Next Week at FPC (January 28, 2021)

Dear Friends in Christ,

This Sunday is the big day! Our Annual Congregational Meeting is this Sunday at 10am in the Sanctuary. We are all waiting with eager anticipation to hear who the Pastor Nominating Committee is recommending to be our next Senior Pastor! We will also be electing an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee to allow the Youth and Campus Ministry Search to consider both ordained and non-ordained candidates. And we’ve even got some exciting news to share in our annual report as well. It’s going to be a great celebration of what God has in in store for our church!

Then in the evening at 6pm come back to Fogartie Hall for a Shelter Worship service led by our youth, Scott Neely, and members of the MorningSong and Shelter music teams. What a day of worship and celebration we have before us this Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,
Craig Foster
Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Communications

THIS SUNDAY – JANUARY 30
8:45am MorningSong (Fogartie Hall)
8:45am Traditional Worship (Sanctuary)
9:45am Sunday School (for children only this week)
10:00am Annual Congregational Meeting
11:00am Traditional Worship (Sanctuary)
5:00pm Youth Groups
6:00pm Shelter Worship Service

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

Annual Congregational Meeting – Sunday, January 30
10am in the Sanctuary
The Session has called an Annual Meeting of the congregation for Sunday, January 30 at 10:00am in the Sanctuary:

• to act on the report and recommendation of the Pastoral Nominating Committee to call a Senior Pastor,
• to elect an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee to call an Associate Pastor for Youth and Campus Ministry,
• to elect at-large members of the Congregational Nominating Committee, and
• to receive reports on the life and ministry of the church from the Clerk, the Session, the Diaconate and the Finance Committee.

Refreshments will follow in the Perrin Room, Parlor, and Inner Courtyard (weather permitting).

Youth This Sunday
5-6pm: Firehouse Subs and fellowship in the Game Room
6-7pm: Shelter Service in Fogartie Hall
The Shelter Worship team will have LOTS of help from our talented Youth this Sunday night. The service will focus on “The Mind of Christ”, the theme explored by our Youth last Fall. Come see Rafe, Scott and all your friends who are participating in this special service!

Shelter: A Contemporary Worship Experience – Sunday, January 30
6pm in Fogartie Hall
Join us for a unique contemporary winter worship service, intended to celebrate the power of intergenerational ministry at FPC. The Shelter worship team, aided by our talented Youth, will guide the congregation through an evening of music, word, and spirit focused around themes explored by the FPC Youth throughout the school year, with Scott Neely leading meditation. This is sure to be a special opportunity for youth, families, and the congregation to reflect on what's behind and what's ahead as we move collectively into 2022.

NEXT WEEK
Wednesdays at First – Register Now for Dinner! (Register Here)
Join us Wednesday for Steak Diane, Haricot Verts, Twice Baked Potatoes, Roll, and Dessert! Register yourself and/or your family by Monday at 4:30pm.
If you would like to serve as a volunteer in some capacity to ensure WAF runs smoothly, please click here to sign up!

WAF Programs – 6:30-7:15pm
CRC – 5K-Grade 5 (Gym and Activity Room)
Youth – Grades 6-12 (High School Room)
Adults

• The Sermon on the Mount – Led by Dr. Lewis Galloway and Rev. Craig Foster (Social Hall)
• Younger Women’s Bible Study – Led by Donna Pulliam, Carter Smith, and Leslie Lang (Perrin Room)
• Health Series: “Bone Health” - Join us as Health Committee member, Dr. Gregory Colbath and member Emily Pack, N.P. provide information for all age groups on how to maintain healthy bones. (Sanctuary)

New Saturday Hours for the Gym
The church gym is now open from 8am-noon each Saturday. For full hours for the gym, visit fpcspartanburg.org/recreation.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES in Ministry Finder

• Donate Sweatpants to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center

• Earthquake Relief in Haiti (Donate Online)

• Habitat for Humanity Spartanburg

• Hand in Hand

• TOTAL Ministries

OTHER NEWS
Weekday School Registration Dates:
Weekday School registration for currently enrolled students and new students:

• February 7: For children currently enrolled and their siblings
• February 8: For church members seeking new enrollment
• February 9: Open enrollment

Please contact Kris Graham at kgraham@fpcspartanburg.org if you have any questions.

Blood Drive – Sunday, February 13
8am-12:45pm in the FLC Parking Lot
A donation of $20 per donor will be made to First Pres. There is a CRITICAL NEED for blood nationwide as well as in our own immediate area. The Health Committee will provide a beautiful Valentine’s Day card for you to send to someone special indicating that you donated blood in their honor. Kathy Coley, artist extraordinaire, provided the beautiful artwork on the front of the card. Please contact Beth Cecil to schedule an appointment for this upcoming event.

First Steps in Music
First Steps in Music, classes for Infants and Toddlers and their parents have just started for the Winter/Spring term! If you are interested in signing up your little one and yourself, we would love to have you join us! Please contact Marcia Andrews for more information at mandrews@fpcspartanburg.org

The Peace and Justice Task Force Spotlight: Equal Justice Initiative
The Peace and Justice Task Force February’s Spotlight is on the Equal Justice Initiative. This non-profit organization provides legal representation to people who are illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, and abused in state prisons and jails. The EJI provides assistance to formerly incarcerated people and challenges the death penalty and excessive punishment. The EJI’s main focuses are on criminal justice reform, racial justice, and public education and awareness through their museum and memorial. In 2018, the EJI opened the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The Legacy Museum provides visitors with a comprehensive history of the United States’ legacy of slavery, through the transformation of Transatlantic Slave Trade to lynching to racial segregation in the law and the Jim Crow Era to mass incarceration. At the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, there are markers for each county in the United States where a lynching took place. To watch the Just Mercy film starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx, scroll through https://justmercy.eji.org to find the link.

LOOKING AHEAD
January 30 – Annual Meeting of First Presbyterian Church (10am in the Sanctuary)
January 30 – Shelter Worship Service
February 6 – Boy Scout Sunday
February 13 – Souper Bowl of Caring
February 13 – Blood Drive
March 2 – Ash Wednesday
March 13 – Girl Scout Sunday Celebrated
April 10 – Palm Sunday
April 14 – Maundy Thursday
April 15 – Good Friday
April 17 – Easter Sunday

More activities and events can be found in First News.