Anchorage First Presbyterian Church

PC(USA)

Pentecost Offering

Help youth begin life with a solid foundation of faith. Psalm 71 testifies that a foundation of faith established during childhood helps ensure lifelong faith and service. The patterns and lessons established during these formative years continue to bear fruit throughout a person’s life. By contributing to the Pentecost Offering, you are nurturing the faith of those who are the church to come — children, youth, and young adults.

The PC(USA) Pentecost Offering encourages, develops, and supports its young people, and also addresses the needs of at risk children.

40% of the Pentecost Offering will be used locally to impact the lives of young people in our community. 60% will be used to support ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency for young adult volunteers, ministries for youth, and children at risk.

Your donations make a difference! In 2019, this offering provided over $7000 to help youth from our Presbytery attend the PC(USA) Youth Triennium and last year the local portion was given to Covenant House to support their ministry of providing compassionate, sustainable services and shelter to homeless or at-risk youth in Alaska.

Donate Here.

Lent Resources 2021

Praying in Color:  Want to develop a discipline for prayer?  Try this Lent resource from Praying in Color.

Lenten Micro-Practices Instead of engaging in the same spiritual practice throughout Lent, the idea of this micro-practice program is to give a sample across many different styles of practices. Some are active, some are reflective. They will make you think, take action, connect with God and others, and live into your Christian life. A booklet is available that provides a new practice to guide you each day of your Lenten journey.   Contact Danna for this resource.

Lent 2021 – A Prayer a Day: Journey through Lent with a prayer a day. Contact Danna for a calendar that provides prompts to help you.  

One Great Hour of Sharing Calendar Download and use this calendar to help you and your family learn more about how the One Great Hour of Sharing offering is used, understand how much we have, and to give to this offering. We will be taking the offering on Sunday, March 28 at First Presbyterian Church.

For youth and adults, check out d365.org, where short online devotions provide an opportunity for you to pause, listen, think, pray and go. The theme for Lent this year is Journey to the Cross.

See Also:
Praying with Legos
Family Fellowship Lent Study
Tuesday Night Lenten Study
Interactive Lent Gardens

Peace Cranes by Nina

Did you see this Presbyterian Missions feature story on Nina Geist and this one from last year? Perhaps you purchased one of Nina’s origami peace cranes at our Alternative Gift market last December. All proceeds from crane sales are given to our church PC(USA) mission co-workers Ryan and Alethia White who are working to bring peace to the lives of Iranian immigrants and refugees in Germany.

Nina is hard at work again making peace cranes for our virtual Alternative Gift Market this year and she now has a website where you can see her work and place your order. All proceeds will be given to support Ryan and Alethia White. Check out her good work and place an order!

Cranes will also be available for purchase and pick up during the Church Donation Drop Off Hour – THIS SUNDAY: DEC 13, from 1-2pm.

Matthew 25 Learning Opportunity

Matthew 25 logo

First Presbyterian Church is now a PC(USA) Matthew 25 congregation. A Matthew 25 congregation is one that calls us to see our neighbors through Jesus’ eyes (Matthew 25:31-46) and serve those who are marginalized or in need. The three focuses are: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty. The mission committee is discerning ways we can live out our calling.

Several of us from the mission committee have signed up for an online being offered through the PC(USA) Matthew 25 Initiative and we invite you to join us!

Stony Point Center is working in collaboration with Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary to develop an online curriculum to support the Matthew 25 vision. The first Matthew 25 course, Awakening to Structural Racism is designed for those whose awareness of the dynamics of structural racism is being awakened due to the uprisings in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Tony McDade. This course is also for those who have been aware of these dynamics and for those who desire a brave space to deeply explore their participation in systems of white supremacy. 

You can learn more about the class and register at: https://stonypointcenter.org/get-involved/latest-news/11-latest-news/386-a-matthew-25-course-awakening-to-structural-racism

The class begins on Monday afternoon so if you are interested please sign up asap! Contact Danna Larson if you have questions.

One Great Hour of Sharing

We participate in the PC(USA) special offering, One Great Hour of Sharing, received during the season of Lent.

The three programs supported by One Great Hour of Sharing – Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self-Development of People – all work in different ways to serve individuals and communities in need. From initial disaster response to ongoing community development, their work fits together to provide people with safety, sustenance, and hope.

You may send a check to the church (see address above) and designate it One Great Hour of Sharing, or you may give online here.