October 5

World Communion Sunday

Combined Worship

Lessons

Psalm 145

1 Corinthians 11:17-26

Sermon

A Table at the Center of God's House

Gordon A. Turnbull

Hymns & Songs of Praise

Anthems

Gabi, Gabi!

Savior's Singers Children's Choir & Jubilate Youth Choir

Halle, Halle, Hallelujah!

Sanctuary Choir

Attendance on September 28

Windows

Our two morning services will be combined this Sunday, October 5, as we join Christians worldwide in celebrating World Communion Sunday. The single service will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary, and Kids' Kirk will begin at the same time in room 32. Sunday School will begin 15 minutes early, at 9:30. The Cherub Choir will not rehearse.

We will sing or hear many hymns and songs of praise from around the world, led by the Sanctuary Choir, Praise Team members, Jubilate Youth Choir, and Savior's Singers Children's Choir.

Please join us for the feast of communion and festival of song!

Ronda Paulson

Tonight's the night of our annual Heart to Heart Fall Gathering! Dinner is at 5:30, followed by the program, "Let's Get Real." This event is being held in the chapel and the Fellowship Hall. Child care will be provided, and we'll serve the kids pizza and fruit for dinner.

Our speaker, Ronda Paulson, working from Hebrews 10:22-24, will encourage us to draw near to God with sincere hearts and to be sincere and real with each other as well. You will not want to miss this opportunity for godly teaching laced with humor and applied to real life.

It's not too late to let us know to save you a place. Just call the church office at 423-764-7176, email Jane Prater at jprater@fpcbristol.org, or respond on Facebook. Please let the church office know the names and ages of the children you will be bringing. We look forward to sharing this exciting evening with you!

We have dedicated our October Wednesday evening programs to learning about mission, thanks to our Evangelism & Outreach Committee. On October 8, Dottie Havlik and Matt Richardson plan to alleviate any fears we may have about witnessing about our faith as they help us develop the skills we need to do that witnessing. We hope you will share a meal with us at 5:30 in the Fellowship Hall and stay for the program at 6:20 p.m. Student Ministries small groups and Wednesday Night Kids will meet as usual at 6:00 p.m.

The first Presbyterian Women meeting of the new program year will be October 14. The Presbyterian Women meet during the program year in room 123 at the church on the second Tuesday morning of every month. We meet for circle at 11:00, then have Bible study with Gordon Turnbull at 11:30. Afterwards, we have lunch together in the church parlor. Please contact the church office to reserve your place for lunch. We welcome all women of the church!

 The next gathering of the men of the church and their friends for breakfast, Bible study, and good fellowship will be at 8:00 a.m. on October 11, in the Fellowship Hall. We look forward to sharing this time with you!

On October 5, the Sunday Night Student Fellowship will begin a new series, The Comparison Trap, with an exploration of "The Land of Er." Bottom line: There's no win in comparison.

Have you ever heard of a win-win outcome? Comparison is the opposite of that. When we look to our left and to our right to compare ourselves to others, we are engaging in a lose-lose activity. And we may not even realize how destructive it is. Being smarter or funnier or awesomer may feel like a short-term win, but for ourselves, our friends, and our family, comparison is a game with no winners. King Solomon was wiser, not to mention richer, cooler, and powerful-er, than anyone around him. But what he says about it all may come as a surprise. Through his words, we find that real satisfaction may not come from winning the game of comparison, but from bowing out of the competition altogether.

All students in seventh through twelfth grades are invited to join us at 6:00 p.m. in the Youth Wing and Fellowship Hall for dinner, games, worship, learning, and fellowship. See you then!

Another Fifth Quarter party is coming up after the Tennessee High School football game, Friday, October 10.We will meet in the Vance Middle School gymnasium at 9:30 p.m. for a volleyball challenge. It will be a free and go till midnight! All FPC high school students are invited!

On Sunday, October 12, the 5th/6th-grade Fusion will warm to fall with a hotdog roasting, s'mores-making, glowstick-wearing get-together around the bonfire. It will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the home of Ray and Lilly Osborne at 149 Maxwell Drive. All FPC fifth and sixth graders are invited!

Children's Ministries will pack shoeboxes in November for Operation Christmas Child. We ask the congregation to begin collecting items to put in the boxes. Some suggestions are toys, school supplies, hygiene items (no liquids), T-shirts, socks, hats, sunglasses, jewelry, and flashlights with extra batteries. A wealth of information and further gift suggestions can be found here. 

School's in session, and it's time once more to help the young students in our neighborhood stay alert for their lessons. We are collecting Teddy Grahams, either plain or cinnamon, for snacks for Fairmount Elementary School classes. If you would like to contribute, please bring a box or so to the little red schoolhouse by the breezeway doors in the Fellowship Hallway. We know your generous hearts, so we take the liberty of thanking you in advance! 

The leaves are falling but our mowers are hanging in there. Although the weather is becoming rather willful, David Moore should have perfect early October days for his run with the Tiger Cat. There is no knowing what the autumn wind will blow in for Roger Sikorski next week, but we know he can handle it.

If you'd like to help with the seasonal chore of mowing the church grounds, Randy Cook will be happy to add you to our team as a regular or a substitute. You can reach him at 423-956-1541 or npolecook@aol.com. It's not too early to sign up for next spring!

Sunday's music participants: Drawing on the musical traditions of Christians around the world, this Sunday's combined worship will include many of our church's musical resources leading our congregation in the praise of God. Those participating will be the Sanctuary Choir; Jubilate Youth Choir; Savior's Singers Children's Choir; and Praise Team members Mark Mervis, Shannan Miller, Daniel Osborne, Jen Sproles, Nate Sproles, and Paul Warhurst.

Sunday's music: The music chosen for this Sunday is as diverse as the many worshiping communities of Christians worldwide. We will open with the choirs singing a gathering song from Zimbabwe, "Come All You People" (hymn #388), whose text is transcribed by the noted Asian hymnologist I-to Loh and music arranged by Scottish worship leader John Bell. We will follow this with two congregational songs, "Here in This Place" (hymn #401) by American hymn writer Marty Haugen, who has done much to revitalize Roman Catholic singing, and "Shout to the North" (hymn #319) by English songwriter Martin Smith. As part of the Prayer of Confession, we will sing "Search Me, O God," (hymn #426), a Korean song drawn from Psalm 139, and to the Assurance of Pardon we will respond with the ever popular "Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines on Me" (hymn #582), written by Paul Vasile in the style of the African-American gospel song.

The Savior's Singers and Jubilate Youth Choirs will join to offer "Gabi, Gabi," a South African praise song arranged by William Powell. We will prepare for the feast at the table by singing "All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly" (hymn 509), a hymn with a text by the late Canadian hymn writer Sylvia Dunstan that is set to the early American folk tune "Holy Manna." For the affirmation of faith, we will sing Tommy Walker's "Yes, We All Agree." For the offertory anthem, the Sanctuary Choir will sing an arrangement of the Caribbean song "Halle, Halle, Hallelujah" (hymn #591). As we offer the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving, we will sing "Holy, Holy, Holy" (hymn #591) from Argentina. During the sharing of the bread and cup, the Praise Team will lead us in singing "The One Who Saves" from Hillsong and "How Great Is Our God" by Chris Tomlin. We will close the worship with the hymn "Go to the World!" (hymn #295), another text by Sylvia Dunstan, this time set to a stately English melody by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Finally, we will respond to the benediction by singing the South African song, "We Are Marching in the Light of God" (hymn #853).

Dan Stokes

Montreat bio: Choral Director for next year's Montreat Middler Choir (rising grades 7-9), Daniel R. Stokes is a native of Hummelstown, PA, where he began serving as a church musician at age 12. He was named the distinguished graduate by the faculty of Messiah College in 1980 and continued his studies in organ and choral conducting with Wilma Jensen and Sandra Willets at Scarritt Graduate School in Nashville. He served as the director of music ministries at Belmont UMC in Nashville for nine years before accepting the call to Christ Church United Methodist in Louisville in 1989, where he currently administers a music ministry of more than 600 participants.

The Louisville Orchestra's Masterworks Series has featured the Chancel Choir of Christ Church singing Verdi's Requiem, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Third Symphony, and Poulenc's Gloria in collaboration with community and university choral ensembles. Dan has led numerous choral festivals and seminars for Chorister's Guild, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, the Virginia Music Educators Association, and The Fellowship of United Methodists in Worship Arts. He has served as organist for national events, including the convocation to introduce the United Methodist Hymnal.

In Our Prayers

Becky Busler

Jane Crewey

Barbara Daniel

Dorothy Dollar

Laura Francis

DeeDee Galliher

Dorothy Giesler

Bill Goforth

Juanita Goforth

Ron Grubbs

Will Hankins

Mary Nell Harris

Sharon Hatcher

Rebekah Heacock

Hawley Heglar

Carolyn King

Ruth Musser

Nancy Preston

Mary Rice

Brenda Rogers

Virginia Rutherford

Katy Sikorski

Faye VanNostrand

Ann Woods

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

Birthday Prayer Fellowship

October 5            Laura Bailey

October 6            Will Holmes

October 7            Ann Blevins

October 8            Patty King, Tom King, Bill Linderman, Reed Miller

October 9            Emmett Bane, Vivian Calcote, Kathleen Dotterweich, Chris Winters

October 10          Ian Addison, Laura Linke

October 11          David Akard Jr., Dot Mattison, Brandon Story

Gifts in memory of the following individuals were received from Monday, September 8, through Sunday, September 21:

Beulah Blair: by Eddie & Peggy Hill, to the Capital Campaign Fund/MEP

Harold Craddock: by Eddie & Peggy Hill, to the Capital Campaign Fund/MEP

Pat Felty: by Eddie & Peggy Hill, to the Capital Campaign Fund/MEP

Dr. Louis Mattison: by Eddie & Peggy Hill, to the Capital Campaign Fund/MEP

World Communion Sunday, October 5

9:30 a.m.      Sunday School, Education Wing

10:30 a.m.   Combined Worship, Sanctuary

10:30 a.m.   Kids' Kirk, Room 32

5:15 p.m.     Jubilate Youth Choir, Music Wing

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

Monday, October 6

5:30 p.m.     Sanctuary Handbells, Handbell Room

7:00 p.m.     Deacons Meeting, Room 123

Tuesday, October 7

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

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

1:00 p.m.     HeartsBurn Bible Study, Burt Home

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

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

Wednesday, October 8

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

10:00 a.m.   Elizabeth Patrick's Women's Bible Study, New Mothers' Room

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

6:20 p.m.     Adult Learning Program, Fellowship Hall

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

7:30 p.m.     Praise Team Rehearsal, Fellowship Hall

Thursday, October 9

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

8:30 a.m.      Meals on Wheels, Fellowship Hall

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

Friday, October 10

9:30 p.m.     Fifth Quarter, Vance Middle School Gym

Saturday, October 11

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