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First
September 2020
Announcements & Celebrations p. 2 Reminders p. 3 Nurture p. 4 Teach p. 5
Worship p. 5 Fellowship p. 6 Serve p. 7 Directory p. 8
As a diverse family of believers in Jesus Christ, our mission is to glorify God
by celebrating and sharing God’s renewing and transforming love as:
We worship the living God with joy and thanksgiving.
We teach the Word of God to deepen our faith and to grow in
our love for Jesus Christ.
We serve others through sharing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We fellowship to enrich and energize our life together as a congregation.
We nurture and embrace all God’s children.
“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” - Squire Bill Widner
The quote above is often mistakenly attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, although he was responsible for making it pop-ular. It was actually a quote he heard from Squire Bill Widener of Widener’s Valley, Virginia. Roosevelt included it (and its source) in his 1913 autobiography. Regardless, Roosevelt believed that quote “summed up one’s duty in life. ‘Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.’” This past Sunday, I preached on Moses, the reluctant instrument of God’s salvation to the enslaved Hebrew people. Most folks may not realize that Moses spent the better part of Chapter 3 in the book of Exodus trying to convince God that he was NOT the right man for the job! Moses was terrified, he felt unworthy, unsure, and ill-equipped (there is a ref-erence where Moses admits that he is “slow of speech and tongue” - Exodus 4:10). How could he possibly speak to Phar-aoh on God’s behalf? But God was persistent, at times impatient, and kept reassuring Moses that he was the man. I can almost hear God reasoning with him from the Burning Bush - “Moses, it’ll be OK, son. Just do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” That statement rings as true in our modern age as it has in ages before, especially when you consider our current situa-tion. It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the issues we are facing in our nation and in our world. The news stories, social media, the political spin - they all make us feel like the world is either falling apart or closing in on us. Threats are everywhere, it seems, and there are more problems than solutions. We have problems, for sure, I am not writing to convince you otherwise. A stalled economy, a global pandemic, racial unrest, and the weariness of isolation. But, what I do want to say is that all the things happening in our world and even in most parts of our own nation are far more difficult for us to affect than what is taking place right in our own homes, in our own neighborhoods, and in our own hometown. It’s quite simple, if you consider it. With so many things happening that are beyond our control, why shouldn’t we, instead, focus our energy and efforts on the things we can? Perhaps, the antidote to our anxiety and sense of helplessness is found in the old Squire’s words, “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” Yes, it may be a more pragmatic lesson than a spiritual one, but I have a hunch that God would agree. Peace, Richard
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Dear Presbyterian Family, The family of Mr. James F. Bowman, Sr. acknowledges with deep appreciation your kind expression of sympathy. Thank you so much for the lemonade and cookies provided during a sad time in my life. Your kind thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated. Love Doris Bowman
Dear Church Family, Thank you so much for all the prayers, cards, and calls during the loss of my mother. Please know how much we appreciate your support and how very grateful we are for our First Presbyterian Church family. Paul Horne and Family
Dear Church Family, Thank you so much for the generous donations of school supplies. My first grade students at Northside Elementary School of the Arts will be able to use these kits to help start our school year. Thank you for the thoughtful Wal-Mart and Chick-Fil-A gift cards, which will certainly be put to good use. And, finally, thank you for the thoughts and prayers as we begin a very unique and unprecedented school year. Love, Janelle Chubb
Many thanks to my caring church family for the gift bag of homemade cards, the yummy cookies and sign for my yard. Many of my neighbors commented on the message. Also, thanks to all who drove by for my birthday. It was wonderful to see everyone. Love to you all. Donna Martin
WORSHIP REMINDERS
What to expect as we gather for in-person Worship :
Time: We will continue to gather for in-person worship on Sunday at 11:00 am
Order of Worship: The bulletin will remain a one pager, with an abbreviated format, and
words to the hymns in the bulletin.
Singing: Hymns will be reduced to 2 or 3 verses, folks will remain seated.
Offering: Offering will be taken up in baskets at the door.
Seating: We have placards in the pews advising where you can sit. Please allow 6 feet from the
nearest non-family member.
Overflow: The Verdery Chapel is set up to accept overflow seating. We have a brand new, 70”
HD TV for viewing (its nice!)
Face Masks: As long as COVID is untreatable, we will be wearing masks. It is clinically prov-
en to be the most effective deterrent to transmission.
Nursery: The nursery is open.
Children’s Church: All children through 5th grade are welcome in Children’s Church.
CHURCH NEWS: If you visit the church this week, please be aware of the construction to
replace the side entrance door w/keypad, the outside door that leads under the sanctuary and the
outside door into the downstairs bathroom hallway. Enter using the Hopkins Hall entrance and
park in an area that is clear of the construction site.
Joanne will be on vacation Sept. 7 through Sept 11. The church office
will operate on abbreviated days/hours as follows:
Closed Monday, 9/7 for Labor Day.
Open on Tuesday through Thursday (Sept. 8,9,10) 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Closed on Friday, Sept. 11.
If you need assistance any other time, please call Richard (818-1863), Kara (818-1212)
or Jackie (389-8999).
The deliveries are over but keep on spreading the message. Love and kindness are contagious!
Visit the bulletin board outside the church office to view all the “Thank You” cards we received for our Love and Kindness project and the School Supply Parade.
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1 Rob Joiner
2 Gus Cook
Steve Mullinax
Grace Nichols Nolasco
Bryan Zelinski
4 Brynn Blackwell
Leslie Jurado
Virginia Walkup
6 Bradley Lengers
7 Lucy Bedenbaugh
8 Rebecca Bridges
Hannah Grainger
13 Sally Horne
Baxter Kapp
Dave Keely
14 June Kay
Christian Rector
Alvane Deal
16 Ann Dahlin
Will Sturgis
17 Sam Curry
Hank Hensley
Bo Hutchison
Alexander Roberson
18 Leslie Ballard
19 Joe Hardy
Diane Hicks
21 Betty White
22 Iris Rose
Craig Butler
24 Alex Luse
Lee Zelinski
25 Cason Bridges
Davis Bridges
26 Mary Catherine Wheeler
27 Bob Norwood
28 Brandon James
29 Miles Curley
30 Nancy Hanna
Jean Horton
Paul Jones
SEPTEMBER-BIRTHDAYS
LIBRARY NEWS
The libraries remain open. Contact Will Read if you need help or have questions.
PROPERTY NEWS
A huge thank you to everyone that has helped refresh and update our facilities. Your hard work and willingness to do any-thing needed is a blessing to our church. Please thank the following when you see them:
Butch Bailey, Rebecca Bridges, Barry Goodner, Matt Goodner, Mimi Goodner, John Granacher, Rod Hicks, Paul Horne, Jimmy Jurado, Dixon Murdoch, Se Mur-doch, Julia Nichols, Will Read, Reid Smith, Sheryl Smith, and Kara Wheeler.
GIVING
Thank you to all who are continuing to send in your pledges. If you are currently participating in worship through livestream, there are three ways you may send your pledge to the church: 1) by mail to the address below, 2) drop them in Jack-ie’s box at the church, 3) give securely online through REALM. If you need assis-tance setting up online giving, please email or contact Jackie or Joanne.
803-389-8999 [email protected]
803-328-2467
First Presbyterian Church
P. O. Box 1011
Rock Hill, SC 29731
Deacons on Call for September
Susannah Hayes Gene Black
Diane Bailey
Acolytes
Sept 6 Emily Kay Sept 13 JoJo Zelinski Sept 20 Riley Elston Sept 27 Olivia Green
Contact Sheryl Smith (370-3994) if you need to change the date or have last minute changes.
Thank you for serving and bringing the light of Christ into our worship service!
There will be an ACOLYTE TRAINING on Sunday, September 27 at 9:30 in the sanctuary. The training will be for both current and new acolytes. Anyone in 3rd grade through Middle School or beyond is welcome to join the training. Serving as an Acolyte is a wonderful way to serve the Lord and FPC. Bringing the light of Christ into our worship on Sundays is an important part of beginning our worship service. Mask are required and social distancing will be practiced during the training. Please contact Sheryl Smith if you are interested – 803-370-3994 or [email protected]
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PRAYER LIST
Please keep these members of our congregation in your prayers:
Health Concerns (Members): Beth Easley, Worth Kendall, Mary Tice, Audrey Moore, Jane Williams, and Ann Dahlin.
Sympathy: Christian sympathy is extended to Paul Horne and his family in the death of his mother, Ella Mae Horne. Mrs. Horne passed away on August 12th. Paul Horne—PO Box 3427, Rock Hill, SC 29732 Friends and Family Members to keep in our prayers:
Carol Hines - (Susan Demchak's friend) 1106 Christopher Circle, RHSC
29730
Keira Esposito (Sanfilipppo Syndrome)
746 Quicksilver Trail
Fort Mill, SC 29708-6548
Dennis Hopkins-Joe and Lena Hopkins’ son (ALS-Lou Gehrigs Disease) 4120 Marshall Rd, 29730
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Please keep the following mem-bers of the military in your prayers:
Stephen “Anthony” Bradley (Teresa Bradley’s son & Jean Horton's grandson) Navy: Stephen Bradley, 515 Chesterfield Rd Hampton, VA 23661 Matthew Blackwelder Blackwelder, Matthew B. Navy: Matt, Kellie and Jackson Black-welder 120 Kenneth Cr Newport News, VA 23602 Major and Mrs. Ryan Middle-ton (Laura Keely) 9190 Brenahm Court Montgomery, AL 36117
Taylor Ferguson- (Phyllis Fer-guson’s grandson) Army: Capt. Taylor Ferguson 7653 Kesler Dr Fort Benning, Ga 31905
If you or someone you know has a pastoral need, please contact Richard at 803-818-1863 or through email at [email protected]. You can also contact the church office (328-2467; [email protected]) or one of the deacons on call.
Our Prayer Ministry is now accepting prayer requests. This very important ministry is for all of our church members and extended families. You may provide as much or as little information as you wish and know that prayers will be offered at a moment’s notice. This is a confidential group and your request will be treated as such. Please contact Jane Williams (366-3834 or [email protected]).
Children’s Ministry Corner
Every culture has a story about how it began. For Christians, this story is told in the first book of the Bible. We will begin our Growing in God’s Love curriculum by reading in our Bible three stories that give us insights into what the writers wanted their audience (the Israelites) to remember about God and
God’s relationship to all creation.
Sept 6-“How God Made Everything” (Genesis 1:1-2:4a) reminds us of the expectation God has of humans – to care for the earth, to keep it as beautiful as it was in the beginning.
Sept 13 – “We Were All Farmers Once” (Genesis 2:4b-22) tells the story of creation from the perspective of a different writer who wanted people to remember their deep connection to fertile soil.
Sept 20 – “When the World Started Over Again” (Genesis 6-9) tells a hard story about loss of life and land and describes how life began again with God’s promise to always be near to humans, caring and protecting them.
We’ll begin a new unit on the stories of our faith ancestors on September 27. Sept 27 – “Abram & Sarai Find a New Home” (Genesis 12:1-4a; 17:1-16) tells of the promise revealed by God.
Youth Ministry Spotlight
This month in Sunday School we will be talking about four traits we read about in Scripture that we should embrace to do our part for a strong and healthy community.
~ Sept 6 – “Embracing Differences” (Mark 3:13-21) highlights that the kind of community found in Scripture isn’t made of people that think and act just like us.
~ Sept 13 – “Embracing Humility” (Philippians 2:1-11) highlights the importance of humility and considering others as more important than yourself. (Middle School Night on Zoom at 5pm)
~ Sept 20 – “Embracing Conflict” (Matthew 18:15-20) highlights the importance of dealing with conflict and utilizing boundaries with unhealthy relationships. (Youth Group Game Night on Zoom at 5pm)
~ Sept 27 – “Embracing Forgiveness” (Matthew 18:21-35) hightlights the importance of forgiveness and letting go.
(High School Night on Zoom at 5pm).
Be on the lookout for a Cornmaze and Pumpkin Patch outing in October!
Weekly Bible Studies at First Presbyterian
The New Testament Story by David L. Barr – led by Rev. Carr Beginning Thursday, Sept 10—9:30 am to 11:00 am via Zoom
In The Shadow of the Temple will be taught by Will Read beginning September 21st, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm via Zoom. Contact Will Read ASAP if you would like to join.
Women’s Fellowship will not meet this fall. We will read Grateful by Diana Butler Bass and discuss in January.
Sunday School Recap
The Seekers and New Covenant + Berean are two adult classes meeting for Sunday School in person at 10:00 am. Please join us if you are interested! The youth group is also meeting in person at 10:00am. Children’s Sunday School is happening during the worship hour at this time with an expanded Children’s Church following the Children’s Sermon. Worship care is available in our nursery and preschool classes. Joe Hardy is leading a class via Zoom on the 4th Sunday (Sept. 22) at 1:30 pm.
School Supply Parade Thanks
Thanks for your generous support of our educators and local school children with our school supply parade. I am so grateful for the youth group’s willingness to help collect and organize these supplies for distribution. 14 educators and 15 schools were supported! We collected over 185 pencil boxes and had a number of additional supplies donated that educators in older grades were able to take. We also had a church member donate a $25 gift card that each educator received for their classroom as well. Your prayers for our educators and students will bless them this year.
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Women’s
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“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
We are pleased to continue our Care Bag mission project for Piedmont Medical Center, which has allowed FPC to share compassion and kindness with families who have loved ones in pal-liative care. We are excited that this mission project will now in-clude a collection of items for Hospice & Community Care.
Our Collection Box is in the narthex.
If you are able to contribute, please send in the following items:
Small water bottles Peanut-free prepackaged snacks Small notebooks
Pens or pencils Small tissue packs Lip balm, mints/gum
Men’s undershirts (any size), Men’s pajama pants (any size) or Women’s night-gowns (any size).
Items to pass the time (crossword puzzles, word searches, small puzzles, etc.)
“As many of you know, I have been working on my Eagle Project. There was a need for additional bookshelves in the adult library so I chose to build them for my project. With the help of Barry Goodner and Bill Boyne (my grandfather) we planned and built 5 bookcases. With the help of other scouts in Troop 31 and friends, we sanded and stained them to match. It took about 2 weeks to construct and over 5 Saturdays to sand and stain. They were installed on August 22nd and are ready to view in the library. I would like to say thank you to my parents, my grand-father, Barry Goodner, Will Read, Paul Horne and all the people that helped with and donated to my project. Your generosity helped make the shelves become all I had imagined. Hopefully once COVID is over, I can have an open house to show them off.” Thanks again.
Dixon Murdoch
Our first graders received their bibles on Sunday, August 30th.
Brynn Park, McCain Nichols, Addie Nichols, Jamison Deese
(not pictured Katie Crean & Claire Stevenson)
ATTENTION
COLLEGE STUDENTS!
Please send Kara your college mailing address and best con-tact information if you are heading to college this year. We would like to encourage you throughout the year! And who knows, you might even get a “College Care Package” once in a while!
(Mom or dad, you can send the info to Kara also.)
We serve others through sharing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Yarns of Love – It was September 2013 when the session of
FPC granted a group of ladies permission to form a group to
meet weekly in the church’s parlor to make prayer shawls for the
patients of Hospice and Community Care and for those seriously
ill in our own congregation. The members of the group have
grown from the initial group who began after taking a crochet
class offered by Linda Hutchison. Well, it is seven years later
and the group is still going strong! Several ladies have come to learn how to crochet
while others have picked up yarn and crochet hooks to reacquaint themselves with
crochet from years past. During these seven years, 482 prayer shawls and 423
lapghans have been made, blessed and presented to seriously ill folks. Also, baby
blankets have been made and presented to 21 babies born into our congregation.
Along the way, several members of the church have gifted the group with a
monetary donation or a donation of yarn. These donations are always much
appreciated! Even though it is a ministry for others, the ladies who participate in
this weekly group all agree, it is a blessing to be a part of this ministry!
Help for HOPE
During the month of September, our congregation will be
collecting jars of peanut butter and jelly for the clients of
Project HOPE. School children can make a pb & j sandwich for
their breakfasts, lunches or after school snacks. Please consider
contributing a jar(s) of peanut butter and jelly to the box in the
narthex by September 20. The Mission Committee and the
clients of Project HOPE are most appreciative of your donations.
Help for HOPE – During August, we collected 97 boxes of cereal for Project
HOPE. This will go to families right here in Rock Hill to help fight food
insecurities. Thank you on behalf of the clients of Project HOPE and the members
of the Mission and Outreach Committee.
We Worship the Liv-ing God with Joy and
Thanksgiving
HOP
(Hunger Outreach Program)
On the 4th Tuesday of each
month our church participates
in the “Hunger Outreach Pro-
gram”. We are a member of a
consortium of several churches
who meet and prepare approxi-
mately 240 meals, which are
bagged and delivered to the
hungry and needy in our com-
munity. We do not meet in the
Summer, our next HOP meet-
ing will be September 28th.
You are invited to join us at
3:00 p.m. to assist in this ef-
fort. If you are unable to come
and help, you may assist by
writing a check to First Pres-
byterian Church and marking
it for “HOP”.
Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen
Ladies will meet on Thurs-
day, September 24th from
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. We help
cook for the Soup Kitchen on
Crawford Road. Anyone inter-
ested should call Wendy
Blanchard at (704) 616-7021
or Christy Goodner to volun-
teer.
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Return Service Requested
The Officers of First Presbyterian Church
Members of the Session
Class of 2020 Class of 2021 Class of 2022
Bob Barrett Matt Goodner Barry Goodner Peggy Casey Jimmy Jurado Cynthia Johnson Paul Horne Laura Lengers Joanne Lehman Kathy James Susan Roberson Robert Pender Julia Nichols George White, Clerk Sheryl Smith
Members of the Diaconate
Class of 2020 Class of 2021 Class of 2022
Susannah Hayes Gene Black Lindsey Skinner Dave Keely Teresa Bradley, Moderator Ellie Dawson Joan Musselwhite Michelle Elston Faye Ballard Eric Park Traci Jackson Steve Mullinax Jane Williams Leslie Jurado Diane Bailey
First Presbyterian Church 234 East Main Street POST OFFICE BOX 1011 ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA 29730
Staff Contact Information Church Office: (803) 328-2467
Rev. Richard W. Carr, III Minister [email protected] (803) 818-1863
Kara Wheeler Directory of Family Ministries [email protected] (803) 818-1212
Rev. Dr. Craig C. Butler Marriage and Family Minister [email protected] (803) 366-5445-cell
Dr. Donald M. Rogers Director of Music [email protected]
Will Read Cherub Choir Director [email protected]
Mickey Johnson Handbell Choir Director [email protected]
Joanne Stogner Administrative Assistant [email protected]
Jackie Johnson Financial Secretary [email protected]
