FALL KICKOFF ACTIVITIES

Children, youth and adults of all are ages are invited to join us this Sunday, Sept. 8, at 9:45 a.m. as we kick off a new Program Year. Our theme for the children this year is God’s Wonderful World. 

We’ll gather outside, weather permitting, with a giant inflatable slide, some yummy treats, a few activities, and a chance for adults to sip coffee and chat together. Promptly at 10:15 a.m., we’ll dismiss children, youth and adults to their classrooms to meet teachers and get comfortable. (Hour-long classes begin the following Sunday, Sept. 15.)

After worship, the slide will re-inflate for more fun. That evening, it will become a waterslide for the first youth group of the year (5:00-7:00 p.m.), which also includes a parent meeting and potluck dinner. 

INTERGENERATIONAL TOASTS

Treat & Talk for 20 (minutes) – Oct. 6, Nov. 17, Feb. 16 & Mar. 30

We’re finding some new ways this year to connect across generational lines, over a delightful piece of toast. 

For the first twenty minutes of the faith formation hour on these four days, different classes make new friends while they nosh. 

Faith & Community and middle schoolers? Muffin besties! 

Younger elementary school and Journeys? Cereal twins! 

Lectionary and high school? Powerhouse Biblical scholars! 

When the clock strikes 10:05, the visiting class will head back to its regular space. 

ADULT CLASSES

Faith & Community – meets Sundays from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in Watts-Hill (Fellowship) Hall

Faith & Community begins the fall with the most important and difficult of topics – peacemaking and Gaza. 

• On Sept. 15, friend of FPC Imam Abdul Waheed and FPC member Beth Brockman will share about their perspectives on what has been happening in the Israel-Hamas war. (Beth will have just visited.) 
• On Sept. 22, peacemaker Mia Umana (and translator Karla Koll) visit to share about their work of making peace in the world. 
• On Sept. 29, friend of FPC Rabbi Daniel Greyber (and perhaps another Rabbi) will share about his perspective on what has been happening in the war. Mindy Douglas will moderate/host these discussions.

• In October, the plan is to read Beyond the Offering Plate with the help of the Stewardship Committee.
• November brings FPC University, where church members share about the intersection of their faith and their occupation. We also welcome FPCer Jerry Postema to talk about his new book, The Rule of Law.

Journeys – meets Sundays from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in the Wilson Parlor

Journeys begins the year with a discussion of Genesis by Marilynne Robinson lead by Eric Wiebe with help from a few other members. We will use about 6 Sundays to complete the discussion. 

• In mid-October, we expect to begin a discussion of important sections of the Book of Acts. We are still compiling and discussing books and resources to guide this study. 
• We hope to read and discuss Saving Jesus from the Church by Robin Meyers, and hope some members will help take a lead in this study, which will be later in the Sunday School year.
• There are several topics that will only need a single Sunday. Examples include: Conversion of the Jews by Phillip Roth; The Forgotten Radicalism of Jesus (NYT article, which includes a separate rebuttal); and, I was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me (podcast).

Lectionary – meets Sundays from 9:45-10:45 am in the Daye Meeting Room

The Lectionary Class in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary, when our primary Gospel is Mark, so this fall they will continue to follow Jesus from town to town as he heals and teaches, and as he contends with opposition from the scribes and Pharisees. They will also read passages from the very distinctive books of James and Hebrews. In the Hebrew scriptures, they will explore the Wisdom books of Proverbs, Esther, and Job. Please join them as we dig into the great stories and the wise teachings.

Meaning in the Middle – meets Sundays at 8:00 p.m., via Zoom (link is sent in weekly email)

Every first Sunday, we will have a time of virtual fellowship, so we will ask for a leader to choose a game or some sort of fun activity for the group. On the other Sundays, we will be using the resource d365, a Presbyterian/mainline devotional to guide our discussion. We’ll ask for a discussion leader for each week, and she/he/they will be responsible for choosing the devotional on which we will focus and coming up with a few questions to spark our thinking and conversation.

YOUTH CLASSES

High School Faith Formation – meets Sundays from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in the right-side youth room (once in a month in the lobby for a trip to Yonder Coffee)

The confirmation teaching team (Heidi, Cris & John) is back, along with the fabulous Amy W. As chosen by the Youth Ministry Committee, Sometimes, we’ll take a look at the day’s Bible passage and make Worship Bingo cards or do Mad Libs (The Extra Hour). Other times, we’ll read about a theological topic, like the Offering or Heaven, and figure out what it actually means for us (Crazy Talk). And once in a while, we’ll pull out The Bible Is Funny (Biblical Apples to Apples). We’ll always share about our weeks and have warm beverages (in the Youth Room or at Yonder Coffee). 

Middle School Faith Formation – meets Sundays from 9:45-10:45 a.m. on the left-side youth room

As we have the last two years, we’re using the Follow Me curriculum to explore themes like Do Justice, Live in Community and Do Not Fear. We’ve moved over a room this year, but we’ll still have donuts or other breakfast yummies each week. Veteran teachers Bob and Annie are joined by newbies (and children of the church) Almira and Ellie.  

The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice will hold a grand opening and homecoming celebration on Saturday, September 7 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The center is located in Durham at 906 Carroll St. All are welcome.

You are invited to a special showing of the film Origin on Saturday, August 24.  FPC will host two screenings.  The first will be from 2:00-4:00, and the second screening will be from 6:00-8:00. A discussion will take place over a pizza dinner at 5:00 pm in Watts-Hill Fellowship Hall.

Origin is a highly acclaimed film and dramatic, poignant narrative that follows Isabelle Wilkerson’s inspiration and research while writing the book Caste: The Origins of our Discontent. The book topped the New York Times non-fiction best seller list.  The film Origin follows Wilkerson as she considers the ways in which caste operates through American racism from slavery through the modern day, anti-Semitism during WWII, and the caste system in India.  It explores the ways in which oppression and marginalization  of groups may be clothed differently in distinct moments of time and space, yet share the same insidious origins.  FPC’s Racial Equity Task Force invites you to watch this autobiographical film that is simultaneously disturbing, hopeful, and all together moving.  We hope we can also reflect on the questions the film raises and what it calls us to do.

Please sign up HERE and let us know your preferences if you’d like to join us for pizza.  We would appreciate a reply by Thursday, August 22, though you are welcome to come to either showing of the film without a reservation.

Thank you to the 23 donors who showed up on Thursday, August 1 to give blood. You helped make our summer blood drive a success!

We will hold another blood drive on Thursday, November 7 from 1:00-6:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the church.

If you are healthy and it will be over 50 days since your last blood donation, please sign up to give. Most donations take about an hour.

Go online to schedule your appointment:

RedCrossBlood.org. FPC’s code is firstpres. 

Walk-ins are also welcome.

For more information on giving blood, contact Julie Whiddon (919-730-6673), FPC’s organizer and Red Cross volunteer.

Click here to read about the proposed building expansion – update 2024.

Check out this walk-through video of the proposed new entrance to the foyer and fellowship hall.

Snapshot No. 1 On the 25th Anniversary of Its Founding: A Snapshot from 1896

Snapshot No. 2 Our Church in Crisis Times: The Civil War

Snapshot No. 3 Our Church in Crisis Times: World War 1

Snapshot No. 4 Our Church in Crisis Times: Great Depression, 1929-1939

Snapshot No. 5 Our Church in Crisis Times: Distant Drums of War, 1937-1941

Snapshot No. 6 Our Church in Crisis Times: World War II

Snapshot No. 7 Our Church in Crisis Times: Whither the Downtown Church, Relocate or Remain?

Snapshot No. 8 Our Church in Crisis Times: Race Relations from Jim Crow to Brown and Beyond

Special thanks to FPC historian Peter Fish for writing these moments in FPC’s history and to Carol Carson who submitted the photos and images.