First July, 2019

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.

Religious liberty is a well known fact in this country, but truthfully most of us don’t really know the details of how it came to be - myself included. For years I had always assumed that religious liberty was inherent to the New World experience. In other words - you got on a boat, you left Europe, you came to America, and once upon our shores, you were free to worship as you saw fit. There is some truth to this - the Puritans and the Quakers come to mind - but in reality, religious liberty was a hard won cause that developed along with our nation. For the most part, we have James Madison and Thomas Jefferson to thank for the religious liberty clause in the First Amendment of the Constitution (Madison more so than Jefferson). Madison had worked in the Virginia General Assembly long before he became a national political figure. There he had seen the political maneuverings of the Anglican Church to discriminate against other denominations. One baptist preacher named Elijah Craig was ar-rested and jailed on multiple occasions for preaching without a license, and it was the Virginia Assembly who had allowed the Anglican Church to control this licensing process. This bothered Madison - even though he himself was Anglican. It also bothered one of his legislative co-horts, Patrick Henry of “Give me liberty or give me death!” fame. Working together, in 1776 they were able to pass legislation that assured the “free exercise of religion” in their state. Thirteen years later, Madison was able to import a similar provision into the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Madison’s reasoning behind this particular cause for freedom came not from his church or family upbring-ing, but from his education. In both high school and college he had studied under...you guessed it...Presbyterians! Here, he learned the principals instilled in the same Westminster Confession that is part of our Book of Confessions today, that “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, in matters of faith, or worship.” (Chapter 20:2). Madi-son, influenced by his Presbyterian teachers, called the conscience “the most sacred of all property.” So, here is the bottom line. As we gather for worship on this coming Sunday, and as we look to the celebra-tion of our nation’s independence next week, and as we celebrate the principals of liberty and freedom that stand at the heart of that endeavor - let’s all give thanks for James Madison AND his Presbyterian mentors! Peace - Richard

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NEW MEMBERS Margaret and Rob Joiner

Marshall Joiner Parker Joiner Griffin Joiner

Elizabeth “Liz” Abernathy Hindson

111 Lyman Oak Ct Fort Mill, SC 29715

Our congregation was excited to observe the baptism of Connor Andrew Hindson on June 16. Our church family will nurture Connor in his Christian life.

Summer Sunday School and Worship

Worship will begin at 10:00 every Sunday through August 11 and a nursery will be provided each week. Children’s Sunday School classes will not meet. The Berean Class will meet at 9:00 am in the parlor, all adults are invited to join them. Regular schedule will resume on August 18 with Rally Day and Blessing of the Backpacks.

2019 FPC Annual Bazaar Friday, August 2, 3:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. Saturday, August 3, 8:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M.

Drop Off: Everything must be left in the Boy Scout Room until after July 8. It would be very helpful if large items could be brought after July 8. Donations: We welcome all clean, gently used sellable items. If you can bring items in a box or bag that will help with storage. Please clean all outdoor items before bringing them into the church. Please remember we cannot have anything flammable. For example - paints, spray cans, old gas cans. You do not need to price anything. Pick-up Dates: July 13 and July 27- If you need help getting larger items to the church please contact Rod Hicks 803-981-3893 to schedule a time for pick up. Volunteers: This is one of the biggest events of the year for our church. We need as much help as we can get! Everyone is welcome to help!! Work Dates and Times: Monday and Thursday 9:00 A.M. until 12:00 P.M. July 8, 11, 15, 18, 22 Thursday, July 25—6:00 P.M. until 9:00 P.M. July 26 through August 1 - All Day Changes for 2019 - If you would like to purchase an item before 3:00 P.M. on August 2 it will be double the marked price.

Care Bags FPC is participating in an on-going local mission project that will allow us to share compassion and kindness with families who have loved ones in palliative care at Piedmont Medical Center. You may leave items in the box in the narthex. Items needed: Small water bottles, peanut-free prepackaged snacks, small notebooks, pens or pen-cils, small tissue packs, lip balm, mints/gum. Items to pass the time: Crossword puzzles, word searches, small puzzles, etc. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you

must love one another.” John 13:34

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1 Mike Goodner Christine Walton 2 Lissa Hensley 4 Sue Munn 6 Grace Gresham 10 Elizabeth Cycak 14 John Demchak 15 Jennifer Abernathy Lynn Blackwell Deneen Gresham Suzie Price Winterton Zelinski 18 Barry Goodner Carol Stevenson 19 Diane Hale 22 Cathy Anthony 23 David Burton 24 Marshall Rikard Jody Spradley Charlie Stevenson Josephine Zelinski 25 Russ Rumford 27 Patricia Johnson 28 Dora Bowman 29 Lauren Williams Dee Dee Huggins 30 Mary Anne Sheppard 31 Chip Hutchison

NURSERY & CHILDREN’S CHURCH July 7

Nursery /Preschool Patti Cloninger

Children’s Church Kia Hicklin, Tara Park Children’s Sermon George White

July 14 Nursery /Preschool Joanne Edwards Children’s Church Rebecca Bridges, Heidi Hunsucker Children’s Sermon Susan Roberson

July 21 Nursery/Preschool Traci Jackson Children’s Church Janelle Chubb, Joanne Lehman Children’s Sermon Pat Johnson

July 28 Nursery/Preschool Wendy Blanchard Children’s Church Leslie Jurado, Christy Goodner Children’s Sermon Richard Carr

Deacons on Call for

July

David Chubb Dave Keely

Teresa Bradley

COUNTERS

July 7 Tom Hickman, David Chubb July 14 Laura Lengers, Pat Johnson July 21 George White, Karen Holt July 28 Susan Roberson, Teresa Bradley

ACOLYTES

July 7 Sophia Hindson July 14 Anna Roberson July 21 Emily Kay July 28 Elizabeth Roberson

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JULY BIRTHDAYS

Please keep these members of our congregation in your prayers:

Health Concerns (Members): Bill Kayser, Beth Easley, Worth Kendall, Mary Tice, John Granacher, Audrey Moore, Lena Hopkins, Pete Wheeles, Manfred Liewald, Alex Luse, Debbie Norwood and Linder Tucker. Christian Sympathy is extended to Dave Keely and his family in the death of his father, Oliver “Ollie” Keely who passed away on June 2. Christian sympathy is extended to Jimmy Jurado and his family in the death of his father, Gustavo Jurado who passed away on June 21.

Friends and Family Members to keep in our prayers: Carol Hines—(Susan Demchak's friend) 1106 Christopher Circle, RHSC 29730 Bob Renz (heart attack /rehabilitation) Cathy Kayser’s brother 43 Dayton Road, Jamesburg, NJ 08831 Colleen Eddington (Cathy Kayser’s sister) recovering from a stroke 106 Village Rd. Wickatunk Village, Morganville, NJ 07751 Keira Esposito (Sanfilipppo Syndrome) 746 Quicksilver Trail, Fort Mill, SC 29708-6548 Don Ferguson, Jr—Phyllis Ferguson’s son (surgery) Charlie Brewer-Brother of Suzie Brewer Price (colon cancer) 150 Panilla Ct., Murrells Inlet, SC. 29576 Cheryl Hoffman - Cancer

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Other Prayer Requests: Manfred & Hildegard Liewald 1738 Matthews Drive, 29732 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 and Kellie Blackwelder 105 Bethany Terrace Yorktown, VA 23693 Major and Mrs. Ryan Middle-ton (Laura Keely) 9190 Brenahm Court Montgomery, AL 36117 Taylor Ferguson (Phyllis Ferguson’s grandson) Army: Capt. Taylor Ferguson 7653 Kessler 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

Our Prayer Ministry is now accepting prayer requests. This important minis-try 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. Please contact Jane Williams (366-3834 or wjlcwilliams@aol.com).

Prayer and Visitation Ministry

“But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43-45 The Prayer and Visitation Ministries have been combined to better meet the needs of our congregation. Members of this combined ministry will work with the pastor to show the love of Christ through their visits and prayers with congregation members in times of need. They will also help identify other needs that may be referred to other ministries within the church. If you would like to refer someone to the Visitation Ministry for possible visits or ask for prayer requests from the Prayer Ministry, please contact Jane Williams (wjlcwilliams@aol.com or 803-242-5431) or Rev. Carr (803-818-1863 or rcarr1024@gmail.com).

July Library Fun: The Isabel Jurado Children’s Library is offering a program during July for children ages 4 thourgh 10. It will include reading, library usage, a few new songs, quiet games and even learning a few words of Hebrew! We will meet each Thursday beginning July 10, 17, 24 and 31 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am each day. There will be a devotion followed by reading new books together. Children will also be able to read alone, to each other and play quiet games. Attending all 4 sessions is not necessary.

For more information, contact Will Read (wread@comporium.net or 324-3811). Come join the fun!!

Summer Sermon Series - this summer we will follow various accounts from the book of Acts. its full name was “The Acts of the Apostles”. Just as we spent the spring looking at events in the Life of Christ and the Resurrection Stories in all 4 Gospels, we will now turn to Luke’s 2nd Volume. He wrote for Theophilus, an early Christian Patron, recounting the stories of the development of the church both in Jerusalem and in other parts of the Roman Empire. These are the origin stories of our church; and in them we will learn much about how we came to be.

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We Worship the Living God with Joy and Thanksgiving ♪ Cherub Choir (ages 4-grade 1)- Rehearsals will resume in September. ♪ Covenant Choir (grades 2-5) - Rehearsals will resume in September.

Adult Choir-Rehearsals on Sundays at 9:20 am Contact Don Rogers. (rogersdm@comporium.net) Handbell Choir (middle and high schoolers and adults) Rehearsals will resume in September. Contact Mickey Johnson (bellman@comporium.net).

Women’s

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Ladies’ Night Out – On July 18, Ladies’ Night Out will meet at Café South located at 7901 Forest Pine Drive (just off of Ar-rowood Road and I77 N) at 6:00 pm. It is a homey bistro with a menu featuring widely varied entrees with Greek and Southern influences and decadent desserts. If you are interested in joining

the group, contact Karen Holt for more information or to carpool.

Men’s Fellowship and Ladies Crossroads Bible Study will resume in the fall. Watch for information and dates in the September Newsletter. The Retirees of First Presbyterian Church will not meet again until September. Watch for information about the time and place in the September Newsletter. Worship Reminders

Children 4th grade and up should remain with parents during worship. Devices for hearing impaired are available from ushers. The worship service is live streamed in the chapel if you need to leave the

Sanctuary. To respect the sanctity of our Sanctuary and the worship service experience

of those around you, please place all cell phones on silent and refrain from texting.

Please refrain from bringing food or drinks into the Sanctuary. Recent sermons can be found on our website.

Retire the Debt! Please consider a birthday gift to celebrate our 150th Birth-day. The challenge is to make a gift equal or greater than 10% of your current annual giving. To date, we have $36,498.00 pledged! That brings our total to $72,996.00, which includes our matching gift. With everyone’s support, we can retire the church debt by the Sesquicentennial Celebra-tion in October!

Dear Friends, Thank you so much for the wonderful meal you brought after Sam’s knee replacement surgery. We are so blessed to have such a caring church family. Sam is making progress every day and hopes to be back at church soon. Again, thank you for the wonderful meal. Sara and Sam Curry

Women’s “Out to Lunch” Group The Women’s Out to Lunch Group meets following Sunday worship.

7/7 ~ Ruby Tuesday’s 7/14 ~ Texas Roadhouse 7/21 ~ Charanda’s 7/28 ~ Chili’s

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

Yarns of Love – Each person from our congregation (or friend of family member) who receives a prayer

shawl or lapghan from our group receives this enclosure. We ladies are prayerful that our ministry

makes a difference in the lives of those who face serious illness or life changing circumstances.

May this gift made for you with love and prayers

be a mantle and sign of God’s sustaining presence. May it refresh your weariness;

Surround you with comfort in your suffering. May it encircle you with healing for your pain;

May it surround you with joy, Grace you with peace and wrap you in love.

We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This Prayer Shawl was made for you by the First Presbyterian Church Yarns of Love Ladies.

It is our prayer that you will receive comfort as you use it and that it will encircle you in God’s

Love and peace. Help for HOPE - The Mission and Outreach Committee will be collecting rice and rice mixes for Project HOPE during the month of July. Please consider bringing bags/boxes of rice and rice mixes (Uncle Ben’s, Rice a Roni, etc.) for the families in our area who face hunger every day. All brands and kinds (instant, wild, flavored, white, etc.) are welcome. Every bag or box is most appreciated by the recipients, as well as the volunteers at Project HOPE, who are able to fill grocery bags for those in need. The donations will be delivered on July 21 to Project HOPE.

School Supplies Our church is collecting school supplies during the month of July for the annual HOP Back to School Picnic. They will be distributed to students who are in need of help with school supplies. We would like to collect 25 of each of the items on the following list: Spiral notebooks, packs of pencils and pens, pocket folders, glue bottles or sticks, boxes of crayons, packs of markers, notebook paper. There is a collection box in the narthex, you may drop them off anytime during July.

We Worship the Liv-ing God with Joy and

Thanksgiving

HOP Hunger Outreach

Program On the 4th Tuesday of each month (with the exception of June, July and August), our church participates in the “Hunger Outreach Program”. We are a member of a consortium of several churches who meet and prepare approximately 240 meals, which are bagged and delivered to the hungry and needy in our community. Our next HOP meet-ing will be September 24th . Contact Christy Goodner (803-370-0848) or Wendy Blanchard (803-366-7862) if you would like to assist in this community effort.

Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen

Ladies will meet on Thursday, July 25th from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. We help cook for the Soup Kitchen on Crawford Road. Any-one interested should call Wendy Blanchard at (803) 366-7862 or Christy Goodner (803-370-0848) to volunteer.

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Return Service Requested

The Officers of First Presbyterian Church

Members of the Session

Class of 2019 Class of 2020 Class of 2021 Heather Deese Bob Barrett Matt Goodner Jimmy Hicklin Peggy Casey Jimmy Jurado Tom Hickman Paul Horne Laura Lengers Sherry Hutchison Kathy James Susan Roberson Se Murdoch Julia Nichols George White, Clerk

Members of the Diaconate

Class of 2019 Class of 2020 Class of 2021 Deena Campbell Susannah Hayes Gene Black David Chubb Dave Keely Teresa Bradley Charles Gresham Joan Musselwhite Michelle Elston Karen Holt, Moderator Eric Park Pat Johnson Bobby Smith Jane Williams Leslie Jurado

First Presbyterian Church 234 East Main Street POST OFFICE BOX 1011 ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA 29731

Staff Contact Information:

Church Office: (803) 328-2467

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

Mickey Johnson Handbell Choir Director bellman@comporium.net Joanne Stogner Administrative Assistant firstpresrh@gmail.com

Jackie Johnson Financial Secretary jjohnsonfirstpres@gmail.com