Holy Week at FPC (April 8, 2022)

Dear Friends,

Holy Week, that “week of all weeks” in the Christian year, is almost upon us. As Music Director I can’t help but leading with a reminder about Sunday night’s 6:00 PM Chamber Singers Concert, but it is a time full of services and events that offer richness and depth:

Palm Sunday worship services. Children will have the opportunity to be part of a Palm Procession at the MorningSong and 11:00 AM sanctuary services.

The aforementioned Chamber Singers Concert at 6:00 PM Sunday, featuring Bach’s Cantata 12 with soloists and Chamber Orchestra.

Maundy Thursday Service at 7:30 PM on April 14. The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated with homily by Alan Dyer and music from the Chancel Choir and guest oboist Sydney Stevens.

Good Friday Service at 12:15 on April 15. The service is built around the Seven Last Words of Christ. There will be a brief message on each word by a church staff member followed by a musical response. Karen Hill, clarinet, joins FPC musicians for this service.

Easter! Four glorious services to celebrate the resurrection, and a special schedule during the Sunday School hour. Keep reading to get all the details.

Let me close by saying what a privilege it is to be able to join with all our pastors and musicians for our Holy Week offerings. I believe this will be a week to remember at FPC!
Faithfully,
Holt Andrews

PALM SUNDAY – April 10
8:45am MorningSong (Fogartie Hall)
8:45am Traditional Worship (Sanctuary)
9:45am Sunday School for children, youth, and adults
11:00am Traditional Worship (Sanctuary)
5:00pm Youth Night (Family Life Center)
6:00pm Chamber Singers Concert (Sanctuary)

Stream our services live on FPCSpartanburg.org/worship, YouTube, or Facebook.

Sunday School
Pre-K & Nursery – Clark Building, First Floor
Elementary – Clark Building, Second Floor
Youth – Family Life Center, Second Floor
Adults:

Abide – Room 2200

Bible Alive –Room 2208 and on Zoom (Not meeting on Palm Sunday)

Emmaus – Room 2207

LIFT – Room 2201

Help Alan and his family get to know YOU!
Throughout the month of April, please wear your nametag to services and church events to help Alan, Erin, Sam, and Jack get to know their new church family. This will also help us to get reacquainted with each other (for those brain cloud moments). Feel free to wear your Sonitrol Badge or one the laminated nametags. If you do not have a Sonitrol Badge, no worries, there is still time to have one made. Additionally, we will have blank nametags onsite for visitors or anyone in need of a nametag. Nametags and pens will be located in the FLC Lobby, Tower Room, and Hospitality Room. Thank you!

HOLY WEEK
Help Us Celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter!
Opportunities to help enhance our church family Easter experience
Contact LeAnne Thurmond Holcombe to sign up (864-621-0213 or leanne.thurmond@gmail.com)

Palm Sunday

Distribute Palm crosses before MorningSong at 8:45 and the Traditional Services at 8:45 and 11:00.

Help decorate the traditional flower cross between the Chapel and Sanctuary. Hand out flowers. Assist those who brought flowers place them. Tidy up the area.

Palm Sunday – April 10
8:45 am: Worship in the Sanctuary (Traditional) and Fogartie Hall (MorningSong). Children may participate in a palm procession during the MorningSong Service.
11:00 am: Worship in the Sanctuary (Traditional). Children may participate in a palm procession at the beginning of the Service.

Palm Sunday Chamber Singers Concert – Sunday, April 10
6pm in the Sanctuary
Please join the Chamber Singers for a Palm Sunday concert. The group will be joined by orchestra for J. S. Bach’s Cantata 12, plus additional music of the season.

Women's Circle Meetings
Women's Circle 3 – Monday, April 11 at 10:30am in the Parlor
Women's Circle 4 – Monday, April 11 at 2:00pm in the Parlor
Women's Circle 5– Monday, April 11 at 10:30 in the Purnell Room
Women's Circle 9 – Meeting times and places vary

Maundy Thursday – April 14, 2022
7:30pm in the Sanctuary
A service remembering Jesus's Last Supper with his disciples before his crucifixion

Good Friday Service– April 15, 2022
12:15pm in the Sanctuary
A brief service reflecting on Jesus’s words from the cross with music and spoken mediations

Easter Sunday – April 17, 2022
All Morning: Cross of Flowers (Front Lawn)
Members and guests are invited to place flowers in the rough-hewn cross, which is erected by the Sanctuary Guild on the Lawn of the church, as they come to worship on Easter.
6:30am: Sunrise Service (Columbarium)
After the service, make your way to The Perrin Room for a time of Fellowship. Hot Cross Buns will be served.
8:45am: Sanctuary and MorningSong Worship Services
10:00am: Adult/Youth Sunday School (Social Hall) and Children’s Sunday School (Clark Building)
10:00am: Fellowship and Hot Cross Buns (Front Lawn)
11:00 am: Sanctuary Worship Service

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
Mobile Meals Volunteers Needed
Mobile Meals has resumed daily deliveries and is in need of more volunteers! You can sign-up to participate in a regular route or offer to be a substitute driver when it suits your schedule. If you'd like more information, please contact Vivian Tanner at Mobile Meals (vivian@mobile-meals.org)

Child Abuse Prevention Awareness
Starting this week, you will notice blue pinwheels on our church property and in other locations around Spartanburg. These pinwheels are a reminder that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. We are particularly appreciative of our ministry partners who focus on vulnerable children in our community, including Hope Center for Children, Thornwell, and Children's Advocacy Center. If you'd like to get more involved, reach out to Pastor Leslie for more information.

Support for Ukraine
So many have heavy hearts over the war and violence occurring in Ukraine. We as a denomination invite you to pray for peace and strength, as well as for a change of hearts and minds so that world leaders can reach some agreement. If you would like to support humanitarian relief to those fleeing violence in Ukraine, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has set-up a fund to support organizations working directly with families on the ground. Donations can be made through a fund at the church at fpcspartanburg.org/give.

Ministry Finder
Find all sorts of ways to get involved in serving God and serving others on the church website through Ministry Finder!

OTHER NEWS
FR8yard Young Adult Fellowship – Wednesday, April 20
5:30-7:30pm at the FR8yard
Come out and join us for fellowship and refreshments! Pastor Alan will be there, and it will be a great opportunity to connect with friends. Childcare will not be provided, but FR8yard is family friendly for those who wish to bring children. Contact Leslie Lang if you have questions.

Connect over Coffee – Meet Alan Dyer
We are very happy to welcome Rev. Alan Dyer to First Presbyterian Church, Spartanburg. Alan is looking forward to the opportunity to get to know each member of his new church family and would like to connect with you – over coffee! Gatherings will be on select Tuesdays at 8:00am and Wednesdays at 10:00am in The Perrin Room. Please RSVP HERE.

First Pres Cookbooks
Apparently, word got out that copies of the First Pres cookbook are available! Click here to get your copy!

FPC Tartan Ties and Scarves
Ties and scarves in the FPC tartan pattern are once again available for sale. The ties are $25, and the scarves are $35. You can order here or by contacting Lynise Clarke.

Vacation Bible School will be June 27 – 30 from 9:00am to 12:00pm
Please Register by May 15!
Rising 4K to 6^th Grade, come explore how God’s great light shines and how we can reflect that light! We will explore Adventure Island together!
Registration is open from April 1^st to May 15^th. VBS will be $20.00 per child with a maximum of $50.00 per family.
Register at www.fpcspartanburg.org/vbs and contact Pastor Ansley at apage@fpcspartanburg.org if you have any questions.

Join the Palmetto Council of Boy Scouts of America in honoring David and Harriet Ike
April 19, 2022, at the Spartanburg Marriott
6pm Reception // 7pm Program
You are invited to the 2022 Distinguished Citizen Dinner honoring our own David and Harriet Ike for their faithful service to the Boy Scouts. Come celebrate with them! While there is no cost for the dinner, this event is a fundraiser for the Palmetto Council of Boy Scouts of America, and you are invited to make a contribution to the Boy Scouts in honor of David and Harriet’s many years of service. Visit https://palmettocouncil.org/2022-spartanburg-dcd to learn more about David and Harriet’s work with the scouts and to RSVP for the dinner.

Peace and Justice Task Force Spotlight:
Racial Healing Circles are conversations that honor and value each person’s humanity, better reflect our common humanity, and build mutually respectful relationships across racial difference to bring about racial healing and repair in communities. They were developed as part of the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) framework by Dr. Gail Christopher, who was the City of Spartanburg’s MLK Unity Celebration keynote speaker in 2020 just before the pandemic closed everything down. As she puts it, “A racial healing circle is not just a conversation, not just a safe space. It is an experience that engages the heart and requires the heart to be open and expansive. It re-affirms the humanity in all of us. It is a commitment to acknowledging that unconscious bias lives in all of us, and it is the spiritual work of affirming and loving ourselves.” To date, about 150 people in Spartanburg have participated in one. Please join us. To learn more and to register, visit https://justfuturespartanburg.org/racial-healing-circles.

LOOKING AHEAD
April 14 – Maundy Thursday
April 15 – Good Friday
April 17 – Easter Sunday
April 24 – Confirmation Sunday
May 15 – Church on the Lawn
May 22 – Baccalaureate Sunday
June 5 – Pentecost
June 27-30 – VBS

More activities and events can be found in First News.

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