Presbyterian Women will meet Tuesday, February 14, at 11:00 a.m. to prepare valentines for the Head Start children. Gordon Turnbull will lead our Bible lesson at 11:30, and lunch will follow in the parlor. Remember to make lunch reservations with the church office, 423-764-7176. See you there!

I still read the comics. And one at the top of my list is "Peanuts," still appearing in our local paper several years after the death of its creator, Charles Schulz. One of the major citizens of Schulz's fictional community is Charlie Brown, a philosophical sort of fellow, who seeks a world that is rational and hopeful but finds himself often frustrated, especially by Lucy. You know his frustration when he laments with a sigh, "Good Grief."

And that is indeed the title of the book we are reviewing for you today. I first heard about Good Grief from a Presbyterian minister in Chicago, John M. Buchanan, who called it one of the best he had ever seen on the topic of confronting grief. It was written by Granger E. Westberg (1911-1999) and first published in 1961. More than two million copies have been printed over the years, and it is now out in a fiftieth-anniversary edition. Buchanan commented that he still refers to his dog-eared copy as a valuable tool in counseling.

Westberg was a Lutheran minister in Illinois, ordained in 1939. While on the board of the Augustana Hospital in Chicago, he learned that their head chaplain was going on vacation and they needed a temporary supply for two weeks. Westberg thought it might be an interesting experience, then found it so to his heart that he remained at the hospital for eight years. The University of Chicago recognized his gifts as a chaplain, and in 1952 he was given a joint appointment in their Divinity and Medical Schools. Later in his career he established what is known as the Parish Nurse Movement, whose annual conferences today bring together more than a thousand health and ministry professionals. The Westberg Institute in Memphis, Tennessee, carries on the work he established a half century ago.

Westberg published a number of books, but his Good Grief remains the classic by which he is remembered. It is a surprisingly small volume, less than one hundred pages, and can easily be carried in a pocket or purse. The author recognized that all of us will have times of sadness and despair, and our grieving can be helpful to recovery (good) or harmful to our future well-being (bad). Thus the title; his book is to help us achieve good grief.

Westberg suggests that we go through a ten-stage process of grieving, and knowing where we are in this process is important to recovery. There is not space here to outline these stages fully, but they begin with shock and emotion and proceed through stages of lonely depression, sometimes marked by physical symptoms and feelings of guilt, even anger and resentment. But gradually hope returns, although we may resist it at first, and finally we achieve a new state of reality. This is a marvelous little volume, not just for those professionally involved in counseling, but for all of us who have or will face grief, and that's all of us! This is an excellent source for understanding the nature of our own grief or for helping others who are passing through times of difficulty. It's now in our library waiting for you.

Music Participants: February 12: Sanctuary Choir, Cherub Choir.

Sunday's Music: The words to the Sanctuary choir anthem, "I Will Arise and Go to Jesus," come from the hymn "Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy" written by Joseph Hart (1712-1768) in 1759, although they have been altered in many ways throughout the years. In the nineteenth century, the text took on a dialogue form, with the call to Jesus in each stanza answered by the refrain beginning "I will arise." Carlton Young writes: "[T]he hymn's reiterated invitation ... is an elaboration of the evangelical themes of free and undeserved grace, the unmerited gift of new life through the all-atoning death of God's only son, and Jesus Christ risen and ascended." The melody that the words are typically paired with is an American folk tune first published in 1835. The musical arrangement is by Hugh Livingston, a native of East Tennessee, who for a number of years served as a music editor for a major sacred music publisher and has recently retired to Knoxville.

Jeremy Filsell

Arts Series: You won't want to miss organist and pianist Jeremy Filsell in our sanctuary on Sunday, February 26, at 3:00 p.m. Jeremy is Artist-in-Residence at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and enjoys playing the piano as much as he does the organ. We are fortunate to have two very fine instruments for him to play. He will play parallel literature (Bach and Rachmaninoff) on each instrument and will end the piano half with Gershwin and the organ half with Duruflé. Suggested ticket donation is $10 for adults (no charge for students). This program is jointly sponsored with the Northeast Tennessee/Southwest Virginia chapter of the American Guild of Organists. - Steve & Vicki Fey

In Our Prayers

Jim Bowdoin

Becky Busler

Jane Crewey

Bill Goforth

Mary Nell Harris

Sharon Hatcher

Carolyn King

Ruth Musser

Bill Ward

Dale Winship

An extensive list of prayer concerns, "Pray for One Another," is available for pickup at the church each week.

Birthday Prayer Fellowship

February 12    Alex Boyd, Cameron Gardner, Marjorie Harr

February 13    Benjamin King, Barbara Thomas

February 14    Sharon Ratliff, Jesse Strang

February 15    JoLynn Evans, Brenda Foster, Cindy Ratcliff, Amy Williams

February 16    Matt Williams

February 12: Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lessons: 2 Kings 5:1-14; Mark 1:40-45

Sermon: Healing by Choice, Dave Welch

Anthems: I Will Arise and Go to Jesus, Sanctuary Choir

     God's Children, Cherub Choir

Hymns: Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun; Just as I Am, without One Plea;

Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim

By the Numbers: February 5: 8:30: 126; 11:00: 151

Sunday, February 12

8:30 a.m.      Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:00 a.m.      Cherub Choir

9:45 a.m.      Sunday School

11:00 a.m.   Worship, Sanctuary

4:45 p.m.     Youth Choir

5:30 p.m.     Junior High Youth Group

7:00 p.m.     Senior High Youth Group

Monday, February 13

5:30 p.m.     Sanctuary Handbell Choir

7:00 p.m.     Worship Committee

Tuesday, February 14

9:00 a.m.      Staff Meeting

10:00 a.m.   Morning Prayer Group

11:00 a.m.   Presbyterian Women Business Meeting

11:30 a.m.   Presbyterian Women Bible Study

12:00 p.m.   Presbyterian Women Luncheon

6:30 p.m.     Cub Scout Pack 3

7:00 p.m.     Boy Scout Troop 3

Wednesday, February 15

9:30 a.m.      Ladies' Bible Study

1:00 p.m.     Women's Bible Study

4:15 p.m.     Children's Handbells

4:45 p.m.     Youth Handbells

4:45 p.m.     Savior's Singers Children's Choir

5:30 p.m.     Fellowship Dinner

6:15 p.m.     Adult Program

6:15 p.m.     Kid Connection

6:15 p.m.     Junior High Bible Study

6:45 p.m.     Senior High Bible Study

7:15 p.m.     Sanctuary Choir

Thursday, February 16

7:00 a.m.      Men's Bible Study

12:00 p.m.   Thursday Noon Bible Study, Java J's

Looking Ahead:

Wednesday, February 22

6:20 p.m.     Ash Wednesday Worship Service

Friday-Sunday, March 16-18
Annual Women's Retreat, Blowing Rock Conference Center