It's showtime! Come one, come all to our churchwide talent show and chili cook-off Sunday, March 13, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Whether you play piano, violin, tuba, or the saw or sing, juggle, dance, recite monologues, twirl batons, or entertain in other ways, this is your chance to perform for an appreciative crowd. Ours is a versatile congregation, so it is entirely possible that you could place your homemade chili in competition and recite a monologue from King Lear!

Our impresarios for this show are the Feys, so submit your performance proposals to them (email is fine). Sunday, February 28, is the deadline for turning in your name, your act, and your equipment needs (microphone, chair, piano, music stand, etc.). The Feys will arrange individual times to hear each act prior to the show date, so that they can determine program order and technical needs.

All ages are invited to participate! All acts must be family friendly, of course, but lyrics, monologues, and so forth may be either secular or sacred and should be three to five minutes in length. And all you red-hot chefs, work on perfecting those prize-winning chili recipes! You'll cook your chili at home and bring it to the Fellowship Hall at 5:00. The chili will be judged, the talent will be appreciated! 

Mark Hutton

Mark Hutton will take up part two of his Wednesday night series, "Working for Shalom," January 20. A familiar figure to participants of our adult learning programs and worship services, Mark serves as stated supply pastor at Windsor Avenue Presbyterian Church, as a Fellow with Tactical Faith, and as adjunct faculty at King and Northeast State universities.

Please plan to join us at 6:20 for Mark's program, following the 5:30 fellowship dinner. On the menu for the evening are pot roast with vegetables, slaw, rolls, and Betty B's Cherry Cake. Youth and children's programs will begin as usual at 6:00.

Our 8:30 worship service on January 31 will feature all bluegrass music, with mandolin, guitar, dobro, bass, percussion, fiddle, and banjo! We will sing good, traditional hymns, such as "Brethren, We Have Met to Worship," "Lily of the Valley," "Love Lifted Me," "Amazing Grace," and "He Leadeth Me." Matt Richardson will bring the message that day. Please plan to join us for a spirited morning!

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, at 11:00 a.m. Jennifer Kennedy will be our hostess, and we'll share a bowl of soup and talk about good books. 

Our annual Women's Retreat is scheduled for February 26-28. We will meet again in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and Cary Umhau, who spoke at our fall gathering, will rejoin us.  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.

Those of you who have missed Lorri Looney's DVD Bible study, take heart! Meetings of this Heart to Heart group will resume Wednesday, January 20, and continue weekly through March 2. The focus for these seven weeks will be Priscilla Shirer's The Armor of God. All women of the church are welcome to join this group at any time and bring a friend. They meet at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays in the parlor.

The Tuesday Heart to Heart Inductive 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. The group will meet on first and third Tuesdays in room 117. 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.

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir; Jack Butterworth, trombone.

David N. Childs

Sunday's music: The Sanctuary Choir anthem is "Set Me As a Seal Upon Your Heart" by David N. Childs. Using passages drawn from the Song of Solomon 8:6-7, he has created a lyrical setting that, while often used at weddings, also speaks to each of us about how we are bound to Jesus and his church. Born in New Zealand in 1969, Childs came to the States and earned degrees from FSU and LSU. He taught on the faculty of Vanderbilt from 2000 to 2011 and now serves as the music director of a Methodist church in Dallas, Texas.

New participants welcome: As we resume rehearsals for all the music ensembles of the church, please know that we always welcome new members, any time of the year! From the youngest cherubs through our Sanctuary Choir and Sanctuary Bells, there is an ensemble for everyone! Children and youth will be participating in our Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, and Good Friday services this semester, in addition to other Sundays, as scheduled. Contact the Feys for more information.

 

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

 

We rejoice in the birth of Henry McRee Garcia to Martha and Eric Garcia January 3 in Washington, D.C. Virginia McRee is his proud grandmother.

 

Jan. 17      Mack Blevins

Jan. 18      Maddox McClain, Adrianna Nelson

Jan. 19      Amanda Hankins, John Peters

Jan. 20      Gene Haskins, Nancy Sauls

Jan. 21      Lisa Lundberg

Jan. 22      Dick Ladd, John Odom

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.     Called Session Meeting to Receive New Members, Chapel

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

3:00 p.m.       Fusion, Off Campus

4:00 p.m.       Called Session Meeting to Consider Budget, Room 123

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

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

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

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

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

4:30 p.m.       Heart to Heart Inductive Bible Study, Room 117

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

9:30 a.m.       Lorri Looney's Heart to Heart 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

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

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

6:30 p.m.       8:30 Worship Team Rehearsal, Fellowship Hall

6:00 p.m.       Parents' Night Out, Fellowship Hall

11:00 a.m.     Heart to Heart Read and Feed, Kennedy Home