Weekly Update for Holy Week (April 12, 2019)

This Sunday is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. See the full Holy Week schedule below, and make time this week for personal devotion and worship with your church family.

Our Faith Summit of Child Poverty was a resounding success, with broad participation from our church and many other faith communities and organizations from around our area. Our guest speakers helped us all to understand the problem of child poverty much more fully, and there was great table conversation and community building around the tables. Expect some great initiatives to come out of this and look for ways to join in! Many thanks to all those who made that event happen and those who will carry the torch from here. Please continue to check www.fpcspartanburg.org/povertysummit for regular updates on what is happening in this area.

Easter Flower Deadline TODAY
Easter flower arrangements will be made with a variety of cut flowers and lilies. The Sanctuary Guild provides an opportunity for you to honor loved ones and friends in a commemorative booklet which will be available Easter, April 21. Your contribution of $15 will provide flowers and lilies on Easter and help endow a special flower fund for floral arrangements throughout the year. If you wish to have an acknowledgment card sent, please include the addresses of those to whom you want cards mailed. Contributions can be made online or with forms available in the April edition of First News and around the church.

THIS SUNDAY
8:45am MorningSong* in Fogartie Hall &
Chapel Worship Service
9:45am Palm Sunday Brunch (Social Hall)
11:00am Sanctuary* Worship Service
5:15pm Youth Pizza Party with Robert Bannan

(* 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.)

Palm Sunday Brunch
9:45am in the Social Hall
Bring a breakfast food to share!
On Sunday, April 14, after the 8:45 am Worship Services, come to the Gym and enjoy brunch with your church family! Bring your favorite breakfast food to share – coffee cake, fruit, breakfast casserole, muffins, biscuits. There will be no Sunday School on Palm Sunday.

CANCELLED: Blessing of the Palms
Due to the expectation of wet weather, the joint Blessing of the Palms service with the Episcopal Church of the Advent and St. Paul’s Catholic has been cancelled. Weather permitting, our Palm Sunday donkey will still make an appearance in the area outside the Social Hall and Chapel during the Palm Sunday Brunch, for all the kids to visit. At 10:50, those who wish to make the short procession to the Main St. doors of the Sanctuary can gather in that same area.

Youth Pizza Party with Robert Bannan
5:15-6:30pm in the FLC Youth Rooms
Join us THIS SUNDAY in the Youth room at the top of the FLC stairs for a pizza party with our new Director of Youth and Campus Ministries, Robert Bannan. We’ll have time for food and fellowship at the beginning of the event, then Robert will meet individually with the Middle Schoolers while the High Schoolers have time in the gym. Then we’ll switch, giving each group their own chance to hang out with him for a bit! Come prepared to ask any questions you may have about Robert, the future of the youth program, or both! Bring a friend!

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SCHEDULE
Palm Sunday, April 14
8:45am Worship (Chapel and MorningSong)
9:45am Intergenerational Brunch (Social Hall) - Bring a breakfast food to share!
11:00am Worship (Sanctuary)
**There will be no Sunday School on Palm Sunday.**

Maundy Thursday, April 18
7:30pm Tenebrae Service (Sanctuary)

Good Friday, April 19
8:15am Worship (Chapel)
*Nursery care provided at 8:15am.
12:15pm Worship (Chapel)

Easter, April 21
6:45am Sunrise Worship (Columbarium)
8:45am Worship (MorningSong and Sanctuary)
10:15am Butterfly Release & Hot Cross Buns (Front Lawn)
11:00am Worship (Sanctuary)
**There will be no Sunday School nor Children's Worship on Easter.**

A Reflection and Prayer for Holy Week
from our congregation’s Prayer Committee
This year the Prayer Committee invites you to join us in a lectionary reading and prayer each week during Lent as we prepare our hearts and souls for Easter and renew our baptismal commitment.

Reading: Mark 11:1-11
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for sending your Son and paving the way for our lives to be set free through Jesus' death on the cross. Thank you for this day, the beginning of Holy Week, the start of the journey towards the power of the cross, the victory of the Resurrection, and the rich truth that Jesus truly is our King of Kings. "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” We give you praise and honor for your ways are righteous and true. We give you worship for you are holy and just. We declare that your lovingkindness endures forever. Thank you that your ways are far greater than our ways, your thoughts far deeper than our thoughts. Thank you that you had a plan to redeem. Thank you that you make all things new. Thank you that your face is towards the righteous, and you hear our prayers, and know our hearts. Help us to stay strong and true to you. Help us not to follow the voice of the crowds, but to press in close to you, to hear your whispers, and seek you alone. We praise you! We bless you Lord! Thank you that you reign supreme and we are more than conquerors through the gift of Christ! In the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.

NEXT WEEK
Cuba Mission Trip – September 20-25, 2019
Applications required by THIS MONDAY April 15!
Travel with First Presbyterian Church to Cuba September 20-25, 2019! We will meet various groups through our sister church, Villa Clara Reformed Presbyterian Church, attend worship services and spend some time sightseeing. Exceptional food, music and fellowship are guaranteed. The cost is $1500 per person. Due to VISA lead times, applications must be submitted by April 15, 2019 with a deposit of $750 to Katie Resumovic ( kresumovic@fpcspartanburg.org ) in the church office. You can pick up an application in the church office or download a form on our website at www.fpcspartanburg.org/cuba . Questions or concerns, please contact Kam or Emily Neely or Pat Tatham.

Eden Terrace Communion Service – Monday, April 15
4pm in the Eden Terrace Activity Room
There will be a worship service with communion for all Eden Terrace residents and their families, officiated by Rev. Joanne Hull. 4:00 pm in the Eden Terrace Activity Room. All are welcome!

NO Wednesdays at First – Wednesday, April 17
There will be no Wednesdays at First meal or programming next week. Please come to the Holy Week services on Thursday and Friday instead. We will have one final WAF for this school year on April 24. Then we will get to hear an update on what happened at this week’s Faith Summit on Child Poverty and what is coming out of that event.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
Find these and more 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.

Help needed at SPIHN – Week of April 21-28!
SPIHN's mission is to help temporarily homeless children and their families become self-sufficient by bringing together community resources to provide essential needs and life skills in a compassionate environment. Our next SPIHN week is April 21-28. These families need assistance by providing meals, supplies, and positive interaction. For more information or to volunteer, please click the links below.

• SPIHN Meal Provider
• SPIHN Evening Host (FULL – Thank you!)
• SPIHN Overnight Host (FULL – Thank you!)

OTHER NEWS
JOY Fellowship Spring Luncheon – Thursday, May 2
11:30am in Fogartie Hall
The JOY Fellowship Committee is excited to invite you to our annual Spring Luncheon, Thursday, May 2^nd at 11:30 in Fogartie Hall. We’ll have great fellowship, food and entertainment. Please contact Joanie Shackleton at the church office to RSVP ( jshackleton@fpcspartanburg.org / 864-208-2132). If you are in need of transportation, please let us know when you make your reservation.

Vacation Bible School
Registration is now open!
Mark your calendar now for June 9-13 so that you can be part of this year’s Vacation Bible School. We’ll kick off the week for the children during a special Children’s Worship session (for all ages rising 4K to rising 6 ^th grade) on Sunday, June 9, and continue the fun with our first Summer Sizzle after the service. Want to volunteer? Contact Molly Jones at mollyjones01@gmail.com or text her at 843-412-1022. We hope you’ll join us as we deepen our faith in God and have fun while we do it!
To Register your child[ren] and/or volunteer: www.fpcspartanburg.org/vbs

Other Lenten Devotional Resources
Here are some great devotional resources available online (some with print options and email delivery):

· Presbyterians for Earth Care is an independent organization serving members and congregations within the Presbyterian Church (USA). They have pulled together some great writers to produce a weekly devotional resource with Bible readings, reflections, and prayers for the season of Lent.

• d365.org is a year-round daily online devotion that is a collaboration of the youth ministries offices of the Presbyterian Church (USA), The Episcopal Church, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Though designed with students in mind, they speak to people of all ages. Mobile apps are also available for Apple and Android .
• Upper Room is a publishing branch of the United Methodist Church, and the daily devotions they produce come from different writers around the world each day, and the devotional is published in 33 languages and 100 countries around the world. Each day’s devotion can be read online for free, and inexpensive subscriptions add email or print delivery.
• Our Daily Bread is another very popular year-round daily devotional published in 58 languages and 150 countries. The online edition is free and includes a well-produced audio version. Print editions , email delivery , and mobile apps are also available, and .devotions are also posted toFacebook and Instagram.

LOOKING AHEAD
April 14 – Palm Sunday
April 18 – Maundy Thursday
April 19 – Good Friday
April 21 – Easter Sunday
April 21-28 – SPIHN
April 22 – Church Facilities Closed
April 28 – Installation of the Rev. Leslie Lang (One Service at 11am)
May 19 – Baccalaureate Sunday
May 19 – Blood Drive
May 26 – Begin Summer Worship Schedule
May 27 – Church Facilities Closed
June 9 – Pentecost
June 9-13 – Vacation Bible School
June 24-27 – CAST Camp
June 29-July 5 – Youth Wyoming Mission Trip
July 4 – Church Facilities Closed
July 8-11 – CAST Camp
July 12-27 – Montreat Youth Conference
July 28-August 4 – SPIHN
August 5-8 – CAST Camp
September 20-22 – Church Retreat at Montreat
September 20-25 – Cuba Mission Trip

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