February 15, 2023
E-Messenger

Rev. Robyn Garrison and the Congregational Care Committee hosted a new member class today for those who might be interested in joining McGregor or just interested in learning more about the Presbyterian Church PC (USA).  Pictured:  Laurie White, Karen Flowers, Lynn Parler, Kelly Smith, Joice Gouw, Merrilynn Holcomb, Robyn Garrison, and Sue Ishimori.
 
  Please join us as the season of Lent begins and we start our journey to the cross with our Ash Wednesday service.  This will be a simple, experiential service with a variety of practices to engage all worshipers in reflecting on our frailty and mortality as humans, our sin that is ever before us, and God’s deep abiding love and forgiveness offered to us.  The imposition of ashes will be offered for all who wish to receive them.
 
  This adult Lenten study will meet in McGregor Hall beginning Sunday, February 26 during Sunday School, and will be facilitated by Christina Isenhower, Alice Odell, and Jayne Woodward.  If you have not yet received your book, please see Michelle Smith or Robyn Garrison.  If you would like to participate, but did not sign up for a book, you may purchase a book on Amazon.  All are welcome as we struggle together with six major verses in the gospels that have “confused and confounded” people of faith down through the ages.

  Stay for lunch and support our youth attending Montreat this summer.  A simple lunch of soup, bread, and dessert will be offered.  Donations received will go to help the youth defray the cost of attending the Montreat Youth Conference.
During the luncheon, the Mission Study Team will provide some feedback from what they heard during last fall’s Hopes and Dreams exercise and the 40 Day Spiritual Journey.  We will also begin to engage in some of the deeper conversations we need to have as we continue discerning God’s vision for McGregor’s future.  Please plan to stay and be part of the conversation!  We want to be sure we are hearing as many voices as possible!

THANK YOU!  Thank you so much for your generosity!   We collected a total of $1,098.50 and a total of 265 cans of soup to be donated to our McGregor Snack Packs Program.  So, who won McGregor’s Souper Bowl of Caring?  Donations were placed in bins with the names of the Super Bowl teams so you could vote for the team you thought (or hoped) would win the Super Bowl.  Donations for the Kansas City Chiefs:  $584 and 140 cans of soup.  Donations for the Philadelphia Eagles:  $514.50 and 125 cans of soup.  The Chiefs won the Super Bowl and McGregor’s Souper Bowl of Caring!  But the 160+ children at the five District 5 schools our Snack Packs Program serves each week by providing food for the weekend are the real winners!  Go McGregor!  Thank you!
  Please drop off your donations of snack sandwich crackers (or cans of chicken noodle soup if you forgot to bring your Souper Bowl of Caring soup to church this past Sunday) in the marked bins in the church lobby.  Thanks!
 
  Due to the inclement weather last Saturday, the Adopt-A-Highway litter pick-up was rescheduled to this Saturday, February 18 at 8:30 AM.  Please meet at the Nursery Road Elementary parking lot.  Masks are optional, gloves and closed toe shoes are recommended.  Contact Linda Byars at byars133@bellsouth.net for details and the required KMB COVID liability waiver.
 
  The Missions Committee invite you to participate in the Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count.  Every February, as bird species begin to migrate, the Audubon Society, in coordination with Cornell Ornithology Labs asks interested parties to spend as little as 15 minutes observing and recording birds in your very own backyard.  By participating in this project, they can help identify migratory patterns and help scientists to understand the number of different bird species in our area.  Cornell has an app called “Merlin” where you can identify and record the birds you observe.  You can find the app here:  merlin.allaboutbirds.org.  Please see https://www.birdcount.org for more information.
 
  The Combined Youth Group from McGregor, Seven Oaks, and Westminster Presbyterian Churches will meet this Sunday at 5:30 PM at McGregor.  They will begin their meeting on the labyrinth with Terry Candee to hear about the labyrinth and its connection to meditation before enjoying a pizza dinner.  They also plan to discuss taking part in the Audubon’s Great Backyard Bird Count.  Visit www.audubon.org/news/how-to-take-part-great-backyard-bird-count for details.

Saturday, February 18
               8:30 AM Adopt-A-Highway
               Trinity Presbytery Meeting at Spring Valley Presbyterian
Sunday, February 19
               9:30 AM Sunday School
               11:00 AM Worship Service
               5:30 PM Combined Youth Group at McGregor
Monday, February 20
               Church Office Closed for President’s Day
Tuesday, February 21
               7:00 PM Vulnerability Committee
Wednesday, February 22
               10:00 AM Wednesday Morning Bible Study – online
               6:00 PM Ash Wednesday Service
               7:30 PM Adult Choir
Thursday, February 23
               6:00 PM McGregor Preschool Board
Sunday, February 26
               9:30 AM Sunday School (Lenten Study Begins)
               11:00 AM Worship Service
               12:00 noon Congregational Gathering and Youth Fundraiser Luncheon

  Pantry Needs:  cereal; pancake mix/syrup; peanut butter; jelly; pasta noodles/pasta sauce; boxed pasta/rice dinners (No boxed mac & cheese); canned pasta (ravioli, spaghetti o’s); chili; pork & beans; dry beans; crackers (Ritz or Saltines); snacks; juice; canned or powdered milk
Volunteers are needed, contact Shari Selke at sgl@sharinggodslove.net.