Second Sunday of Advent – December 5

9:45 a.m. – Faith Formation for Adults, Confirmands, and Youth

10:00 a.m. – Active Advent Faith Formation for Children

11:00 a.m. – Worship with Communion

Third Sunday of Advent – December 12

9:45 a.m. – Faith Formation for Adults, Confirmands, and Youth        

10:00 a.m. – Active Advent Faith Formation for Children

11:00 a.m. – Worship

Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 19

 9:45 a.m. – Faith Formation for Adults, Confirmands, and Youth

10:00 a.m. – Active Advent Faith Formation for Children

11:00 a.m. – A Service of Lessons and Carols

The PC(USA) Joy Gift Offering will also be received on December 19. The Joy Gift Offering supports financial assistance programs of the Board of Pensions and PC(USA) racial ethnic schools and colleges. Online and text-giving are other ways to give to the Joy Gift Offering.

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.

Sunday, November 21 at 11:00 a.m.

Acclaimed soprano Ginger Jones-Robinson will provide music during worship on Sunday, November 21 during our 11:00 a.m. worship. Ms. Jones-Robinson has appeared in solo recitals throughout the Carolinas and with the leading orchestras of the region, performing works of Mozart, Beethoven Da Falla and others.  She has also appeared in a wide variety of operatic roles.  In February 2020, Ms. Jones performed a recital at FPC. We are delighted that she is joining us this Sunday in worship. In celebration of Reign of Christ Sunday and the end of our Stewardship Campaign, Jones will be singing “He is King of Kings” (spiritual), “Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion” (from Handel’s Messiah) and “You Can Tell the World” (spiritual). Currently pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at the University of South Carolina, Ms. Jones-Robinson will be accompanied by Dr. Alan Rudell, who serves on the faculty of Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina.

On Friday, December 10, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Durham invites you to join them for their Christmas holiday concert, “O Holy Night” in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church. The concert is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated and will be received at the event.

The Vocal Arts Ensemble of Durham was founded in 1996 by Rodney Wynkoop to provide superior choral performance opportunities for outstanding singers in North Carolina’s Triangle region (Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh). Its 32 members are selected mainly from among musicians who have sung in other choral groups under Dr. Wynkoop’s direction. The ensemble’s mostly a cappella repertoire ranges from the Renaissance to the present.

PLEASE NOTE THESE COVID GUIDELINES: All members of the Vocal Arts Ensemble (VAE) have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and will be masked and distanced during the concert. VAE strongly encourages all attendees to be vaccinated prior to attending this performance. Masks are required while inside the church.

A Service of Witness to the Resurrection and musical celebration will be held for FPC member Margaret Sims on Saturday, November 6 at 1:00 p.m. in the sanctuary of FPC. Attendees are invited to wear clothing that evokes the beauty and color of birds, flowers, and the brilliant grandeur of our Earth! (Masks are required when inside the building.) The service will be live-streamed via FPC’s YouTube channel (here) beginning at 1:00 p.m. Read Margaret’s online obituary here.

First Presbyterian Church, an active, caring, and inclusive church in downtown Durham, is looking for a part-time, non-exempt Audio-Visual Technical Director of Worship Production. The position is 10 hours a week, including Sunday mornings at First Presbyterian Church.  The position pays a minimum of $16.92 an hour which is negotiable.  A full job description is available here. If interested, please send application letter and résumé (including contact information for two references, preferably from the two immediate past or current employers) to [email protected].  Application deadline is December 12, 2021.  NOTE: Church members and active friends of the congregation are not eligible to apply.

Organized December 31, 1871, FPC will spend the next six months celebrating its 150th Anniversary.

As part of the celebration, this Sunday, October 31, FPC will welcome The Rev. Jan Edmiston to the pulpit.  Edmiston was born, raised, and educated in Chapel Hill, NC, where she grew up in the University Presbyterian Church and graduated from UNC. Ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament, Jan has faithfully served the Presbyterian church as a pastor (at times as a co-pastor with her husband, the Rev. Fred Lyon) and as a leader in a number of presbyteries. She was elected Co-Moderator at the 222^nd General Assembly of the PC(USA).  She is currently serving as the General Presbyter for the Presbytery of Charlotte. 

Rebuilding Together of the Triangle –

A Call for Volunteers for FPC Workday

FPCERS, please join us for a volunteer workday to replace siding for a homeowner near Old Oxford Highway in Durham. We will replace damaged Masonite siding with fiber cement siding on three sides of the house. Some trim will be replaced as well. We will also paint the new siding and trim and will need lots of help. This will be our first repair workday since the pandemic started. All work is outdoors and we will wear masks. We request that volunteers be fully vaccinated.

We are using an online signup that divides the day into two shifts, but feel free to work all day. We will not finish in one day, so the RTT staff will complete the remaining work. The link to the signup page: FPC VOLUNTEER SIGNUP. We ask that volunteers be at least 16 years old.

RTT will provide all tools, but it is fine to bring your own hand tools and tool belt. Water and snacks are provided, but not lunch. First-time volunteers are welcome since we need to expand our pool of mission trip workers.

Please call Tyler Momsen-Hudson with any questions at (919) 697-1898 or email Tyler at: [email protected].