on First Presbyterian Church

October 24, 2013

We are pleased to announce that online giving to FPC is now possible through our website, www.fpcbristol.org. Our hope is that you will find this capability both a convenient way to make pledge payments or other donations and also a practical help in tracking your stewardship commitments.

Note: You cannot make a pledge commitment online; you do that in the usual way. But you can make online pledge payments.

What Is Online Giving?

The term online giving encompasses a wide range of secure, automatic payment methods that can be used to make regular church offerings and other contributions without writing checks, carrying cash, or preparing envelopes. It works the same way as the automatic payment methods that many of us use to make mortgage or utility payments and to receive payroll earnings or Social Security income.

Why Give Online?

It is convenient. You do not need to write checks or bring cash to church when you contribute automatically. Your contributions are transmitted electronically and deposited directly into the church bank account.

It keeps you on track with stewardship commitments. When you schedule automated offerings, you don't have the worry of falling behind on pledge payments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do automatic contributions work?

A. You choose your payment method, start date, frequency, and contribution amount. Your donations will be processed and deposited in the church bank account on the date or dates you have scheduled.

Q. When will my contribution be processed?

A. Your contribution will be processed each month on the date or dates you have authorized.

Q. What if I need to cancel or place my donation on a temporary hold?

A. You can edit, suspend, or cancel a scheduled transaction in your online giving account. Please notify the church business administrator, Betsy Galliher, if you encounter any problems.

Q. What can I use to show that I made a donation?

A. The itemized list of electronic transactions that appears on your bank or credit card statement can be used as proof of your donations. You can also view and print your online donation history (see below). In addition, FPC mails contribution reports in July and October as well as year-end Charitable Contributions Reports for tax purposes.

Q. How do I get started?

A. To get started, go to www.fpcbristol.org and click on the Online Giving button at the top right of the page. You will then see the first screen of Vanco's secure online giving service. You will first create an online profile (use the button in the lower right quadrant). This is a one-time task. Please review the information you enter, then be sure to save your profile. It will enable you to change or stop a recurring donation at any time, and it will allow you to view and print your online donation history.

After you have saved your profile, you will see the Online Donation screen. Follow the prompts to schedule your transactions. You will be asked for a payment method in the Account drop-down menu on the Donation Information screen. You will be able to choose from direct debit of your checking or savings account and payment by means of a credit or a debit card.

The Presbyterian Women want your used stamps, except those featuring the US 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!

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.

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!

The men of the church have returned to their original breakfast schedule: the first Saturday of the month at 8:00 a.m.  All men of FPC and their friends are invited to November's breakfast this Saturday in the Fellowship Hall.

What do a tower built in ancient times to reach the heavens and a cell phone have in common? A lot more than you may think. The people responsible for the tower of Babel used the technology of their day to elevate themselves, taking God out of the picture. We use the technology of our day in similar ways. The technology itself isn't bad or good, but how we choose to use it is important. The right kind of relationship with technology will help us to do the right kinds of things with it. Join us this Sunday as we begin a three-part series of discussions on this topic. Sixth- through twelfth-graders meet in the Youth Wing at 6:00 p.m.

Session Three, October 27: Social Network

Today's technology enables us to connect with people in more ways than ever before. With that ability comes an incredible capacity to affect other people. We can use technology to encourage people or show compassion. We can use technology to help people in need. Or we can use technology to hurt, slander, or even destroy someone. So how will you use technology? How will you use this tool to affect the people around you?

From Steve & Vicki Fey

Music Notes