Special Events
Provide and serve dinner for the women and children staying at First Light. IPC will be providing the evening meals each night for the week of October 2-8. Please consider this great activity for a family or group. Click below to find available evenings and sign up.
Parent's Date Night is designed to be a nudge for the couples at IPC. A nudge to have a conversation. A nudge to laugh. A nudge to think. A nudge to break out of normal routines. Drop off your kids on the first Wednesday night of the month while you and your partner enjoy a couple of hours together. Older children (grades K5-6th) will enjoy a Kid's Fun Night while younger children (babies-4 years) go to childcare. Sign up for Oct. 5 and save the date for Nov. 2.
IPC's Pastor’s Bible Study moves to Wednesday evenings this fall. We will eat together at 5:30 pm for half an hour in the Great Hall, and then move to Room 218 at 6 pm to study God’s Word looking at the sermon text for the upcoming Sunday. Even if you can’t make it for dinner, join us to study. Rev. Long will facilitate discussion most weeks. Place your order for dinner by noon the Tuesday before the class.
Sign up to join IPC for this year’s Habitat for Humanity Build. We are helping to build a home in East Lake alongside fellow Birmingham-area churches in the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley. The project begins on Sept. 8. You can choose to volunteer with your church family or join members of our Presbytery on any Friday or Saturday starting Sept. 9. IPC volunteer days are planned for Sept. 8, 17 & 23 as well as Oct. 7, 21 & 29. No construction experience is necessary, but you do have to be at least 14 years old. The Access Code to register for the Presbytery Habitat build is presby22. Once registered, complete the waiver (there’s an additional waiver for 14-17 year olds), and then choose your volunteer work date. Please contact Bannon Thorpe, IPC Habitat Build Chairperson, or Rev. Melissa Self Patrick at (205) 933-3709, if you have questions and to let us know of your plans to volunteer.
IPC welcomes The Rev. Dr. Alton B. Pollard III as guest preacher for our 8:45 and 11 am worship services. A scholar, author, consultant, and speaker on the subject of African American and U.S. religion and culture, the Rev. Dr. Alton B. Pollard III currently serves as Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s tenth president.
Participate in a special call for members to stock the food pantry shelves for the holiday season. Throughout the campaign, pick up a brown paper bag in the Parlor on Sundays or other places at IPC to fill with needed food and hygiene items. You can also make a financial contribution to pay for the purchase of fresh and frozen food to supplement the non-perishable items.
On Sunday, Oct. 16, from 1 - 6 pm, IPC will hold its 2nd Annual Crop Drop to provide produce to those in need. At this family-friendly event, IPC volunteers of all ages will gather to bag and distribute 33,000 pounds of potatoes to share with our larger Birmingham area community members who are food insecure. Childcare will also be provided for those with children under the age of 5. The 2022 event co-chairs are IPC members Kate Mather and Sissy Austin.
Sign-up for a Shift by Oct. 9
Join us to bag and distribute potatoes in either our first or second shift and indicate that slot on your registration form.
- First Shift: 1-3:30 pm (more volunteers requested this shift)
- Second Shift: 3-6 pm
Beer and Hymns is exactly what it sounds like—we sing old-timey hymns (plus a few new ones) while enjoying good food and beverages. Bring yourself, a few friends, and the best singing voice you have to join members of IPC and the community.
Grace Groups offer a six-week small group bible study for members and friends of IPC in which each group studies the same book for a period of six weeks twice each year. Fall 2022 the groups will study Hebrews: Grace and Gratitude by David A. DeSilva. There are a number of Grace Groups that meet for six weeks in the fall, and six weeks during Lent. Each Grace Group decides on day/time/location that best suits the group members, and each group also chooses its own leader(s).
Join us on October 20 from 11:30 am - 1 pm in the Great Hall large dining room. We will hear from The Morgan Project and Lisa McNair, author of Dear Denise: Letters to the Sister I Never Knew.
The Morgan Project is a nonprofit organization in Birmingham, AL. Its mission is to teach civil rights and social justice through Birmingham's history of courage and conflict. They offer multiple curriculums designed for middle and high school classrooms. Using Charles Morgan Jr. as their guide, they are able to encourage students today through heroes of our past.
Lisa is the sister of 16th Street Baptist Church bombing victim, Denise McNair. Dear Denise: Letters to the Sister I Never Knew, which has received rave reviews from Director Spike Lee and Former Senator Doug Jones, features forty letters to her beloved sister. Her moving, deeply personal letters eloquently tell her sister what has happened since her death.
This Lunch and Learn is sponsored by Community Ministries and the Social Justice Book Club. A special thank you to Thank You Books for supporting the event.
Bring the entire family to this month's IPC Connect event for some great fun, food, and fellowship. We are DYING to see you there!
All ages are welcome to join IPC for this year's Fall Festival. Activities include: Pumpkin decorating, crafts, games, inflatables, face painting, hay ride, snacks, toddler friendly area, and photo booth. Take-home family meals are available when registering for $25. There is also the opportunity to purchase a meal for a summer learning family.
The Youth will gather after the Fall Festival, from 5 - 6 PM, for bonfire and s'mores at the Children's Fresh Air Form.
Join us in the Great Hall large dining room for a lunch and learn event hosted by the IPC Foundation. Audrey Moore, Chief Executive Officer at Lift Up the Vulnerable, joins us. The cost of lunch is $10 and can be paid online or at the door.
About the Presentation
There are an estimated 50 million people trapped in modern-day slavery today. This number has increased by 25% since 2016 due to conflict, Covid-19, and the climate crisis. Learn about the Myths and Realities of Human Trafficking and how you can take a courageous step to end exploitation. This interactive lunch and learn will be led by Audrey Moore, CEO of Lift Up the Vulnerable (LUV). Lift Up the Vulnerable is on a mission to prevent the trafficking and oppression of vulnerable children and women in warzones and empower them to be changemakers in their communities.
Join us for a Service of Evensong at 4 pm in the sanctuary.
IPC is hosting a training for Catechesis Level 1 (ages 3-6). The training begins Sept. 7 and involves lessons on scripture, liturgy of the church, child development, and the Montessori method. Training will take place Wednesday nights (Sept. 7 - May 17 from 5:30-7:30 pm) and on select Saturdays (Oct. 15, Dec. 3, Feb. 25 & April 22 from 9 am - 5 pm). The training is free for IPC members. Please contact Director of Catechesis Maegan McRoberts to participate or learn more.
Join IPC for its first concert of the November Organ Recital series. First prize and Bach prize winner at the 2017 Canadian International Organ Competition, Alcee Chriss III performs. Mr. Chriss is widely regarded as one of the leading young organists of our time and currently serves as University Organist and Artist-in-Residence at Wesleyan University.
Join IPC for its second concert of the November Organ Recital series. Ken Cowan, Professor of Organ and head of the organ program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas, performs.
Beer and Hymns is exactly what it sounds like—we sing old-timey hymns (plus a few new ones) while enjoying good food and beverages. Bring yourself, a few friends, and the best singing voice you have to join members of IPC and the community.
Join IPC for its third concert of the November Organ Recital series. Colin MacKnight, Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, Arkansas, performs. Called “a stunning player of exceptional ability,” Colin has won prizes from the 2019 Paris Music Competition, 2017 West Chester University International Organ Competition, 2016 Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition, 2016 Arthur Poister Scholarship Competition, 2013 Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition, first place at the 2016 AGO Northeast Regional Competition, and the Clarence Snyder Third Prize in 2016 and 2019 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competitions.
Theodore S. (Ted) Davis, a Birmingham-native now based in Baltimore, Maryland, will perform the final recital of a rich and varied series.” Ted holds music degrees in organ performance from Birmingham-Southern College (B. Mus.), choral conducting from Northwestern University (M. Mus.), harpsichord from the Longy School of Music (A.D.), and organ performance from the Peabody Conservatory (D.M.A.).
Provide and serve dinner for the women and children staying at First Light. IPC will be providing evening meals each night for the week of Dec. 4-10. Please consider this great activity for a family or group. Click below to find available evenings and sign up.
Under the direction of Dr. Jeff McLelland, IPC's Christmas Concert will feature the IPC Choir and a string orchestra. This concert is free to the public.
