Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church

Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church Asheville, North Carolina www.gcpcusa.org

October 15, 2017 – 10:30 am

















So little cause for carolings Of such ecstatic sound Was written on terrestrial things Afar or nigh around, That I could think there trembled through His happy good-night air Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew And I was unaware. ~ Thomas Hardy, “The Darkling Thrush”



Prelude Land of Rest George Shearing * Call to Worship (adapted from Isaiah 40) The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. God does not faint or grow weary; God’s understanding is unsearchable. God gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

* Hymn 415 Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy RESTORATION * Call to Reconciliation * Prayer of Confession Merciful God, Instead of your peace, we pursue those things that do not give peace: material possessions on which to rest our identity, illusions of mastery to hide our brokenness, distraction from the needs and injustices of our world. Set our eyes again on your peace, O God, the peace that passes all understanding, so that we can find rest from our weariness in you. Forgive us of our wanderings. Let us find our home again in Christ. Amen. * Assurance of Forgiveness * Response Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me! * Passing of the Peace The Peace of Christ be with you. And also with you. Faith Sharing with Children Our Life Together (Please sign the pad located in your pew) Prayer for Illumination Hebrew Scripture Exodus 32:1-14 The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God! Anthem The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want John Ferguson Epistle Lesson Philippians 4:1-9 The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God! Sermon “The Peace of God” Richard Coble * Hymn 819 Be Still, My Soul FINLANDIA



* Affirmation of Faith (adapted from The Second Helvetic Confession) What is faith?

Christian faith is not an opinion or human conviction, but a most firm trust and a clear and steadfast assent of the mind, and then a most certain apprehension of the truth of God presented in the Scriptures and in the Apostles’ Creed, and thus also of God, the greatest good, and especially of God’s promise and of Christ who is the fulfillment of all promises.

Offering (Please place prayer cards in the offering plate for the Prayers of the People) Offertory I Surrender All arr. Mark Hayes * Doxology





* Prayer of Dedication Lord, all that we have is yours, and so we pray that we may be responsible stewards of our possessions in the brief time that we hold them. May these offerings be a sign of our thanksgiving and our hope to use what we have for the care of your creation and people. In Jesus’s name, Amen. Prayers of the People Each section of the prayer will conclude: “God, in your grace”

The Lord’s Prayer

Please respond: “Hear our prayer”

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

* Hymn 806



I’ll Praise My Maker









OLD 113TH



* Charge & Benediction

* Postlude

Allegro Maestoso Felix Mendelssohn ------------------------------------------------- (For some, the Postlude serves as festive music to accompany their going back out into the world. Others prefer to remain seated and listen. Please be mindful of these different needs as you depart. Thank you!)





* Please Stand in Body or Spirit. We gather to worship God who is larger than all our imaginations! We encourage all persons to sing the gender nouns and pronouns they prefer in referring to God.



Our Life Together…





Thank You! Head Usher: Bill Wolcott | Liturgist: Matt Stradley

Deacon of the Week: Sergio Fernandez, email: [email protected]

Thank you to Dave Nash for the flowers that decorate the sanctuary this morning given to the glory of God in honor of their ninth wedding anniversary on October 18th. Do you like to paint? Come help us! We are painting some of the staff offices October 19-22. We start at 9:00am and go to 5:00 pm each day. You will help brighten the work spaces of our hardworking staff and maybe even get to know someone better. Contact Sandra Dykes to join in.

Creating Sanctuary Team The Creating Sanctuary Team has two meeting dates in the coming weeks for updates on volunteer efforts at GCPC as well as those in the greater WNC area: • Monday, Oct. 23 | 5:30 - 6:30 PM | Jerusalem Room at GCPC • Sunday, Oct. 29 | 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM | GCPC sanctuary Please join us to learn more about the needs of our immigrant neighbors.

Grow

Bible Study | Wednesdays | 11 AM | *Sanctuary (room change) Join the pastoral staff to read and study our sermon texts for Sunday. No preparation needed, just come ready to open scripture and discuss.

Our Life Together: A Family Systems Approach | Six Sundays | Oct. 15-Nov. 19 | 5:00-6:15 PM | Fellowship Hall *Starts tonight! Doesn’t it feel sometimes like congregations can have a mind of their own? Using Family Systems Theory and Pastoral Theology, this class will examine how congregations deal with emotions, develop healthy patterns, and manage anxiety in life-giving ways. We will ask questions like: How do we take responsibility for our emotions while remaining in relationship with others, especially in the midst of disagreements? We will look at how a congregation functions as a cohesive body and ways that we can promote healthy, spiritually grounded dynamics in our life together. Contact Richard with questions.

The Racial Justice Book Club | Thursday, Nov. 9 | 12:15 PM | Jerusalem Room This year, GCPC is committing to reading a book every month by an author of color who examines issues of race and justice. In the fall, we will be looking at racial justice from a systemic perspective. The book club will be meeting the second Thursday of every month. For November, we are reading White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson. Please contact Richard or Marcia with any questions.

Serve Food Connection Fundraiser: Wasted! – The Story of Food Waste | Thursday, October 19 | 6:45 – 9:00 PM | Grail Moviehouse (45 S. French Broad Ave.) The Grail Moviehouse presents a special screening of the new Anthony Bourdain documentary WASTED! The Story of Food Waste benefiting Asheville nonprofit Food Connection. Food Connection rescues surplus prepared meals from Asheville events and caterers and delivers these meals to nonprofits who feed the hungry. There will be a panel discussion after the screening featuring Flori Pate and others. Cost is $20/person. 100% of the proceeds go to Food Connection.

Room In The Inn | November 12-19, 2017 Room In The Inn is coming to Grace Covenant over at Grace Episcopal Church. There are many ways you can help: prepare a dinner, fix a breakfast, drive the ladies to or from the church, provide hospitality, share a talent, serve as an overnight host, “set up the INN” or help move the “INN” to the next church. Won’t you help be a part of solving homelessness here in Asheville? Either sign online: https://goo.gl/3XVW2C or visit the RITI sign-up table in the Narthex!

Care PNO ~ Parents’ Night Out | 5:00 – 8:15 PM | First Meeting: Sat., October 21st Leave your children at the church for childcare, and let’s all go to Richard Coble and Lindsey Williford’s house! Contact Sherrie Meehan to RSVP and/or reserve childcare by Monday, Oct. 16th. Drop your child and $10 at the church on the night of the event. Email [email protected] to be added to the list. GCPC 20s/30s: "Living Liberation" Discussion | Monday, October 23 | 7 - 8:30pm | French Broad Chocolate Lounge (10 S Pack Square) What is liberation theology and how does it inform our lives of faith? If you are in your twenties or thirties, join Richard and Samantha downtown for a good discussion over good chocolate (truffles on us!). Together, we will be discussing the first chapter of James Cone's The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Link to chapter is available in the eNewsletter under CARE. Childcare available at GCPC upon request (contact Sherrie by TODAY!). See you then!

Prayer List [Concerns will stay on this list for a month unless we hear otherwise. Please keep us updated.]

Jerusalem Church congregation; Linda Parker (Anna Jarvis’ sister-in-law); JoAnne Hewett and family (Allison McLamb’s co-worker); Betsy Needle (Robin Gaiser’s friend); Sherry Harcke (Les and Susan Stradley’s friend); Nikita Norris, Regina Hunter & family (Habitat for Humanity partner family); Denise, Betty and David Whitt (Mary Ellen Horne’s partner & her family); Glen Russell (Robin Gaiser’s brother); Ronda Latrella (Susie Churchfield’s friend); Betty Weller (sister of Lucy Reiley and Margaret Peery); Rindy Moore (Richard Coble’s friend); Mary Vogel (Vann Vogel’s mother); Chris Barkley (Kathy Theoharis' sister); Virginia Bradley; Hettie Lou Garland; Dot Holladay; Jerry Bleckley; Teresa Stern; Cindy Egerer; Florence Riedesel; Gerry Simons; Esther Colton; Pat Cheffins; Gordon Gaiser; Connie Jones

Youth News No Youth Group tonight.

Youth Group "Moving Mountains Downtown Adventure" | NEXT SUNDAY, October 22 | 5 - 7pm | GCPC Let's finally run free downtown in this one-of- a-kind challenge! We will meet at GCPC and head out together to interview shop owners, tourists and locals about ways we can "move mountains" here in our city. We will return to GCPC for dinner provided by the Pike/Frye and Keever/Stout families. It will be tons of fun! *If you have not done so already, please bring this year's signed carpool permission slip.

Senior High Camping Trip | Saturday, October 28th, 2pm - Sunday, October 29th, 2pm | Celo (Meet/pick up GCPC parking lot) Senior Highs, get ready for an outdoor adventure hiking, hanging out and worshiping in the woods! We will camp near Dean Presson's cabin in Celo. The cost is free and please make note if you have a tent that we can borrow. *Fill out a registration form (in the Information Station) by TODAY, Sunday, Oct 15th.

Middle School Retreat 2017 ~ Camp Grier | Friday, Nov 10th, 5:15 PM - Sunday, Nov 12th, 12:15 PM | Old Fort, NC Youth (grades 6-8) are invited to a fun-filled weekend with other youth from across our presbytery. It is sure to be a fantastic time playing games, doing energizers, and creatively exploring our faith together. The cost is $90 and there are full and partial scholarship available. *Fill out a registration form (in the Information Station) by Sunday, Oct 29th.

Next Sunday’s Education for All Ages | 9:15 AM





Digging In: Creation Care & Scripture | Jerusalem Room We will begin with a look at some ways Scripture has been said to be an obstacle for Creation Care, suggesting alternative readings of such “problematic” parts of the Bible. Then we will look at the implications of Scripture’s accounts of creation, covenant, redemption for humanity’s calling to care for creation. The class will conclude with a look at Scripture’s hints about the relation of humans to other animals and about God’s good future for all creation. Facilitator: Cam Murchison

The Improv: Boundaries | Fellowship Hall The Boundaries class will explore how to establish healthy boundaries with friends, parents, children, coworkers, self, and God. We will discuss when to say no and how to say yes, how to respond to individuals who don't recognize or respect personal boundaries, and why it is important to respect other people's boundaries without resentment. The reference for the class will be the Boundaries book by Dr Henry Cloud and Dr John Townsend. Join us for a discussion on how to incorporate boundaries into your life. Facilitators: Paul Rogers and Christi Mobley

Pressure Points: Religious Violence | Choir Room During the fall, we examine how misreadings of Biblical passages have been used to rationalize and even promote religious violence. Midrashic reading of Genesis stories foundational to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam help us gain new insight to sibling rivalry, dualism, scapegoats and more. We are using Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ book Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence to inform the study although it is not required for the weekly discussions. Facilitators: Keaton Hill and Denise Snodgrass

CHILDREN & YOUTH EDUCATION [Contact Samantha]

Preschool/Kindergarten (ages 3-5) | anytime from 8:30–11:30 AM |Preschool Sunday School Room (downstairs, Children’s Center) Elementary (grades 1-5) | 9:10–10:10 AM |Temple Room (upstairs, Promise Zone)



Middle School (grades 6-8) | 9:15-10:10 AM | Middle School Classroom, PZ Senior Highs (grades 9-12) | 9:15-10:10 AM | Senior High Classroom, PZ





Next Sunday, October 22, 2017 Worship services at 8:30 & 10:30 AM Education Hour @ 9:15 AM Sermon: “Listen Up” by Samantha Gonzalez-Block Scriptures: 1 Samuel 3:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10







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CALENDAR Pritchard Park 8:30 AM Worship 9:15 AM Education Hour 10:30 AM Worship 11:30 AM Deacons 12:00 PM Biltmore Choir Rehearsal 4:00 PM PW Coordinating Team 5:00 PM Children’s Choirs 5:00 PM Our Life Together Class 5:30 PM Handbell Choir 9:00 AM Prayer Group 6:00 PM Finance Mtg. 6:00 PM Serve Mtg. 11:00 AM Bible Study 11:45 AM Sanctuary open for prayer 5:30 PM Stewardship Mtg. 6:00 PM Celebration Team 7:00 PM Chancel Choir Wisdom in the Woods Retreat 5:00 PM PNO ~ Parents’ Night Out Children’s Sabbath 8:30 AM Worship 9:15 AM Education Hour 10:30 AM Worship 11:30 AM Families w/ Young Children Listening Session 12:00 PM Biltmore Choir Rehearsal 5:00 PM Youth Group 5:00 PM Children’s Choirs 5:00 PM Our Life Together Class