Music Participants: You will have several opportunities to hear music of the season sung and played by talented musicians as we prepare for, then celebrate, Easter.

Maundy Thursday: Sanctuary Choir, Sanctuary Bells

Good Friday: Jubilate Youth Choir, Youth Bells, Savior's Singers Children's Choir

Easter Services:

Sunrise (7:00 a.m.): Vicki Fey, Joel Newton, Fred Foy Strang

8:30 a.m.: Praise Team

11:00 a.m.: Sanctuary Choir; ETSU Faculty Brass; Isaac Culbert, timpani

Special Music for Holy Week: At the Maundy Thursday service, the Sanctuary Choir will present two anthems. The first is an arrangement by F. Melius Christiansen of the Lutheran hymn "Lamb of God Most Holy." As part of Luther's reformation, he and others adapted and translated portions of the Mass into the vernacular for the whole congregation to sing; this hymn was intended to take the place of the "Agnus Dei," which is part of the communion prayers of the Mass. Christiansen (1871-1955) was the founding director of the St. Olaf Choir of St. Olaf College, which became one of the most influential choral programs in North America in the twentieth century. Written in 1933, this arrangement is one of the standards of American choral music. The second anthem is a brand-new work, a setting by Paul Mealor (b. 1975) of the Latin text "Ubi Caritas." This very early text is often associated with foot-washing, and the translation begins, "Where charity and love are, God is there." The music was written for the royal wedding in 2011. Mealor is a Welsh composer who has gained considerable international interest from this piece; its rich harmonic language captures the power and intensity of the text.

On Good Friday, the Jubilate Youth Choir and the Savior's Singers will join to offer two works by Hal Hopson. Hopson spent two weeks in residency at FPC in November 2007; he is noted for adapting works for effective use in worship. The first piece, "O Lord, Hear Me," is a paraphrase of Psalm 143, using music first composed by Handel as part of an instrumental suite. The plaintive nature of the music is appropriate for the pleading nature of the text. The second piece is an original work, using handbells to accompany the text of John 1:29, "Behold the Lamb of God."

Sally Ann Morris

On Easter morning, the Sanctuary Choir will offer three anthems. The first, "Easter," is a setting by Ralph Vaughan Williams of a text by George Herbert. It is the opening movement of a five-piece set, "Five Mystical Songs," which Vaughan Williams made of Herbert texts for baritone soloist, chorus, and orchestra. Vaughan Williams made several arrangements of the accompaniment, including the piano version we will be using. Herbert (1593-1633) was a Welsh-born English poet and priest; he wrote religious poetry noted for its ingenious use of imagery. Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was the pre-eminent English composer of the first half of the twentieth century; his work as the editor of the English Hymnal of 1904 considerably influenced congregational song in English-speaking countries. The second anthem for chorus and brass, "Earth, Earth, Awake: Your Praises Sing," has a text by Herman Stuempfle and set by Sally Ann Morris. Stuempfle (1923-2007) was an American Lutheran pastor who in his retirement created a significant body of hymn texts that are often rich in biblical illusion. Morris (b. 1952) has composed extensively for the church; she serves as music director of Parkway Presbyterian Church of Winston-Salem, NC. The final anthem the choir will sing is "Hallelujah" from Handel's Messiah; it needs no explanation.

April 8: Easter

Lessons: Isaiah 25:6-9; John 20:1-18

Sermon: A Greeting in the Garden, Gordon Turnbull

Prelude: Easter Carillon, ETSU Faculty Brass Ensemble, organ

Anthems: Easter (from Five Mystical Songs), Sanctuary Choir with George Huber, soloist;

                   Earth, Earth, Awake, Sanctuary Choir; ETSU Faculty Brass; Isaac Culbert, timpani

Choral Benediction: Hallelujah from Messiah

Hymns: Jesus Christ Is Risen Today; Come Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain; Thine Is the Glory

By the Numbers for April 1: 8:30 a.m.: 167; 11:00 a.m.: 189

In Our Prayers

Jim Bowdoin

Becky Busler

Jane Crewey

Mary Nell Harris

Sharon Hatcher

Pat Hunigan

Sheena Hunter

Carolyn King

Julie King

Don Moneyhun

Ruth Musser

Dale Winship

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

Birthday Prayer Fellowship

April 8       Robin Bailey, Anne Robinette, Ginny Sword

April 9       Alie Bassett, Savannah Burt

April 10     Mark Dollar, Stinson Ellis

April 11     Libby Crutchfield, Mary Martha Daniel, Mike McFerrin, Virginia McRee

April 12     Miles Hite, Maggie Matson

April 13     Vivian Hill, George McClellan, Spencer Pruner

April 14     Wes Buckles, Wade Witcher

Sunday, April 8

7:00 a.m.      Sunrise Service, Courtyard

7:30 a.m.      Breakfast 

8:30 a.m.      Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m.      Sunday School

11:00 a.m.   Worship, Sanctuary

Monday, April 9

Church office closed

Tuesday, April 10

10:00 a.m.   Morning Prayer Group

11:00 a.m.   Presbyterian Women Circle

11:30 a.m.   Presbyterian Women Bible Study

12:00 p.m.   Presbyterian Women Luncheon

1:30 p.m.     Staff Meeting

6:30 p.m.     Cub Scout Pack 3

7:00 p.m.     Boy Scout Troop 3

7:00 p.m.     Living Waters for the World

Wednesday, April 11

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 Learning

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, April 12

7:00 a.m.      Men's Bible Study

8:30 a.m.      Meals on Wheels

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

5:15 p.m.     Finance Committee

Saturday, April 14

8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.     Boy Scout Troop 3 Yard Sale