Weekly Update for the First Week of Advent (November 30, 2018)

The Advent Season of waiting and watching for the coming of the Messiah begins this Sunday, and there are lots of things happening this Sunday to help us all enter fulling into this special season. Please note that the 8:45 traditional service will meet in the Sanctuary (rather than the Chapel) starting this Sunday and for the duration of Advent.

Also don’t forget about the White Gifts Service this Wednesday!

THIS SUNDAY
8:45am    MorningSong* in Fogartie Hall &
                Early Sanctuary Worship Service
9:45am    Sunday School for All Ages
10:30am   Monthly Fellowship (Perrin Room)
11:00am   Sanctuary* Worship Service
12:00pm   Family Advent Celebration (Social Hall)
12:00pm   Dedication of the Perrin Room
5:00pm     Chamber Singers Concert* (Sanctuary)

(* 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
This Sunday is our monthly fellowship time in our newly renovated gathering space. Meet in the Perrin Room at 10:30am for doughnuts, coffee, and fellowship with your church family. Parent’s please be sure to pick up your children from Sunday School by 10:30 so that everyone, including teachers, can enjoy the fellowship time together. And everyone, if a child offers you a sticker during that time, take it! And spend a minute talking with that child.

Family Advent Celebration
Noon in the Social Hall
We hope you will join us for the 2018 Family Advent Celebration following the 11:00 service until 2:00 this Sunday, December 2. Start the time of anticipation of the birth of Christ with a variety of fun, family-friendly activities. We’ll meet in the Social Hall to find advent wreaths to make, cards to create for Mobile Meals recipients and other shut-ins, cookies to decorate, and Christmas crafts to design. Join in singing Christmas carols with your friends. Light lunch finger food will be available.
Want to volunteer?: Contact Cesily King (cking@fpcspartanburg.org).

Perrin Room Dedication
The congregation is invited to a special ceremony of dedication for our wonderful, newly-created and completed gathering space, to be called the Perrin Room, in honor of the Perrin family who have been part of this congregation for many decades. The ceremony will be in the room immediately following the 11:00 service this Sunday, December 2. Light refreshments will be served. Please join us in honoring this great family and celebrating this outstanding addition to our church campus.

Chamber Singers Christmas Concert
5pm in the Sanctuary
The Chamber Singers Christmas concert, I Am Changed, will be held in the Sanctuary on Sunday, December 2 at 5:00pm. Admission is free, and there will be an offering collected for Mobile Meals. Chamber Singers CD's will also be on sale, with all proceeds going to Mobile Meals.

Advent Devotions
A collection of devotions by church members around the sermon series “Who Are You in the Christmas Story” is available in the Tower Room and FLC Lobby. These devotions will also be available each day on the church website, Facebook, and Twitter. You may also receive them in your email inbox each morning by visiting http://eepurl.com/bqtMS9.

Check out our new busses!
Talk about paying it forward! The 1843 Fund, the endowment of First Presbyterian, has funded the purchase of THREE new busses for our church. One of the busses is fully ADA compliant and handicap accessible. All the seats have seat belts as well. These busses are 2018 models and offer us reliability and increased safety in travel. Each bus seats 14, including driver. The busses will be parked beside the Chapel on Chestnut Street and near the entrance to the Family Life Center after both services this week. Check out our new transportation!! Thank you to The 1843 Fund! Please take a look at The 1843 Fund video to see some of the many other ways our endowed funds are making a difference!

NEXT WEEK

Join us for Wednesdays at First

5pm in Fogartie Hall

Menu: Salad Bar, Chicken Tenders, Mac & Cheese, Green Beans, Bread, Dessert

Costs: $7 for Adults and Youth (12 and older), $6 for Seniors (55 and over), $4 for Children; $20 per family maximum

Join us for the last WAF for 2018! The dinner line is open 5:00-6:15pm. No Reservations No reservations are necessary, but if you wish to pre-pay online, you may do so at: fpcspartanburg.org/waf. Cash, check, and debit/credit cards are accepted at the door.



White Gift Service – Wednesday, December 5

6:30pm in the Sanctuary

Our annual White Gift Service will be on Wednesday, December 5 in our Sanctuary at 6:30pm. The service features our children's choirs, but culminates in the giving of gifts wrapped in white for three local missions: Mobile Meals, Hope Center for Children, and Thornwell. Gift ideas may be found at www.fpcspartanburg.org/events/....



Read Through the Bible in 2018

Friday, November 30 – Hosea 1-2 / Jude

Saturday, December 1 – Hosea 3-6 / Revelation 1

Sunday, December 2 – Hosea 7, 8 / Psalms 137, 138

Monday, December 3 – Hosea 9, 10 / Revelation 2

Tuesday, December 4 – Hosea 11, 12 / Revelation 3

Wednesday, December 5 – Hosea 13, 14 / Revelation 4

Thursday, December 6 – Joel 1, 2 / Psalm 139

Friday, December 7 – Joel 3 / Revelation 5

Saturday, December 8 – Amos 1, 2 / Revelation 6



OTHER NEWS.

Angel Tree

Each Christmas, FPC sponsors children who have a parent in prison. Look for the Angel Trees after Thanksgiving and pick-up a tag for a child. Each child will receive one gift not over $25.00. Wrapped gifts with the angel tag attached should be taken to the Perrin Room by Sunday, December 16. If you are interested in delivering gifts on Christmas Eve beginning at 9:00 a.m., contact Brandt Goodwin (brandtgoodwin@gmail.com / 864-542-4764).



Be a Santa to a Senior!

The Shepherd’s Center is partnering with “Be a Santa to a Senior” to provide Christmas gifts to seniors living in a Medicaid-supported facility who may not have Christmas. The Shepherd’s Center has a Christmas tree on the second floor of the main building, near the elevator. Choose a senior from the tree, purchase one or more of the gifts listed and bring the gift back to the box provided near the tree. Help spread the love this holiday season! Gifts are due back by December 3. So don’t delay!



FPC Women’s Retreat “The With-Us God”– February 1-3, 2019

Kanuga Conference Center, Hendersonville, NC

Led by the Rev. Elizabeth Michael Ross

Early Bird Deadline: December 16  Final Deadline: January 2

As women, we long for fruitful and meaningful relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors but can easily feel depleted by the demands and to dos. At our weekend-long women’s retreat, February 1-3, the Rev. Elizabeth Michael Ross will lead us in a time of digging more deeply into the relationships in our lives. Come be a part of this wonderful weekend away! For more information: https://www.fpcspartanburg.org...



Youth Lock-In/Lock-Out – Sunday & Monday, December 30-31

8pm on Dec. through 6am on Monday

All youth are invited to celebrate the end of 2018 with an all-nighter. You will be going to an escape room in Greenville and then having food, games, and tons of fun all night at FPC! The cost is       $20 per person plus the cost of the escape room. Register here: https://www.shelbygiving.com/f...



Weekday School Subs Needed

The Weekday School is currently searching for loving, enthusiastic substitute teachers. We are in need of some dependable women who love children and would be willing to periodically be called upon to assist in a preschool classroom. Each classroom has two teachers, so as a substitute you would be assisting one of the regular classroom teachers. While prior professional experience with children would be wonderful, it is not a requirement. The hours are 8:30 -12:15 and we pay subs $40 per day. There is a VERY brief orientation session and background check. If you are interested, please contact Moira Scheel, Weekday School Director, (mscheel@fpcspartanburg.org / 864-208-2148).



Nursery Staff Needed!

We are looking for some new people who enjoy babies and children to join our paid nursery staff on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Cesily King (cking@fpcspartanburg.org).



Golf Cart Drivers Needed

Our Sunday morning Hospitality cart needs a few new drivers! If you would like a fun task at the church that enables you to meet lots of church folk, then this is the one for you. Our rotational schedule means you would drive once every 6 to 8 weeks. Contact Bryan Pack at (bryanpack@gmail.com / 864-541-1486) or Marsh Rogers (mrogersjr@tworog.com / 704-438-1298) if you are interested.



Winter Warmth Mission

Our annual Winter Warmth Project was held on Saturday, November 10. Over 500 coats were distributed to children from all seven Spartanburg County School Districts. Now. we need your help. A gift of $35 will provide a new, warm winter coat for a child in need. Donation forms can be found in the Tower Room or you may give online. If you would like to "give" a coat, Acknowledgement Cards are available in the church office for you to send to those whom you are honoring with this gift.



SPIHN Donations Needed

Our church is looking to replace some well-loved items before our next Spartanburg Interfaith Hospitality Network rotation. Please put any donations in the SPIHN crate in the All in Missions room (across from the church library). We are so appreciative of any and all donations!! If you have any questions, please email Crystal Workman workman06@charter.net.



Items Needed:

2-4 pack and play(playpen) sheets in neutral colors

pillows

hand towels

twin sheet sets



APNC Needs YOUR Input

The APNC would like your help to find an Associate Pastor of Young Adults and Mission. Through your own connections, many of you know potential candidates. Please give one of our Committee members the name and contact information and we will follow up. APNC: Mac White, Chair, Cathy Bagwell, Andrew Darr, Kellie Foster, Laura Stille, Alan Workman, Hannah Zimmerman. You may send information to APNC Chair Mac White or contact any committee member via the ShelbyNext Portal (https://www.fpcspartanburg.org...).



Search for Director of Children's Ministries

The DCM search team need your help to find our next Director of Children’s Ministries! The very best candidates are often already linked in some way to the congregation they will serve. So please talk to a few people you know, or email them, and let them know FPC is looking for a full-time Director of Children’s Ministries. Or give one of our search team members the name and contact information and we will follow up! People can find the full job description at www.fpcspartanburg.org/dcm. Resumes and cover letters may be sent to Sara Bailey at sara.bailey@ministryarchitects.com. DCM Search Team: Tim Camp, Celia Cogdell, Craig Foster, Anne-Marie Glover, Callie Hammett, Arthur Jones, Cesily King, Emily Neely (chair).



LOOKING AHEAD

December 2 – Advent Begins

December 2 – Family Advent Celebration

December 2 – Perrin Room Dedication

December 2 – Chamber Singers Concert

December 4 – JOY Fellowship Christmas Luncheon

December 4 – BBC w/ Kirk Neely Christmas Gathering

December 5 – White Gifts Service

December 9 – Chancel Choir Music Services

December 16 – MorningSong Lessons and Carols Service

December 16 – Moravian Love Feasts

December 24 – Christmas Eve Services (4pm, 6pm, 11pm)

December 30 – Youth Lock-In/Lock-Out

February 1-3 – Women’s Retreat at Kanuga



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



Craig Foster

Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Communications

First Presbyterian Church

393 East Main Street

Spartanburg, SC 29302

(864)583-4531 x123

cfoster@fpcspartanburg.org

www.fpcspartanburg.org



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