We and other local churches take turns hosting homeless families that have been selected for the Family Promise of Bristol program. We are asking for your help in caring for our guests during our upcoming rotation, from late afternoon on Sunday, January 24, through early morning on Sunday, January 31. We are happy to report that our former family has been able to move on! We want to be prepared for our next family, so here is a reminder of our volunteering needs:

We need volunteers to bring in breakfast items or prepared dinners. If you can provide either meal or want more information, please email Scottie Bales at scottie@rtherapeutics.com. Breakfast items and supplies should be brought to the church and left in the little kitchen by Sunday, January 24. Dinner should be brought in hot and ready at 5:30 each evening from Sunday through Saturday. This is most easily done by a family or a team.

Dinner hosts come to the church by 5:30 to welcome our guests, eat with them, and stay until the overnight hosts arrive at 8:30. Hint: some people find it easy to fix dinner and stay to host. If you are interested in being a dinner host, please email Scottieat the address above or Nancy Allerton at nja0510@gmail.com.

Overnight hosts arrive at the church by 8:30 p.m., spend the night, and help with continental breakfast the next morning. Guests leave the church around 7:00 a.m., except on Saturday, when they leave a little later. To volunteer as an overnight host, please email Scottie.

On the morning of Sunday, January 31, we will have piles of sheets, towels, and comforters to wash with bleach and return to the Family Promise Closet at the church. This is a task that can be done at your convenience.

To volunteer, ask a question, or make a suggestion, please feel free to email, text, or call Scottie at 423-360-5357. If you know of folks who may want to help in any way, please encourage them to step forward, or ask Scottie to contact them. Thank you so much for your love and hospitality to these families! 

The Heart to Heart Read and Feed, a wonderful time of food and fellowship for the women of FPC, will be held on Saturday, January 23, around 11:00 a.m. We'll share a bowl of soup and talk about good books. Mark your calendars now and look for more details soon.

Our annual Women's Retreat is scheduled for February 26-28. We will meet this year in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and Cary Umhau, who spoke at our fall gathering, will join us again.  Her topic will be "The Value of Disruption."

Our ever-popular Parents' Night Out is coming up again, this time on Friday, January 22. Kids can have fun at FPC from 6:00 to 8:30, and dinner will be served. Please make reservations by phone, email, text, or Facebook page.

The light of their smiles shining round about, the children of First Presbyterian Church packed 20 boxes of homemade cookies and delivered them to workers abiding in their fields of duty on Christmas Eve. Some of the shepherds of the night who received this sweet gift, along with a note from FPC, were fire and police station personnel, 911 dispatchers, emergency room and maternity nurses, and hospice house staff. It was a gift that brought happiness to both the giver and the receiver. Well done, all!

The Tuesday Night Heart to Heart Bible Study has a new time slot, from 4:30 to 6:00. The new time will go into effect on January 19, which also will be the first meeting of the new year for this inductive study group. The group will continue to meet on first and third Tuesdays in room 123. Linda Welch will facilitate discussions, beginning with the Apostles Creed. All women of the church are welcome to participate and bring a friend. For more information, contact Scottie Bales at 423-968-5458 or scottie@rtherapeutics.com.

Come to FPC for the Sunday School hour and choose from several very different courses of adult study. Chuck Thompson will lead a class on Discipleship and Marriage; Nancy Allerton will teach the A.C. Adams class, Dave Welch will facilitate an Inductive Bible study, and the Common Interests class will tackle the application of the Bible to life. Sample and choose!

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir.

Sunday's music: William Allen Pasch (b. 1948), the composer of the Sanctuary Choir anthem, "This Baptizing Day," has made a fascinating synthesis of an American folk hymn and a hymn-text of Martin Luther. He has combined the melody of the well-known song "As I Went Down to the River to Pray" with an adaptation of Luther's "Christ Our Lord to Jordan Came." The text begins by recounting the story of Jesus' baptism, then goes on to recall our own baptisms and what they mean to us. Pasch serves as organist and choir director of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Atlanta. He has had anthems, hymn tunes, and hymn texts published. Pasch is also Professor Emeritus of English at Clayton State University in Atlanta.

Rehearsals resume: All the ensembles of the church are getting back to work rehearsing music for the new season. The Sanctuary Choir's first rehearsal of 2016 was Wednesday, January 6. New members are always welcome to join us! Cherub Choir (from age 4 through grade 1) will resume this Sunday, January 10, at 9:00 a.m., and Jubilate Youth Choir will rehearse at 5:15 p.m. the same day, right before Student Ministries kick off their semester. Sanctuary Handbells will ring in the year Monday, January 11, at 5:30 p.m. This group could still use a couple of ringers, one in the bass end (low, bigger bells) and one in the treble end (high, small bells). The ability to read music is helpful. Lastly, our regular Wednesday musical programming kicks off at the usual hours on January 13: Children's Handbells (grades 2 through 6) at 4:15 p.m., Savior's Singers Children's Choir (grades 2 through 6) at 4:45 p.m., and Youth Handbells (grades 7 through 12) also at 4:45 p.m.

Cherub Choir helpers needed: Vicki Fey needs one volunteer each Sunday morning that Cherub Choir rehearses to take attendance, escort children to the bathroom, and maintain general order during rehearsal time. Parents, grandparents, teenagers, older siblings, anyone can volunteer to do this! Please contact Vicki to work out dates if you are willing to assist. The more people volunteering, the less often she will need to ask for assistance. Thank you!

Christmas thanks: We are grateful for all the volunteers who give of their time to offer music to God's glory, and particularly over the Advent and Christmas season. While you wonderful people are too numerous to name here, suffice it to say that your gifts are appreciated by all!

 

Becky Busler

Jude Chambers

Jane Crewey

Dorothy Dollar

Mark Dollar

Fred Frazier

DeeDee Galliher

Bill Goforth

Ron Grubbs

Will Hankins

Gene Haskins

Sharon Hatcher

Vivian Hill

Andrea Hyde

David Moore

Nancy Preston

Mary Rice

Brenda Rogers

Virginia Rutherford

Faye VanNostrand

Herb Van Nostrand

 

December 29, 2015

 

Our love and sympathy go out to Mary Bailey in the death of her sister, Smyly Kennedy Connor, on December 27, 2015, in Summerville, South Carolina.

 

We rejoice in the birth of Amelia Monroe Cordon to Louisa and Jared Cordon of Jacksonville, Florida, on January 6. Her proud grandparents are Anne and Jack Southerland.

 

Jan. 10      Susan Abel, Chuck Thompson

Jan. 11      James Buck

Jan. 12      Debbie McMillin, David Phelps

Jan. 13      Pete Holler, Dale Keller, Nell Stigers

Jan. 14      Chris Blankenship, Amanda Mills, Fritz Reuning

Jan. 16      Tom Daniel, Dale Davis

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

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

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

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

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

4:00 p.m.       Finance Committee, Room 123

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6:00 p.m.       Student Small Groups

6:20 p.m.       Adult Learning, 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

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

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