Weekly Update for February 28, 2020

It has been an amazing week at FPC. Last Saturday we got to celebrate the wedding of Joanne Hull and Eddie Donald. If you missed it (or just want to see it again) you can find it here. We also celebrated Witness Season and have exceeded our goal! You can read more about that below or watch any of the Witness Season programs on the church website. People gave more than their money on Sunday, too, through our Ecumenical Blood Drive. Then on Wednesday we entered into the season of Lent through our Ash Wednesday Service. Thank you to so many people who gave of themselves in so many ways to make all of this possible!

THIS SUNDAY
8:45am MorningSong* and Chapel Worship Services
9:45am Sunday School for All Ages
10:30am Monthly Fellowship
11:00am Sanctuary* Worship Service
5:00pm Sunday Night Youth Group

(* Services with asterisks will be livestreamed at www.fpcspartanburg.org/live. Bulletins, scripture readings, manuscripts, and video archives can also be found on that page.)

Monthly Fellowship
10:30am in the Perrin Room
Enjoy doughnuts, coffee, and fellowship with your church family!

Lent Devotion Book – The Rhythm of Worship and Life
This year’s Lent Devotion Book is a collaboration of seven Spartanburg area Presbyterian congregations, including Inman, Landrum Limestone, Nazareth, Second, Tyger River, and our own congregation. The reflections consider how the movements of worship reflect and shape the movements of our lives. Devotion books can be found at various places around campus. You may also find them online at www.fpcspartanburg.org/devotionals or on our Facebook or Twitter pages. You may also sign up to receive them online at http://eepurl.com/bqtMS9.

NEXT WEEK
Spartanburg Interfaith Alliance Lenten Worship and Luncheon Series
At FPC this Wedenesday!
Register HERE for a free light lunch
Experience the tradition of the Lenten Season! The Spartanburg Interfaith Alliance will host six worship and lunch sessions beginning at noon where attendees have the chance to fellowship and learn more about the Lenten tradition.

Wed. 3/4 at First Presbyterian Church Spartanburg
Wed. 3/11 at The Episcopal Church of the Advent (141 Advent St.)
Wed. 3/18 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (121 Quail Dr.)
Wed. 3/25 at Glenn Springs Calvary Episcopal Church (3685 Glenn Springs Rd.)
Wed. 4/1 hosted by The Palmetto Moravian Fellowship at Central United Methodist Church (233 N. Church St.)

WAF Dinner – Wednesday, March 4
5:00-6:15pm in Fogartie Hall
Menu: Greek salad bar, Greek-style pork chops, mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes, bread, and desert.
No reservations are necessary, and most forms of payment are accepted at the door. Meal costs are: $8 for adults and youth (12 and older), $7 for seniors (55 and over), and $5 for children, with a limit of $25 per family.

WAF Program: Holt & Marcia’s Sabbatical Journeys
Wednesdays, March 4 & 11
6:30pm in the Sanctuary
For the next Two Wednesdays, Holt and Marcia will offer thoughts (and pictures!) from their recent sabbatical. On March 4 the focus will be on their musical/cultural experiences, and on March 11 they will discuss spiritual aspects of their visits to over fifteen different cities in the United States, Europe, and Africa.

Other After-Dinner WAF Programming
Weekly Sermon Bible Study (Perrin Room)
Christian Recreation for Children (Gym and Activity Room)
Youth Wednesday Night Fellowship (Middle School Room)
Sit ‘n Stitch (FLC Lobby)
Wednesday Walkers (Walking Track)

World Day of Prayer – Friday, March 6
The World Day of Prayer is March 6. The Prayer Committee has placed prayer cards in the Tower Room and lobby of the Family Life Center. We hope you will find them useful as you think about the needs of our world and that you will join Christians around the globe on that day in offering our both our praise and our concerns to God in prayer. And remember that the Chapel will be open (as it is every weekday) if you need a quiet place to spend some time in prayer.

Converse Students to Speak about Middle East Travels – NEXT Sunday, March 8
9:45am in Room C212 (Clark Building)
On Sunday, March 8, the Christian Perspectives Sunday School Class will welcome Converse students, Kennedy Anderson and Kathryn Frizzell to give their impression of events based on their recent travels to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
Find all sorts of ways that you can serve in the Ministry Finder section of the website (under the “Serve” menu). There you can search for service opportunities that match your interests and schedule, and with one tap, make contact with someone who can tell you more and/or help you to get involved.

Lunch ‘n Learn: Generational Literacy – Tuesday, March 10
Noon in the Large Private Dining Room
Meal Cost: $7
Register by March 6 (Click Here to Register)
Come learn more about Generational Literacy, a focus area of the Faith Initiative to End Child Poverty. Join us in the Large Private Dining Room (LPDR) in the Family Life Center at Noon on Tuesday, March 10 for a panel discussion with Bill Brasington, Adult Learning Center; Gloria Close, Citizen Scholars Institute; Todd Stephens, Spartanburg County Public Libraries; and Anne Waters, Hub City Writers Project. Lunch prepared by Pano Stathakis will be served for only $7.

Rise Against Hunger – Sunday, March 15
2-4pm in the Gym
Rise Against Hunger is an international hunger relief organization that distributes food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable, mobilizing the necessary resources to end hunger by 2030. They bring all their supplies to the church and we will spend 2 hours packaging food for the starving and malnourished around the globe. We need 120 volunteers for this mission opportunity, and we package 25,000 meals in 2 hours! How amazing is that? Join our youth on March 15 at 2pm in the Gym! All ages welcome. Mark your calendars and register today!

Service Opportunities for Children, Families, and Everyone Else Too!
There are several opportunities for you and your children to get involved in preparing our church for the season of Lent and Easter. Please sign up online or contact Alexa Pack (alexapack@gmail.com) or Mary Lorick Thompson (marylorick.thompson@salem.edu) for more information, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0449aaa623a3fa7-lent and

OTHER NEWS
We Have Exceeded our Witness Season Goal!!!
On behalf of the Local Mission Committee, I wish to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the First Presbyterian Church family for its overwhelming financial support and volunteer interest in the Cleveland Academy of Leadership. The church has exceeded its $25,000 goal for the Math Lab. A final tally will be communicated after the month-long campaign has closed on March 1. And remember a generous donor from outside our church has offered to match our gifts up to $25,000. That means over $50,000 has been raised toward this project! And there is still time to give before March 1! Click HERE to slide a few more generous donations in before the deadline!

In the meantime, here a few words from a Cleveland Academy Administrative email:
"This is truly the most WONDERFUL news! Overwhelmed by the generosity of the church….I am overflowing with joy thinking of all the children that will be so powerfully moved and empowered by this investment into the school. An enormous THANK YOU (from all the students this will touch) to all of you who worked so hard to bring this to life. I am already thinking about how exciting it will be next spring to be able to bring all of you to meet some students who have been empowered and moved forward through this math lab."

Women’s Connection at Montreat – August 14-16
Featuring Jen Hatmaker, Frances Taylor Gench, and Alice Ridgill
Comprehensive cost: $200 (if registered through FPC)
(includes conference registration, a double-occupancy room, and five meals)
Register HERE before April 1 to get your first choice of workshops!
Our church has arranged for housing, meals, and deeply discounted registration for the first 20 women to register for this conference. Registration should be made through the church to receive these benefits! This is always a phenomenal conference, and it will be led by three extraordinary ladies this year. Jen Hatmaker is a nationally-known author of two New York Times best sellers and host of the wildly popular For the Love podcast. Frances Taylor Gench spoke at our church several years ago and is an engaging speaker and a leading New Testament scholar. Alice Ridgill is a phenomenal preacher with strong SC connections. New for this year will be a back-home group program so that our group can discuss and grow together. So don’t miss this opportunity! Lodging and meals will be at the William Black Lodge, conveniently located right behind Assembly Inn, at the heart of Montreat. Reserved rooms are all double occupancy with twin beds (though other options may be available at an increased cost). So invite a good friend to be your roommate for the weekend! (Note: This is half the cost of the full registration, housing, and meals! In return for heavily subsidizing this event, the Adult Education and Discipleship Committee asks that you be willing to share your experience with others and participate in the growth of our Women’s Ministry programming.)
More information is on the Montreat website, but be sure to register through the church!

LOOKING AHEAD
March 4 – Lenten Service at FPC
March 8 – Daylight Savings Time Ends
March 10 – Lunch n’ Learn: Generational Literacy
March 6 – World Day of Prayer
March 15 – Rise Against Hunger
March 19 – JOY Fellowship Trip to Spartanburg Airport
April 1 – Palm Cross Workshop
April 5 – Palm Sunday
April 9 – Maundy Thursday
April 10 – Good Friday
April 12 – Easter Sunday
June 15-18 – Vacation Bible School
August 14-16 – Women’s Connection at Montreat

Find out more in First News: www.fpcspartanburg.org/firstnews