All 6^th-12^th grade Youth are invited to help us kick-off a new year of Youth Group at TopGolf!

Your RSVP is particularly important for this event, so please sign-up as soon as possible: 2023-2024 Youth: 9/10 Youth (signupgenius.com) A firm headcount is needed by August 31^st.

Sanctuary Choir fall rehearsals will resume on Wednesday, September 6 at 7:30 PM in the choir room.

The Deacon's Mission team at First Presbyterian Church has adopted W. M. Irvin Elementary School. Throughout the year, we will support Irvin students and teachers in a variety of ways. One of the most pressing ways that we can support the Irvin community right now is to help teachers obtain items on their teacher wish lists. There are twelve wish lists posted in the Google Doc linked here. Please look them over to see what you might be able to help with. Instructions about where to send items are listed in the Google Doc. Thank you for your generosity!

Please keep our confirmands in prayer as they continue their faith journey. We covered lesson one on Sunday in our Parent-Confirmand meeting this past Sunday.

Our next class is on Sunday, September 17^th from noon until 3:00 PM, followed by Rise Against Hunger. We will have lunch and cover several lessons during this in-house retreat.

We look forward to working with confirmation partners on that date.

Just a reminder to e-mail René Prager – r.prager@firstpresconcord.org – with your student’s college address.

The Youth will be preparing care packages this fall. College addresses are due by August 31^st.

This past Sunday was the final Sips & Sweets of the summer season. The beautiful weather provided the perfect backdrop for fellowship!

The Lunch Bunch goes to

 the Moss-Morris House

in Old Homestead

Do you know what “marriage marks” are and how they were used in home construction in the early 1800s? 

Ask some of the people in these photos. 

Twenty eight people from our Church family enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Cabarrus Country Club last week followed by a tour of historic Moss-Morris house.  Mark and William Niblock, who rescued and restored the home, were our hosts.

The Lunch Bunch is planning a variety of programs and interesting outings this year. Everyone is invited. Watch for upcoming events and check us out!!

Next up: Our own Antiques Road Show on September 27 at noon in Davis Hall!

At our stated meeting on August 8, 2023, the session:

•    Approved a new position description for a Parish Associate. This staff member will provide pastoral care—both acute and ongoing—working closely with Pastor Ellen, and will work 15 hours per week. The hope is that the session will hire a person for this role early this fall.
•     Approved special worship services, including Blessing of the Animals on October 1, a Thanksgiving Service of Evening Prayer on November 19, and the Longest Night Service on December 20.
•    Discussed an article entitled “The Perpetual Stew Is More About Community Than Cuisine” and its implications for the life of the church. The session will be reading Start with Hello by Shannan Martin over the course of this term.

The session’s next stated meeting is scheduled for September 12 at 6:30 PM.

The CCM non-perishable food situation is getting critical! Our inventory is extremely low, while we continue to see a 30% increase in the number of households seeking food assistance over a year ago. As we approach the Food Drive season, please consider conducting special drives earlier than later.

A reminder if you are delivering food to the Crisis Center —The City of Concord has closed Country Club Drive for at least nine months to replace the culvert down below us. We WILL remain open throughout the road closure. However, everyone needs to come to us from the Concord Lake Road/Branchview Drive direction. It is OK for local traffic to drive past the barricades.

Currently, the pantry items we are in biggest need of are:

·    Canned Chicken and Tuna

·    Other Canned Meats (Hash, Chili, Vienna Sausages, etc.)

·    Canned green beans, corn, peas, carrots, potatoes and mixed vegetables

·    Tomatoes

·    Pasta Sauce

·    Any kind of canned beans (Pinto, Chili, Kidney, etc.) except for baked beans/pork & beans

·    Peanut Butter

·    Macaroni & Cheese

·    Pasta (spaghetti or other)

·    Any Canned Fruit (Mixed, Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, etc.)

·    Soup

·    Cereal

·    Toilet Paper and Paper Towels

As always, we especially seek low sodium items, no-added-sugar items, and whole grain items. 

 Currently we have plenty of:

·    Baked Beans/Pork & Beans

·    Rice

·    Dried Beans

Thank you for the continued support from our church and community partners. Our Crisis Center at 246 Country Club Drive NE in Concord serves as the warehouse for most of the food. We will gladly accept all donations at that site from 9:30 am to 1 pm Monday through Friday. Bethel Baptist Helping Hands Food Pantry, located at 1209 1/4 Opal Street in Kannapolis, will gladly accept donations from 9 am to 1 pm on Monday and Thursday. The food pantry located at Westford UMC on Highway 49 and the Kannapolis Food Pantry at West Point Baptist Church can accept donations on Saturday morning from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. The Feeding Our Souls Food Pantry at Bethel Church in Midland, and North Kannapolis Baptist Church Food Pantry will accept donations by calling the church in advance.

Our Youth prepared and froze dinner for the Night Shelter. They will serve up the meal in person on September 3^rd.

They also kicked off baking for Market for Mission with six different types of muffins. 

Our Girl Scout troops participated in an overnight event at the church on Friday evening.

Middle and high school scouts learned knot tying and how to pack for a hiking trip. They also made protein balls and did a neighborhood walk just before dusk, and again at night. These were all part of a series of outdoor badges they are working on this year.

The Daisy, Brownie, and Junior troops enjoyed watching Encanto in the church theater and working on several Encanto related activities.

What would happen if a shy introvert lived like a gregarious extrovert for one year? If she knowingly and willingly put herself in perilous social situations that she’d normally avoid at all costs? Writer Jessica Pan intends to find out. With the help of various extrovert mentors, Jessica sets up a series of personal challenges (talk to strangers, perform stand-up comedy, host a dinner party, travel alone, make friends on the road, and much, much worse) to explore whether living like an extrovert can teach her lessons that might improve the quality of her life. Chronicling the author’s hilarious and painful year of misadventures, this book explores what happens when one introvert fights her natural tendencies, takes the plunge, and tries (and sometimes fails) to be a little bit braver.

Thursday August 31, 7:00 PM 

Southern Strain Brewing Company

165 Brumley Avenue Set. 3001

Concord NC 28025