THE SPIRE LIGHT First Presbyterian Church 100 Silver Creek Road, Morganton, NC

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1 THE SPIRE LIGHT First Presbyterian Church 100 Silver Creek Road, Morganton, NC May 21-June 17, 2017 Worship with us on Sundays! 9:30 AM Sunday School 10:55 AM Worship Service May 21, 2017 Youth Sunday Lectionary Acts 17:22-31; Ps. 66:8-20 I Peter 3:13-22; Jn. 14:15-21 Greeters Youth May 28, 2017 Rev. Dr. Wanda Neely Lectionary Acts 1:6-14; Ps. 68:1-10, I Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 Jn. 17:1-11 Greeters Anne Gamble Mary Frances Young June 4, 2017 Rev. Dr. Wanda Neely Lectionary Acts 2:1-21; Ps. 104:24-34, 35b I Cor. 12:3b-13; Jn. 20:19-23 Greeters Roy and Lynn Garrett Debbie Wellmon June 11, 2017 Rev. Adam C. Bowling Lectionary Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Ps. 8 II Cor. 13:11-13; Matt. 28:16-20 Greeters Doug and Heide Putt Ted and Holly Restel May Visitors Table Julie Scott June Visitors Table Lori Conway YOUTH SUNDAY WORSHIP May 21, 2017, 10:55 AM Crossing Boundaries Scripture: John 4:5-42 and Matthew 9:9-13 Worship Leadership: First Presbyterian Youth Liturgical Dancers Orcha-band Combined Choir June 4 Is Pentecost Sunday Wear RED! Coming fifty days after Easter, Pentecost is the day we remember and celebrate the gift of God s Spirit and the birth of the Church. Red is the liturgical color for the day, symbolizing the power and warmth of the Spirit in our midst. We encourage all worshipers to wear red on this day. In the service of worship, our Junior Choir will sing, we will ordain and install new officers, and we will celebrate the sacrament of the Lord s Supper.

2 Member Giving Through April 2017 Budgeted Received Budget/Actual Pledged Giving $171, $159, ($11,723.52) Non-Pledged Giving $18, $16, ($1,616.00) For a detailed analysis of revenues and expenses, please see the financial notebook located in the church library. Invitation From Presbyterian Women Presbyterian Women would like to invite all adult women to join one of our Circles. ALL ARE WELCOME. If you join a Circle before July 15, your contact information can be included in the PW Directory before it is printed. Of course, you are welcome to visit and join a Circle at any time during the year. Circles provide important services to our congregation and community. At their meetings, they engage in Bible Study, fellowship, and mission work for both our church family and community. They also provide Love in Action for bereaving families, along with other services. Circles meet once a month, September-May. Please contact the following Circle leaders if you are interested in joining: Circle 1, led by Rosemary Enos ( ), meets the first Monday, 11:00 AM, at Grace Ridge. Circle 2, led by Elsie Bartlett ( ), meets the first Monday, 7:00 PM, in homes or church parlor. Circle 3, led by Anne Wilson ( ), meets the first Tuesday, 7:00 PM, in the church parlor. If none of the above Circles meet your needs, you are welcome to form a new Circle. You may contact Janet Leissner ( ) to get additional information. May Is Leave a Legacy Month May is Leave a Legacy month, the month in which we remind ourselves of the importance of being good stewards through wills and estate planning. Before this month is over, if you do not have a will, make one. If you have one, update it, and keep it current as your circumstances change. Out of gratitude for God s blessings, consider naming the church as one of the beneficiaries of your estate. Can you image what our congregation could do if each of us tithed and gave 10% of our estate to the church? Used Children s Books Needed Elizabeth Coley is working on her Girl Scouts Silver Award and is looking for used children s books. There will be a basket for donations located near the fellowship hall until Sunday, June 4 any donations are appreciated! Elective Adult Sunday School Class Room 102 Downstairs May 21, 28 Through a Glass Darkly, led by Maggie McKinney: Class will discuss well-known controversies that Jesus had with his critics and attempt to re-see the quarrels as if for the first time. June 4 Christianity, Current Events, and Politics, Oh My! (continuation of May class) facilitated by Rick Leissner: A broader Christian perspectives on politics; overview and discussion about how we, as Reformed Christians, can relate to and engage in politics. Summer Sunday School May 28 Last day of regular Sunday School classes for children and youth Sunday, June 4, 9:30 AM Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day! Breakfast will be provided for all Sunday School teachers, while Pastor Adam has a special program for the kids in room 212. Please feel free to recognize your Sunday School teacher and/or your child's Sunday School teacher this day! June 11 Summer Sunday School Begins! We will be offering Summer Sunday School for students who are rising 1st graders through rising 6th graders in room 212. Rising kindergarten and below will have Sunday School in the church nursery. Rising 7th grade and above can assist with the Elementary Sunday School Class or attend an adult Sunday School class this summer. Please see Pastor Adam for more information.

3 Saturday, May 20, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM Youth Sunday Practice Join us Saturday, May 20, in the sanctuary, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM, to practice for Youth Sunday (which will be Sunday, May 21). At noon, please have your parental units pick you up at church! Note: No meal provided. Sunday, May 21, 8:30 AM Youth Sunday! Crossing Boundaries Youth please plan to arrive at 8:30 AM (yes, in the morning!) for a final run through and for breakfast. Again, that is 8:30 AM!! NOTE: Parents volunteers needed! We need some parents to help with breakfast on Youth Sunday. We plan to eat around 10:00 AM in the fellowship hall. If you would be willing to help feed the youth, please contact Pastor Adam ASAP! Sunday, May 21, 6:00-8:00 PM College and Young Adult Dinner at Friday Friends College students and young adults, come to Friday Friends and have dinner on the church this Sunday, May 21, at 6:00 PM. This is your opportunity to attend a cottage meeting and have input into the church's Mission Study, which is the first step to finding a new pastor. We will meet in the private dining room in the back of the restaurant. Please RSVP to Pastor Adam if you can attend! If you are out of town, you are welcome to attend the Lake Party Cottage Meeting for youth on June 4. Sunday, May 28, 6:00 PM Youth 1/2 Lock-In at First Baptist Church Youth are invited to join us for an Ecumenical (great word look it up!) Youth 1/2 Lock-In at First Baptist Church on Sunday, May 28. Meet at 6:00 PM upstairs in their youth lounge dinner (pizza) will be provided. Bring a drink and a snack to share. Parent pick-up is midnight at First Baptist. Student Ministries Rev. Adam Bowling adam@firstpresmorganton.org Sunday, June 4, 2:00 PM Meet End of the Year Lake Party and Cottage Meeting Grab your youth group friends and meet at church at 2:00 PM for a ride to the Rev. Dr. Bob Lowry's lake house (500 Lentz Landing Ln., Nebo) for a 3:00-7:00 PM lake party! If you don t need a ride, just meet at Bob's house at 3:00 PM. Wear your bathing suit and bring $4.00 for a Subway dinner. Also, bring a towel, sunscreen, a change of clothes, and an extra life vest (PFD) if you have one. If your last name starts with the following, please bring: A-H: snack to share, I-P: dessert to share, Q-Z: 2-liter drink to share. We will have our cottage meeting during the dinner break so youth can have input into our church Mission Study, which is the first step in searching for a new pastor. If you need a ride, please RSVP to Pastor Adam and meet at church at 2:00 PM. We plan to return to church by 7:00 PM. Vacation Bible Camp 2017 HERO CENTRAL Discover Your Strength in God! July 17-21, 2017, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM (nursery opens 8:30 AM) Age 3 ½ (toilet trained) to rising 6th graders Contact a co-director to volunteer: Erin Bowling: erinkbowling@gmail.com; Teresa Carpenter: teresacarpen@aol.com; Carly Carpenter: carlycarpentergold@gmail.com; Bible Camp Text Groups: to to receive text message alerts for camp. Text camphelper to to receive volunteer text message alerts. I am the resurrection and the life. Congregational love and sympathy are extended to Donna Benner and family at the death of her mother, Mary Inez Gillenwater Ledford, on May 2, 2017.

4 WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS! Amber Bernard-Gantt 717 East Union St. Morganton, NC The Fleming Family Andrew, Christy, and Hannah 100 Kimberly Dr. Morganton, NC The Opp Family Casey, Stacy, and Robyn, Amber, Haley, Cooper 3197 U.S. Hwy 70 East Morganton, NC

5 Wednesday, May 24, 6:30 PM Come to First Presbyterian Church to taste Fair Trade Coffee and Chocolate for FREE and hear some great music! Meal is at 5:15 PM don t forget to sign up! Butterbeans in Concert Taking their name from the popular Southern staple, the acoustic folk group Butterbeans is comprised of pickin buddies Mary Ervin, David Williams, and Bert Sigmon. A product of their experiences and musical influences, they like to call their style toe-tapping porch music. Butterbeans plays a broad variety of Americana styles, original music, and traditional tunes, using down-home vocal harmonies, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bass, guitar, and harmonica. For more information about Butterbeans, go to For more information about Fair Trade Coffee and Chocolate, go to Wednesday, May 17, 6:30 PM Final Celebration with the Freedom High School Chamber Singers and their program, A Broadway Revue! Don t forget to sign up for the meal! A Broadway Revue! The Freedom High School Chamber Singers will be singing songs and medleys from everyone's favorite musicals. There should be a little something for everyone, with selections from The Sound of Music, Wicked, West Side Story, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and many more. Volunteers Needed! Please contact Ken Clough at cloughcrew@yahoo.com or Leon Lewis at lelewis@compascable.net if you would be willing to help serve the Wednesday night meal, clean up afterwards, or pray. You can also sign up on the clipboards in the fellowship hall. Malawi Mission Team Please pray for the Malawi Mission Team as they travel and minister in Africa on May The team includes two First Presbyterian Church members: Molly Franklin and Tom Kilgore. First Presbyterian is a connectional church; let us therefore pray for other congregations within our Presbytery: First Presbyterian Church of Franklin, NC

6 A Broadway Revue Each individual/family must sign up weekly via the friendship pad, the church website, or calling the church office at by 10:00 AM on If a child wants the adult meal, they must pay the adult price of $7. If you reserve a meal, we ask that you pay for it whether or not you attend, as the church must pay for those meals. All individuals and volunteers Folks without reservations will be asked to wait until 5:40 PM to enter the line, to make sure there is enough food for those with reservations. Sunday, May 21 8:30 AM Youth Sunday Practice 9:30 AM Sunday School 10:00 AM Youth Breakfast 10:00 AM Chancel Choir 10:55 AM Worship Service 12:00 PM Children s Choir 6:30 PM College/Young Adult Dinner at Friday Friends Monday, May 22 10:00 AM Deadline for Meal RSVP 10:15 AM Mind, Body, Spirit Class Tuesday, May 23 7:00 AM Men s Breakfast 1:30 PM Staff Meeting Wednesday, May 24 5:15 PM Meal Baked Chicken, Zucchini/Tomatoes, Corn (Kids: Chicken Fingers, Corn) 6:30 PM The Butterbeans in Concert 7:15 PM Chancel Choir Thursday, May 25 9:00 AM BUCM Soup Kitchen Sunday, May 28 9:30 AM Sunday School 10:00 AM Chancel Choir 10:55 AM Worship Service 12:00 PM Children s Choir 6:00 PM Youth Lock-in FBC Monday, May 29 Church Office Closed Tuesday, May 30 7:00 AM Men s Breakfast 12:00 PM Staff Luncheon 1:30 PM Staff Meeting Wednesday, May 31 5:15 PM Meal BBQ Pork, Baked Beans, Coleslaw 6:15 PM Freedom High School Chamber Singers 7:15 PM Chancel Choir Thursday, June 1 9:30 PM Primetimers Board Mtg. Monday. Reservations may be left on the church answering machine. are required to pay for their meals. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CALENDAR Sunday, June 4 9:30 AM Sunday School 9:30 AM Teacher Appreciation Breakfast 10:00 AM Chancel Choir 10:55 AM Worship Service with Communion and Ordination/ Installation of New Officers 2:00 PM Youth Lake Party 4:30 PM Youth Mission Study Monday, June 5 10:15 AM Mind, Body, Spirit Class Tuesday, June 6 7:00 AM Men s Breakfast 1:30 PM Staff Meeting Wednesday, June 7 7:15 PM Chancel Choir Friday, June 9 8:30 AM Administration Committee Meeting Wednesday Night Meals Policy Adults: $7 Child: $5 Family Cap: $20 Sunday, June 11 9:30 AM Summer Sunday School Begins! 10:00 AM Chancel Choir 10:55 AM Worship Service No PM Youth Monday, June 12 10:15 AM Mind, Body, Spirit Class 12:00 PM Spire Light Deadline Tuesday, June 13 7:00 AM Men s Breakfast 9:00 AM BUCM Soup Kitchen 1:30 PM Staff Meeting Wednesday, June 14 10:30 AM Spire Light Volunteers 5:15 PM Meal 6:15 PM Committee Night 7:15 PM Chancel Choir

7 Pentecost The church across the road from the one I served in the mountains of east Tennessee was the community Church of God. During my first year there, our members told me wonderful stories about that church, about their music and worship services and how they were different from ours. One day in the spring when I was leaving our church, I saw the Church of God pastor in his parking lot, and I rushed over to meet him. I said, I m sorry I have not been over to introduce myself. Things have been so very busy during Lent and Easter season. I am so glad that we are in a slower season of the church year now. He looked really puzzled when I said that. Then he said, Oh yes, you Presbyterians do not place as much emphasis on the Holy Spirit as we do. He said, This Sunday is Pentecost. It's our biggest Sunday of the year. Every year when I come limping up to Pentecost Sunday, worn out from Easter and spring activities, I think about what that minister said. Do we Presbyterians place less emphasis on the Holy Spirit? Everyone hears sermons about God as Father, even if only at a wedding or a funeral. It is fairly easy to talk of God as parent. And nearly everyone hears sermons about Jesus the Son, because Jesus translates divine qualities into human experience. But we hear less talk about God the Holy Spirit. We have difficulty describing the Spirit, and the thought that we might be Spirit-filled is a bit frightening. Do we Presbyterians place too little emphasis on the Holy Spirit? Probably. We do not always live by the Spirit. We do not always use the Spirit's gifts. But do we deny the Spirit? No. In our church's Brief Statement of Faith, we confess: We trust in God the Holy Spirit everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor. And binds us together with all believers In the one body of Christ, the church. June 4 is Pentecost Sunday. Red is the liturgical color for the day, symbolizing the power and warmth of the Spirit in our midst. All worshipers are asked to wear red on this day. We are Pentecost people. Lord, send your Spirit upon your church. Wanda Neely Have You Participated in a Cottage Meeting? In May and June, the Church Mission Study is holding cottage meetings, where you will hear the church surveys results, share your thoughts and reflections, and enjoy a time of fellowship. If you have not already participated, find a gathering scheduled below: College Students and Young Adults: Sunday, May 21, 6:00 PM, at Friday Friends Restaurant we ll buy your supper! Come visit and share reflections. Lake Residents: Thursday, June 1, 7:00 PM, at DeAugustinis home, 2690 Lakeridge Court, Nebo Middle and High School Students: Sunday, June 4, 3:00 PM, at Lowry home, 500 Lentz Landing Lane, Nebo Town and Nearby Residents: Sunday, June 11, 7:00 PM, at VanNoppen home, 108 Valdese Avenue, Morganton The next newsletter covers June 18-July 8 events. Please submit your church news to the church office by noon on Monday, June 12.

8 High School Graduates Meredith Mills Antley is graduating from Virginia Episcopal High School. She has been accepted into the Honors Program at DePauw University and will study Theater and Creative Writing. Alyssa Buchanan is graduating from Challenger High School and Catawba Valley Community College with an associate's degree. She will major in Vocal Performance at Appalachian State University. Seth Hembree is graduating from Freedom High School. He will attend Western Piedmont Community College. Jessica McIntyre is graduating from Freedom High School. She will attend Western Carolina University. Elizabeth Norvell is graduating from Patton High School. She will double major in elementary and special education at Elon University, where she was accepted into the Teaching Fellows Program. Amber Opp is graduating from Draughn High School. She will attend The Citadel. Lindsay Port is graduating from Burke Middle College and Western Piedmont Comm. College with an associate's degree. She will major in Mathematics with a concentration in Secondary Education at Appalachian State. Joey Sandy is graduating from Freedom High School. He will study Mathematics at NC State. Bradley Roller is graduating from Freedom High School. He will attend NC State University. Anna Sheppard is graduating from Patton High School. She will study Music Education/Trumpet at Appalachian State University. John Thompson is graduating from Freedom High School. He will study Environmental Science at Honors Carolina at UNC Chapel Hill. Sara Grace Vinay is graduating from Freedom High School. She will attend Western Carolina University. College and Graduate School Graduates Eric McSwain Antley graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics. He will pursue his PhD at Rice University in the fall. Samuel Reid Corn graduated from Gardner-Webb University with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. He is currently employed with the NC Highway Patrol in Halifax. Catherine Crouch, granddaughter of Jerry and Barbara Norvell, graduated from the University of South Carolina with a major in Marketing. John Crouch, grandson of Jerry and Barbara Norvell, graduated from Clemson University with a major in Business and Real Estate. Christian Fulenwider graduated from Appalachian State with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology. Anna Joyce Henderson, granddaughter of Sam and Mary Tate, graduated from the University of Tennessee Knoxville with a M.S. in Elementary Education. Stuart Maris Lyster, grandson of Sam and Mary Tate, graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Biology. He will be commissioned into the US Navy Pilot Training Program. Samantha Jordan Roller graduates from Yale University with a B.S. in Computing and the Arts. Eli Smith graduated from Appalachian State University with a bachelor s degree in Recreational Management, with a minor in Geography and a minor in Sustainable Development.