News & Events

A New Venture in Mission to the USA'S Deep South

BE A PART OF FPC'S KATRINA RELIEF VENTURE TO GULF PORT/BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI

We will leave following worship on Sunday, June 11 and return Sunday, June 18. Be a part of a great re-building venture and ministry of encouragement. An organizational meeting of all who would like to take part will be held on Monday, May the 8th at 7:00 p.m. in the Session Room.

For additional information: Email: fpcoffice@earthlink.net or call 252-446-9121

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For six years following Hurricane Floyd’s destructive visit to Rocky Mount, congregations from across many states and denominational lines came-a-callin’ to offer assistance in the rebuilding of our community. Throughout those years our presbytery gratefully hosted many hundreds of those workers in the Edgemont facility on Tarboro Street. In addition, First Pres. was privileged to host a number of groups, which spent many a night on the floors of our Youth Center and cooked many a meal on the ovens in our kitchen. We have been generously blessed by so many strangers who have ventured to Rocky Mount for the sole purpose of being good neighbors to us.
As a grateful response to the love and goodness that has been so generously and faithfully poured out upon us, FPC is now gearing up for a mission venture of its own to our southern neighbors, who were hard hit last year by Katrina. Adult members and friends who would like to be a part of our mission venture to Mississippi in 2006 are invited to meet with Elder Jeff Herrin, Chairman of Outreach, immediately following worship on Sunday, March 5th at the front of the sanctuary. This will be our initial meeting to discern interest, to coordinate our activities, and to begin to develop our plans. (If you are unable to be with us at that time but would like to be a part of this mission, please notify the church office (446-9121 or fpcoffice@earthlink.net) of your interest, and you’ll be kept informed of plans as they develop.)

The Presbyterian Women of First Presbyterian Church have adopted a family from My Sister's House for Christmas. The family consists of the mother, a 13 year old boy, and two girls 8 and 12 years old. Please call Mary Watson from more information. Cash donations can be made to Presbyterian Women with the notation "Adopt-a-Family".

As our Presbyterian Women have done in many years past, they are once again asking for donations for OPERATION SANTA CLAUS. This is an annual Holiday Drive sponsored by the Tar River Mental Health Association to provide a gift for local mental health consumers in programs, group homes and our area residents in Cherry Hospital.

Ways we can help:
Collect Holiday Gift Items from the wish list:


Bedroom shoes, socks, puzzles, wallets, umbrellas, board games, gloves, ties, blouses/slacks*, shampoo, checkers, toothpaste and brushes, denture creams, hair dryers, raincoats, soap, radios, belts*, brushes, stuffed animals, electronic games, playing cards, blankets, shaving cream, pajamas*, miscellaneous personal care items, costume jewelry, mirrors, sport shirts*, slacks*, cologne, perfume, watches, hair clasps, lotion, sweatshirts/pants*, coloring books, books, razors, robes*.
*Larger clothes items are always needed.

Make a financial donation to our Consumer Support Fund:
Make your tax-deductible gift to: Tar River MHA, P.O. Box 8773, Rocky Mount, 27804.
Items and donations will be collected until December 13th.

On a recent weekend, more than fifteen people from the Senior High Youth Group, the staff and the Diaconate took an afternoon to transform the yard of our adopted family’s new house at 735 Marigold Street. The crew used trimmers, edgers, shovels, rakes, a lawnmower and a good deal of effort to bring the landscape back to life. The Senior Highs and members of the Service to Community Division plan to return soon in order to clean and repair the interior of the house. Furniture and appliances will then need to be collected and moved soon after. Through the efforts of many, the house on Marigold is beginning to look more and more like a home. Stay tuned for updates on this and other families who have relocated to the greater Rocky Mount area. Thanks to everyone for your time and energy.

First, a word about our response as Presbyterians across the republic.

During the past week Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has taken the following steps towards the long-term recovery needs related to Hurricane Katrina.
PDA has established a call center at the Ferncliff (Ark.) Camp and Conference Center to coordinate volunteer recruitment and assignment. Groups wishing to volunteer for active field duty throughout the Gulf area should call 1-866-732-6121.
On its web site (www.pcusa.org/katrina) PDA has established a reconnect bulletin board for church members trying to locate displaced individuals and for evacuees who want to advise family and friends of their new location.
Up to 15 self-sufficient staging camps are being created in the Gulf region to support relief teams for service throughout the most-damaged areas. Erected and supplied at a cost of approximately $150,000 each, the camps include dormitories, shower facilities and mess tents for up to 150 volunteers.

PDA has made an initial commitment of $10,000 to help pay crew salaries on the three Carnival cruise ships docked in Galveston, Tex. and Mobile, Ala. PDA is also coordinating the services of health care professionals who specialize in the needs of the 7000 elderly and special needs evacuees expected to be housed on the ships.
Working with the Norwegian Church Aid organization it partnered with in relief efforts to areas impacted by the south Asian tsunami, PDA is coordinating the importation from Norway of site engineering technology and expertise for advanced water purification. The team currently is located in Jackson, Miss.

A warehouse has been set up in Houston to distribute personal hygiene kits and "Hope in a Box" kits for children. The warehouse will serve evacuees at Texas relocation sites. A second warehouse operation is being made operational in Atlanta.
PDA has accelerated development of a disaster relief equipment and supply warehouse in Little Rock, Ark. Originally planned to serve future relief needs in the Gulf region and tornado alley, the facility is being fast-tracked to be operational for the Katrina response.
Debris-clearing teams created by Presbyterian church members are being coordinated and supported throughout the storm damage area.

In addition to its Hurricane Katrina response, PDA has disaster relief programs on-going in Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Malawi, Niger, Sudan and the tsunami region.
The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) website has forms that offer various ways that Presbyterians can be involved in helping with the Hurricane Katrina response, and have been overwhelmed with your offers of help. “Thank you for your generosity and compassion for people living in this desperate situation. PDA is creating a database of people who have homes to share, materials to donate, and time to volunteer. We will be sending acknowledgements to more than 2,000 offers within the next week.”