As we look at Windows each week, we see a testimony to the Love of Christ. This week:

It's beautiful, isn't it?

and

So far in our current stewardship season, our church family has pledged $458,094. To reach or exceed $796,426, which is last year's total for both pledges and offerings, and the amount needed to sustain and increase our service to our Lord, we need everyone's help.

If you haven't pledged: Pray and Pledge, not because we should, but in celebration of God's Epic Love that is so evident in the life we share at First Presbyterian. Pledging is a personal response, but considering all our blessings is there really any other acceptable response? If you need a pledge card or wish to consult the stewardship brochure, you will find printable versions of both on the Stewardship page of our website at http://fpcbristol.org/sending/stewardship/. Pledge cards and brochures are also available at the church.

If you have pledged: Thank you! And if, after you consider your blessings, you want to increase your pledge, as we have, in further response to this Epic Love, please contact Betsy Galliher at 423-764-7176.

Chill winds have shaken the color from the trees and browned out our gardens, and now it's up to us to provide the livelier side of the palette until spring returns. As we break out the plaid shirts and red vests, why should we not order some bright poinsettias to decorate our sanctuary in Advent? Order forms are available in the church office and in our Sunday bulletins.

If you would like us to place a poinsettia in the sanctuary in memory of someone you love or in honor of someone you admire, you can make it so by bringing your order form and payment to the church office during business hours, or by placing it in the offering plate during worship through November 29, the first Sunday of Advent. Poinsettias cost $15 each. You can pick up your plants anytime after the Christmas Eve service. The deadline for orders is Monday, November 30.

We will take a break in our regular programming next week to observe the Thanksgiving holiday. There will be no Wednesday rehearsals or evening programs November 25, and the church office will be closed November 26 and 27. Be prepared for a treat when Wednesday programs return December 2! That will be Gingerbread House evening. Look for more information in the next issue of Windows. 

We will host a Drop and Shop on the morning of Saturday, December 5, from 9:00 to 12:00. Leave your children at the church and make some progress on those Christmas lists! This is for nursery through sixth grade kids. Details to come.

Women of the Church, Save the Date!

It's hard to believe, but Christmas is fast approaching. The annual Advent worship service for Heart to Heart Women's Ministries has become an important holiday ritual for many of us. It is a chance to stop and reflect. An opportunity to worship, not worry. An invitation to celebrate and savor.

Mark this date on your calendar and plan to join us: Tuesday, December 8, at 7:00 p.m.

Worship will be led by First Presbyterian's own Katie Arnold. Dessert and fellowship will follow the service. If you'd like to bring a sweet homemade treat, please contact Scottie Bales at 423-360-5357.

If you'd like child care, please contact the church office at 423-764-7176, and let us know the number and ages of the children you will bring. For more information, check out https://www.facebook.com/hearttoheartfpcbristol/. 

Leaf Day Was a Blast!

James O'Reilly

A saxophone concert featuring James O'Reilly, with Vicki Fey at the piano and Luke Ponce at the organ, is scheduled for Monday, December 7, at 7:00 p.m. in the King University Chapel. Works by Morosco, Stamm, Swerts, Canfield, Morricone, and Monti are on the program. An offering will be collected during the intermission to benefit Bristol Faith in Action. The audience will benefit directly from the pleasure of the evening. Be there!

Our Fusion group of fifth and sixth grade students will head to Bass Pro Shops for an evening of bowling and fellowship this Sunday, November 22. The event will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. For more information, please contact Lilly Osborne at losborne@fpcbristol.org.

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir; Jubilate Youth Choir with the Tennessee High School Madrigal Singers (11:00 only).

Susan Brumfield

Sunday's music: Recognizing the completion of the year in The Jesus Storybook Bible and John's vision as shared in Revelation, we have two special anthems for the 11:00 service. The Jubilate Youth Choir will be joined by members of the THS Madrigal Singers in "No Time." This arrangement by Susan Brumfield is of traditional camp-meeting songs. It speaks of the end time, when "we will hear the angels singing in that morning." Soloists will be Annie Osborne and Ginny Osborne. Brumfield is on the faculty of Texas Tech University in Lubbock and is noted for her work with folksong traditions of many nations.

The Sanctuary Choir will offer an original composition by Craig Curry with words by J. Paul Williams in the style of African-American gospel music. "No Night There!" also speaks of heaven, and that "when we reach our home above ... there'll be light glorious and bright." Curry, a graduate of Wheaton College and the University of Miami, served as music director for a Baptist church in Wichita, Kansas, and now works as a freelance musician and composer.

Christmas pageant: Our first rehearsal is in the books! Don't forget that we take a break Thanksgiving week, which will be a good time for some folks to memorize their lines! The next pageant rehearsal will be Wednesday, December 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, followed by dinner and gingerbread houses! If your children missed the first rehearsal, they can still participate. ALL children, from age 4 through grade 6, are welcome to be part of this wonderful telling of the Christmas story. Pageant instructions about costumes and other details will go out at the next rehearsal.

Programs of Note: Always a holiday favorite, the Symphony of the Mountains Christmas concerts will take place Saturday, December 5, at 3:00 p.m. in the Toy Reid auditorium at Eastman Employee Center in Kingsport and Sunday, December 6, also at 3:00 p.m., in Abingdon's Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. Among the participants will be Voices of the Mountains, under the direction of Pat Flannagan, the Highlands Youth Ensemble, which includes Annie Osborne, Daniel Osborne, and Madison Ratliff among its singers, and a surprise visit from a jolly elf! Vicki Fey will be at the keyboard.

Gift of Music: The Sanctuary Choir members will present their gift of music to the congregation during the 11:00 service on Sunday, December 13. Dan Gawthrop's "Gloria," written in 2014 as a commission by the Davidson (NC) United Methodist Church, will be accompanied by brass and organ.

Our EPIC tale of the week is "A Dream of Heaven," John's vision of heaven, found in Revelation and retold in The Jesus Storybook Bible. Please join us Sunday morning, November 22, for worship at 8:30 in the Fellowship Hall or at 11:00 in the sanctuary.

Amber Warhurst

Amber Warhurst and her family have called Bristol and First Presbyterian Church home for four and a half years. Prior to landing here, she and her husband, Paul, studied at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland where she earned a PhD  in Hebrew Bible. She spends her days homeschooling her three young children, Ruby (6), Margot (4), and Adam (3); incubating a fourth wee lad or lassie; and teaching classes in Old Testament and Biblical languages at King University as an adjunct lecturer. Whenever possible, she relishes chances to chip away at the pile of books on her nightstand, hike on the Appalachian Trail, and Skype with her family in Utah.

Becky Busler

Jane Crewey

Dorothy Dollar

Mark Dollar

Fred Frazier

DeeDee Galliher

Dorothy Giesler

Ron Grubbs

Will Hankins

Sharon Hatcher

Vivian Hill

Andrea Hyde

Nancy Preston

Mary Rice

Brenda Rogers

Virginia Rutherford

Faye VanNostrand

Deborah Whitaker

 

 

November 15, 2015

November 10, 2015

 

November 22    Rhonda Comer, Mimi Tilley

November 23    R.J. Sikorski

November 24    Ron Grubbs, Brad Smith

November 25    Selma Jennings

November 27    Jean Eller, Larry Pennington, Cindy Samuel

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

6:00 p.m.       Fusion Bowling, Bass Pro Shops

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

5:30 p.m.       Sanctuary Handbells

7:00 p.m.       Session, Room 123

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

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

Programs & rehearsals suspended for Thanksgiving holiday

Church office closed for Thanksgiving holiday

Church office closed for Thanksgiving holiday

4:00 p.m.       Sharing Christ Mission, 6th & State Downtown