 27 – Monday, November 3 | Virtual Event (join from anywhere!)

Join us October 27 through November 4 for the Queer The Vote Phone Bank, where we’ll focus on Mecklenburg County, NC — calling voters in the area to help them get connected to the upcoming Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board races and make a plan to vote.

Your calls will help empower parents, students, educators, LGBTQ+ folks, and allies across the community to turn out and make their voices heard in one of the most consequential local elections. Training, scripts, and support will be provided. All you need is your phone, internet, and passion for justice.

Let’s Queer The Vote together by building power from the ground up — one call, one voter, one school district at a time.

WNCAP- AIDS Memorial Quilt Returns to WNC -Press Release

Attached is a press release about Western North Carolina AIDS Project's upcoming World AIDS Day AIDS Memorial Quilt Exhibit on display this winter from Monday, December.1st (World AIDS Day) to December. 13 at REVOLVE Gallery. The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the largest folk art project in the world. WNCAP is honored to partner with Campaign for Southern Equality, REVOLVE Gallery, and the National AIDS Memorial to exhibit "A Tapestry of Love: Echoes of Loss, Voices of Hope" in order to remember lives lost to the AIDS epidemic and celebrate those living and thriving with HIV today. 

All of this year's exhibited panels have been requested by members of our local community.

Please feel free to reach out to Chris Winebrenner, WNCAP Community Resource Coordinator at volunteer@wncap.org or Bellamy Crawford, WNCAP Development Director at bcrawford@wncap.org for interviews, photos, and additional information.