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Join us for evening worship on Christmas Eve
December 23, 2023 
| Link to 5:00 p.m. live stream of worship Link to 5:00 p.m. online worship bulletin On Sunday evening, December 24 at 5:00 p.m., we will hold our annual Christmas Eve service which includes THE LORD’S SUPPER and CANDLE LIGHTING. All are welcome. PARKING: The church’s parking lot is being reserved for those who need handicap parking or have limited mobility. Able-bodied members and friends are asked to use the lot next door to the church or the new Queen Street parking garage, as well as open spaces at the public library (access these various areas from the 300 block of E. Liberty Street). There is also parking across from the church on E. Main Street and on E. Parrish Street (Board of Elections office). Allow yourself extra time if using this remote parking. Thanks for your cooperation. The CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING will be shared with Welcome Baby and The Emanuel Food Pantry. Thank you for your generous giving. CHILDREN ARE WELCOME IN WORSHIP. There is no childcare for this 5:00 p.m. service. An activity bulletin will be available at the beginning of worship and battery-operated candles will be provided for children to use during the candle lighting at the end of worship. |
Memorial Service for Andy Widmark
November 13, 2023 
Monday, November 13, 2023
10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary of FPC
The family will greet friends in the foyer following the service.
Pastries and coffee will be available in Watts-Hill Hall.
Join us during the season of Advent!
November 22, 2023 
Sunday, December 3
Advent Festival and Alternative Gifts Fair
9:45 a.m. in Watts-Hill Hall for children and youth and following worship for everyone else
- Advent devotional materials can be picked up
- Advent activities provided for children and youth
- Purchase alternative gifts from mission partners
- Enjoy light refreshments
Friday, December 8
Vocal Arts Ensemble Holiday Concert
(Free admission, sanctuary, 7:30 p.m.)
Saturday, December 9
Durham Holiday Parade
(Watch parade live from sanctuary steps, 10:00 a.m.)
Sunday, December 17
Lessons & Carols (sanctuary, 11:00 a.m.)
Children’s Christmas Pageant (sanctuary, 5:00 p.m.)
All-Church Potluck (Watts-Hill Hall, following the pageant)
followed by a Carols Sing-Along
Sunday, December 24
Christmas Eve
Worship (sanctuary, 11:00 a.m.)
Candlelight and Communion Service (sanctuary, 5:00 p.m.)
FPF Community-Wide Trunk or Treat Event
October 24, 2023 
| Join us for TRUNK or TREAT! Have you ever wanted to really do it up right for Halloween, but feel like a house is just too much? Have we got a ministry for you! Last year, we had a blast with FPC’s first-ever Trunk or Treat as FPC children and some kiddos from the community trick-or-treated at some tricked-out trunks in our parking lot. This year, we are hoping to invite even more of our neighbors and kids from the Day School, and we need your help! We need lots of trunks to be decorated and candy to be given out. All FPCers are invited to decorate a trunk. To sign up, contact Stephen Berry ([email protected]). The event is THIS Sunday, October 29, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. There will also be face-painting and hotdogs (to balance out all that candy). |
Prayer for Israel: A Nation at War
October 09, 2023 
| Dear friends, Last week, when our friends at the Jewish Community Center and Judea Reform had their lives interrupted by yet another threat of violence in the form of a bomb threat, I began to compose a letter to you. Before I finished that letter, intense violence broke out in Israel and Gaza as Hamas brazenly and violently attacked Israel. Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians have been killed as a result. Many others have been kidnapped and are being held hostage. Destruction abounds across the region. We cannot be silent in the face of such horror. We have friends and neighbors in Durham who have already been dealing with persecution, threats, and hateful rhetoric against them because of their faith, race, and culture. They have friends and family members in Israel and Palestine and are terrified about what might happen to them, or what already has happened. As Christians, we follow a leader of peace. Jesus never chose violence as a solution. Violence is not the answer for people of faith who live in a covenant of love with God and with our neighbors. While there are many things we cannot do in this horrendous situation, we can offer words and gestures of support and kindness to our neighbors in Durham who are feeling attacked locally and globally. As others lash out with antisemitism and religious hatred, we can offer our prayers and support and seek to counterbalance the darkness and despair with regular infusions of light and hope. I invite you to join with me in this prayer for peace among all the nations: God of all the nations, we cry out to you for peace. We cry out for an end to acts of hatred and violence against innocent people of all ages in Israel and Gaza. We pray for an end to the horror. Stop the madness. Bring about the peace and love that we are called to share with our neighbors of every race and creed. May anything and everything we do here reflect that peace and love you have shown us through Jesus. God give us peace. Give the world peace. Save your people. Save us all. We lift our voices in prayer. Amen. With love, |
FPC Holds Community Blood Drive
November 04, 2024 
Thursday, October 30, 2025 from 1:00pm – 6:00pm
If you are healthy and it has been over 50 days since your last blood donation, please come out to donate on Thursday, October 30, 2025. Most donations take about an hour, so book your appointment, roll up your sleeve, and become a part of the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross.
Visit redcrossblood.org and use sponsor code firstpres to schedule your appointment.
Pauli Murray Documentary Showings
October 03, 2023 
Pauli Murray is the unofficial saint of Durham, and we all now have the special opportunity to view the award-winning film “My Name is Pauli Murray” at the homes of FPC members on five different dates in October.
The 91-minute film won the Peabody Award in 2022 and has been described by critics as a film that “educates and uplifts in equal measure while paying stirring tribute to a largely unsung — yet hugely important — individual.” It depicts Pauli’s life and struggles and influence on Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall.
This October and November members of FPC’s Racial Equity Task Force are opening their homes and inviting you to share this movie that is only available on Amazon Prime.
You can sign up for a showing at this link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094EA4AD2DA46-44740033-pauli#/.