Give yourself the joy of hearing and seeing the children of the church in their annual Christmas pageant, scheduled for Wednesday, December 14, at 5:30 p.m., in the Sanctuary. They have been rehearsing like little angels and shepherds and wise men for weeks. Their costumes have been fitted, they know their lines and music, and now all they need is an audience. That's where you come in.

The festivities continue after the pageant with our annual Joy Gift Dinner in the Fellowship Hall. Please make dinner reservations with the church office, (423) 764-7176.

See you there!

All those interested in joining First Presbyterian Church are invited to meet with the Session this Sunday, December 11, at 10:15 a.m., in the Chapel.

For more information, call Dave Welch at (423) 764-7176.

The Presbyterian Women's annual Christmas luncheon is set for Tuesday, December 13.  Worship will begin in the Chapel at 11:00 a.m., and lunch will follow. All women are warmly invited to share in this festive gathering.  Please call the church office at (423) 764-7176 to make your meal reservation. 

The Session has called a meeting of the congregation for Sunday, December 18, at 10:30 a.m., in the Fellowship Hall.  The purpose of this meeting is to receive the report of the Officer Nominating Committee and to elect the church's officers for the Class of 2014. The slate of those to be nominated by the committee is as follows:

ELDERS, Class of 2014

Chris Blankenship

Jackie Burt

Kevin Crutchfield

Peggy Hill

Jennifer Kennedy

DEACONS, Class of 2014

Toni Corder

Sandi Nelson

Stuart Parker

Tina Witcher

Ann Woods

TRUSTEE, Class of 2014

Gene Haskins

In addition, the congregation will elect the officers for 2012 of the corporation of First Presbyterian Church of Bristol Inc.

The Christmas season is rightfully a time of great cheer, but for some people, it can also be a time of great sorrow. The emphasis on family togetherness can make you feel the loss of someone you love even more profoundly. The challenges of the poor and those who struggle during these tough economic times may be overlooked in the frenzy to give and get.  During this time of holly-jolly, the inability to acknowledge other challenges, pain, or sorrow may prevent us from claiming the comfort and guidance offered by the Prince of Peace.

If you would like to acknowledge your own pain this Advent or pray for others facing challenges at this time, please join us for Evening Prayer and Service of Remembrance, Sunday, December 18, at 7:00 p.m., in the Chapel.  For more information, contact Gordon Turnbull (gturnbull@fpcbristol.org) or call (423) 764-7176.

There are only a few days left before the poinsettia ordering deadline! For $15 per plant, you can order pots of Christmas-colored foliage to adorn the sanctuary during Advent and on Christmas Day. The deadline for orders is Monday, December 12. Order forms are available in the church office and in your Sunday bulletin. You may pick up your plants after the Christmas service.

We are beginning a new ministry to those in our congregation who are temporarily unable to prepare their own meals. If you are interested in helping to provide meals for new mothers, surgery patients, and others, please email Lensey Richardson at lasinjc@yahoo.com. We are collecting email addresses of people interested in such a ministry, and will send out more details and information when we get your info!

Help us keep our children safe! Please remember to sign your child in and out of Sunday School. Sign-in sheets are located at the Children's Ministries' registration table before Sunday School and will be in the classrooms afterwards. If you have not registered your child for Sunday School, you will find the necessary form at the registration table.

Our nursery needs volunteers to care for our babies during the 8:30 a.m. Sunday service. Volunteers may serve once only or as often as they like. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Cathy Newton or Debbie Pfeifer.

Our participation in the Fairmount Elementary School snack program is making a difference in the lives of children whose parents cannot afford to buy them an afternoon snack. Members of our congregation are now helping the Neighborhood Initiatives Steering Committee stock up on multigrain and honey-nut Cheerios for the next two months. We can't slacken our pace, though, because we need at least 34 boxes to see the children through December and January.

We're asking folks who bring boxes of Cheerios to the church to put them in the Little Red House in the Fellowship Hallway. The committee will take them to the school, and the teachers will divide them into snack portions as needed.