The Raleigh Court Herald - August 2019

August 2019-Volume 45-Number 8

GRAND DAY OF SERVICE

Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 8:00 AM

The first annual Day of Service is a day set aside by the churches in the Grandin Road area to partner together to make a positive impact on our community and those in need. We encourage all of our congregants to reach out and lend a helping hand through the various community service projects. We want to be visible and purposeful in the Grandin Road area. The day will begin at 8:00 AM with fellowship and commissioning breakfast in the RCPC Fellowship Hall. After breakfast, members from Christ Lutheran Church, Heights Community Church, Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church, Raleigh Court United Methodist Church, and St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church will depart for various projects at the respective churches or sites across the community. Signups and final details will be available in upcoming Sunday bulletins and the This Week @ RCPC emails.

THE TRAVERS CLASSIC

Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 10:00 AM 3033 Dover Drive, Roanoke—Home to The Travers Classic and the famous Dover Hills Disc Golf Course

Entrance fee: $20 donation (cash or check) or 20 cans of food (ideal foods: canned fruit, beans, tuna, and peanut butter.) All proceeds benefit the RCPC Hunger Mission Backpack program for the children at Lincoln Terrance and Hurt Park Elementary Schools. The Travers Classic is a disc golf event, played rain or shine. Lunch is provided! Bring friends and family to cheer you on. There is a family round at 11:30 AM, a great way to get the kids involved. If you are unable to attend there are still ways to support this event by sponsoring a hole ($100), or providing your time or food to help make this event a great success. More information available online at traversclassic.com.

BIG IDEAS OF CHRISTIANITY

Our world is full of stories. These stories invite our participation and shape our decision-making. Some stories tell us that consumption and acquiring will make us whole. Other stories tell us that power fulfills. Still other stories keep us trapped in depression and self-doubt. To be human is to be a creature of narrative. It is why we are drawn to movies and plays, literature and history. What does it look like, then, to live in the Christian story? This program year we invite you to enter that story more fully as we explore the Big Ideas of Christianity. Each week in worship we will look deeply into a major theme of our faith and consider how that shapes our daily living. Paired with worship, our Adult Small Groups will be reading through Christian Doctrine by Shirley Guthrie, supplementing and expanding these conversations beyond our sanctuary and into our living rooms and workplaces. There will also be occasional Theology Reading Groups on Sunday morning to dive into some of the major texts of our Reformed Faith. Our Big Ideas of Christianity kicks off on Rally Day, September 8. More information will be coming soon. Come and live this story with us and in our world!

ADULT SMALL GROUPS

Many of our Adult Small Group participants have continued to journey through the Year of the Bible these past summer months. Beginning in the fall, all of our Small Groups will resume and dive into the study of the Big Ideas of Christianity using the book Christian Doctrine by Shirley Guthrie as a guide, as well as reflecting on the Sunday sermons and scripture. We will be adding some new small groups in the fall, plus we have space for newcomers in some of our existing small groups, sign ups will begin Sunday, August 18! Our Small Groups’ study of the Big Ideas of Christianity will begin the week of September 15.

West End Center celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year!

West End Center for Youth is a non-profit organization located at the corner of Patterson Ave and 13th Street. The Center serves about 100 children in the West End area of Roanoke and beyond, providing after-school care with homework, tutoring, and other opportunities to enrich their lives. RCPC has had a long relationship supporting the endeavors of the center. We have provided socks and underwear at Christmas, tutors to help with homework, school supplies and support for their fundraisers. Our Endowment helped the center to purchase a mini-bus to be able to transport the children to activities around the valley, and recently a gift used toward the kitchen/bathroom renovation. The West End Center Friends Mission Group would like to encourage you to participate in the August School Supply Drive. There is a display set up in the Gathering Area with a complete list of the supplies needed. When a child has the materials needed to begin the school day they feel more confident and are prepared to engage in the lessons. All supplies need to be brought to the church or West End Center by Sunday, August 11 in order for individual bags to be prepared for each child that will be specific to their school and grade. Thank you for helping a child to be ready for school this fall!

Fall is right around the corner and so is the return of the RCPC Book Club! We invite you to join us on Wednesday, September 11, at 11:00 AM to discuss our first book of the season: Becoming by Michelle Obama. Mark your calendars for these future dates and book discussions: October 9 at 11:00 AM Dopesick by Beth Macy November 13 at 11:00 AM Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL RECAP

There were 82 children in our building this year for Vacation Bible School, blasting back in time to visit Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Paul through the ancient lands of modern-day Turkey, Egypt, Israel, and Italy! We had four wonderful and busy days exploring how we are called to be God’s Hands Around the World and right here in our neighborhood. The children of VBS learned the truth of God’s call from the people called to lead VBS. These leaders used their gifts to express God’s love through Bible Time, Mission, Music, Recreation, Archeology, History, Snack time, and the relationships formed in shepherding 82 kids through the morning! A huge thank you to our VBS families, children, leaders, and to our congregation who support this great ministry!

RCPC PRESCHOOL’S BARBARA CARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Did you know that the RCPC Preschool has a scholarship fund set up to help children who would like to attend preschool but do not have the funds to enroll? This scholarship fund was created to honor Barbara Carter when she retired from RCPC after many years of excellent service as Executive Administrator’s Assistant. The Presbyterian Women sponsor it, but anyone can donate! We are fortunate to have this scholarship in place, but there are not enough funds at this time to help every child who applied and qualified for help this coming year. If you are willing to donate to this great cause, checks should be made to RCPC with “Barbara Carter Scholarship” on the item line. It can be put in the collection plate or given to Lois Morgan, Financial Secretary. Thank you for helping our children.

PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN

Did you know that Presbyterian Women take a break during the summer? We do not meet in June, July or August, but will meet again on September 9, the 2 nd Tuesday of the month. We will continue our study of God’s Promise: I will be with you. You may join us any time for our study as each lesson will stand alone as we study the ways that God is always there for and with us. So as we break for the summer, we can all be assured that God will be with us during this time too! And we hope you will be with us in the fall! We will be preparing for our Presbytery Annual Fall Gathering and want to invite all women of the church to join us for this time of renewal. The Annual Gathering will be on Saturday, September 28. Mark your calendar to save the date.

The Raleigh Court Herald is a monthly publication of Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church 1837 Grandin Rd. Roanoke VA 24015 540 343-5541 ~ 540 345-8359 FAX www.rcpres.org