First Christian Church Farmville, NC

During the past year, First Christian Church has become more engaged with food related ministry.  This development has given rise to the need for us to understand more fully the extent of food insecurity in this area.  Therefore, a few months ago our minister began working on a plan to solicit help for information gathering and planning.

  It has been our good fortune to connect with the School of Social Work at East Carolina University.  That connection has resulted in the placement of a Social Work intern who will be with us from January to April.  Originally from Wilson, North Carolina, Jailene Leon is a senior in the BSW program at East Carolina.  Working 32 hours each week, Jailene will strive to complete the following objectives and goals:

• Coordinating the details of the FCC food bag ministry with Home Delivered Meals drivers and Pitt County Council on Aging.
• Assisting Farmville Benevolent Ministries weekly by helping with on-site food distribution.
• Coordinating volunteers to support FCC’s role as a distribution center for Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina.
• Collecting information about:Educating FCC staff and membership about food insecurity, and about needs and resources within the Farmville community.
  • the extent of food insecurity in the surrounding area. 
  • existing ministries/projects in the surrounding area that are attempting to address food insecurity. 
  • possible funding sources for supporting our food related ministries. 
• Providing research to guide our efforts to address the systemic causes of food insecurity, and to support a recommendation for the direction of FCC’s local outreach ministry.

  Feel free to reach out to Jailene to learn more about her work here, or to provide a warm, friendly FCC welcome.  You can reach her by calling the church office Tuesday through Friday, or via email at: outreach@fccfarmville.org. 

12-15

There is some exciting news to share!

             A couple of weeks ago I applied for funds from the Federal CARES Act by Livingstone College and the NC Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Minority Health. The program was an invitation to apply to be reimbursed for money spent during a specific time period on alleviating food insecurities resulting from the COVID crisis. As you know, since early March FCC has been giving out bags of groceries weekly to seniors who are Home Delivered Meals clients (Pitt County Council on Aging).

Wednesday we were notified that First Christian Church has been awarded $2,702.91! The money is meant to continue our mission. Basically, we get to buy groceries TWICE with money that was so generously donated in 2020. How exciting is that!??

MANY thanks to Bishop Melvin, our Regional Minister because I would not have known about this opportunity if she hadn't mentioned it in the Regional Update I read just a few days before the deadline. (Moral of the story: always read the Regional Updates)

And thank you to everyone who has helped to support this important mission during the past year. Your generosity then is being doubled now!

Gratefully, Kim Griffiths

Candlelight Communion on Christmas Eve

Our special Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols broadcast is shaping up to be a very meaningful and worshipful presentation in lieu of our traditional service. While we are not able to worship in person this year, great care and attention has been given to make this service a special part of the Christmas season with our families. It is our hope that you and your family will gather together and worship in your own homes just as you would normally do.

There will be scripture readings and hymns (yes, we want you to sing along with us) and special musical offerings from quite a few musicians that we have come to know and love here at FCC.

Of special note, we have candles for you and your families! Please contact the office and let us know how many you need and we will make sure to get them to you. If you are planning on traveling yourself, we invite you to worship with us wherever you may be. We will gladly provide candles to take with you as well!

Remember, if you have a smart TV or streaming device, you can use the YouTube app for your device to stream our services right on your TV. You are not limited to your computer or tablet! We will also gladly provide a DVD copy if you do not have streaming capabilities...but you have to promise to wait until Christmas Eve to view it!

WHITE CHRISTMAS 2020

As with most things, our annual White Christmas will look different this year!

Traditionally, we fill up our Christmas tree with white envelopes containing gifts from our members.  The gifts are used for a mission chosen by the group. 

This year, since we won't be together in person, we're asking for White Christmas gifts to be given by mail, dropping them off, or PayPal (office@fccfarmville.org). When you donate, please vote for either 1) Camp Caroline scholarships, 2) Pastor Discretion fund, or 3) other.  When all the gifts have been received, we'll announce the group's choice.

Merry White Christmas!

Sunday, Oct 18 at 2pm - Town Common Gazebo

Join our CROP Hunger Walk and help end hunger and poverty one step at a time!

WE ARE WALKING!!  

As you might know, CROP Walk's biggest fan is Bobby Hodge, Jr.  The Farmville CROP Walk is in honor of Bobby Hodge, Sr. The walk route is slightly altered to make sure Bobby Jr and all the walkers pass by the cemetery. Won't you sponsor Bobby Jr and join us on this EXTRA SPECIAL walk?  We all promise to observe social distancing precautions!

You can donate directly to his manager (Linda!). If you can't walk with us, you can send a check made payable to CROP to First Christian Church PO Box 205 Farmville NC 27828

You can get your own sponsor (even if it's yourself) and join us.  OR you can sponsor another walker (less fun, but also greatly appreciated). It is a 5K walk done at a leisurely stroll - or at whatever speed you're comfortable with.  We start and end at the Walter B Jones Town Common.

All donations are tax-deductible. You can donate and/or register HERE

Together, we can help end hunger in our community and around the world.

More than ever, we Disciples need to celebrate our rich heritage and envision our promising legacy going forward.  On Saturday, September 12, we invite you to enjoy the combined Disciples of Christ CMF/DWM Virtual Retreat, “Unity and Resilience: Hallmarks of Faith,” on our NC Regional Website – ncdisciples.org.  The retreat, divided into three parts with additional break-out sessions, will be available at 10:00 AM and is pre-recorded for your convenience. While there is no registration or fee required for this event, gifts to the region are always appreciated.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH