Next Week at FPC (May 20, 2022)

Dear Friends,

This weekend is an exciting one in the life of our church. There will be a congregational meeting at the conclusion of the 11am worship service which will include a report from our Associate Pastor Nominating Committee about the individual they believe God is calling to be our next Associate Pastor for Youth and Campus Ministry. You won’t want to miss it! And we will also be recognizing and giving thanks to God for our graduating high school seniors as part of Baccalaureate Recognition during that service. And that’s not all… there are plenty of other opportunities for learning, mission*, and worship that are happening throughout the weekend. First Presbyterian is a church on the move – hope you will come be a part of all that God is up to in this place! Enjoy your newsletter. See you Sunday. Invite a friend.

Peace,
Alan

*Make sure to check out the call for help as part of the Ecumenical Blood Drive below!

250^th Anniversary at Nazareth Presbyterian Church (Our Mother Church), Saturday, May 21
Next weekend, Nazareth Presbyterian Church, the oldest church in Spartanburg County, will celebrate the 250^th Anniversary of their Charter (members begin meeting in homes in 1765). Their present building, located at 680 Nazareth Church Road, was constructed in 1832. Nazareth is called “the mother of churches” as nine congregations, including First Presbyterian, have been formed from the congregation. Nazareth has extended an invitation to our members to join them this Saturday, May 21, for their anniversary celebration. Registration begins at 9:30am with a “History of Nazareth Presbyterian” at 10am in the Sanctuary. Additional events will take place throughout the day. More information can be found at http://www.nazarethpresbyterian.org/250th-anniversary-celebration.

SUNDAY – May 22
8am-1pm Blood Drive
8:45am MorningSong (Fogartie Hall)
8:45am Traditional Worship (Chapel)
9:45am Sunday School for children, youth, and adults
11:00am Traditional Worship (Sanctuary)
12:00pm Congregational Meeting
6:00pm Shelter Worship (Fogartie Hall)

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 (New permanent location)
• Bible Alive –Room 2208 and on Zoom
• Emmaus – Room 2207
• LIFT – Room 2201

SUNDAY – May 22
Baccalaureate Sunday
Join us as we support our high school seniors as they begin a new chapter in their lives. We will have a special portion of the 11:00am Sanctuary worship service to recognize them. We look forward to a morning of celebrating these seniors!

Congregational Meeting
The Session has called a Congregational Meeting, including a meeting of the members of the Corporation (First Presbyterian Church of Spartanburg, SC), for Sunday, May 22, 2022, at the conclusion of the 11:00am worship in the Sanctuary for the following purposes:
a. To elect the Class of 2024 elders and the chair of the Diaconate to the Board of Trustees of the Corporation: Harold Ballenger, Louie Blanton, Blair Clementson, John Faris III, Patti Foy, Callie Hammett, John Harrill Jr, Josh Jones, Cesily King, Andy Lancaster, Cathy Martinez, Paul McKee Jr, Brand Stille, Wesley Stoddard, Charlotte Verreault, and Cheryl Lang.
b. To act on a request from the APNC to call our next Associate Pastor of Youth and Campus Ministries, pending successful completion of the ordination process and transfer of membership to the Foothills Presbytery.

Blood Drive – Donors Needed
This Sunday, the Blood Connection Buses will be parked outside the Family Life Center, 8am-1pm. . Contact Beth Cecil to pre-register…walk-ins are welcome pre-registration preferred. First Presbyterian Church will receive $20.00 per completed donation that will be used for special projects through the Health Committee.

Shelter: A Contemporary Worship Experience – 6pm in Fogartie Hall
Shelter is a special time of worship where connection to God can be found through meditative scripture and reflective songs. The Shelter worship team will guide the congregation through an evening of music, word, and spirit. Rev. Alan Dyer will deliver the message. We encourage you to join us at 6pm in a transformed Fogartie Hall.
Want to find out more? Check out this brief video link.

NEXT WEEK
Fellowship on Two Wheels
Wednesdays at 5:30pm & Fridays at 12:15pm during May
Leaving from the FLC Parking Lot
May is National Bike Month and a wonderful time of year to get that bike out of the garage, pump up the tires, and enjoy a ride with friends old and new. Each Wednesday evening and Friday at lunchtime in May (weather permitting), Pastor Craig will lead a short bike ride at a conversational pace down to the Rail Trail and possibly Duncan Park. All ages and levels of fitness are welcome. No one will be left behind! This will be a great opportunity to learn how to safely ride on the road, on multi-use trails, and in a group, all while enjoying exercise and good fellowship outdoors. Helmets are required. No registration is necessary, but we will leave promptly at the appointed time. Parents with young children can meet us at the Henry St. trail head of the Rail Trail, for a trail-only ride. On Fridays, the locker rooms will be available before and after the ride, if you wish to change and freshen up before heading on to whatever is next. Join us!

Remembering Their Service and Sacrifice – Respond by May 23
On Sunday, May 29, the church will honor your loved ones who have served in the United States Armed Forces and have now passed on. We will print the information in the worship bulletin. Please contact Joanie Shackleton (jshackleton@fpcspartanburg.org/208-2132) prior to May 23 with the name of the person, their rank, branch of service, and dates of service.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
VBS Volunteers
There’s room on Adventure Island for lots of helpers. Be a part of our fun and pass along the faith by helping for a day or all week in hands-on-ways or behind the scenes!
Here is the volunteer link: Volunteer HERE!
Contact VBS Co-director, Suzy Cole, with your questions or to find your perfect spot to help: suzyboulwarecole@gmail.com. Thanks for being church family to our little ones!

Photographers Needed
We are very thankful to Budge Bean and Landon Hammett for offering their photography skills to our church. However, they cannot be at every event - but perhaps you can help! We are building a list of photographers that we can contact when there is a need. We will reach out to those photographers when we need pictures taken; everyone on the list would be welcome to say yes or no to any event. So… you are not committing to anything! Our hope is to have a big enough pool of photographers that no one will be overtaxed. Please reach out to Craig Foster (cfoster@fpcspartanburg.org) if you are interested.

Mobile Meals Volunteers Needed
Mobile Meals has resumed daily deliveries and needs 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)

Crafters Needed!
Do you knit, crochet, or cross stitch? Would you like to share your gifts and talents with your church family in a meaningful way? The Life Events Committee needs your help! Please contact Scottie Lummus (scottie.stan@gmail.com) or Meg Evatt (m_evatt@hotmail.com) for more details.

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
Announcing Our New Director of Children’s Ministry

We are excited to announce that Kara Clark will be joining our staff on August 7 as our new Director of Children’s Ministry! Learn more about Kara in the full announcement here: https://mailchi.mp/fpcspartanburg/announcing-our-new-director-of-childrens-ministry

Summer Book Discussion
Pastor Leslie will be facilitating a book discussion on Frederick Buechner's Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons in June and July. The group will meet for 8 weeks on Thursday mornings, 9:30-10:30am, in the Small Private Dining Room, starting on Thursday, June 2. All ages are welcome to join whenever you are available to participate! You will need to purchase your own book: BUY THE BOOK HERE. Let Leslie (llang@fpcspartanburg.org) know if you would like to be added to the email list.

Celebrate College & Grad School Graduates!
We would like to be able to celebrate together as a church the hard work of all our college and graduate school graduates. Please email the names of those in your household who are graduating, as well as the college or university from which they are graduating, to fpc@fpcspartanburg.org by July 1 so that they may be included in the August edition of First News.

First Pres “Store”
First Pres Cookbooks: Only 2 FPC cookbooks left! Click here to reserve a 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.
Church Ornaments: First Presbyterian Church 175^th anniversary postcard ornaments are available for $10. The porcelain ornaments feature a picture of the Sanctuary with the anniversary date 1843-2018. Place your order here.

LOOKING AHEAD
May 29 – Memorial Day Weekend (ONE service at 11:00am in the Sanctuary; No Sunday School)
June 5 – Pentecost (ONE Service at 11:00am in the Sanctuary; Sunday School at 9:45/10:00am)
June 12 – Summer Worship Schedule Begins
June 27-30 – VBS

More activities and events can be found in First News.

Unsubscribing
If you wish to be removed from the mailing list for this weekly email, please reply to this email OR email Monteigne Campbell (mcampbell@fpcspartanburg.org) to make that request. The link below will unsubscribe you from ALL group emails from the church (and the Weekday School), including emails you might want to receive!