Those wishing to join First Presbyterian Church are encouraged to attend the special Session meeting this Sunday, September 20. It will be held at 10:20 a.m. in the chapel for the purpose of receiving new members into our congregation.

ONE Service Next Sunday Will Be Action Packed

Next Sunday, September 27, we will gather in the sanctuary at 10:30 a.m. for ONE Worship led by our youth, who will also collect an offering for the Five-Cents-a-Meal ministry. Student Ministries will distribute Bibles to new members of the confirmation class, and we will hold a congregational meeting during the service. We look forward to meeting and worshiping as one body!

Congregational Meeting Set for September 27

During our gathering for ONE Worship service on September 27, the congregation of First Presbyterian Church will convene a called meeting related to our impending pastoral transition. The one item of business will be to act on a request from Gordon Turnbull that Holston Presbytery dissolve the pastoral relationship with First Presbyterian Church of Bristol, effective October 15, 2015. All worshipers, including visitors, are welcome to attend this meeting, but only those on the Roll of Active Members are authorized to participate with voice and vote.

Stewardship Series Begins Next Wednesday

In our adult learning segment next Wednesday evening, September 23, Gordon Turnbull will present the first program in a three-part series on stewardship. We will gather in the Fellowship Hall at 5:30 for dinner, and the adult program will follow at 6:20. Wednesday Night Kids and Student Ministries small groups will meet at 6:00. Please join us!

FPC Arts Series Returns

BucsWorth Men's Choir

We are thrilled to announce that the FPC Arts Series returns this fall for its fourteenth year! This joyful ministry will bring us four musical afternoons for all ages to enjoy. Each performance is scheduled for 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon in our sanctuary. The complete brochure is on our website, here.

November 1: BucsWorth Men's Choir of ETSU, under the direction of Dr. Alan Stevens. This popular men's ensemble will sing a wide variety of literature.

March 6: Dr. Tim Altman and Dr. Larry Wells, duo trumpeters. Dr. Altman is Chair of the Music Department at the University of North Carolina, Pembroke, and Dr. Wells is Associate Director of Instrumental Studies at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They will be accompanied by Vicki Fey on organ and harpsichord.

April 3: Cheryl Parrish, soprano. Ms. Parrish is on the voice faculty of Texas State University in San Marcos. She has sung with opera companies all over Texas, as well as with opera companies and orchestras in California.

May 1: Dr. Carl Angelo, organ and piano. Dr. Angelo is Artist in Residence in piano and organ at Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Michigan, and organist and handbell director at First Presbyterian Church of Flint, Michigan.

Take Heart! Women's Gathering in Two Weeks

Cary Umhau

We are looking forward to our annual Heart to Heart Fall Gathering, coming up Thursday, October 1. Cary Campbell Umhau will speak to us, and many of us are preparing by reading her book, Burning Down the Fireproof Hotel: An Invitation to the Beautiful Life. It's a quick read that you can order from Amazon in print or on Kindle. Of course, we'd love to see you there whether you've read the book or not! Cary will enjoy signing your books and will have copies for sale.

We will gather at 5:30 in the Fellowship Hall for a supper buffet, and the program will begin at 6:15. We are looking forward to an amazing program from Cary, who is also the founder and director of SPACIOUS, which she describes as "a movement of folks who want to create ways to bring people together to banish loneliness and foster deeper connections and community."

All FPC women are warmly encouraged to come and bring a friend to hear the speaker who touched many of us with her warmth, humor, and winsome faith several years ago at our Women's Retreat in Blowing Rock.

We will provide child care and a children's dinner of pizza and fruit. If you plan to attend, please let us know by calling the church office at 423-764-7176, emailing Jane Prater at jprater@fpcbristol.org, or responding on Facebook. And please let us know how many children you will bring, and their ages. We anticipate a wonderful evening together!

Men's Service Retreat Holds Water

Our annual men's service retreat will be held in a new location this year. We will travel together to Louisville on Friday, October 23, to work with WaterStep, a ministry that teaches people in developing countries how to purify their water, repair their wells, and take care of their own water needs. We'll enjoy Bible study as well as cultural events in the area. We plan to worship at Calvin Presbyterian Church on Sunday before returning home.

The total price of $60 covers travel, two nights' lodging, and food (except for Saturday night dinner). Scholarships are available. Space is limited, so reserve your place with a $10 deposit. Registration forms are available at the church.

If you're willing to drive your car, let Dave Welch know. We'll pay for the gas. Please note: We will be sleeping on the floor of Calvin's Youth Building, so bring an air mattress! For more information, contact Dave at dwelch@fpcbristol.org.

Our August Financial Summary

We here present our year-to-date financial summary as of August 31, 2015, prepared by Aaron Brooks, chairman of the Finance Committee. Highlights are followed by a tabular summary.

Highlights

Pledges/Offerings through August 31 were over budget by $10,512. Comparatively, pledges/offerings are up $9,373 over the same period 2014. However, it should be noted that a few larger pledges have paid ahead through August. If the current trends continue factoring out the impact of the advance receipts, we could still be looking at a year-over-year deficit to budget of $36,000.
Expenditures year-to-date are tracking under budgeted expectations, coming in $7,500 below budget through the end of August. Although Christian Education and Administration are tracking below budget, it is very probable that each category will approach the budgeted dollars for the year. The expectation for the end of the year is that we will be over budget on annual expenditures.
Expense Notes: (1) Interest paid to date on our Eastman Credit Union capital loan was $18,159; (2) utility expenses, year-to-date, were $46,041, which is $5,310 more than the same time last year.
Capital Loan: The balance with Eastman Credit Union at August 31, 2015, was $686,613. At August 31, 2014, the balance was $860,233.
Anticipated Budget Shortfall: Through August 2015, we have had to utilize $16,650 of our budgeted $21,723 surplus carryover from prior years to meet current year cash flow needs. Our goal is to end the year with an operating surplus, so that those funds already transferred may be restored to our carryover reserves.

2015	Aug. Actual YTD ($)	Aug. Budget YTD ($)	Over/(Under) Budget ($)
Revenue
Total Pledges	427,318	412,197	15,121
Offerings	92,192	96,800	(4,608)
Other Gifts, Income & Reimbursements	69,484	66,153	3,331
	588,994	575,150	13,844
Expenses
Evangelism & Outreach	20,586	15,974	4,612
Worship	99,772	99,521	251
Christian Education	142,671	149,336	(6,665)
Administration	191,184	194,949	(3,765)
Building & Grounds	108,110	110,483	(2,373)
Fellowship & Stewardship	19,627	19,187	440
	581,950	589,450	(7,500)

Surplus/Deficit(-)	7,044	(14,300)

Anticipated Budgeted Shortfall/Transfer*	16,650	14,400

Net Position	23,694	100

*Anticipated Budget Shortfall is an estimated amount of money that is expected to be drawn from our emergency reserve funds in order to fulfill our ongoing budget. Our reserve funds are limited and comprise monies from prior years that were above and beyond what was required to meet those years' respective budgets.

Preppers Needed for Four Fellowship Dinners

We need volunteers to help prepare our fellowship dinner on the following Wednesdays: September 23 and 30; October 21; and November 4. Prep work takes place in our big kitchen from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Come and enjoy a day in the kitchen, then return at 5:30 to enjoy the results of your labor! To volunteer, contact Ruthie Blair at 423-797-1815.

Cheer Neighborhood Children

We are collecting boxes of original and multigrain Cheerios for neighborhood schoolchildren who cannot afford to bring snacks from home. We want all the young students at Fairmount Elementary School to get the energy boost they need to stay focused in the afternoon. You can help by bringing in one or more boxes of Cheerios and placing them in the little red house in the Fellowship Hallway. We appreciate it, and so will our hungry young friends!

It's Seasonal

In fine weather this week Dan Gross takes the Tiger Cat for its last run on a summer day, at least until next year. Next week Jim White gives it its first look at the new season.

We usually mow through the month of October and sometimes into early November. To join the team, call Randy Cook at 423-956-1541 or email him at npolecook@aol.com. If you've never used a Scag mower before, he will be happy to show you how.

From Steve & Vicki Fey

Music Notes

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir.

Sunday's music: "Amazing Grace" is probably the best known, most widely sung English-language hymn. The words were written in 1772 by John Newton (1725-1807). The son of a ship captain who then became a slave trader and captain himself, Newton had a conversion experience that led to his becoming a clergyman in the Church of England and a vocal opponent to slavery. While serving in an obscure parish in Olney, he, along with fellow parishioner William Cowper, the noted poet, produced a set of devotional, evangelical hymn texts. A number of still popular hymn texts were first printed in this collection.

Allen Orton Gibbs

In 1835, "Amazing Grace" was paired with an American folk hymn tune, and the hymn as we know it came into being. About this hymn Carlton Young writes, "Newton's autobiographical hymn of Christian experience reveals a deeply felt conversion and transformation from his former wretched life as a slave trader." These words still ring true more than 200 years later and are particularly appropriate as we consider the story of the prodigal and the wretched condition he found himself in. The arrangement the Sanctuary Choir will sing is by Allen Orton Gibbs (1910-1996), who spent most of her career as a church organist and music professor in Birmingham, Alabama.

The postlude, the very popular "Prince of Denmark's March" by Jeremiah Clarke, is played at the request of Bonnie and Gene Haskins, who are renewing their wedding vows in worship this week. It was the recessional at their wedding in our sanctuary in July 2003.

Singing in worship: Parents, please note that on World Communion Sunday, October 4, the Jubilate Youth Choir (grades 7-12) will sing for the 8:30 service only, and the Savior's Singers Children's Choir (grades 2-6) will sing for the 11:00 service only. A letter with the singing and ringing schedule for fall will go out to all children and youth choir families soon.

EPIC: Running Away

This Sunday, September 20, our EPIC journey through The Jesus Storybook Bible brings us the drama of "Running Away," a retelling of the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Please join us!

Pray for One Another

In Our Prayers

Becky Busler

Jane Crewey

Dorothy Dollar

Fred Frazier

DeeDee Galliher

Dorothy Giesler

Ron Grubbs

Will Hankins

Sharon Hatcher

Hawley Heglar

Vivian Hill

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.

To the Church Triumphant

Carolyn Cowan King

September 13, 2015

Birthday Prayer Fellowship

Sept. 21 Anna Booher, Karen Haaser

Sept. 22 Elizabeth Blankenship, Rachel Cherry, Ann Holler, Jason Mumpower

Sept. 23 Stephen Welch

Sept. 24 Andrew Beck

Sept. 25 Matt Richardson

Sept. 26 Henry Linderman

Church Calendar

Sunday, September 20

8:30 a.m. Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:00 a.m. Cherub Choir, Room 209

9:45 a.m. Sunday School

10:20 a.m. Session Receives New Members, Chapel

11:00 a.m. Worship, Sanctuary

11:15 a.m. Kids' Kirk (dismissed from worship), Room 32

3:30 p.m. Youth Worship Team, Sanctuary

4:00 p.m. Evangelism & Outreach Committee, Room 117

5:00 p.m. Drama Team, Sanctuary & Fellowship Hall

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

6:00 p.m. Student Fellowship

Monday, September 21

4:45 p.m. Administrative Committee, Room 117

5:30 p.m. Sanctuary Handbells

Tuesday, September 22

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

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

6:00 p.m. Venture Crew 3, Room 123

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

Wednesday, September 23

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

4:15 p.m. Children's Handbells, Room 212

4:45 p.m. Savior's Singers Children's Choir, Room 209

4:45 p.m. Youth Handbells, Room 212

5:15 p.m. Baby & Toddler Care, Rooms 34 & 35

5:30 p.m. Fellowship Dinner, Fellowship Hall

6:00 p.m. Wednesday Night Kids, Rooms 11 & 31

6:00 p.m. Student Small Groups, Youth Wing, Conference Room, Parlor

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

7:00 p.m. 8:30 Worship Team Rehearsal, Sanctuary

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

Thursday, September 24

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

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

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