God, our refuge and our strength, you are an ever-present help in trouble.
You see the devastation caused by the California wildfires. You hear the cries of those suffering loss. You know the fear and anxiety and exhaustion of those waiting, hoping, helping as they watch the fires burn.
For those forced to abandon their homes and shelters in search of safety, we pray for your guidance to find places of rest. For those called to fight the fires, we pray for your strength to persevere. For those ministering to the injured, we pray for your wisdom and guidance to heal. For those mourning loss, we pray for your comfort. For those accompanying others, near or far, we pray for your upholding. For those still in danger’s path, we pray for your protection.
Now and in the days and weeks to come, we trust that you are present. You have promised that even in the darkest of valleys, you will never leave nor forsake your children.
God, our refuge and our strength, you are an ever-present help in trouble. As your incarnate presence brought hope to those in need, may the Church, your body, be the presence of help and hope in Los Angeles County and beyond.
In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen.
The Rev. Jihyun Oh is Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency.
October 1, 2024
Dear friends,
As you well know, the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene is almost unfathomable. In multiple states, the death toll continues to rise, and people are still stranded without electricity or water. Some have been able to leave the area and find places of refuge with family or friends. Others are in shelters not knowing what the next day will bring. People all around the country are in shock at what has happened to innumerable people, communities, towns, and cities.
Many in the areas where the devastation has occurred have turned to helping one another. Those of us who have witnessed the damage from afar continue to ask what we can do. We continue to hear messages urging people not to come, including a recent one from Orange County Sherriff’s Office as too many roads are still impassable and the ones that are passable need to be open for emergency vehicles. Some are gathering goods to take to those in need in different areas, but what is most needed by rescue organizations in this moment is money.
If you have means to contribute and are still looking for a place to give, I would recommend the following organizations doing work on the ground:
Hearts with Hands (swannanoa/asheville): a local organization supplying food to buncombe county sheltershttps://www.heartswithhands.org
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM): donations help to pay for motel and food vouchers for local residents and long term support for those displacedAbccm.org/donations/ministry-fund/
Haywood Christian Ministry: WNC’s largest food pantry distributing food in Ashevillehcmnc.org
Diaper Bank: Babies need Bottoms Asheville: distributing children’s supplies including diapers, cream, and wipesbabiesneedbottoms.org
Asheville Habitat for Humanity: Asheville’s chapter helping to rebuild homes and repair damage from Helene ashevillehabitat.org
We will no doubt be sending goods and teams to help in the clean-up and rebuilding process in the weeks and months ahead. For now, in addition to your donations, please continue to hold all those affected by this storm and those who are on the ground providing aid and support in your prayers.
Mindy
Prayer for Hurricane Victims in Western, NC and Beyond
Lord God, as we watch in helplessness the devastation of rains and wind, we lift up our hearts in lament. For those whose homes have been washed away, Lord in your mercy. For the lives lost to trees and wreckage, Lord in your mercy. For the upheaval of the familiar and important, Lord in your mercy. For the safety of first responders and volunteers, Lord in your mercy. For the anxiety of waiting for contact, Lord in your mercy. For the loss of power, connection and comfort, Lord in your mercy. For those who do not have the resources to rebuild, whose lives will forever be scarred by this storm and whose families will suffer the injustice of poverty and inequity, Lord in your mercy. May our prayers not be the end of our compassion. May our words not be the only thing we offer. For Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Cuba. For all these O God, we name in this hour. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers. “God is our refuge and our strength, our ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46). May you know God’s comforting presence and indominable strength in the midst of this tragedy.
Chile, that long skinny country in South America, stretches more than 2600 miles from north to south, but in some places the distance from the Pacific Ocean to the eastern border in the Andes mountains is only 40 miles. This land of deserts, volcanos, forests, and glaciers is home to a great variety of special birds and other wildlife. In November of last year, David and Judy Smith spent three weeks on a birding tour of Chile, and they returned with lots of photos and stories to share. Join them for a slide show on Sunday evening, Feb. 2, at 7:00 in the Robert Daye Meeting Room.
God, our refuge and our strength, you are an ever-present help in trouble.
You see the devastation caused by the California wildfires. You hear the cries of those suffering loss. You know the fear and anxiety and exhaustion of those waiting, hoping, helping as they watch the fires burn.
For those forced to abandon their homes and shelters in search of safety, we pray for your guidance to find places of rest. For those called to fight the fires, we pray for your strength to persevere. For those ministering to the injured, we pray for your wisdom and guidance to heal. For those mourning loss, we pray for your comfort. For those accompanying others, near or far, we pray for your upholding. For those still in danger’s path, we pray for your protection.
Now and in the days and weeks to come, we trust that you are present. You have promised that even in the darkest of valleys, you will never leave nor forsake your children.
God, our refuge and our strength, you are an ever-present help in trouble. As your incarnate presence brought hope to those in need, may the Church, your body, be the presence of help and hope in Los Angeles County and beyond.
In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen.
The Rev. Jihyun Oh is Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency.
Friday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m. (Doors open at 7:00 p.m.)
First Presbyterian Church of Durham invites jazz music lovers across the Triangle area for an evening of love, fellowship, and live jazz with Durham’s favorite ChamberSoul cellist and vocalist, Shana Tucker. This FREE, all-ages, family-friendly concert in the sanctuary is meant to bring people together for a collective “community hug” that nurtures the soul through music. Shana and her quintet will perform songs from her latest release, “Hiding in the Light” and other songs that celebrate our shared humanity and the sacredness of spirituality as the holiday season begins.
Parking is available behind the sanctuary and in adjacent parking lots and public parking decks off the 300 block of E. Liberty Street.
The Community Concert is generously supported by the Horst and Ruth Mary Meyer Fund for Music at First Presbyterian.
First Presbyterian will open our sanctuary tomorrow, Election Day, November 5, from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. for anyone who wishes to come and pray. You may enter through the front doors (up the steps) from Main Street or from the rear parking lot, through the foyer; use the elevator if handicapped.
ELECTION DAY PRAYER God of all nations, on this Election Day, we pray for our diverse and divided nation.
Like a downed power line, we are charged with anger, anxiety and fear. We wait, thrashing and threatening, as results come in … vote by vote, state by state, seat by seat. God, we fear rioting and violence. God, we pray for justice and peace.
God, be with us. Be with the poll workers, the politicians, the clerks and the deputies. On this long and exhausting day, may our polls be places of courtesy, the dignity of each voter respected. May our polls be places of safety, free of undue influence or intimidation. May our polls be places of freedom, a fair election for all.
God, who can do far more than we can ask or imagine, as the results of this election become clear, turn our country to the hard work of truth-seeking and healing. The sin of enmity looms large among us.
May the results of this election bear good, spiritual fruit, opening us to your help and hope. May we seek your wisdom, love your truth and promote your peace this day and every day.Amen.
First Presbyterian Church Durham (North Carolina) is looking for an organized, diligent, responsive and motivated individual to support our mission in the role of full-time Church Administrator. Competitive salary and benefits provided. 3+ years of relevant administrative and/or supervisory experience required. Must be well-versed in use of accounting, communication/social media and database software. For more information and to apply, please see Announcement with full Job Description and reply with resume/references to [email protected].
In these overwhelming moments of loss and devastation, we come to you with weary hearts that are both heavy and hopeful. We hold in our prayers and hearts all those impacted by the hurricanes, conflicts, and other disasters, and we implore for your mercy, peace, and healing to embrace our siblings all over the world. By your grace, bring comfort to those who are grieving, give strength to the exhausted, and provide shelter for those who have lost everything.
May your Spirit move in this, your creation, bringing peace amid the turmoil, and breathing hope into the places that feel broken. May your Spirit continue to be the quiet but constant reassurance that you are with your children and creation, even in the darkest moments, guiding us toward healing and restoration.
As we continue to see the news, we lift up the brave souls who are working tirelessly to rescue and assist. Give strength and wisdom for the tasks ahead. And stir our hearts, dear God, to step in with compassion, helping our neighbors, near and far, with kindness, love, and compassion.
In all of these disasters, we place our trust in your everlasting promises of your presence and care. Restore what has been shattered and lead us toward a path of renovation, peace, healing, and the renewing power of your always present Spirit.
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.
FPC’s Service and Mission Committee is asking for our congregation to attend the Durham City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 19, to stand in support of affordable housing on the site of the old police building at 505 West Chapel Hill St.
The property, pictured above, is the last large area that the City owns in downtown Durham. Six organizations (CAN, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, Peoples’ Alliance, Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit, NAACP, and Duke Memorial United Methodist Church) have united to encourage the City to use this land for affordable housing. The City Council voted affordable housing as the # 1 priority for the use of the property. The Council will be voting on Monday, about the selection of the developer and the general plans for the use of the property. The organizations are asking for more affordable housing units than have been proposed and that the City retain ownership of the property rather than sell it to the developer. Those of us who can attend in support of this effort won’t have to speak. We will be there to show a strong, united body of support for this important mission.
The Durham City Council meets in Council Chambers at 101 City Hall Plaza (near FPC). Parking is available at FPC. We hope to see you there!
February 9, 20255th Sunday after Epiphany9:45 a.m. Classes for ages 2 - 5th grade
9:45 a.m. Middle & High School youth
9:45 a.m. Adult classes
11:00 AM Worship (in-person and live-stream)
Sam BrownWorship Bulletin
February 05, 2025 
