Today is Thanksgiving, an oasis where we can pause to feel gratitude for our homes and families, our community and friends, and our church and spiritual life. At FPC, we are blessed by a variety of worship, study, fellowship, and service opportunities for all ages, and by the ability to support our missionaries in their work for Christ around the world. Thanks be to God, and to God's workers on earth!

When we dedicated our pledges, Dave Welch reminded us that we have been "invited to get up, to move forward, to recognize God's call to participate in God's work through First Presbyterian Church by pledging our participation in a very tangible, very real, and very concrete way." We have been instructed to "go quickly to respond to the Epic Love of God by pledging our financial support," so that we as a community of faith will continue to authentically worship God, to continue the work of making disciples, to support those sent to serve and care for others, whether locally, nationally, or internationally.

In response to that call to stewardship, many of us have already made a financial pledge to the operating budget of our church. Others of us are continuing to pray about our commitment. As we report our progress, we give thanks to, and for, all.

Last year, pledges and offerings budgeted for 2015 amounted to $796,426. That budget was supported in main by 153 pledge units (a unit can be a single person or a couple). So far in the new stewardship season, 110 pledge units have pledged $476,354. While we rejoice that 10 of these units are new pledgers, we recognize that 53 pledge units from last year have not recommitted this year, leaving us without the means to operate our church and support our wider work.

Pledges of Support Received Since Stewardship Sunday, October 25
Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5
$371,964	$407,794	$422,214	$458,094	$476,354

With cost increases, our church needs more, not less, financial support to sustain operations and ministries in the coming year. The ability to finalize our operating budget for 2016 depends on an accurate count of what we will have to work with. If you have yet to complete your pledge form, we urge you to do so very soon. If you have questions or concerns that are preventing you from making a financial commitment to our church's future, please reach out to Dave Welch or one of the Elders.

We strive to handle all gifts, pledges, and inquiries with the utmost fidelity and discretion. If you have any questions or need more information about the church's finances or your own giving, please contact Betsy Galliher at 423-764-7176. The stewardship brochure and a printable pledge card are available at the church and on the Stewardship page of our website at http://fpcbristol.org/sending/stewardship/. Thank you for prayerfully considering your financial commitment to your church!

What better way to express our thanks to God than to share our blessings with others? Our annual Thanksgiving offering will go to aid the work of Bristol Faith in Action, deepening our support of this crucial work in Christ's name for our neighbors in need.

Look for special offering envelopes in bulletins this Sunday, or send a contribution to the church office. Please make checks payable to First Presbyterian Church, and write "Bristol Faith in Action" on the memo line. Your generosity will strengthen the care we express to those who need our help. Thanks very much!

At the stated meeting of the FPC Session on November 23, two actions were especially noteworthy. First, the Interim Pastor Search Committee has finished the Minister's Information Form, completing the first phase of its work. The Session unanimously approved the committee's motion for approval of the form, and thanked the members for their work. The Minister's Information Form is a six-page document that sets forth the church's criteria for those seeking to serve as FPC's Interim Pastor. It includes both data-driven responses and narrative discussion and will be the primary information form that ministers looking for work can use to determine whether they would be interested in this position and a good fit for it. The form addresses such things as church size, location description, salary range, and the church's vision for ministry. Once uploaded to the General Assembly website, the Ministry Information Form will become active, and the committee will then begin the next phase of its work by receiving and reviewing applications. The Interim Pastor Search Committee invites the congregation's continued prayer for this ongoing work.

Second, the Session received and approved with grief Con Sauls' letter of resignation from the office of Ruling Elder. With completion of Holston Presbytery's training and certification, Con has earned the designation of Commissioned Ruling Elder, and he has received and answered the call to serve as the pastor of Mountain City Presbyterian Church. Con has already begun his service with this community and thanks First Presbyterian Church of Bristol for twelve years of loving care and support of himself and his family.

As we name our blessings this week, we give thanks for the green thumbs who take care of the church courtyard so faithfully. Tom Daniel and Bill Whisnant care for the flowers and shrubs, remove the weeds, mow the grass, and make sure this centerpiece of the church stays both beautiful and neat. This week they put up the courtyard Christmas tree, as they do every year. The photos below show this garden after they had prepared it for last Easter. Please join us in thanking Tom and Bill the next time you see them!

If Advent begins Sunday, can Gingerbread Night be far behind? Of course not! Be of good cheer because it's next Wednesday, December 2. Please join us for an evening of intergenerational food, fun, and fellowship, beginning with dinner at 5:30 in the Fellowship Hall. After we eat, we'll get down to the business at hand: crafting houses, mansions, and who knows what out of gingerbread. This activity has been known to become competitive, so you may want to start drawing up your plans. You don't want to take a gingerly approach.

The Heart to Heart Inductive Bible Study group that meets on first and third Tuesdays has completed their study of scripture based on The Jesus Storybook Bible and will not meet in December after all.  

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!

The FPC Fusion group of fifth and sixth graders will go ice skating at Bristol Motor Speedway next Sunday, December 6, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. For more information, please contact Lilly Osborne at losborne@fpcbristol.org. 

Join us for a night of Christmas fun! Bring your food and gather at FPC at 6:00 p.m. We will travel from home to home to enjoy a three-course meal. After dessert, there will be a wild gift exchange game. Expected arrival back at the church is 10:00 p.m.

Bring friends and get ready for a fun night!

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir.

John Horman

Sunday's music: Philipp Nicolai's Advent chorale (German hymn), "Wachet auf" ("Wake, awake"), is often called the King of Chorales. Nicolai (1556-1608) was a Lutheran pastor who completed his career in Hamburg. It is noteworthy that he wrote both the words and the music for several hymns at a time when these tasks were often separated. Drawing from various New Testament texts, the chorale is a call to preparedness for the coming of Jesus. The Sanctuary Choir anthem, "Wake, Awake" by John Horman (b. 1946), mixes original music with phrases of Nicolai's setting to create a work that calls us to readiness. Horman has had an extensive career as a church musician, composer, and middle school educator. The organ offertory is the well-known setting of the chorale melody by J.S. Bach (1685-1750). Bach originally wrote it as a movement of a cantata for which the choir tenors sing the melody accompanied by instruments. He made this transcription for organ solo as one of a group of six that he then published. It is one of his best known and most popular organ compositions.

Christmas pageant: As we are enjoying or have enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal, don't forget that the next pageant rehearsal will be Wednesday, December 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, followed by dinner and gingerbread houses! Children who missed the first rehearsal 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: Following a weekend of symphony music, the weekend of December 11 will also be a busy one! On Friday, December 11, at 7:30 p.m., the King University music department will present an annual tradition of Christmas music in our sanctuary. Admission is a canned food item or monetary donation, all of which go to the Bristol Emergency Food Pantry. On Saturday, December 12, at 7:30 p.m. in our sanctuary, the MECCA choirs present their concert of Christmas music. Several of our students are in these choirs. In addition, the Tennessee High Madrigals host their annual madrigal dinners at Avoca Christian Church, and the Bristol Ballet presents the annual Nutcracker production, again inviting our own Erin Ginn and several New York colleagues to dance. See A! Magazine for the Arts for more information.

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, percussion, and organ. Brass players will be students from Emory & Henry and percussionist will be Jenn Sproles.

James Davis Whitesides has served churches in North Carolina and Tennessee. Dave, Dottie, Davis Jr., and Will arrived at Windsor Avenue Presbyterian Church in Bristol in 1967. In 1974, Dave entered into a self-sustaining ministry with Holston Presbytery. Under this agreement, he served as stated supply to churches assigned by the presbytery, while his business in financial services provided income. Prior to entering Union Seminary, Dave was a commissioned Line Officer in the United States Navy. After seminary, he transferred from Line Officer to the Navy Chaplain Corps. He continued service to our veterans and their families as a chaplain at the VA Medical Center, Mountain Home, Tennessee.

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 29    Carolyn Moore, Sam Story

November 30    Charlotte Osborne

December 1       Charles Burrows, Deidre Pendley

December 5       Hannah Bailey, Linda Poteat

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

5:30 p.m.       Sanctuary Handbells

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

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

4:00 p.m.       Marsh Bloodmobile, Front Parking Lot

4:15 p.m.       Youth Handbells, Room 212

4:30 p.m.       Christmas Pageant Rehearsal, Sanctuary

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

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

6:00 p.m.       Intergenerational Gingerbread House Crafts, Fellowship Hall

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

7:30 p.m.       8:30 Worship Team Rehearsal, Fellowship Hall

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

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

6:00 p.m.       Middle School Progressive Dinner

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

9:00 a.m.       Drop & Shop, Education Wing

9:00 a.m.       Officer Training, Room 123

6:00 p.m.       High School Progressive Dinner