The Young Adults ministry recognizes and celebrates the vital role of young adults in the growth and future of the church. Whether you're navigating your 20s or settling into your 30s, single or married, with or without children, this group meets you where you are. This is the place to build lasting relationships with a caring support system. In addition to Sunday School, First Pres offers several mission and fellowship opportunities for adults ages 22-39(ish) throughout the year.

Pastor Leslie's Weekly Update (May 5, 2021)

Exciting things are going on right now!

I hope you’ll come join Pastor Lewis Galloway as he continues his study on Philippians for the Faith-Driven/Young Adult Sunday School class. Come join us in the Clark Building (Room C-210) for Sunday School at 9:45am to engage with him!

(Note: Room C-210 might be confusing to find if you haven’t been there before. It’s on the 2nd floor of the building above where the weekday school is. I have some signs posted in the hallways, but feel free to ask me for more directions or to ask someone in the building to show you how to get there!)

We have also set a date for our next Young Adult Fellowship event: Wednesday, May 26th from 5:30-7pm. Pastor Lewis plans to join to get to know you in a more informal setting. The Pulliams are hosting us in their backyard (300 Montgomery Dr)! More details to come, but please save the date for some food and fellowship. *We are hoping to help with childcare options if that’s appealing to people! Please let me know if you’d be interested in childcare during this event”

Peace,

Leslie

DEVOTION

We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”- 1 John 4:19-21

This past Sunday, I was honored to hear Chris Singleton speak to the Spartanburg community. Chris lost his mother in the Mother Emmanuel AME shooting in Charleston in 2015, and since then, he has toured all over the country proclaiming the message of love and forgiveness. He was able to forgive the man who killed his mother because she was black. His message was so incredibly powerful and inspiring.

His final story was about a woman he called “Grandma E.” He met her while he was living in a retirement community (he was a minor league baseball player, and he got the opportunity to live there for free, so he took it!). Grandma E. showed Chris pictures of her two granddaughters: one black and one white. She exclaimed how she lovingly referred to them as chocolate ice cream and vanilla ice cream. At first, Chris was uncomfortable: “Uh, why are you calling them that? Are they licking each other or something?!” But then she exclaimed, “I tell them all the time that they may look different on the outside, but on the inside they are both just as sweet.”

Chris’s closing message to the group was that one person can make a difference in changing the racist narratives people have been taught. He had so much grace for people who had openly racist opinions because he recognized that these were thoughts imbedded in them from generation to generation, and that they hadn’t been taught anything differently. All it takes is one person to teach someone differently; all it takes is one person to proclaim the message that all of us are brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what we look like on the outside. We can be that one person. We can shine Christ’s light in our world by standing up and speaking a different narrative.

PRAYER

Holy God, you love us unconditionally, yet so often, we forget to love others well. Help us to be bold examples of your radically inclusive love and grace in our communities. Give us the strength to stand up for justice, that all of your children may be treated with love and respect. Amen.