The members of the FPC Session have been praying together for God's wisdom and guidance regarding the 2016 budget. They invite the congregation to join them as they continue gathering in the chapel at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, February 8. An elder will host each evening. For ease of access, the rear door by the kitchen will be unlocked during this time. 

FPC will hold a congregational meeting Sunday, February 7, at 10:20 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall, for the purpose of electing an elder to the two-year unexpired term of Con Sauls. All voting members of FPC are urged to attend.

Excitement is building for FPC's mission trip to Ethiopia, which will be March 23 through April 2. Traveling to Dembi Dollo will be Nancy Allerton, Peggy Hill, Jon McClain, and Stuart Parker. The team invites the congregation's support and involvement in the following ways.

First, please pray for safe travel, effective witness, God's continued blessing on the staff and students of Berhane Yesus Elementary School, and provision for the needs of the travelers and of those serving the school.

Amanuel and students in front of school

Second, we invite your support of this mission to strengthen our eleven-year partnership with the school. Over the next few weeks, we will be collecting items to help meet the needs of the students. Beginning Sunday, February 6, we invite you to bring:

For your convenience, there will be two boxes to receive items for the Ethiopia mission trip, one in the Fellowship Hallway and one in the narthex. The last day we can accept donations is Sunday, March 20.

Please join us in this hands-on way of helping our Ethiopia Mission Team serve the needs of Berhane Yesus Elementary School. You can find more information about the school here. 

We will warm up wintry February with a frost-free discussion of spiritual gifts, led by Dave Welch. He'll talk about what these gifts are and how we can use them. Please plan to join us at 6:20 for his program, which will follow the 5:30 fellowship dinner. Youth and children's programs will begin at 6:00.

The Heart to Heart Read and Feed, a time of warm food and fellowship for the women of FPC, will be held  this Saturday, January 30. We will gather at Jennifer Kennedy's home at 11:00 a.m. to share a bowl of soup and talk about good books. Child care will be available at the church. Please call the church office at 423-764-7176 to make arrangements.

Cary Umhau

Feeling disrupted? Find yourself in good company at our annual Heart to Heart Women's Retreat! We will gather again at Blowing Rock Conference Center to welcome back speaker, writer, and organizer Cary Umhau. We are going to learn about "The Value of Disruption," how to see it as a gift and use it to deepen our relationships with one another, ourselves, and God. Invite a friend and join us February 26-28 for an unusual weekend away from it all, in the thick of it!

As ever, we will have time for sharing and exploring, individual contemplation, discussions, shopping, hiking, napping, fellowship, and stillness.

Sign-ups will continue through February 21. For more information about price, schedule, or our speaker, contact Scottie Bales at 423-360-5357 or scottie@rtherapeutics.com or call the church office at 423-764-7176. Brochures are available at the church.

We are seeking a church secretary-receptionist to work in our front office approximately 28 hours per week. The successful candidate will be proficient in Word, Excel, and Outlook and have at least two years of office experience. Interested persons should send a résumé with cover letter to Betsy Galliher, Church Business Administrator, by February 11.

If you like to put up drywall, put down flooring, paint, install trim, do electrical or plumbing work, or just help out, then lend a hand to Washington County Habitat for Humanity. They have five repair projects on the books before the first of March, with the possibility of more: two roof replacements, two roof repairs, and a deck that needs work. Beginning this Saturday, January 30, they need volunteers every weekend, and they can also use help at various times on weekdays.

If you are available on a Saturday in February, or if you have a day to spare during the week, call 276-258-5469 or email Pete Stigers, Operations Director, at director@helphabitat.org. You can find more information about Habitat at www.helphabitat.org.

Come a little early for the Wednesday evening program February 10 and stop in at the Marsh Bloodmobile. It will be in our front parking lot from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. for your convenience in donating toward the 100 units of blood needed by people in our area every day. Please give to help sustain patients in 16 medical facilities and four cancer centers in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

The Heart to Heart Women's Ministry is teaming with Student Ministries to send Valentine's Day care packages to our college-age students. FPC has done an incredible job of nurturing students, and we want to continue that nurturing after they finish high school!

Collecting addresses: We are collecting addresses for FPC's post-high-school students. Please send any such addresses you may have to karnold@fpcbristol.org.

Collecting goodies: We are collecting goodies for the care packages. In the week of January 31, we will collect mechanical pencils, pens, post-its, and highlighters, as well as gum, mints, candy, and $5 gift cards to fast food and coffee establishments. In the week of February 7, we will collect baked goods.

Please look for the decorated Valentine's Day box in the Fellowship Hallway, and join us in showing our love to our college-age students!

We are continuing to collect small pretzels to help keep our young friends at Fairmount Elementary School alert in the afternoon. The small sticks and the small curved pretzels fit best into snack-sized portions. And we encourage the donation of heart-shaped pretzels through February! Why not? As always, please place your contributions in the little red house in the Fellowship Hallway. Thank you!

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir.

Mark Patterson

Sunday's music: The Sanctuary Choir anthem, "The Lord Is My Strength," is subtitled "Habakkuk's Prayer." It is a setting of Habakkuk 3:17-19. In this prayer, Habakkuk reflects on the knowledge that, while all about him the world is in turmoil, he will yet rejoice in the knowledge that with the Lord he will walk and find comfort. Mark Patterson's musical setting matches the text, beginning and ending in a peaceful manner, with a more turbulent middle section as the words reflect on the world around us. Patterson (b. 1969), with undergraduate and graduate music degrees from schools in Texas, is the music director for a Presbyterian church in suburban Richmond, Virginia, and has published numerous compositions.

Program of Note: The Paramount Chamber Players will take part in the Tennessee Ernie Ford celebration at the Paramount Center Saturday, February 13, at 7:30 p.m. In addition to the regular members of the group (including Vicki Fey), Alan Fey will play percussion and Mark Davis is putting together a group of singers, including local favorite Tim Landis. Although he was a member of Anderson Street United Methodist Church, in the choir archives is a photo of a young Ernest Ford playing violin with a youth orchestra in the then-downtown location of our church!

Arts Series: It's not too soon to save the date for our next Arts Series program! On Sunday, March 6, at 3:00 p.m., duo trumpeters Dr. Tim Altman and Dr. Larry Wells will present a program, accompanied by Vicki Fey at the organ. More info to come as the time draws near!

Matt Richardson has served as the Area Director for Young Life in Bristol for the past eight years. Before coming to Bristol, he served as a youth pastor in Kingsport for four years. His favorite places to be are with his family or chasing high school kids around and talking about Jesus. Matt is married to Lensey and they have two children, Laynie and Jack.

 

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

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

7:00 p.m.       Board of Deacons, Room 123

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

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

4:30 p.m.       Women's 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