This program year, we’re looking to highlight stories and experiences within our community, enjoy some fun and fellowship each month, and continue to learn about what’s going on with our neighbors near and far. Complementing our programming for adults, we offer programs for children and youth each night. Join us for dinner, served from 5:30-6:15 pm. Dinner is $7 for adults and youth (grades 6-12), $4 for children (grades K-5), and free for preschoolers, with a maximum of $24/family. After dinner, we take time for community announcements, celebrations and prayers, before our formal program from 6:30-7:30. We look forward to seeing you at The Table!

You can view weekly Table offerings here

Contact: Chalice Overy

Don’t miss out on these amazing opportunities for learning, meaningful conversation, and the possibility of deepening your faith and spiritual life. Sunday Groups give us an opportunity to get to know each other and go deeper in our conversations with one another. This is a great opportunity if you’re a newer member or attendee looking to connect with others in the Pullen community. If you’re looking for an accomplice in the work you feel called to, you may find that person in a Sunday Group. Take a moment to look at the list of offerings below.

Contact: Nancy Petty

There are still a few spots left for our camping getaway! Email Kevin Neiley at kneiley1@gmail.com or call 919-622-4315 if you are interested. We will match folks up on sites with other folks so we can fit in more people on the sites. Please reach out by April 30th if you are interested in attending this year! We have lots of fun together and hope you can join us.

Contact: Kevin Neiley

Groups from Pullen have been visiting our beloved sister church in Matanzas, Cuba since the mid-90s. If you have been wanting to experience the deep connections we share with the Primera Iglesia Bautista community and would like to learn more about the next opportunity to go, please join us for an interest meeting immediately after worship on June 2 in Room 203. Travel dates will be November 11-18 and commitments will need to be made by July 15. For more information about this rich opportunity please contact Jill Hinton or Vickie Leigh.

When you grocery shop, buy two extra cans of food and bring them to church on Sunday as your expression of gratitude for having enough to eat. Place the cans in the grocery cart at the back door, and then the Pullen Mission Women will take them to Urban Ministries where they will provide groceries to families in need. If enough of us make this a habit, we can have a significant impact in reducing the hunger in our midst. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Contact: Deb Norton

Following our summer tradition of having one Sunday group in the summer for all adults, we have invited a “star-studded” line-up of Raleigh leaders to come share their perspectives on what’s happening in our city. Each guest comes from an institution or organization that is vital to the city in which we live, move, and have our being—The City of Oaks. They will share how their institution or organization is making a difference in Raleigh, what plans they are making for the future, and how a church like ours can be a good neighbor and/or partner. You might ask, “Why is it important for us as a church to hear from these leaders?” As we move forward with our strategic plan over the next several years, hearing and learning about what is happening around us will help guide how we continue to respond to the needs around us. Hearing from these leaders will help us assess if we are focusing in the right directions or if we need to adjust some of our priorities.

June 2 – Chancellor Randy Woodson, Chancellor of North Carolina State University

June 9 – Nic Neptune, Dix Park Conservancy

June 16 – Maggie Cane, A Place at The Table

June 23 – Bynum Walter, City of Raleigh Planning Commission

June 30 – Meredith Yuckman, The Hope Center at Pullen

July 7 – No Sunday Group (4th of July weekend)

July 14 – United Arts Council of Raleigh Representative

July 21 – One Wake Representative

July 28 – Interfaith Panel of Religious Leaders

August 4 – Pullen Deacons

August 11 – Pullen Deacons

Join the Missions and Outreach Council for a Sunday afternoon gathering with Rev. Dr. Allison Tanner (bio below), who will share about the Apartheid-Free Communities Pledge recently endorsed by M&O.

After hearing from Rev. Dr. Tanner, M&O will facilitate a community-wide conversation about our congregation’s response to the ongoing violence against Palestinians in Gaza and beyond.

The Reverend Dr. Allison J. Tanner is a pastor, educator and organizer working for justice and healing in her community. She is the National Organizer for the Apartheid-Free Communities initiative and serves as Pastor of Public Witness at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church (Oakland, California), a sister Alliance of Baptists congregation.

Contact: Ian McPherson

Join us Sunday Mornings from 9:30 - 10:30 am to talk about faith and spiritual practices. We ease into our time together with games and hanging out before engaging in conversations and activities.

Contact: Chalice Overy

On Wednesday nights from 6:30-7:30 pm, students are invited to gather to explore our faith in the context of our everyday lives and what’s happening in the world around us. Another presidential election is upon us, and while voting is a central civic duty, citizen power has never been limited to the ballot box. Wednesday nights this winter/spring, our youth will explore what it means "to citizen." According to author Eric Liu, this action-oriented understanding of democratic citizenship has nothing to do with documentation or legal status. In Liu's formula, a citizen is anyone who combines "power + character" in responsible ways. 2024 will be an important milestone in this fragile experiment in multiracial democracy we call the United States of America. How can our youngest leaders embrace their power, build moral character, and make our community stronger? Using Liu's formula at the heart of the Citizen Redefined curriculum (developed by his organization, Citizen University), our youth will define together what citizenship means and how they hope to use their civic power for the common good. This months-long program will culminate in a "Civic Confirmation" ceremony in which our youth will share their civic hopes, dreams, and commitments with our larger community as we look to this year's elections and beyond.

Contact: Ian McPherson

All youth (and their grownups) interested in returning to or attending BYC this summer will need to attend a quick, mandatory meeting on either Wednesday, May 1st at 6:30 pm OR Sunday, May 5th after worship. Both meetings will be held in the youth room and will cover topics like expectations and covenants, COVID policy, camp costs and dates, camp theme, etc. If your family is not able to attend one of the 2 mandatory meetings, please let Allie know ASAP.

Contact: Allie Pruden

Let’s kickoff summer break with a pool party at the Rakestraw’s home and neighborhood pool after worship on Sunday, June 2nd! The youth ministry will provide hotdogs, burgers, veggie options and buns. Bring a side, dessert, or beverage to share. We'll have the potluck at the Rakestraw home and walk over to the pool. We look forward to seeing everyone (families included) come out! RSVP on Realm or by emailing Allie!

Contact: Allie Pruden

Calling all youth to join us on Wednesday, May 22, for dinner in Finlator, followed by a walk to Goodberry’s in The Village District for some custard and fun! RSVP here or by emailing Allie.

Adults of all ages are invited to participate as this choir enlivens congregational singing, offers music for worship, and attends its annual “Festival by the Sea.” Wednesday evening gatherings for this group are from 6:00-7:45 pm in the Rehearsal Hall. 

Contact: Larry Schultz

Youth and Adults who play wind, string, or percussion instruments at an intermediate level or beyond are invited to play in this group that accompanies congregational singing and provides music for worship. Rehearsals take place on scheduled Sunday mornings from 9:00-10:00 am. 

Contact: Larry Schultz

Youth in Grades 6-12 form this choir that expresses a variety of music for worship and attends its annual “Festival by the Sea.” Wednesday gatherings for this choir are before Youth Group from 6:00-6:30 pm in the Rehearsal Hall. 

Contact: Larry Schultz

Exploring the Bible is a Bible study class led by a rotating team of teachers. Each one leads several weeks to focus on various themes or Books of the Bible. The format involves some lecture and open discussion. This class has no prerequisites; no Bible study experience is necessary. All are welcome to join us. Email Steve Smith at smith@mspraleigh.com to be included in the class emails for updates and a Zoom link.

For the final three weeks of the 2023-24 Sunday Group year in Exploring the Bible:

For May 5, Katie Founds will continue in her Sabbath Series by leading us in looking in depth at one or two of the Gospel stories we read about Jesus healing on the Sabbath, so we can look more closely at context and nuance.

On the 12th, Katie will wrap up her Sabbath Series talking about some basic contemporary Christian and Jewish practices and their connection to Biblical texts.

Contact: Steve Smith

At the time of a death, there are so many stressors. The grief, itself, is overwhelming. Overlay the grief with having to attend to all the aspects of a burial, funeral/memorial service, and other necessary details, a family can quickly become overwhelmed. After almost 40 years of being with families in times of death, I have noticed that the more intentional a person can be about their wishes upon their death it can truly be a gift to their loved ones. Things like having prepared a draft of the obituary, writing down wishes for burial (cremated or buried), memorial service, and other vital information to help the grieving family in remembering and celebrating the life of their loved one.

This two-session Sunday Group, facilitated by our pastor, will be a practical workshop on intentional planning around death. We will discuss the common structure of an obituary and spend some time writing down important transitions in our lives. We will also work through a worksheet on planning a funeral/memorial service. We will also discuss how to communicate to our families our hopes and wishes in our final days.

Contact: Nancy Petty

Poetry is a way to the heart, mind, and soul often giving expression to our deepest spiritual longings. Our sacred text, the Bible, contains quite a bit of poetry, especially in the Psalms. All throughout history, it has been the sacred writings of poets that have opened our eyes, ears, and hearts to the mystery of both the human and spiritual experience.

In this two-week Open Mic Poetry Reading Sunday group, participants are invited to bring a poem or two to read (original or by your favorite poet) and then briefly share what the poem means to you. This session will be facilitated by Ian McPherson.

Contact: Nancy Petty

We've got a very special pop-up Sunday Group Happening this Sunday! Join us in welcoming Dean John Witcombe of Coventry Cathedral, one of Pullen's International Partners, for a presentation on the Community of the Cross of Nails. If you have ever wanted to learn more about this global network of reconciliation, peacemaking, and justice-seeking, join us this Sunday at 9:30 am in 310!