Weekly Update for March 6, 2020

Thank you all for your generosity as part of Witness Season. Together, we have been able to raise $42,078! With another $25,000 of matching funds coming in from an anonymous outside donor, that makes the total $67,078 toward establishing and staffing a mathematics lab at Cleveland Academy of Leadership! Thank you!

As we continue our efforts to end child poverty in Spartanburg, please take note of the Lunch n’ Learn on Tuesday (registration deadline TODAY) and the 2^nd Annual Poverty Summit in April.

World Day of Prayer – TODAY
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.

Register by TODAY (Click Here to Register)
Lunch ‘n Learn: Generational Literacy – Tuesday, March 10
Noon in the Large Private Dining Room
Meal Cost: $7
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.

THIS SUNDAY
8:45am MorningSong* and Chapel Worship Services
9:45am Sunday School for All Ages
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.)

Spring Forward on Saturday Night
Daylight Savings Time ends in the wee hours of Sunday morning. So be sure to set your clocks forward an hour and go to bed extra early so that you’re not that person that walks into church during the benediction!

Converse Students to Speak about Middle East Travels
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.

Girl Scout Sunday
Thursday, March 12, marks the 108^th birthday of the Girl Scouts. It commemorates the day in 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low officially registered the organization’s first 18 girl members in Savannah, Georgia. Today, there are 2.5 million Girl Scouts – 1.7 million girl members and 750,000 adult members working primarily as volunteers. During the 11am Sanctuary Worship Service on Sunday, we recognize our Girl Scouts, past and present.

NEXT WEEK
Spartanburg Interfaith Alliance Lenten Worship and Luncheon Series
Noon each Wednesday in Lent
Register HERE for a free 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. 3/11 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 11
5:00-6:15pm in Fogartie Hall
Menu: Caesar salad bar, Chicken Marsala, garden blend rice, steamed broccoli, bread, dessert
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)

Rise Against Hunger – NEXT 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
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.

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
Singing to Servanthood – Wednesday, March 18
6:30pm in the Sanctuary
Our talented Children’s Choirs (ages 5K-Grade 5) will present their spring concert, entitled, “Singing to Servanthood.” The concert will include lots of music the children have worked on over this school year, including anthems you have never heard before! Please join us for this special evening and support our young singers. Feel free to invite extended family and friends! The event will conclude with an ice cream party for singers and their families in Fogartie Hall!

JOY Fellowship Trip to Spartanburg Downtown Airport – Thursday, March 19
Meet at 10:45am at the church
Join your JOY Fellowship friends for a trip to the historic Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport. We will have a tour and learn some of the history of Spartanburg’s largest asset. Meet at the Family Life Center at 10:45am to take the church bus to the airport, and enjoy lunch at Fuddruckers after the tour. Contact Joanie Shackleton (jshackleton@fpcspartanburg.org / 864-208-2132) to reserve your spot on the bus.

2^ndAnnual Poverty Summit – Thursday, April 16
5-8pm in the Sanctuary and Fogartie Hall
Cost: $10/person (includes dinner)
Join us for a special worship service and an update on the Faith Initiative to End Child Poverty. Also hear the powerful story of special speaker Rev. Darrell Armstrong, an alumnus of foster care, Chief Administrative Officer to the United Nations - Baptist World Alliance, and former board member of Prevent Child Abuse America. The cost is $10 per person, which includes a plated dinner. Register today at www.fpcspartanburg.org/povertysummit. Please contact Caroline Goodman (cgoodman@fpcspartanburg.org / 864-208-2139) if you have any questions.

LOOKING AHEAD
March 6 – World Day of Prayer
March 8 – Daylight Savings Time Ends
March 10 – Lunch n’ Learn: Generational Literacy
March 15 – Rise Against Hunger
March 19 – JOY Fellowship Trip to Spartanburg Airport
April 1 – Palm Cross Workshop
April 5 – Palm Sunday
April 5 – Chamber Singers Concert
April 9 – Maundy Thursday
April 10 – Good Friday
April 12 – Easter Sunday
April 16 – 2^nd Annual Poverty Summit
May 3 – Confirmation Sunday
May 7 – Chamber Singers Concert
May 17 – Baccalaureate Sunday
May 31 – Pentecost (one service at 10:30)
June 15-18 – Vacation Bible School
August 14-16 – Women’s Connection at Montreat

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