They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers. Acts 2:42, New Revised Standard Version
Serving, Learning, and Worshiping
Worship Team
All members of the Worship team consist of the pastor, youth pastor, choir director, choir, organist, special guests, speakers, acolytes, group leaders,
Choir
Adult choir with men and women to cover all ranges and pitches. The choir director will be in charge of conducting and hosting practice. Children’s choir group from pre-K to high school level.
Sunday School Groups
Faith Formation
(Sunday School Leaders)
Nursery workers, volunteers, leaders, and all Sunday school teachers for all classroom ages from infants to seniors fall into this category. We break off into age and generation-appropriate groups to better discuss and understand the Word of God.
Sunday School (youth)
Sunday School classes begin at 9:45 am for children and youth. We offer age-appropriate groups at our church.
All classrooms are located downstairs.
Sunday School (adult)
Plan to join us each Sunday morning at 9:30 am for thoughtful discussion and fellowship. We welcome those who feel comfortable joining us each Sunday for a mask-optional and socially distanced class in the Ogburn Classroom. Check out this month’s newsletter, The Spire, for information on this class’s current subjects and curricula.
Presbyterian Women
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:20 NSV
What They Do?
Presbyterian Women understands that scripture asks us to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. As such, Presbyterian Women provides information about justice and peace and ministry to inform mission and community-building work.
Where & When
We meet the second Tuesday of the month at 10:00 am in the New Beginnings classroom.
Our Purpose
Forgiven and freed by God in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves
- to nurture our faith through prayer and Bible study,
- to support the mission of the church worldwide,
- to work for justice and peace, and
- to build an inclusive, caring community of women that strengthens the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and witnesses to the promise of God’s kingdom.
How To Become A Member?
Presbyterian Women is a church-wide organization whose membership is open to all women. Members are those who choose to participate or be supportive of the Presbyterian Women in any way.
They intentionally seeks the membership of women from all racial/ethnic groups so the organization may reflect a vision of the whole church as a community of mutual interdependence in which diversity contributes to wholeness.
Presbyterian Women gives strong support to the mission of the denomination and determines its own leadership, program, and budget.
Lillie Circle
A women’s group that meets outside of Sunday school for Bible study and women’s studies.
We meet on the second Monday of the month, either at the Church or at the home of the Hostess of the month.
Friendship Circle
The Friendship Circle is a group open to all women. Opportunities exist for hands-on service, that makes a difference to those in unfortunate circumstances locally. They actively sponsor mission projects and encourage ministries of the church. There are women’s retreats, bible studies, and more. Check out this month’s newsletter, The Spire, for information on upcoming activities.
Prayer Shawl
In 2008 a group of dedicated women who, with love in their hearts and with hands that could knit or crochet, began the Prayer Shawl Ministry. These shawls are given to church members, immediate family members or friends who are either ill, encountering tough times, or having significant events to celebrate.
Since the ministry began, almost 200 shawls have been presented. Each shawl is presented with a card and a personalized tag tied to the shawl. The shawls have become an important mission for the church.
Anyone can submit a name to receive a shawl. In addition, one of the members notes the names mentioned in prayer during church services and asks if that person could use a prayer shawl.
Some shawl recipients write thank you notes and even make donations, which are used to buy yarn. The most touching comments have been from cancer patients, who have said the shawl is wonderful during chemo treatments. They get cold during the treatment and the shawl provides warmth and prayers during such difficult times.
The ministry meets once a month after church to exchange ideas and help with problem patterns or trouble in making a particular shawl. Each year a Prayer Shawl kickoff luncheon is held to exchange patterns and recruit people to make shawls.
For those who want to participate and cannot knit or crochet, two members teach knitting, crocheting, and the use of the Nifty Knitters. If someone really does not want to make shawls but wants to participate, they can donate money to the yarn fund.
Alzheimer’s Support Group
In 2011, the Session of First Presbyterian Church Garner voted to sponsor an Alzheimer’s Support Group for members of the congregation, citizens of Garner and the surrounding community.
Volunteers received training through the parent organization of Alzheimer’s North Carolina to obtain the skills to facilitate the group. The Alzheimer’s Support Group meets the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm in the Faith Formations classroom.
The meeting is open to caregivers, family members, neighbors and friends of individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. As a service to the Alzheimer’s Support Group, the Presbyterian Women provide sitters to be available during the meeting to be with the Alzheimer’s patients while the caregivers attend the meetings.
Men of the Church
The men of the church meet on the first Sunday of the month at 8:45 am for breakfast, fellowship, and prayer. All men are welcome to join them each month.
Session
The Session is the council for the congregation. It consists of elders who have been elected to serve for three-year terms. The role of the session is to guide the congregation so it will be a community of faith, hope, love, and witness. First Presbyterian Church Garner has established teams to carry out that charge.
Deacon
Deacons in the Presbyterian Church (USA) carry on the tradition of deacons from the New Testament who cared for the poor and needy members of the church with the distribution of food and other necessities. The Board of Deacons at First Presbyterian Church of Garner is organized into teams designed to care for members and the community.
Mission
Our congregation supports various missions both in our local community such as Garner Area Ministries, Able to Serve, and Family Promise of Wake County. We are also involved in outreaches across the world.
Earth Care Ministry
First Presbyterian Church of Garner has once again been recognized as a PC(USA) Earth Care Congregation for the fifth time! This means we have fulfilled the “Earth Care Pledge” which requires that we demonstrate that we are “humble stewards of all of God’s creation.” Our commitment is seen in four distinct areas: Worship, Education, Facilities, and Outreach.
This past year, we met the standard in Worship with the number of Sundays devoted to earth care, the number of sermons on earth care, the number of Sundays a Minute for Mission on earth care was presented, and the use of an outdoor prayer garden (the Memorial Garden).
In Education, we excelled in the number of articles/announcements about earth care in our monthly newsletter and the number of books with an earth care focus in our church library.
With respect to Facilities, we excelled in the areas of heating/cooling, lighting (LED bulbs and fixtures), recycling/waste, and reusing resources where applicable.
We met the standard in Outreach because our church is a Presbyterians for Earth Care member and we have collaborated with other groups on earth care. Most notable among these collaborative efforts was our participation with Presbyterian Climate Advocates in a series of seminars, and in Wake County’s Spring Clean-Up program.
In the past, we’ve shared reusable, cloth FPCoG shopping bags; gathered electronic items for recycling; and used sustainably grown eco-palms for Palm Sunday.
This year we’d also like to further promote recycling not only of bulletins, but of all paper and cardboard products, as well as plastic products (with a 1, 2, or 5 recycling designation). We also would like to explore purchasing reusable plates and utensils for use during church fellowship opportunities. We will be contacting Session, Deacons, and Presbyterian Women about this possibility.