This Sunday, January 26, our worship experience at both services will be enriched by the Tennessee High School bluegrass band, Slim Pickins. We claim two of the group's current members, Bella Bane and Annie Osborne, as our own, but other FPC members have played in this ever-evolving ensemble over the years.

Chorus director Bandy Brownlee explains: "In the fall of 1996, the Freedom Train came to Bristol. Cities were encouraged to celebrate their local heritage by having young people perform traditional music and dance unique to that part of the region. The THS choral music department was asked to produce a bluegrass band for the Freedom Train event, and Slim Pickins was born.

"Originally, the group was called Awesome Possum, and Doyle Lawson's daughter, Suzie, played doghouse bass in that first band. Later, the student band members renamed themselves Slim Pickins in honor of their guitar player, Jonathan 'Slim' Davis.

"Each school year produces a new version of Slim Pickins, as seniors graduate and new members move in to fill vacancies. This year's lineup is Jonna Pickard (accordion and doghouse bass), Erick Sampson (upright bass and jaw harp), Caleb Hardin (banjo and guitar), Bella Bane (guitar), and Annie Osborne (mandolin). All five members also sing."

Wednesday Night Programs for Jan. 29

Join us at 5:30 on Wednesday, January 29, for a fellowship dinner of chicken pot pie, spinach salad, biscuits, and cookies, followed at 6:15 by a Bible study for adults led by Dave Welch. Student Fellowship small groups and Wednesday Night Kids will meet separately at 6:00.

Wednesday Night Kids

"Doing the Right Thing" is the lesson for January 29, as Wednesday Night Kids continue Huzzah for the King!, a journey back in time to the Middle Ages. An archer will help teach this lesson about obedience. Proverbs 1:8 and John 21:1-14 are the Biblical texts we will study. Come join us, as we learn more about the godly character traits that Jesus exemplified.

Church Doors Now Locked during Office Hours

To increase the security of our building and the safety of our church members, visitors, and staff, the main doors to the church and church office will now normally be locked during business hours. Our regular office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Fridays.

The buzzer and intercom are to the right of the office wing doors in the front breezeway. Instructions on how to enter are posted on the right-hand door. Of course, the buzzer looks nothing like the bell in the picture you see here. When the doors are locked, the buzzer button is red. When the doors are unlocked, it is green. If you see a red light, push the button, wait a few seconds while we answer, then tell us who you are. You will hear two loud clicks as the doors unlock.

If you have any questions, or need help, please contact Dave Welch directly, at 423-764-7176 or dwelch@fpcbristol.org.

Heart to Heart Read & Feed Planned for Feb. 8

What: Annual Read & Feed

Date: Saturday, February 8

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Where: 134 Trammell Road

Plan to join us for the Heart to Heart Read & Feed, our Women's Ministries' annual book review session and soup smorgasbord. We promise you great food and fellowship as we gather in Jennifer Kennedy's home for this popular event. Three women will share their thoughts on books that can encourage and challenge us in our lives of faith. As we nourish our minds, we'll feed our bodies delicious soups and salads. Remember to invite a friend! Please call the church office at 423-764-7176 or e-mail Jane Prater at jprater@fpcbristol.org to let us know you can attend.

We are happy to provide child care for this event. Please notify us as above to let us know the number and ages of children to expect. Please pack a lunch for your children.

In case of inclement weather, this event will be canceled or moved to the FPC Fellowship Hall. Check our Facebook page or call Betsy Turnbull at 423-878-9523, if you're unsure of the plans!

Heart to Heart DVD Bible Study to Resume

Lorri Looney's Heart to Heart DVD Bible study will resume February 5 with Beth Moore's six-week study Sacred Secrets. The group plans to finish the spring semester with Priscilla Shirer's seven-week study Gideon, beginning March 26. The group will meet from 9:30 to 11:30 each Wednesday morning through May 7, with a spring break on March 19. The meetings will take place this semester in the Friendship Classroom. All women of FPC and their friends are warmly invited to join this group at any point.

Sunday Night Student Fellowship Events

Super Bowl parties will take the place of the regular Sunday Night Student Fellowship on February 2. The high school party will be held from 6:00 p.m. till the end of the game, at the Pruners' home. The middle school party will be from 6:00 p.m. till halftime, at the Brooks' home.

This Sunday, January 26, sixth- through twelfth-graders are invited to meet in the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m. for food, games, and fun. Come join us!

Writer Patricia Hampl to Give Buechner Lecture at FPC Feb. 1

Patricia Hampl

FPC will once again welcome the annual Buechner Lectureship, to be presented Saturday, February 1, by the noted writer, lecturer, and educator Patricia Hampl. Hampl first gained recognition for her 1981 memoir about her Czech heritage, A Romantic Education, and has received both a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship. She has been a nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction, and her latest memoir, The Florist's Daughter, was named to the New York Times' "100 Notable Books of the Year." She teaches in the MFA program at the University of Minnesota.

At 4:00 p.m., Hampl will be interviewed by Jennifer Holberg, professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and chair of the Buechner Institute's National Advisory Board. She will deliver the Buechner Lecture at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Organ Concert at FPC Feb. 9

ASU Organ Studio

Students of the organ studio of Joby Bell, organ professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, will present the next performance in the FPC Arts Series Sunday, February 9, at 3:00 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation of $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Bell has served on the faculty at ASU since 2004. He teaches all the organ students and coordinates the church music curriculum. His teaching specializes in memorization and practice techniques, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure.

The following students are scheduled to perform February 9:

Nathan Brickman, of Lenoir, North Carolina, is director of music for St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in his hometown.
Jake Hill, of Yadkinville, North Carolina, is an organ performance and sacred music major who serves as organist for the First Baptist Church of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Caroline Kimrey, of Albemarle, North Carolina, is a piano major with a concentration in sacred music. This is her senior year, and she plans to study choral conducting in graduate school.
Justin Shaver, also of Albemarle, has been a member of the ASU Gospel Choir as well as music director of Laurel Street Baptist Church in Albemarle. He hopes to become a church organist.
Rodney Ward, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is a recent graduate of ASU in both sacred music and organ performance. He is the organist for the First Baptist Church of Lenoir.
Shane Watson, from Deep Gap, North Carolina, is studying organ performance and sacred music. He has been a member of several musical ensembles, including the Appalachian Symphony Orchestra and the Appalachian State Marching Mountaineers.

From Steve & Vicki Fey

Music Notes

Sunday's music participants: While the Praise Team and Sanctuary Choir will provide worship leadership at each of the morning services Sunday, we are privileged to host the small Tennessee High School ensemble Slim Pickins at both services. Two of the group's members, Bella Bane and Annie Osborne, also belong to our church family. Thanks to THS chorus director Bandy Brownlee for arranging their participation! You can read more about this talented group in the lead article of this newsletter.

Peter Schickele

Programs of note: Voices of the Mountains, with conductor Pat Flannagan and accompanist Vicki Fey, will present a program at the Paramount Center for the Arts this Saturday, January 25, at 7:30 p.m. Bach to the Future will present three very different choral works, the first two by Johann Sebastian Bach and one of his sons, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach. These works will be accompanied by a small ensemble of Symphony of the Mountains players. The third, "Oedipus Tex," is a musical parody by the brilliant composer Peter Schickele (aka P.D.Q. Bach). The following weekend, the Paramount Chamber Players will enrich the musical life of our community by playing three identical programs in three locations. Performances take place Friday, January 31, at 7:30 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church in Kingsport; Saturday, February 1, at 7:30 p.m., at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol; and Sunday, February 2, at 3:00 p.m., as part of the Spencer-Miller Memorial Concert Series at Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church in Abingdon. More details next week.

Arts Series: Don't forget! A program of organ music will be presented by Appalachian State University professor Dr. Joby Bell and several of his students on Sunday, February 9, at 3:00 p.m. A screen will be set up at the front of the sanctuary and a stationary camera will be placed in the balcony so that the audience will be able to see the organists. Suggested donation amounts are $10 for adults and $5 for students from age 6 through college.

Together in All Kinds of Weather

Polar vortex or Polar Express, when the weather becomes arctic or makes driving difficult, FPC will follow the lead of the Bristol, Tennessee, city schools. 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 case of extremely severe weather.

Pray for One Another

In Our Prayers

Mack Blevins

Frances Caldwell

Sue Cannon

DeeDee Galliher

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

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

Birthday Prayer Fellowship

January 26 Bambi Akard, David Akard III, Ann Galliher, Phillip Hoffer, Samuel Parker

January 28 Kaemon Nelson, Byron Schiesz

January 29 Betty Millard

January 30 Karen McDonald, Herb VanNostrand

January 31 Andrea Hyde, Craig McDonald

February 1 Kristy Davis, John David Odom

Memorial Gifts

Gifts have been made in memory of the following individuals:

Bill Darnell (husband of Linda Darnell): by Mr. & Mrs. Clyde Keeter, to the Memorial Fund; by Mrs. Billie Peterson, to the Minister's Discretionary Fund

George King: by Mr. & Mrs. Graham Barr, to the Minister's Discretionary Fund; by Ms. Gwen King, to the Arts Series Fund; by Mr. & Mrs. Tom King, to the Arts Series Fund; by Mr. & Mrs. Frank Leonard, to the Arts Series Fund; by Evelyn K. Lindamood, to the Arts Series Fund; by Dr. & Mrs. Louis Mattison, to the Minister's Discretionary Fund; by Nancy T. Neal, to Boy Scout Troop 3; by Dr. & Mrs. J. William Rogers, to the Arts Series Fund; by Mrs. Frances Rowell, to the Arts Series Fund

Jane Warner: by Ms. Gwen King, to the Memorial Fund

Janet Wright: by Mr. & Mrs. Graham Barr, to the Minister's Discretionary Fund; by Mr. & Mrs. Tom King, to the Memorial Fund; by Dr. & Mrs. Louis Mattison, to the Minister's Discretionary Fund; by Mrs. Billie Peterson, to the Minister's Discretionary Fund; by Mrs. Frances Rowell, to the Arts Series Fund

Church Calendar

Sunday, January 26

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

4:00 p.m. Called Session Meeting, Room 123

5:00 p.m. Jubilate Youth Choir, Music Wing

6:00 p.m. Student Fellowship, Youth Wing

Monday, January 27

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

7:00 p.m. Session, Room 123

Tuesday, January 28

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

Wednesday, January 29

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

4:15 p.m. Children's 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

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

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

Thursday, January 30

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

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

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

Saturday, February 1

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

7:00 p.m. Buechner Lecture by Patricia Hampl, Chapel & Fellowship Hall

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