First

August 2020

Announcements & Celebrations p. 2 Reminders p. 3 Nurture p. 4 Teach p. 5

Worship p. 5 Fellowship p. 6 Serve p. 7 Directory p. 8

As a diverse family of believers in Jesus Christ, our mission is to glorify God

by celebrating and sharing God’s renewing and transforming love as:

We worship the living God with joy and thanksgiving.

We teach the Word of God to deepen our faith and to grow in

our love for Jesus Christ.

We serve others through sharing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We fellowship to enrich and energize our life together as a congregation.

We nurture and embrace all God’s children.

Over the past few months, I have witnessed two different anniversaries that have offered some perspective. The first is the 59th wedding anniversary of my mother and father, Bonnie and Dick Carr, that took place last week. Shay and I were having a con-versation and she pointed out that if we were to double the number of years we have been married, and added 11 more, it would equal the years my folks have been married. As the kids say these days - “mind blown!” The other anniversary is more deeply connected to the life of this church, but unfortunately it took place in May, when we were dealing with the COVID-19 mess, so it slipped by unnoticed. It harkens back to Mother’s Day 1990, the first Sunday that Janet Miller played a service of worship as the organist here. That equals 30 years. 30 years of service. 30 years of song and melody. 30 years of friendship. Sadly, for all of us, Sunday, August 30th will be Janet’s last. The announcement of her retirement has already gone out, and Don has stated extremely well what she means to all of us, but I wanted to add just a few thoughts of my own. First, have you ever taken a close look at the console of our organ? You should. Multiple keyboards, multiple stops and lev-ers, a whole array of pedals down on the floor. All of them working in concert together through Janet’s capable hands (and feet!) to make the gift of her music. Second, have you ever looked in the file cabinet in that little room behind the chancel? Well, Janet would probably prefer you didn’t, but what I can tell you is that it contains a staggering array of musical pieces, and Janet has played most, if not all, of them. Third, have you ever counted the number of musical pieces in one of our Sunday bulletins? If not, you should. I went back and pulled a pre-COVID worship service - nothing special, just your run of the mill weekly worship service - and it has 13 pieces of music in it! Go ahead… I’ll let that sink… 13 separate pieces of music, performed in 1 hour, and she does that every week!! Just for kicks, I went and pulled the Christmas Cantata from last year - 17 pieces of music!! Hymns, anthems, solos, voluntaries, etc. – oh, simple stuff, like BACH, BEETHOVEN, AND MENDELSSOHN!! No biggie… just another day behind the console for Janet (mind blown, again.) As I write this, it is hard to imagine a Sunday without Janet at that console. She has filled this sanctuary with sounds so emotive and evocative that we consider it essential to what it means to worship God, and that is an incredible testimony to what she means to us. All I can say is this: Thank you Janet. Thank you for your gifts and your willingness to share them. Thank you for blessing our minds with your skill and our hearts with your song. As you and Nick begin a new phase of life, I pray you will find a way to, “Sing to the Lord a new song… Sing to the Lord and praise his name…Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.” Psalm 96: 1-3 Peace - Richard

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Dear Church Family,

Thank you so much for sending

your angel, Joanne Lehman, to visit

me! It’s been lonely these months

of the pandemic but I am healing up

well. The food and the cards made

me happy! Thanks for your

prayers. I love you all.

Ann Dahlin

Thank you to everyone who

phoned, sent food, visited, sent

cards, and especially all who

included me in their prayers during

my recent heart attack. I am

currently doing cardio-rehab and

getting better every day. May God

bless you all.

Thanks,

Joe Hardy

I want to thank the kind church

family for the goody bag brought to

me. Although I am quarantined in

my room and could not greet the

visitors personally, I will surely

enjoy the contents of the bag. My

thanks to the youth and members of

the committees for thinking of me.

Margaret Ann Tice

Janet Miller Retirement. Our beloved organist of 30 years and 2 months, Janet Miller, will be retiring as of August 30. She and Nick are planning to retire to Wilmington, NC, to be with their son who is retir-ing there as well. While this will be a new chapter in their lives, it will certainly be a sad time for us as we have to say "Good Bye" to both her and Nick. We will miss Janet's fantastic skill at service playing, her ex-cellent sight-reading skills for anthems (especially those I have thrown

at her at the last minute!), her dedication, her dependability, her unswerving practice ritual, and her dry sense of humor. It has certainly been a highlight of my life to be able to work with such

a fine musician for the past 12 years. May the road rise to meet you; may the wind be always at your back; may the sun shine warm upon your face; may the rain fall softly on your fields; and until we meet again, may you keep safe in the gentle loving arms of God! (An Irish Blessing) - Don Rogers, Director of Music.

UPDATE ON COVID-19 AND THE CHURCH

What to expect as we gather for in-person Worship on Sunday, August 16th:

Time: We will return to our normal worship time of 11:00 am

Order of Worship: The bulletin will remain a one pager, with an abbreviated format, and

words to the hymns in the bulletin.

Singing: Hymns will be reduced to 2 or 3 verses, folks will remain seated.

Offering: Offering will be taken up in baskets at the door.

Seating: We have placards in the pews advising where you can sit. Please allow 6 feet from the

nearest non-family member.

Overflow: The Verdery Chapel is set up to accept overflow seating. We have a brand new, 70”

HD TV for viewing (its nice!)

Face Masks: As long as COVID is untreatable, we will be wearing masks. It is clinically prov-

en to be the most effective deterrent to transmission.

Nursery: Will be offered beginning August 30th. See Kara’s plan in the Education section for

more detail.

Children’s Church: Will be offered and expanded beginning August 30th. See Kara’s plan in

the Education section for more detail.

Search Committee for a Church Organist—Our Session has approved a Search

Committee for a church organist. Members are: Lynn Moran (choir), Mickey John-

son (organist), Shirley Fishburne (organist), Bob Ballard (Personnel), Kathy James

(Congregation), Richard Carr; Don Rogers (chair). A Job Description has been

placed on our website (click under WELCOME, then JOB OPPORTUNITY). The

committee is already about its work. If you know of someone who meets the crite-

ria, you may send the name along to the committee chair (rogersdm@comporium.net), contact

one of the other members of the committee, or share the job description with them directly.

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1 Ken Holt

Claire Stevenson

2 Christy Kay

5 Mandy Cutrone

6 David Chubb

Olivia Delgado

Ashley Jones Lawson

Alison Sundermier

7 Ashley Stevenson

8 Bill Blackwell

Shannon Huggins

Richard Kay

Caroline Kay

9 Sally Bedenbaugh

10 Roxanna Wood

11 Donna Martin

Veronica Perez

13 Adam Scull

Jeff Bradshaw

14 Evelyn Arrington

Natalie Ojalehto

15 Katherine Seerden

17 Joe Hopkins

18 Adrian Delgado

20 Cynthia Johnson

21 Andy Cloninger

Sara Curry

David Esposito

23 Eric Park

Sophia Smith

Reeves Williams

Hayes Faulkenberry

25 Matt Goodner

Julia Nichols

Carroll Terry

26 Bob Barrett

Adalyn Smith

27 Tom Hickman

Mike Hunsucker

David Richardson

Walt Williams

28 Bob Ballard

Nancy Gainey

Lindsey Skinner

Bobby Williams

29 Andrew Sundermier

Rhett Keener

30 Kia Hicklin

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

Library News

The Jurado Children’s Library will remain

open on Wednesday mornings from 9 AM to

12 Noon. If there are any questions, call

Will Read at 324-2046.

NURSERY NEWS

The nursery is taking on a new look! Paint-ing and new window treatments are done! Next installs are new shelves and cub-bies!! Keep watching!

Deacons on Call for

August

Jane Williams Leslie Jurado

Lindsey Skinner

College Care Packages

We would like to encourage our college students throughout the year!

Please send Kara your college mailing address and best contact information if you are heading to college this school year . She has created a form that you (or your parents) may fill out at https://forms.gle/btA2QncSmV21CC386 if that's easier for you. First graders will receive a Bible in the Worship Service at 11am on August 30th. Please contact the church office if you would like your 1st grader to receive a Bible and have not already received an email from Kara.

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PRAYER LIST

Please keep these members of our congregation in your prayers:

Health Concerns (Members): Beth Easley, Worth Kendall, Mary Tice, Audrey Moore, Jane Williams, and Ann Dahlin.

Sympathy: Christian sympathy is extended to Suzi Brewer Price in the death of her brother, Charlie Brewer in Murrells Inlet, SC. Mr. Brewer passed away on July 23rd. Suzi Price-1565 Covenant Pl., 29732 Christian sympathy is extended to Rob Green and his family in the death of his father. Mr. Kenny Green passed away on Monday, July 27th. Rob Green - 2568 Billy Wilson Rd, York, SC 29745 Friends and Family Members to keep in our prayers:

Carol Hines - (Susan Demchak's friend) 1106 Christopher Circle, RHSC

29730

Keira Esposito (Sanfilipppo Syndrome)

746 Quicksilver Trail

Fort Mill, SC 29708-6548

Dennis Hopkins-Joe and Lena Hopkins’ son (ALS-Lou Gehrigs Disease) 4120 Marshall Rd, 29730

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Please keep the following mem-bers of the military in your prayers:

Stephen “Anthony” Bradley (Teresa Bradley’s son & Jean Horton's grandson) Navy: Stephen Bradley, 515 Chesterfield Rd Hampton, VA 23661 Matthew Blackwelder Blackwelder, Matthew B. Navy: Matt, Kellie and Jackson Black-welder 120 Kenneth Cr Newport News, VA 23602 Major and Mrs. Ryan Middle-ton (Laura Keely) 9190 Brenahm Court Montgomery, AL 36117

Taylor Ferguson- (Phyllis Fer-guson’s grandson) Army: Capt. Taylor Ferguson 7653 Kesler Dr Fort Benning, Ga 31905

If you or someone you know has a pastoral need, please contact Richard at 803-818-1863 or through email at rcarr1024@gmail.com. You can also contact the church office (328-2467; firstpresrh@gmail.com) or one of the deacons on call.

Our Prayer Ministry is now accepting prayer requests. This very important ministry is for all of our church members and extended families. You may provide as much or as little information as you wish and know that prayers will be offered at a moment’s notice. This is a confidential group and your request will be treated as such. Please contact Jane Williams (366-3834 or wjlcwilliams@aol.com).

AUGUST 30 RALLY DAY INFORMATION

In accordance with DHEC guidelines and Rock Hill Schools procedures, we are excited to offer a modified Rally Day

and the beginning of a new Sunday School year at First Presbtyerian!

For Adults: Classes are meeting in-person with six foot distance and the wearing of masks. If you are not yet comfortable

returning to Sunday School in person, you are welcome to join a once a month Bible Study led by Joe Hardy using the Present

Word Curriculum. Please let Kara know if you'd like a link to join this group. Week of the month and meeting time are still to

be determined for this Zoom class.

For Youth: The Youth group will meet at 5pm twice a month in Hopkins Hall with physical distancing and masks and some

Zoom gatherings for those who don't want to meet in person. A decision about Sunday School will be made in the next

couple of weeks.

For Children: Sunday School will not meet during the Sunday School hour but we will offer Worship Care

for Nursery and Preschoolers beginning at 10:30am before the Worship Service. (Temperature checks will be

taken of each child and adult in the classroom - as well as the adults will wear masks.) Elementary children

will go to worship with their families and then leave following the Children's Sermon for Children's Church in

Hopkins Hall. Parents will pick up their children from Hopkins Hall at the conclusion of the service.

I'm excited to introduce Growing in God's Love Story Book Bible and coordinating curriculum for our

preschool and elementary-aged children. These stories will help us explore and learn more about who God is

and what our relationship is with God. Thanks to a generous donation, a Bible will be available for each family to use at home

with an activity page emailed for families to use at home as well. Parents of children - please watch your email for more

information and a request for feedback from Kara to help in our planning.

These Story Book Bibles will be available for pick-up at our School Supply Parade on Sunday, August 16 at 6pm at the

Hopkins Hall entrance. Please bring school supplies by to bless our teachers and their students and pick-up your family's

Bible- it will be great to see you then!

August 16 School Supply Parade - 6 to 7pm at Hopkins Hall Entrance

Our teachers are returning to school at a challenging time to say the least. You are invited to support their classrooms and

children in our communities by bringing a pencil box stuffed with the items (or the items individually) listed below to the

church for a School Supply Parade on Sunday, August 16 from 6-7pm. Supplies will be collected from your car with all safety

precautions taken.

We will disperse these supplies to the various classrooms and schools where our teachers are serving the week of August 17 so

that they will be in their classrooms for the return of students this fall. A registry has been created at Target (tgt.gifts/

fpcrhbacktoschool) to help make your shopping easier if desired. Each pencil box will cost about $15 to fill. Please let Kara

know if you have any questions.

Pencil Box Pre-Sharpened Pencils Scissors Large Erasers

Box of 24 Crayola Crayons Handheld Pencil Sharpener

Glue Sticks Thick Black Expo Markers

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Women’s

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Contact the church office if you are not receiving the email instructions for worship

each week from Reverend Carr.

Watch for the emails from Kara each week to be a part of Sunday

School for children, youth, and adults.

Grades 6 through 12 are invited to join the fun!!

Please let Kara know if you are not receiving her emails.

Pack 31 would like to invite children K-grade 5 to join Cub

Scounts. Cub scouting has been a ministry of First Presbyterian

Church for more than 30 years. We are excited not to make

scouting available for girls and boys. Scouting is a great activity

for families. It is fun, adventurous and builds leadership.

Pack 31 will be observing BSA policies on Covid Safety and will also follow guide-

lines set forth by our chartering organization, First Presbyterian Church.

For information on joining scouts, go to https://beascout.scouting.org/list/?zip=29732

You can also join via a Zoom Webinar on August 4: https://palmettocouncil.org/when-can-i-join

For more information about Scouts BSA, go to https://www.scouting.org/

It is with much disappointment that we are canceling our Family Retreat at Montreat

this year. We have rolled over our reservation to October 1-3, 2021. Everything

will remain the same for those who made a reservation for this year. Watch for res-

ervation updates in the February 2021 Newsletter.

Questions? Contact Bev Keely.

Giving Thank you to all who are continuing to send in your pledges. Without our usual worship ser-vice and time for offer-ing, however, our giving level has started to de-crease while expenses have remained roughly the same. There are three ways you may send your pledge to the church: 1) by mail to the address below, 2) drop them in Jackie’s box at the church, 3) give se-curely online through REALM. If you need assistance setting up online giving, please email or contact Jackie or Joanne.

jjohnsonfirstpres@gmail.com 803-389-8999 firstpresrh@gmail.com

803-328-2467

First Presbyterian Church

P. O. Box 1011

Rock Hill, SC 29731

We serve others through sharing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Yarns of Love – Even though the ladies are not meeting in

person in the parlor on Thursday afternoons, their knitting

needles and crochet hooks are still busy creating prayer

shawls and lapghans. Since the group disbanded for Covid 19

in mid March, they have made and contributed a total of 89

lapghans and shawls to Hospice and Community Care to be

presented to their patients. A number of these pieces are made with red/white/

blue yarn into patriotic lapghans or shawls to be presented to veterans near the

end of their lives. Each veteran receives a patriotic lapghan/shawl in a ceremony

to mark their service in their particular branch of the military. The ministry is

most meaningful to the recipients of the pieces and to their family members. It

is also a blessing to those who participate in the Yarns of Love ministry to be

able to touch lives in a special and prayerful way.

Help for HOPE: Thank you for the generous contribution of 109 packages of

rice during July. Your kind contributions are much appreciated and make a

difference in fighting hunger right here in our community

Help for HOPE - During the month of August, our congregation will collect

boxes of breakfast cereal to contribute to the clients of Project HOPE. You

may bring in any brand or type of cereal. (ex: Cheerios, Chex, etc.) Please

leave your box(es) in the narthex by Sunday, August 16. Your donation does

make a difference to the people right here in our area and is very much

appreciated. On behalf of the Mission Committee and the clients of Project

HOPE, please accept a big thank you for your donations!

We Worship the Liv-ing God with Joy and

Thanksgiving

HOP

(Hunger Outreach Program)

On the 4th Tuesday of each

month our church participates

in the “Hunger Outreach Pro-

gram”. We are a member of a

consortium of several churches

who meet and prepare approxi-

mately 240 meals, which are

bagged and delivered to the

hungry and needy in our com-

munity. We do not meet in the

Summer, our next HOP meet-

ing will be September 28th

You are invited to join us at

3:00 p.m. to assist in this ef-

fort. If you are unable to come

and help, you may assist by

writing a check to First Pres-

byterian Church and marking

it for “HOP”.

Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen

Ladies will meet on Thurs-

day, August 27th from 10:00

a.m. - 1:00 p.m. We help cook

for the Soup Kitchen on Craw-

ford Road. Anyone interested

should call Wendy Blanchard

at (704) 616-7021 or Christy

Goodner to volunteer.

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Return Service Requested

The Officers of First Presbyterian Church

Members of the Session

Class of 2020 Class of 2021 Class of 2022

Bob Barrett Matt Goodner Barry Goodner Peggy Casey Jimmy Jurado Cynthia Johnson Paul Horne Laura Lengers Joanne Lehman Kathy James Susan Roberson Robert Pender Julia Nichols George White, Clerk Sheryl Smith

Members of the Diaconate

Class of 2020 Class of 2021 Class of 2022

Susannah Hayes Gene Black Lindsey Skinner Dave Keely Teresa Bradley, Moderator Ellie Dawson Joan Musselwhite Michelle Elston Faye Ballard Eric Park Traci Jackson Steve Mullinax Jane Williams Leslie Jurado Diane Bailey

First Presbyterian Church 234 East Main Street POST OFFICE BOX 1011 ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA 29730

Staff Contact Information Church Office: (803) 328-2467

Rev. Richard W. Carr, III Minister rcarr1024@gmail.com (803) 818-1863

Kara Wheeler Directory of Family Ministries kwheelerfpcrh@gmail.com (803) 818-1212

Rev. Dr. Craig C. Butler Marriage and Family Minister butlerc@comporium.net (803) 366-5445-cell

Dr. Donald M. Rogers Director of Music rogersdm@comporium.net

Janet Miller Organist nljemiller@carolina.rr.com

Will Read Cherub Choir Director wread@comporium.net

Mickey Johnson Handbell Choir Director bellman@comporium.net

Joanne Stogner Administrative Assistant firstpresrh@gmail.com

Jackie Johnson Financial Secretary jjohnsonfirstpres@gmail.com