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Youth Fundraiser for Iglesia Emanuel’s Food Pantry
May 07, 2021 
| Pandemic life at FPC has taught us two very important fashion lessons. One is that quality masks can say a lot about a person. And the other is from style icon Kathy Parkins – socks complete any ensemble. Building on those lessons, the youth of the church are holding a socks and mask fundraiser. All proceeds go to benefit the food pantry of Iglesia Emanuel, whose ministry has been vital to the Durham community during these last 14 months. Between now and May 23 (Pentecost Sunday), please click on the links below to order a FPC mask and/or FPC socks. Mask Link Socks Link Because of the pandemic, we’ve chosen to have items delivered directly to you for a small shipping fee, instead of picking them up at the church. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to John Weicher. Thanks for your support. Love in the Heart of Durham, |
Spring Study: The Book of Joy
April 08, 2021 
Mindy Douglas is leading the discussion. Class meets via Zoom on Tuesdays at 6:15 p.m. Click here to join the class.
About the book: In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama’s home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness’s eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering? This book offers readers a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecedented week together, from the first embrace to the final goodbye.
Stations of the Cross event CANCELLED due to high winds
April 02, 2021 
So sorry we’re not able to make this Refugee Journeys art installation available. Wind was literally ripping them off the stakes as we tried to do the install.
A link to artist Mary Button’s work can be found on our FPC Facebook group.
Palm/Passion Sunday and Holy Week
March 26, 2021 
Throughout Holy Week you are invited to experience the Stations of the Cross through the eyes of artist Mary Button. The series explores the intersection of Christ’s journey to the cross and the global stories of forced migration, relocation of indigenous peoples, and the movement of refugees. Numbered art installations will be set along the sidewalk outdoors at the back of the church. A brochure will be available at the first station, offering information about this ancient practice, each of the stations, and a prayer.
Maundy Thursday, April 1 – 7:00 p.m. – Virtual Worship with Holy Communion (Click here to watch the service live-streamed on Thursday evening.)
Good Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3 – during daylight hours – Experience the Stations of the Cross (FPC grounds; see information above)
Easter Sunday, April 4 at 11:00 a.m. – Virtual Worship with Holy Communion (Click on WORSHIP on Sunday morning to watch the service live-streamed.)
“This is not okay.”
March 18, 2021 
Dear Friends,
It pains me so to write this, another message responding to senseless acts of violence perpetrated against communities and individuals of color. For the past year, our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander siblings in the United States have increasingly been the victims of verbal racial slurs and unprovoked physical attacks. These attacks have arisen out of ignorance and the acceptance of faulty information related to the pandemic and because of xenophobia. This week, the violence escalated as a single white male murdered eight people – six of them women of Asian descent. This is not okay.
Click here to read this entire letter to the FPC congregation from Pastor Mindy Douglas.
Join us for Evening Prayer
February 23, 2021 
After almost a year, we are winding down Thursday night Evening Prayers. Cris Rivera will lead our final one this week, February 24. Originally on Tuesday and Thursday nights in the pandemic, these moments of worship, praise, lament, hope, and honesty have been an important part of our life together as FPC in these difficult times. We offer our deep thanks to all of the worship leaders – too many to name here – for faithfully sharing their gifts. A special word of thanks to Steve Rimmer, who has been the recruiter-in-chief for this ministry.
Ash Wednesday Worship
February 16, 2021 
LENT BEGINS! Join us on Wednesday, February 17 at 7 PM via FPC’s YouTube channel for a live-streamed service of worship with the symbolic imposition of ashes and holy communion. Click here to see the worship guide for the service. Remember to prepare your communion elements (bread and cup) before worship begins.
Lenten Book Study
February 11, 2021 
Brené Brown’s “Braving the Wilderness“
We will read this seven-chapter book one chapter at a time as we make our way through Lent. We meet over Zoom on Tuesdays beginning at 6:15 p.m. Click this link to join the class.
About the book: “Social scientist Brené Brown has sparked a global conversation about the experience of bringing meaning to our lives – experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, she redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. . . . Brown argues that we’re experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection and introduces four practices of true belonging. She offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and to each other, and that path cuts right through the wilderness, the untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching.”
Here is a link to more info about the book and its author. Contact Mindy Douglas to join this Zoom discussion.