One Worship Service to Receive Confirmands This Sunday 

Please join us for an important annual event in our life together as we hear the proclamations of faith of our newest class of confirmands, then receive them as members of First Presbyterian church, in a single worship service in the sanctuary at 10:30 a.m. this Sunday, May 10. Our confirmands are Daniel Osborne, Dillon Pendley, Cameron Perry, Angelica Poteat, Rosa Poteat, and Madison Ratliff.

Our worship will be further enriched by music from the Sanctuary Choir, Savior's Singers Children's Choir, Children's Bell Choir, and members of the Praise Team. Sunday School will begin early, at 9:30. Children's Handbells will rehearse in the sanctuary at 9:00. The Cherub Choir will not rehearse.

Session to Receive New Members May 17

There will be  a called Session meeting to receive new members next Sunday, May 17, at 10:20 a.m. in the chapel. All who desire to join First Presbyterian Church are welcome.

Please Support Our Brazil Mission

A big thank you to everyone who has donated items to be taken to the schoolchildren of Felipe Camarão at the end of the month! We have not reached our goal, so we will gratefully accept any of the following through Sunday, May 24:

1. Washable, broad-line Crayola markers (8- or 10-pack)
2. Full-size (not travel-size) tubes of toothpaste
3. Packets of full-size construction paper
4. Packages (not individually wrapped pieces) of Bubble Yum bubble gum

We are aiming for 150 of each to take to the preschool and church in Natal, Brazil, on May 29. We have placed special boxes for donations outside the Fellowship Hall. Thank you for your support!

Urban Promise Mission Trip July 19-26 

Do you care about the plight of urban youth? Are you eager to respond personally to their needs? If so, then please consider the opportunity to join a team from FPC headed to Camden, New Jersey, this July 19-26 to work with Urban Promise.

Dan Kreiss will be leading this team. We seek to gather a group of six to fifteen adults and youth (age 16 and older). The work will support established educational and social programs in Camden.

Please consider prayerfully this opportunity to join in Christ's ministry of love, peace, and justice. For more information, contact Dan Kreiss or Gordon Turnbull.

EPIC: The Good Shepherd 

Please join us this Sunday, May 10, for the next story in our churchwide study series, EPIC: Through the Bible with Jesus. "The Good Shepherd" is the story of David, the shepherd who became a king, as retold in The Jesus Storybook Bible. The storybook draws from Psalms 23 and 51 and 2 Samuel 7. The lessons in morning worship will be Psalm 23 and Ephesians 3:14-21. Gordon Turnbull will preach on "The Promise in a Song." 

Heart to Heart Steps Out Tonight 

The women of the church are invited to a Girls' Night Out tonight, May 7, from 6:00 to 8:00. This Heart to Heart event will take place at Casa Mexicana, 1020 Volunteer Parkway. There will be no agenda or program, but lots of good food and relaxed fellowship with sisters in Christ. For more information, visit our Heart to Heart Facebook page here. 

Every year we look forward to honoring the achievements of all the new graduates among us. As graduation time approaches, we are planning a Sunday of celebration at both worship services on May 17, when we will recognize those among us who are completing degrees or certifications or graduating from high school, college, or other programs.

If you or a member of your family will be graduating from high school, college, or any other educational or training program this spring, please let us know by calling the church office at 423-764-7176.

We need the following information by this Monday, May 11, for our recognition efforts: graduate's name; current (not future) school or program; degree or certification earned; and field of study.

Thank you for your help!

The final Student Fellowship gathering of the school year, on May 17, will be a dinner meeting in honor of its high school seniors. Student Ministries is now soliciting "Legacy Letters" to present to these seniors at that time. These will be letters written by family and friends to describe ways in which the senior has affected their life. Letters can share memories, stories, lessons learned, or significant moments. This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage seniors in their future plans and faith as well as to acknowledge the beautiful gifts God has given them.

The Student Ministry Seniors are Paul Blair, Alex Eleas, Briggs Evans, Abby Frick, Danae Kreiss, Austin McReynolds, Josh Pruner, Melody Wallen, and Stephen Welch.

Our hope is that each Legacy Letter will serve as a reminder to these young people of the loving community cheering them on as they begin a new journey after high school. If you would like to participate, please mail or deliver all cards and letters by this Monday, May 11, to Katie Arnold at the church. 

Fusion Retreat Postponed 

The FPC Fusion retreat planned for May 8-9 at White Fork Ranch has been postponed. However, our fifth and sixth graders should stay tuned for news of summer events and get-togethers. Lilly Osborne and her crew are busy planning ahead!

Mowers vs. the Merry Month of May 

As the Elizabethan dramatist Thomas Dekker wrote:

O, the month of May, the merry month of May,

So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green!

'Tis a new Elizabethan Age, yet May continues to be so green, so green, so green, not least because the grass continues to grow, to grow, to grow. Refusing to put up with such nonsense is our stalwart band of volunteer mowers. This week David Moore prepares our lawn for Confirmation Sunday. Next week Larry Connolly will make sure the grass is smooth and neat for Senior Sunday. Pat Flannagan will conduct the Tiger Cat in the third week of May, pursued by brides.

You, too, could be sporting on the green! To join the FPC mowing team, just call Randy Cook at 423-956-1541 or email him at npolecook@aol.com. He will give you private lessons on our Scag mower if you like, converting all your sounds of mow to hey nonny nonny. 

This Project Has Your Stamp of Approval 

John Vann did an interesting experiment at a recent Wednesday night supper program. He had all the participants line up according to the year in which they became active members in the life of First Presbyterian. That line stretched out from wall to wall in the Fellowship Room, the oldest members able to claim 65-plus years of service, while the youngest person present was only at his very first birthday. For all of us it was a startling display of the diversity that makes up our congregation.

But national statistics on church memberships show a considerable preponderance of older members in most congregations, and that is a trend that is expected to grow considerably in the years ahead. Therefore, this week we are recognizing our senior citizens by displaying two good books on the subject in our church library. And if you figure that you are not in this category, don't worry. You will be there soon enough!

Both of these books are optimistic and encouraging about life in the later years. Mary Catherine Bateson, an emerita professor at George Mason University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and the daughter of Margaret Mead, has written Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom. She sets forth the proposition that we can actively develop a new life in our later years, and note that she calls it composing, when we seek activities that provide personal satisfaction for us while making very distinct contributions to the society where we live. "Adulthood II," as she names this period, may be a challenge at first, but it's like physical exercise. It can be stimulating and exhilarating, breaking us free from old, worn-out patterns, and provide exciting new directions. Hers is an encouraging book!

Nicholas Delbanco, a professional writer of both fiction and nonfiction, provides concrete examples in his Lastingness: The Art of Old Age. His book shows us scores of individuals, mostly in the fields of arts and letters, who remained busy and active well into their later years. And they did more than just stay busy; they engaged zestfully with the world in which they lived. Pablo Casals, the great cellist, wrote: "I, for one, cannot dream of retiring. Not now or ever. Retire? The word is alien and the idea inconceivable to me. I don't believe in retirement for anyone in my type of work, not while the spirit remains. My work is my life. ... To retire means to begin to die. The man who works and is never bored is never old. Work and interest are the best remedy for age. Each day I am reborn. Each day I must begin again."

You will find these books are on the display table in the church library.

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir; Savior's Singers Children's Choir; Children's Bell Choir; Praise Team members Abbey Kitts, Dan Kreiss, Danae Kreiss, Mark Mervis, Shannan Miller.

Sunday's music: The Children's Handbell Choir will begin our one worship service with an arrangement of "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty" by Peggy Thompson. Thompson, a native of Alabama with music degrees from the University of Alabama, has worked as a church musician and composer for a number of years. As a response to the Assurance of Pardon, the Savior's Singers Children's Choir will sing "Dance on the Water" with text and music by Randy Cox and Kris Crunk. The text is a joyous interpretation of the story in Matthew 14 of Jesus walking on the water. It also has images appropriate for baptism and confirmation.

The Sanctuary Choir will sing at the offertory "A Prayer for Humility" with text and music by Mark Patterson. With echoes of Psalm 51, the text calls on God to direct our lives towards humble service and grateful rejoicing. The Praise Team will lead us in "You Never Let Go" by Matt and Beth Redman, a song of assurance of God's faithfulness to us, and a setting of Psalm 62 by Stuart Townsend and Aaron Keyes. Psalm 62 reminds us that God is our rock and salvation, and in God we have our safety in all adversity. From our hymnal, as responses we will sing "Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying" and the Caribbean "Halle, Halle, Hallelujah!" Congregational hymns will include "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and "Arise, Your Light Is Come!"

Joby Bell

Montreat bio: Organ recitalist and youth organ instructor Joby Bell serves on the faculty at Appalachian State University, where he teaches organ and church music studies. His teaching offers refreshing approaches to memorization and practice techniques, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure. He brings to his performances a clear affability and a keen sensitivity to an audience's increased appreciation for organ music. His blog here deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics, including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns. He previously served as organist at First Presbyterian, Lenoir (North Carolina); First Presbyterian, Houston; and St. Philip Presbyterian, Houston.

Montreat reminder: Anyone can drive down to Montreat during the Worship and Music Conferences to observe worship. Worship and evening events are open to the public. And although it's not advertised, anyone can pay a one-day registration and observe all classes, rehearsals, and so forth.

Achievement Award: We want to congratulate long-time church member Laura Ann Warner on being one of five recipients of Arts Alliance Mountain Empire's first-ever Arts Achievement Award. Laura Ann has long been a supporter of the arts in this region, both as a performer and as an observer. She taught in public schools, served on the board of directors of the East Tennessee Children's Choir (now part of the Mountain Empire Children's Choral Academy), served as president of and remains active in The Bristol Music Club, and served as interim organist under the direction of her husband, John, here at First Presbyterian Church. She is now on the board of directors for The Paramount Chamber Players. She will receive her award at a gala celebration to honor the recipients on Saturday, May 16.

In Our Prayers

Tony Adams

Becky Busler

Jane Crewey

Dorothy Dollar

Fred Frazier

DeeDee Galliher

Dorothy Giesler

Ron Grubbs

Will Hankins

Mary Nell Harris

Sharon Hatcher

Hawley Heglar

Vivian Hill

Carolyn King

Nancy King

Sue Olsen

Nancy Preston

Mary Rice

Brenda Rogers

Virginia Rutherford

Katy Sikorski

Faye VanNostrand

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

Birthday Prayer Fellowship

May 10   Nancy Allerton, Kendall Carter, Nancy King

May 11   Will Dollar, Jessica Ratliff, Amy Scott

May 12   Brenda Lawson

May 13   LaVerne Frazier

May 14   Blake Bassett, James Phipps, Andrew Smith

May 15   DeeDee Galliher

May 16   Katie Combs, Dewey Pendley

We recently received gifts in memory of the following individuals:

Presley Taggart Downs (sister of Kaye Crutchfield): by Peggy Nicar, to the Memorial Fund

Juanita Goforth: by John S. Gaines, to the Memorial Fund; by Tom & Leigh King, to the Capital Campaign Fund/MEP; by Angus & Carolyn Shaw, to the Memorial Fund

Phyllis Green (mother of Donna Sikorski): by Nancy B. De Friece, to the Heart to Heart Fund; by Peggy Nicar, to the Memorial Fund 

Sunday, May 10

9:00 a.m.     Children's Bells, Sanctuary

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

10:30 a.m.   One Worship, Sanctuary

Monday, May 11

7:00 p.m.     Building & Grounds Committee, Room 117

7:00 p.m.     Christian Education Committee, Room 124

7:00 p.m.     Worship Committee, Room 123

Tuesday, May 12

9:00 a.m.     Staff Meeting, Room 123

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

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

6:00 p.m.     Venture Crew 3, Cub  Scout Room

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

Wednesday, May 13

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

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

Thursday, May 14

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