War in Ukraine (DR000156-Ukraine) The Presbyterian Mission Agency has a long history of accompanying faith communities and engaging peace building relationships in Russia and Ukraine dating back to the early 1990’s, and since the onset of the war in February. Funds given to this designated account are used for humanitarian support for emergency and long term needs for affected and displaced persons in regions such as Ukraine and refugees who have fled the violence and taken refuge in countries throughout Europe.  

Flooding in Eastern Kentucky (DR000191-Kentucky) This designated account supplements the One Great Hour of Sharing offering and enables members and congregations to support the PC(USA) response to episodes of flooding within the United States. Funds given to this designated account will help communities overall relief and recovery efforts associated with flooding in eastern Kentucky which include assessments, clean-up efforts, and rebuilding.  

Your prayers and faithful giving are deeply appreciated.  Please give directly to PDA.  To give by phone, call 800-872-3283. To send a check, please designate where you want your gift to go on the memo line (DR#) and mail to:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.

Join us at Forest Hills Park from 5:00-8:00 p.m.  There will be games and activities for all ages, a tasty potluck dinner (plates and utensils provided), and the chance to make new friends and catch up with old ones. You will also hear an update on the Capital Campaign. 

Please bring…

A dish to share (main dish, side, or dessert)

Your own water bottle per person (as we care for creation) – water and lemonade provided.

Camp chair (optional).

Thursday, June 16 at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary

Link to live-stream

Click here to see the online obituary.

Link to service bulletin

First Presbyterian Church has been blessed by the faithfulness and generosity of our members, past and present.  Throughout the years, we have remained focused on our mission: Worshipping God in community and bearing witness to God’s love and justice in the world.  Our Building Beloved Community Capital Campaign is our opportunity to advance our mission as we set our sights on our building expansion and renovation plans.

Hear what one of our members has to say about the campaign and its two mission components.

FPC Capital Campaign: Sharon Hirsch pt 1.mov

 FPC Capital Campaign: Sharon Hirsch pt 2.mov

We have spent the last several months planning, sharing, and praying for the success of our Capital Campaign. Campaign pledges are being received as we witness to the mission and ministry of First Church. Thanks be to God for the many blessings we have received and the willingness of our members to respond generously with their prayers, time and financial support.

If you have not yet done so, please return your campaign pledge form to the church office, or respond online through our church website. If you did not receive, or need another campaign packet, please contact Tom Bloom at (919) 682-5511 or email to [email protected]. 

“The body of Christ, joined together, grows and builds itself up in love,

     as each part does its work.”  Ephesians 4:16

First Pres is participating in a CSA this summer so members can have access to a steady supply of fresh vegetables in partnership with a farmer of color, Sankofa Farms in Efland.  The CSA has been developed in collaboration with RAFI-USA’s Farm and Faith Partnerships Project, and with two other congregations, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and Eno River UU Fellowship. 

Durham Co. CSA Summer Season Details:

• Sourced and facilitated by Kamal Bell and Sankofa Farms
• Six-week CSA [week of June 13 – week of July 18]
• $30 / weekly produce box delivery ($180 for a full share / $90 for a half-share)
• Payment will be available online on the Sankofa Farms website.
• Payment for the entire season is due June 6, and people can purchase week-by-week as well.
• Likely produce offerings include: cabbage, kale, redbor kale, chard, tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, carrots, squash, and okra
• Pick up at First Pres on Thursday afternoons from 4:00-6:00

FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Tom Bacon (919-403-9683) or Larry Brockman (919-824-1579).

North Carolina Council of Churches · May 17, 2022 

by The Rev. Dr. Conrad Pridgen, Governing Board President-elect, Presiding Elder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2^nd Episcopal District and The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director, North Carolina Council of Churches

Words make a world and the world our words are making in this nation these days is pretty ugly. The Tops Supermarket massacre in Buffalo, N.Y., is the latest example of vicious words that were turned into violent action. The North Carolina Council of Churches stands with other Councils across the country denouncing the rhetoric that produces violence. We especially call on our elected officials in all parties, but particularly the two dominant parties, Democrat and Republican, to renounce such speech. We call on them to stop using violent language or innuendos toward violence.  Furthermore, we call on them to renounce violent language from anyone in their respective parties, censoring those in their party cohort if the behavior is not voluntarily checked.

Those who speak are not the same as the one who conducted a violent rampage and killed ten innocent people in Buffalo, N.Y. He is described as a lone gunman, but was he really?

Sharing in the responsibility for this crime are those who recklessly and irresponsibly teach and preach racist, false narratives on social media platforms and other various news outlets. They were not physically present at the Tops Supermarket, but the spirit of their rhetoric was present. They did not purchase the guns and ammunition; they did not aim the gun; but their fingerprints are on the murder weapon.  

Other hands were also on the gun May 14, 2022, at the Tops Supermarket.  Many of us condone the mean-spirited under-currents roiling our nation today. Those currents now surface regularly in violent rampages like the one we saw Saturday and again on Sunday. The hate-filled, mean-spirited talk, only slightly veiled, we hear from some candidates running for public office lends credibility to that which should be openly denounced—violence is not a political tool. These candidates were not physically present for these massacres, but the spirit of their rhetoric was present. Their fingerprints are on the murder weapons.  

Finally, other hands that were on the guns used this weekend are perhaps unwitting hands, but they are present all the same. These are the hands of you and me, the hands of those who see our country going down a path characterized by hate, violence, and fear; but remain silent. When we fail to speak out against the direction our country is going and the rhetoric that is taking it there, we bear some responsibility. We were not physically present in the places where violence occurred, but our silence creates complicity. Our fingerprints are on the murder weapons.

Each of us have the right and the responsibility to help determine what kind of country we want to live in.  If “hatefulness” is not the way you want to go, then speak up. We have a choice. When each of us vote today in North Carolina and again in November all over the country, we are voting for more than a candidate. We are endorsing their rhetoric and their tactics. We are deciding which words we want to support and what kind of world we want to live in. Words make a world. What kind of world do you want to live in?

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES The Council enables denominations, congregations, and people of faith to individually and collectively impact our state on issues such as economic justice and development, human well-being, equality, compassion and peace, following the example and mission of Jesus Christ. Learn more about our work here: www.ncchurches.org/about

Presented by members of the Durham-Chapel Hill Chapter of the American Guild of Organists

Friday, May 13, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. in the FPC sanctuary.

You will hear works by César Franck, Richard Webster, Marcel Dupré, Charles-Marie Widor, and Maurice Duruflé.

Enjoy the recital in-person (masks required) or live-streamed from wherever you are using this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/0wH00ywFB2o

Follow along the recital program here.

Beginning Sunday, July 24, masks are no longer required when in the sanctuary or other spaces at FPC. For you own comfort level, you can mask up or not.

We encourage those who are eligible to receive the vaccine and boosters to protect yourself and others from the newest and more contagious variant of the COVID virus, by getting vaccinated.