Raeford Presbyterian Church 128 W. Edinborough Ave. Raeford, NC Church Office (910) 875-2101 June 2020

The Raeford Presbyterian Church is committed to worshipping God, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, nurturing the

faithful, and showing compassion for those in need.

 Sunday Morning Worship Service Resumes

The Session met on May 26, 2020 and decided to resume having Sunday morning worship services beginning June 7, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in the church sanctuary. Many people will be happy to return to a normal Sunday morning worship service, others may be hesitant to venture out at this time. Each person must decide what is best for them and their family. Neither those who participate nor those who do not attend face to face worship will be judged. Please use your own judgement according to your individual situation to make your decision. There will be NO NURSERY or Children’s Time during the worship service. Sunday School will NOT resume at this time. The service will be broadcast on the radio and will be on Facebook Live. 1. All the doors into the church will be open. 2. Members and visitors are encouraged to wear face masks. If you do not have a mask, one will be

available. 3. Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrances to the sanctuary. 4. Social distancing will be used. Every other pew will be closed, please use the pews that are NOT taped off.

Families may sit together. 5. The offering plates will not be passed during the service. The offering plates will be located at each entrance

for your offering. 6. The congregation will not sing during the worship service at this time, however there will be special music. 7. The Friendship pads will not be in the pews. Your name will be recorded and the lists will be kept in the

church office to be used, if the need arises, to make notifications to those in attendance. 8. Please take your bulletins, tissues or any miscellaneous items you may have brought into the sanctuary with

you and dispose of them in the trash cans as you leave. This will be greatly appreciated. 9. The restrooms will be open. We look forward to joining with you again on Sunday morning for worship.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love

endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalms 100:4-5  

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“There’s No Place Like Home” A children’s song from the 70’s reminds us of who we are as a Christian church. The refrain says:

“I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus, all around the world… Yes, we’re the church together!”

One of the verses reminds us, too, that

“The church is not a building. The church is not a steeple. The church is not a resting place. The church is a people.”

We are thankful that soon we will be meeting again in our beautiful sanctuary. We know that the building is really just a building, but to us as a church family the “Big Brick” is our HOME, and we are anxious to return… even with necessary changes and restrictions...and have the family back together again! As we have tried to stay close to God’s word and worship at home, many of us have heard and seen many uplifting, Christ-centered, Bible-based sermons and devotions during these stay-at-home weeks. Let us seek God’s will and pray that we will hear strong sermons from our own pulpit as we seek supply and interim preachers and a full-time minister. Please pray diligently for our Elders! God has been faithful to us during this time apart. We know He will continue His faithfulness as we gather again in our sanctuary and move forward. Let us thank Him and praise Him and give Him all the glory! We look forward to seeing you in church when you feel comfortable returning to worship.

Remember: There’s NO place like home!

The Christian Education Committee has announced that Vacation Bible School has been cancelled for June 15 – June 19. They are monitoring current events and have also decided that Bible school will not be held during the months of June or July. As the situation unfolds, they will decide if we will be able to hold VBS in August.

PRAYERS AND SYMPATHY The session and congregation would like to extend their prayers and sympathy to Frank Inman upon the death of his brother, James Neill Inman.

THANK YOU We would like to thank everyone for the calls, cards, prayers and other acts of kindness shown during the loss of my brother. We are so thankful to be a part of such a loving church family.

Frank Inman

SUMMER BOOK STUDY Everyone is invited to attend a seven-week study on 7 Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness on Tuesday, June 9, at 7:00 pm in Ropp Hall. In 7 Men, best-selling author Eric Metaxas presents seven exquisitely crafted short portraits of widely known—but not well understood—Christian men, each of whom uniquely showcases a commitment to live by certain virtues in the truth of the gospel. Please call the church office (875-2101) or Jodi Willis (875-8297) if you are interested in attending.

PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN The women are asked to bring items to the church for collection and distribution to the Second Harvest Food Bank, Raeford United Methodist Church. Due to COVID-19, there is a shortage and a request for the following items: canned meats (ie. tuna, chicken, spam), peanut butter and any cereals.

PW Fall Gathering – Sunday, August 2, at 4:00 p.m.

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2020 Scholarship Recipients The Archibald Buie & Jennie McDiarmid McFadyen Scholarship Mackenzie McGehee The W.E. and Ellen Willis Scholarship Mackenzie McGehee The Bill and Mary Southern Scholarship Mackenzie McGehee The Bill McFadyen Scholarship Brenna Johnson The William Chandler & Lucy Pugh Pine Roberts Scholarship Brenna Johnson The Henry Chandler & Jennie Eloise McFadyen Roberts Scholarship Stephanie Slack The Henry Chandler & Jennie Eloise McFadyen Roberts Scholarship John Hendrix The Mary Lamont and Jack Morris Scholarship John Hendrix The George E. & Jane Anne Pugh Pine Scholarship John Hendrix The Henry Clay & Mary Frances Brown Roberts Scholarship Will Slack The Jeff Upchurch Scholarship Will Slack

The Chancellor, Faculty and Graduating Class

of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

William States Lee College of Engineering Announce the Graduation of

William Kirk Slack on Saturday, the Ninth of May

Two Thousand Twenty With a Bachelor of Science Degree in

Mechanical Engineering Summa Cum Laude

Will has accepted a position as a Machine Design Engineer at

Preformed Line Products in Albemarle, NC. He is also continuing his education by completing his Master’s Degree

in Mechanical Engineering.

We will not have a Scholarship Breakfast this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we will recognize our graduate and the scholarship

recipients during the Sunday morning worship service on June 7th.

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PRAYER CONCERNS Edith Averette, Janet Baker, Betty Barefoot, Elsie Bowen, Barbara Burnside, Letitia Conoly, Johnny Gibson, Abigail Hawkes, Laura Lyon, Neill A. McDonald, Herman (Jay Bird) Sanders, Kim Summers, Peggy Summers, our missionaries: Dan and Elizabeth Turk; and members of the United States Armed Forces.

JUNE DUTY Door Duty: Johnny Smith, Johnny McDiarmid, Van Gibson, Benny McLeod Nursery Duty: The nursery will not be available during the month of June due to COVID-19. Children will remain with their family in the sanctuary.

JUNE MEETINGS

Budget & Finance Tuesday, June 9, at 6:30 p.m.

Monthly Stated Session Mtg. Sunday, June 14, at 6:00 p.m.

OFFICE HOURS The church office is open from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm and from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. The office will close at noon the first and third Friday of each month. Please be reminded that the office is closed briefly on Monday mornings for the bank deposit to be made.

Deadline for bulletin announcements and information is noon on Wednesday preceding that Sunday. Please make

submissions by email to lmaxwell@raefordpres.org or in writing to the church office.

Deadline for items for the July newsletter is Tuesday,

June 23. Please submit ideas, announcements, and articles to lmaxwell@raefordpres.org.

SPECIAL NEEDS OR EMERGENCIES If you need any assistance or have an emergency, please notify the church office; your Care Group elder; the clerk of session, Margaret Johnson, at 624-2876; John Jordan at 315-9530; or Chuck Slack at 494-4477.

The live Sunday morning worship service will resume at 11:00 am each Sunday morning on WFMA-1400 AM. Raeford Presbyterian Church would like to thank Rev. Robert D. Cathcart, Jr. for allowing us to use his pre-recorded sermons to air over the radio while the church was closed.

2020 Pledges thru May 24, 2020:

Needed Monthly $20,994.83 Required to date $104,974.15 Received to date $86,458.00 Shortage $18,516.15