Upcoming Events

• October 31 – Our service will incorporate the observance of All Saint's Day (November 1). On that Sunday, we will have a special remembrance of all who have died in our congregation over the course of the past two years as well as an acknowledgment of those who have been lost to the Covid19 pandemic.
• November 6th – Pastor Rosy Robson is marrying Jay McCreary at 2pm on November 6th at her home church in Black Mountain, NC. There will be a video link shared in the near future. Watching party, anyone?
• November 7th – The Rev. Dr. Paul Burns will be our guest preacher at FPCR. Paul is the creator of the GPS Spiritual Inventory, author, spiritual coach, and Pastor (PCUSA) to pastors.
• November 21st will be our congregation's "Giving Sunday" and immediately after worship, we will welcome Rosy and Jay back from their honeymoon with a homecoming reception.
• December 5th – Worship will be led by our by our fabulous music program and then a Stewardship Celebration (including lunch and special music) will take place after worship. Get ready for cake and punch!
• December 19th – We will host an evening of caroling, cookies, and coco. It is just what you will need to get into the Christmas spirit.
• December 21st – We will hold our annual "Longest Night" service, which is especially crafted for those who have experienced grief or loss.

150th Celebration » October 2 - 3

Saturday, October 2: 150 Hours of Service

As we look forward to finally getting around to an in-person celebration of our 150 year anniversary on October 3rd, we would like to give our congregation an opportunity and a challenge to reach out to our community. On October 2nd, we hope to give at least 150 hours of volunteer service as a congregation. Every member and friend of FPCR is encouraged to volunteer somewhere on October 2nd!

You are invited to take part in one of the activities below, or do something kind for a neighbor on your own (mowing, cleaning, baking, providing a meal, etc.) Sign up on the easels outside the Church office or by clicking here. If you decide to do something on your own, please report your time to Pastor Rosy or Pastor David. We plan to share how many hours of service were given during worship. Plan to wear your FPCR t-shirt if you have one! Here are the FPCR organized activities for Saturday:

• Trash pick-up at Mark Twain Park: 8:00-11:00 am (22 signed up)
• Assemble “Blessing Bags”: Ernst Fellowship Hall, 9:00-11:00 am (8 signed up)
• Make cards for the community: Ernst Fellowship Hall, 1:00-3:00 pm (11 signed up)
• Network Clothes Closet: 9 am - 12 pm (4 signed up - limit is 10)
• Bake with Love: FPCR Kitchen, 1 - 3 pm (6 signed up)

Sign up to volunteer on October 2 for FPCR's 150th celebration

Sunday, October 3: Heritage Sunday Worship Service

Join us online or in-person for a special Heritage Sunday worship service, as we give thanks to God for 150+1 years of worship, nurture, and service. The FPCR Scrapbooks will be on display in the Welcome Center and communion will be celebrated at the end of the service. Please gather communion elements before worship if you will be joining us online. The Ruth Greer Handbell Choir and Sanctuary Choir will both be sharing their gifts with the congregation. The selected hymns for this service are some of this congregation's favorites. Special announcements are also in the works! We look forward to worshiping with you!

Sunday, October 3: Lunch on the Lawn

We will continue to celebrate our anniversary with a special lunch on the front lawn. All are invited. Free boxed lunches will be provided, but you must RSVP by this Friday!

To RSVP, you may call Lisa Carter, our Office Administrator, at (972) 235-2316 through Wednesday afternoon or email her at lisa@fpcrichardson.org by Friday at noon. You are also welcome to bring your own lunch and join us for food and fellowship on the front lawn.

Sunday, October 3: Organ Recital

Immediately following worship and lunch, our very own Edwin Walker will give a special organ recital that will feature a variety of fun and engaging music! The organ has just recently been renovated and it is sounding better than ever. You won’t want to miss it. Additional choir and organ concerts will take place at 4pm on October 10th and 17th. Check the regular ePress for more information on those special offerings.

 

August 16 Update

The FPCR Session met yesterday and crafted a interim plan for in-person gatherings and Church activities. In the near future, the COVID-19 Task Force (which will now also include Session members Jan Warner and Kathy Rice) will craft further guides for the safety of our congregation. The availability of vaccines has altered some of the ways we will respond as a congregation, but everyone should be reminded that we are not out of the woods just yet! As one member of the Task Force recently put it: "The COVID-19 pandemic is a very fluid situation and things change on a daily basis." The ways our congregation has responded to this developing situation with flexibility, patience, and understanding is most appreciated.
In brief, here is what the Session has decided:

• We highly encourage and recommend that everyone that is eligible for the vaccine get vaccinated!
• As a congregation, we will participate in a "covenant of care" for our community. This includes self-screening before participating in Church activities and staying home if we exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19. As a reminder, in some individuals, the Delta variant may present symptoms as mild as a summer cold, sinus infection, or allergies. If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, please stay home and get tested at your earliest convenience.
• Due to the high number of vaccinated individuals within our congregation, our gathering plan and protocols will no longer be tied directly to Dallas County and RISD guidelines, or directly to local hospitalization statistics, although the Session and COVID-19 Task Force will continue to monitor and use these factors in the decision making process.
• In-person worship will resume on August 22nd. Pews will again be marked off to help the congregation to disperse throughout the Sanctuary. Socializing (chatting, talking, hanging out with friends) is encouraged to take place outside and not in the Welcome Center or Narthex. As you enter the Sanctuary, you are encouraged to take a seat and prepare for worship.
• At all indoor Church activities, we will continue to mask (covering both mouth and nose), social distance (6+ feet of separation recommended), and employ good hygiene practices. Moving gatherings outdoors is recommended when possible. Masks are especially encouraged when adequate distancing is not possible outdoors or when larger groups are present.
• Special efforts are being made to provide high quality livestreaming for those who are worshiping from home. Recent events have proven that Facebook is poorly equipped to handle the increased traffic on Sunday mornings. Every effort will be made to livestream the worship service on YouTube at 10:30 a.m. and to provide the uploaded service on both Facebook and YouTube by Sunday afternoon. This process is still being developed and updates will be shared as plans solidify.
• Small groups (including adult Sunday School and Youth Group) may resume meeting in the Church building. Masking, social distancing, and good hygiene practices are required of all groups at this time.
• Choir rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, August 18th, in Ernst Fellowship Hall. RGHC rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, September 8th. Masks, social distancing, and good hygiene practices will be required of all participants.
• Food is allowed at gatherings, assuming that all participants will remain masked when not actively eating or drinking.
• Indoor programs for Children will continue to be suspended until further notice. Please contact Pastor David or Pastor Rosy if you have questions about Children's programming. These plans are in a state of flux, but we will most probably need additional adult volunteers in order to facilitate ongoing programming for children.
• All are encouraged to keep up-to-date on the latest COVID-19 news and to make informed decisions about gathering in-person. The Session recognizes that this is a particularly difficult time for families with children who are not yet eligible to receive a vaccine. If our FPC community can be supportive in any way, please contact a member of Session, a pastor, or the Church office.

Blessings,
Rev. David Schaefers
Pastor and Head of Staff

Child Protection Training

For anyone who works with children or youth and missed the in-person training this past Sunday, please watch the child protection training and send in a signed Covenent for Volunteers. Child Protection Training is required of all Sunday School, First Friday, and Youth and Children's Ministry volunteers. Since we did not provide a training last year, due to the pandemic, almost everyone is due for a refresher.

Mitchell/Tufts Scholarships Awarded

This year we are thrilled to announce that two members of our congregation were awarded scholarships. 

Jay Eoff, who will be entering Michigan State University in the fall was awarded $6,000. This was the first time the committee had ever awarded that amount and only two students were chosen to receive the $6,000 award. I beamed with pride when that was announced. 

Also receiving an award was Wayne Geyer, who is pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts--Visual Communication at Texas A&M University, Commerce. We have all seen Wayne's great work in visual communication since he has designed our church logo and many posters and brochures for our congregation. The scholarship committee has never awarded money to go toward a graduate degree, but they felt that Wayne's contributions to First Presbyterian Church deserved special recognition.

A Note from the Pastor » May 12

Our Called Congregational Meeting will be Sunday, immediately after worship. The link may be found in the "Week at a Glance" section below. In that meeting we will hear from the Nominating Committee (see below) and elect new elders to Session, elect at-large members of the 2022 Nominating Committee, Acknowledge our graduating Seniors, and go over the procedures and protocols for limited in-person worship beginning on May 23.

Specific instructions on how to RSVP for in-person worship will be coming soon. We plan for there to be an emailed RSVP link and a link in the Online Worship section above. Alternatively, one may also RSVP by calling the Church office or by emailing Lisa Carter, our Office Administrator. The RSVP system will open at 9:00 AM on Monday mornings. There will be no early registrations.

The Session has compiled the protocols for in-person worship. You are encouraged to review this document prior to registration. Read the Protocol to Resume In-Person Worship.

I look forward to seeing you at the Congregational Meeting!

Blessings,
Pastor David

Network Needs

They are currently in need of the following items:

• Hygiene products 
• Detergent 
• Diapers all sizes
• Toilet paper
• Easy box meals (such as hamburger helper)
• Chef Boyardee
• Flour and baking supplies
• Cooking oil
• Spices/seasonings (such as oregano, cumin, and more to season beans and rice)

Kid-friendly foods will be distributed at both Network and the 8 mobile food pantries each week, in addition to nutritional food boxes. Items needed are:

• Pop topped kid-friendly meals,
• Mac and cheese, granola bars, applesauce cups, oatmeal, cereal, peanut butter, and other healthy snack options 

Network is also in need of new men's, women's, and children's underwear, infant socks, baby and toddler clothing, children's clothing, and shoes (all sizes).

As always, thank you for your generosity and being a blessing to those in need.

 

Earth Care Congregation

In helping with our "Earth Care Congregation" program, parents, help your children respect God's creation by avoiding their becoming part of our "throw away society." In the words of 16th Century Astronomer Johannes Kepler, "Nature uses as little as possible of everything." Perhaps we might do the same?

College Ministry at FPCR

Are you interested in volunteering to help implement a College Ministry? With the assistance of Ukirk Ministries, a Presbyterian College program that provides resources and directions to congregations that want to have a college campus presence. Visit www.ukirkdallas.org or contact Pastor David at david@fpcrichardson.org to learn more and participate.