First Presbyterian Church | 701 Florida Avenue | Bristol, TN 37620 | www.fpcbristol.org

Worship

January 5

2nd Sunday after Christmas

Lessons

Isaiah 60:1-6

Ephesians 3:1-12

Sermon

How Far the Light Shines

Gordon A. Turnbull

Hymns

As With Gladness Men of Old

Come, Behold! The Feast of Heaven

Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

Anthem

Brightest and Best

Worship Count

December 29: 8:30: 115;

11:00: 81

In This Issue

Regular Wednesday Schedule Resumes Jan. 15

Training Event for Church Officers Jan. 11

Our Family Promise of Bristol Team Needs Volunteers

Help FPC Plan Missions

Men's Breakfast This Saturday

Two Heart to Heart Groups to Continue Study of John

Women's Retreat Begins First Friday in March

Sunday Night Student Fellowship Resumes Jan. 12

Memorials to Be Published in Windows in 2014

If the Weather Outside Is Frightful

Music Notes

Pray for One Another

Church Calendar

Windows

on First Presbyterian Church

January 2, 2014

Regular Wednesday Schedule Resumes Jan. 15

We will resume our regular Wednesday schedule January 15, with all the usual music rehearsals, our fellowship dinner at 5:30, and an intergenerational Bible experience led by Dan Kreiss at 6:15. Dan's program will be an opportunity for dialogue and activity with the full church body. Come prepared to share, listen, and create together, as we gain a fuller understanding of what it means to be the body of Christ.

January 15 will see all our choirs back on their regular rehearsal schedule, as Children's Bells, Youth Bells, and Savior's Singers Children's Choir have their first sessions in 2014 at their usual times. For a full listing of rehearsal startups, see "Music Notes," below.

Training Event for Church Officers Jan. 11

PCUSA seal small FPC will hold a training event for our newly elected church officers on the morning of Saturday, January 11, in room 123. The training is scheduled to begin at 9:00 and end around noon.

Our Family Promise of Bristol Team Needs Volunteers

FPC's Family Promise of Bristol team needs volunteers from our congregation for our upcoming rotation, January 19 through 25. We need people to bring in dinners each evening; please contact Scottie Bales if you can help with that. We also need nightly dinner hosts; please contact Nancy Allerton. We need overnight hosts as well; please contact Dan Gross.

Help FPC Plan Missions

This month, our Evangelism & Outreach Committee will begin strategic planning for missions. We warmly invite and encourage all interested members of the congregation to participate in this process. Our first planning session will be Sunday, January 19, at 1:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Peggy Hill at peggyhill145@gmail.com or 423-956-0209.

Men's Breakfast This Saturday

The men of the church will meet as usual on the first Saturday of the month for study over breakfast at 8:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. All men of FPC and their friends are welcome. For more information, contact Dave Welch.

Two Heart to Heart Groups to Continue Study of John

On January 7, Betsy Turnbull's evening Heart to Heart Bible study will pick up its study of John's gospel where it left off in December. This group meets at 7:00 p.m. on first and third Tuesdays in room 123. Newcomers are always welcome!

Lynette Wallen's morning Heart to Heart Bible study will begin a new semester January 15 with a continuation of a study of the book of John. The group meets on Wednesdays, from 9:30 to 11:00, in the New Mothers' Room. Child care is available, and new members are always welcome. About once a month the group enjoys a sack lunch after studying, together with any of their children who wish to join them. Please feel free to drop in at any point!

Women's Retreat Begins First Friday in March

All women of the church and their friends are warmly invited to our annual Women's Retreat, scheduled for the weekend of March 7-9 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. We will announce details when arrangements are completed. Meanwhile, mark your calendars for this popular event!

Sunday Night Student Fellowship Resumes Jan. 12

The Sunday Night Student Fellowship group will resume our sessions January 12.

Memorials to Be Published in Windows in 2014

This year, read Windows for notice of memorial and honorary gifts to FPC. We hope that this newsletter provides a timely and efficient means of letting people see the generosity of our supporters. If you would prefer to remain anonymous in your giving, please signal that intent as you make your gifts. Thank you for your generosity!

If the Weather Outside Is Frightful

If inclement weather shows its messy face here, FPC will follow the Bristol, Tennessee, city schools' lead. Please tune in to a local radio or television broadcast to learn what that may be. We will make every effort to gather for worship, even in the unlikely event of extremely severe weather.

From Steve & Vicki Fey

Music Notes

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir.

Kenton Coe

Sunday's music: The anthem for this Sunday, "Brightest and Best," comes from Carols from the Appalachian Mountains, by Kenton Coe, which the Sanctuary Choir presented on December 15. Carols was commissioned in 1987 by the Symphony of the Mountains (then the Kingsport Symphony) and was revised in 2003. According to Coe, "[M]ost of the carol texts and music have English/Scottish origins and were brought over to this area by our pioneers." The first carol, "Brightest and Best," has a text by Reginald Heber, best known for "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty," and is a reflection on the star and those led to the stable with gifts, a most appropriate text for the day before Epiphany.

Rehearsal schedule: Members of the Cherub Choir will sit with their parents this Sunday, January 5; rehearsals will resume Sunday, January 12, at 9:00 a.m. The Jubilate Youth Choir will also resume rehearsals Sunday, January 12, at 5:00 p.m., just prior to Youth Fellowship activities. The Sanctuary Choir will resume regular rehearsals Wednesday, January 8, at 7:15 p.m. Sanctuary Bells will resume rehearsals on Monday, January 13, at 5:30 p.m. New ringers are encouraged and welcome! Finally, Children's Bells, Youth Bells, and Savior's Singers Children's Choir will be part of the 2014 Wednesday programming kickoff on January 15 at their usual times.

Pray for One Another

In Our Prayers

Mack Blevins

Frances Caldwell

Sue Cannon

Bill Darnell

DeeDee Galliher

George King

Mary Nell Harris

Sharon Hatcher

Ann Holler

Carolyn King

Mary Landrum

Ruth Musser

Nancy Preston

Mary Rice

Virginia Rutherford

Changsub Shim

Lenita Thibault

Bob Vann

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 Katie and Brad Arnold in the birth of their son, Brady Thomas Arnold, on December 19, 2013.

Birthday Prayer Fellowship

January 5 Sujean Bradley, Maria Poteat, Jim Wiseman

January 6 Camille Burt

January 8 Charles Cavatoni, Heidi Harkleroad

January 10 Susan Abel, Chuck Thompson

January 11 James Buck

Church Calendar

Sunday, January 5

8:30 a.m. Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m. Sunday School

11:00 a.m. Worship, Sanctuary

Tuesday, January 7

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

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

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

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

Wednesday, January 8

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

Thursday, January 9

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

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

5:15 p.m. Finance Committee, Room 123

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

Saturday, January 11

9:00 a.m. Officer Training, Room 123

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