Services
Due to COVID-19, our worship services look a little different right now. Current worship opportunities are listed first, followed by information on our usual worship services.
Returning to Indoor Worship
After many long months of not being able to worship inside our church, we will resume in-person worship beginning on Sunday, November 29, the First Sunday of Advent. What a joyful way to greet Advent!
There will be one worship service at 9:00 a.m. Ninety (90) congregants will be seated in the Sanctuary. The Fellowship Hall will hold twenty-four (24) congregants who will worship together via Livestream. Livestream will also continue to be available for those who wish to worship remotely.
To worship in the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall, registration is required in advance. Seating is limited, therefore, registration is required so that proper social distancing can be established ahead of time. If you are unable to register online, please call the church office and you will be registered over the phone.
Professional nursery care will be provided for up to ten (10) children from infant to age four (4). Registration for the nursery is also required. Please use the link below to register your family. Parents/Guardians with children in the nursery may find it more convenient to worship in the Fellowship Hall since the nursery will not be easily accessible from the Sanctuary.
To gather in person, the Session, the Task Force on Reopening and the Worship and Music Ministry have worked diligently to do so safely and with emphatic measures in place. All measures that these ministries have put in place are based on CDC guidelines and on the recommendations of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Every procedure has been thoroughly considered with the health and safety of your family in mind. Please make note of the following guidelines as you consider if you and your family wish to worship in-person at First Presbyterian Church.
Specific to the experience of worship, when you arrive you will notice that the Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall have been specially prepared. Plastic sheeting has been used to protect all of the pews and the Fellowship Hall is in a “bare bones” state. All of this is for easy sanitization following each worship service in these spaces.
On November 29, we will celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Prepackaged communion elements will be available when entering the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall, or you may bring your own elements from home.
While offering plates will not be passed, baskets will be provided at entrance points for those who wish to make contributions. Online giving will continue to be available at www.fpcgastonia.org/giving.
By attending in-person worship, you and your family covenant to adhere to all guidelines and measures that are included in this communication so as to protect the safety and wellbeing of our church family. There may be additional procedures that need to be implemented following our reopening; the Session and the Task Force appreciate your cooperation as we navigate these uncertain times.
It is with delight that we anticipate worshipping together in person as we begin the Advent season. We are overjoyed that we are able to worship together, whether in- person or via Livestream, as we celebrate this holy season of God’s gift to us.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in the midst of these changing times as we seek to keep our spaces clean, love our neighbor and explore the audacity of Advent!
There will be one worship service at 9:00 a.m. Ninety (90) congregants will be seated in the Sanctuary. The Fellowship Hall will hold twenty-four (24) congregants who will worship together via Livestream. Livestream will also continue to be available for those who wish to worship remotely.
To worship in the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall, registration is required in advance. Seating is limited, therefore, registration is required so that proper social distancing can be established ahead of time. If you are unable to register online, please call the church office and you will be registered over the phone.
Professional nursery care will be provided for up to ten (10) children from infant to age four (4). Registration for the nursery is also required. Please use the link below to register your family. Parents/Guardians with children in the nursery may find it more convenient to worship in the Fellowship Hall since the nursery will not be easily accessible from the Sanctuary.
To gather in person, the Session, the Task Force on Reopening and the Worship and Music Ministry have worked diligently to do so safely and with emphatic measures in place. All measures that these ministries have put in place are based on CDC guidelines and on the recommendations of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Every procedure has been thoroughly considered with the health and safety of your family in mind. Please make note of the following guidelines as you consider if you and your family wish to worship in-person at First Presbyterian Church.
- When you arrive for worship, greeters will be in the parking lot to direct you to the closest entrance for your family.
- When entering the worship space for which you have registered, an usher will guide you to where you will sit so that physical distancing is practiced and maintained. Families and individuals will not have a choice as to the exact seat for which they will sit. Families will be seated together, at a minimum of 6 feet from the next family unit.
- Please take your temperature prior to coming to the church on Sunday morning. If your temperature is 100.0 or higher please stay at home.
- If you are experiencing other symptoms such as fatigue, headache, sore throat, cough, difficulty breathing or inability to taste and/or smell, please stay home.
- Congregants will be required to wear masks at all times, no exceptions.
- Restroom capacity is limited to one person at a time.
- Hand sanitizing stations will be available.
- While the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall will be open for worship, other areas of the building will not be open in order to maintain proper sanitization.
- “Red Dot” markers will be throughout the areas of access in the building, spaced 6 feet apart, so that worshippers will visually be able to see how far they should be standing from others.
Specific to the experience of worship, when you arrive you will notice that the Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall have been specially prepared. Plastic sheeting has been used to protect all of the pews and the Fellowship Hall is in a “bare bones” state. All of this is for easy sanitization following each worship service in these spaces.
On November 29, we will celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Prepackaged communion elements will be available when entering the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall, or you may bring your own elements from home.
While offering plates will not be passed, baskets will be provided at entrance points for those who wish to make contributions. Online giving will continue to be available at www.fpcgastonia.org/giving.
By attending in-person worship, you and your family covenant to adhere to all guidelines and measures that are included in this communication so as to protect the safety and wellbeing of our church family. There may be additional procedures that need to be implemented following our reopening; the Session and the Task Force appreciate your cooperation as we navigate these uncertain times.
It is with delight that we anticipate worshipping together in person as we begin the Advent season. We are overjoyed that we are able to worship together, whether in- person or via Livestream, as we celebrate this holy season of God’s gift to us.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in the midst of these changing times as we seek to keep our spaces clean, love our neighbor and explore the audacity of Advent!
Worship with us at home
Church members and friends are invited to worship with us remotely using our Livestream service. Each week both services are broadcast live, so that you may worship at the same time in a different space. Additionally, an archived video will be available for viewing after the service has concluded.
Thrive ServiceSunday mornings at 8:55 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.
This contemporary service includes partial liturgy, sermon, and praise songs.
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Traditional ServiceSunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary.
Our 11:00 a.m. worship service is a traditional Presbyterian service with organ, hymns, and full liturgy.
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Please note: Our Thrive and traditional services are not meeting at this time due to special procedures regarding COVID-19.
Special Services
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Weddings
A Christian marriage is a covenant through which a man and a woman are called to live out together before God their lives of discipleship. The wedding is publicly witnessed and acknowledged by the community of faith.
For information regarding a wedding at First Presbyterian Church, please email Sherry Moore, Administrative Assistant. |
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Funerals
First Presbyterian Church offers a ministry of love and hope to all who grieve. Christians do not bear bereavement in isolation but are sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit and the community of faith. Because it is difficult under emotional stress to plan wisely, members should discuss and plan in advance arrangements necessary at the time of death.
For information on memorial and funeral services, please email John Stanley, Minister of Visitation. |
The Columbarium and Garden, located outside the Sanctuary on the west end, was dedicated January 1989. For information about inurnment at First Presbyterian Church, please email the church office.
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Other Services
In addition to the services listed above, we also celebrate:
Boy Scout Sunday During this service we recognize and honor our Boy Scout Troop and Eagle Scout recipients. Girl Scouts/Women's Sunday This worship service is led by the women of the church. We recognize their contributions to our community and also recognize our Girl Scout Troop. Easter Sunday Each spring, we observe the season of lent followed by the celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter morning. Kirkin o' the Tartans Celebrated in the autumn, First Presbyterian Church commemorates our Scottish heritage at our Kirkin o' the Tartans service. Join us for this meaningful time of worship, followed by a meal in our Fellowship Hall. Evening Vespers During the season of Advent we participate in weekly evening vespers in the Fellowship Hall. Christmas Eve In addition to our advent services and vespers, we celebrate the birth of Christ with candlelight services on Christmas eve. |
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Contact Us
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Affiliated with: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbytery of Western North Carolina
Copyright © 2020 First Presbyterian Church, Gastonia, N.C.