We have several unusual opportunities this Sunday, September 29, for a rich sharing of information about our local and global outreach in the mission of Jesus Christ. As we celebrate our Mission Festival together, both morning services will hear the sermon "Mutually Encouraged: Why We Need the Global Church and Why the Global Church Needs Us," from a veteran in this field, Marilyn Borst. In the evening, we will eat dinner together, hear a keynote message, then break into small groups, led by members of our Evangelism & Outreach Committee, to learn more about specific areas of our mission work. Children will have their own session of learning and hands-on activities about local outreach and global mission.

As Associate Director for Partnership Development of The Outreach Foundation, our guest speaker travels the world, building relationships in the Middle East and implementing new strategies for engaging small churches in global mission. Marilyn has overseen international partnerships in more than 33 countries.

Our congregational dinner will begin at 5:00 p.m. and be followed by Marilyn's keynote. Adults will then choose from three breakout sessions to learn more about our church's mission efforts, and children will leave for their separate learning track. Plan to share in a rich and inspiring day of worship and learning this Sunday!

Mission Festival Evening Schedule
5:00	Dinner	Fellowship Hall
5:45	Children dismissed for recreation & mission learning time
5:50	Keynote by Marilyn Borst: "Presbyterians in Unexpected Places: Cuba, Pakistan, Syria"
6:30	Breakout Sessions
	* FPC Global Mission, led by John Vann	Friendship Classroom
	* FPC Neighborhood Ministry, led by Peggy Hill	Room 123
	* How to Help People Meet Jesus, led by Matt Richardson	Chapel
7:30	Dismissal from each group

Heart to Heart Fall Gathering: Choose Life

Choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days. - Deuteronomy 30:19-20

What: Dinner with program to follow

Who Presents: Jackie Burt, Physician

Linda Stollings, Certified Personal Trainer and Wellness Coach

When: Thursday, October 3

5:30-7:30 p.m.

Where: Chapel

Heart to Heart, a women's ministry of First Presbyterian Church, invites you to join us for a fall gathering to consider how we as women can encourage one another to choose the abundant life to which God calls us. Next Thursday, October 3, Jackie Burt and Linda Stollings will lead us in an evening that explores the physical and spiritual dimensions of wellness as they affect women throughout their life. Join us for great information about physical health, nutrition, and fitness and how all three relate to God's instruction that we must "choose life."

John's gospel tells us that Jesus comes that we might "have life and have it abundantly." Do you need prodding to help you choose this abundant life? Join us as we spur one another on in this quest for life that is truly life.

Invite a friend and let us know that you can join us by emailing Jane Prater at jprater@fpcbristol.org or calling the church office at 423-764-7176. You can also respond on our Heart to Heart Facebook page. We will happily provide child care; just let us know how many children to expect!

Five-Cents-a-Meal Hunger Relief Collection Sunday

This Sunday, September 29, we will collect for the Five-Cents-a-Meal hunger relief program. This quarterly offering takes its name from its simple system of operation: each of us sets aside five cents for each meal we eat. By the end of three months, we have painlessly accumulated our personal offering, and together we make a hearty contribution toward feeding the hungry.

Strutting and Fretting on Wednesday Night

Next Wednesday, October 2, our Adult Learning program at 6:15 p.m. will begin a series devoted to drama, led by Dottie Havlik. Come early to enjoy our Fellowship Dinner of a chili and potato bar at 5:30. Sixth- through twelfth-graders will head upstairs to the Youth Wing for Student Ministries small-group discussions at 6:00, and Wednesday Night Kids will gather at the door to the hall when they see the Kid's Time sign, also around 6:00.

Wednesday Night Kids

On October 2, Wednesday Night Kids will review David's life and what his story tells us about a God who is sovereign, omnipresent, and just. As always, we will conduct new experiments and share in other activities. Please join us!

FPC's Financial Summary for August

FPC Picture

We here present the highlights of our year-to-date financial summary as of August 31, followed by a tabular summary, both prepared by Aaron Brooks, Finance Chair.

Highlights

Pledges/Offerings/Reimbursements in the first eight months of the year exceeded expectations by $12,130.
Anticipated Budget Shortfall: Through August 2013, we anticipated having to utilize approximately $31,396 of our savings/reserves to meet current-year operating requirements. As noted, none of these funds have had to be utilized.
Expenditures continue to track favorably to expectations, coming in through the end of August at $16,877 below budget.
Expense Notes: (1) Interest paid to date on our Eastman Credit Union capital loan was $27,665, and (2) utility expenses, year-to-date, were $37,249, which is $5,018 under budget and $4,853 less than the same time last year.
Capital Loan: The balance with Eastman Credit Union at August 31, 2013, was $1,050,880.

2013	August Actual YTD ($)	August Budget YTD ($)	Over/(Under) Budget ($)
Revenue
Total Pledges	404,476	402,009	2,467
Offerings	82,897	86,800	(3,903)
Other Gifts & Income	67,230	53,664	13,566
Anticipated Budget Shortfall*	-	31,396	(31,396)
	554,603	573,869	(19,266)
Expenses
Evangelism & Outreach	22,848	20,216	2,632
Worship	89,544	88,373	1,171
Christian Education	139,199	144,263	(5,064)
Administration	186,595	198,242	(11,647)
Building & Grounds	101,371	104,786	(3,415)
Fellowship & Misc.	19,084	19,638	(554)
	558,641	575,518	(16,877)

Net Position:	(4,038)	(1,649)

*Anticipated Budget Shortfall is an estimated amount of money that is expected to be drawn from our reserve funds in order to fulfill our ongoing budget. Our reserve funds are limited and comprise monies from prior years that were above and beyond what was required to meet those years' respective budgets.

Put Your Stamp on Mission Work!

The Presbyterian Women want your used stamps, except those featuring the flag or the liberty bell. The PW participate in a program that transforms all other used stamps into thousands of dollars for mission work around the world. Please bring your used stamps (a bit of envelope is OK) to the church and put them in the special box outside the Fellowship Hall. Or you can give them to a PW member. Thank you!

First Presbyterian Care Shepherds Need You!

The goal of FPC's Care Shepherd ministry is to show Christian love and care to those of our church family who are in need. Opportunities for volunteering include providing meals to those just home from the hospital, sending a card or making a phone call to someone in a special care facility, and providing comfort in other situations.

Volunteers serve one month at a time on a Care Shepherd team that coordinates the needs of the congregation for that month. We are humbly seeking volunteers to serve in October, November, December, and January.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Lorri Looney at jeffandlorri@msn.com or 423-573-1676.

Fairmount Snack Program Goes Back to School

School is back in session, and that means it's time to perk up the hungry students in our neighborhood school who can't afford to buy snacks to see them through the afternoon. We are now collecting small pretzels. The small sticks and the small curved pretzels are best for fitting into snack-sized portions for our Fairmount Elementary kids. As before, please place your contributions in the little red schoolhouse in the Fellowship Hallway. Thank you!

Next Week's Sunday Night Youth: Hook and Jab

Next week on October 6 the Sunday Night Youth Fellowship will take up the final segment of The Battle Within. We have been taking a good look at the temptations Jesus faced in the desert and identifying the driving forces behind those we all face every day. Once we realize what the pull is, we can find the confidence to follow Jesus' example and respond as he did.

October 6: Hook and Jab

Bottom Line: We are tempted to pursue the right thing the wrong way.

Temptation isn't always about doing something bad. In fact, sometimes the end result is not necessarily a bad thing, but the way we plan to get there--the shortcut we take, the compromise we make-is. In this struggle with temptation, sometimes the punches we throw and the punches thrown at us are simply about pursuing the right things in the wrong way. Come join us for the final match of the series. Sixth- through twelfth-graders meet in the Youth Wing at 6:00 p.m.

Youth: Party at FPC This Friday, Sept. 27!

Hey! Don't go to Katie Arnold's house Friday night! Come to the church, because that's where the party will be! All high school students are invited to FPC for this Friday night's 5th Quarter, the after-party following the Tennessee High School home football game. Students are welcome to bring friends and enjoy fellowship around a bonfire with s'mores and games. Parents are asked to assist with supplying snacks and drinks.

Next Friday, October 4, the 5th Quarter party will be an overnight at White Fork Ranch with farm games, a bonfire, a hayride, and much more entertainment throughout the night. The party won't be over until 8:00 Saturday morning! Invite friends, bring sleeping bags if you want to sleep, and dress for the farm.

Transportation will be provided from THS to White Fork Ranch for those who need it. Students will not be permitted to leave the premises until 8:00 Saturday morning unless a parent picks them up or arrangements are worked out ahead of time. All participants must turn in an FPC notarized release form if they don't already have one on file with the church. Forms can be found at www.fpcbristol.org/growing/youth.

The remaining 5th Quarters of the season will be on October 18 and November 1.

Fall Showers Mean More Work for Mowers

Our mowers are canny veterans, able to find the break in the rain they need to take the Tiger Cat out for a run on the church grounds. Tom King will find a dry spot September 25-28, and David Moore will keep the Cat's feet out of the wet October 2-5. Depending on the weather, we could be mowing into November. Contact Randy Cook at 423-956-1541 or npolecook@aol.com to find out how you can help.

From Steve & Vicki Fey

Music Notes

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir; Pat Flannagan, cantor.

Thomas Troeger

Sunday's music: The Sanctuary Choir anthem, "Make Our Church One Joyful Choir," calls on Christ through the Holy Spirit to shape us and "send us out with wind and fire, so the world may hear [God's] song." As we consider our task of evangelism in reaching out beyond the boundaries of our church, these seem to be most appropriate words. The text for the anthem is by Thomas Troeger (b. 1945). A native of New York, Troeger is ordained as both a Presbyterian minister and an Episcopal priest and teaches at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. The musical setting is by Jonathan Crutchfield (b. 1959), Director of Music and organist at Meyers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, who performs throughout the US and Canada.

Arts Series: Mark your calendars! The first program of our 2013-2014 Arts Series will take place Sunday, October 20, at 3:00 p.m. in our sanctuary and will feature Carson-Newman professor and pianist Ryan Fogg. When he served as a judge for the 2013 Bristol Music Club scholarship auditions in May, Ryan was taken with our Steinway piano and the fact that we had an Arts Series, and asked if he could be part of our Series!

The performances are free; suggested ticket donations at the door are $10 for adults and $5 for students ages 6 through college. Donations for the Arts Series as a whole are still being received. Please make checks payable to the church and write "Arts Series" in the memo line.

Pray for One Another

In Our Prayers

Cathy Andersen

Mack Blevins

Sue Cannon

Bill Darnell

DeeDee Galliher

Mary Nell Harris

Sharon Hatcher

Carolyn King

Mary Landrum

Ruth Musser

Nancy Preston

Mary Rice

Bob Vann

Billie Whisnant

Janet Wright

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

Congratulations

We rejoice with Ann Abel on the arrival of her new grandson, James David Lamar, born September 24 to Rebekah Abel Lamar and Ashley Lamar of Decatur, Georgia.

Birthday Prayer Fellowship

Sept. 29 Larry Connolly, Riley Miller, Ann Woods

Oct. 1 Ben Cherry, Liz Dollar

Oct. 2 Jordan Pennington

Oct. 3 Fred Harkleroad, Lou Mattison

Oct. 4 Brian Miller, Deborah Whitaker

Church Calendar

Sunday, Sept. 29

8:30 a.m. Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:00 a.m. Cherub Choir, Room 209

9:45 a.m. Sunday School

11:00 a.m. Worship, Sanctuary

4:30 p.m. Jubilate Youth Choir, Music Wing

5:00 p.m. Mission Festival Dinner & Program, Fellowship Hall

Monday, Sept. 30

5:45 p.m. Sanctuary Handbells, Handbell Room

Tuesday, Oct. 1

9:00 a.m. Staff Meeting. Room 123

10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer Group, Conference Room

1:00 p.m. Women's HeartsBurn Bible Study, Jackie Burt's Home

7:00 p.m. Betsy Turnbull's Heart to Heart Bible Study, Room 123

7:00 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 3, Scout Wing

Wednesday, Oct. 2

9:30 a.m. Lynette Wallen's Heart to Heart Bible Study, New Mothers' Room

9:30 a.m. Lorri Looney's DVD Bible Study, Parlor

4:15 p.m. Heart to Heart Steering Committee, Room 117

4:15 p.m. Children's Handbells, Room 212

4:45 p.m. Youth Handbells, Room 212

4:45 p.m. Savior's Singers Children's Choir, Room 209

5:15 p.m. Baby & Toddler Care, Nursery

5:30 p.m. Fellowship Dinner, Fellowship Hall

6:00 p.m. Wednesday Night Kids, Rooms 11 & 31

6:00 p.m. Student Ministries Small Groups, Youth Wing

6:15 p.m. Adult Learning, Fellowship Hall

7:15 p.m. Sanctuary Choir, Room 202

Thursday, Oct. 3

7:00 a.m. Men's Bible Study, Parlor

12:00 p.m. Noon Bible Study, Room 117

5:30 p.m. Heart to Heart Fall Gathering, Chapel & Fellowship Hall

8:15 p.m. Praise Team, Fellowship Hall

Friday, Oct. 4

9:30 p.m. 5th Quarter, White Fork Ranch

Saturday, Oct. 5

8:00 a.m. Men's Breakfast, Fellowship Hall

9:30 a.m. Sanctuary Choir Retreat, King University Chapel

Windows is a publication of First Presbyterian Church, Bristol, TN. Please direct questions and suggestions to the editor, Kathy Acuff, kacuff@fpcbristol.org.