Like spring, Easter is early this year, arriving March 27. As part of our Lenten preparation, we are ordering lilies to brighten our worship spaces on that glad morning. To order lilies in honor or memory of someone, simply fill out a form and return it to the church office with payment by Monday, March 14. Lilies are $15 per plant, and order forms will be available in the sanctuary and Fellowship Hall, on the kiosk, and in the office. To aid correct acknowledgment, please print all names exactly as you wish to see them in the Easter bulletin. Lilies will be placed in the sanctuary and Fellowship Hall after the Good Friday worship service.

Cecily and Fred Foy Strang in Kenya in 2012

Our own Drs. Fred Foy and Cecily Strang are home on a short break from missionary work with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa in Kenya. While they're here, they will give us an update on their work among the Maasai. You can hear them next Wednesday, March 2, during our Adult Learning program, which begins at 6:20 p.m. The presentation will follow the fellowship dinner, which begins at 5:30. Student Small Groups and Wednesday Night Kids will meet as usual at 6:00.

Fred Foy, Cecily, and their sons, Jesse and Jacob, have all served as missionaries among the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania, where Fred Foy and Cecily have been serving for the past year. They expect to spend two more years in Kenya on their current mission project. You can read about Fred Foy's academic work elsewhere in this newsletter. Cecily earned a PhD in Nursing Research and Education from the University of Tennessee. Her special area of expertise is malaria care among the Maasai.

For a three-month trial period beginning March 18, the church office will not be open on Fridays. Until March 18, it will continue to be open on Friday morning and closed in the afternoon. Pastoral and program staff will continue to be available according to their particular schedules. Information about how to contact them in an emergency will be provided in the next few weeks.

They also request your more earthly support in the form of donated school supplies and soccer balls! They have placed bins to receive these items in both the Fellowship Hallway and the narthex. Please help fill these bins with: 

If you care about the plight of urban youth, you'll want to talk to Dan Kreiss about an opportunity to do something about it this summer. Dan will lead a team from FPC that will serve with Urban Promise in Camden, New Jersey, from Sunday, June 26, through Saturday, July 2. The work will support established educational and social programs there.

Join FPC High School Ministry on a spring break adventure to Orlando, Florida, from March 27 to April 3. Our team will leave Sunday afternoon and return the following Sunday. Students will spend four days doing inner city mission work around Orlando. The trip will also include a day at Universal Studios and some time at the beach.

Start inviting your friends and register early for the best price! A $50 nonrefundable deposit is required to secure a spot on the trip. If the deposit is paid by March 6, the cost is $250. After March 6, the cost is $300. The remaining balance will be due before departure. All meals, travel, lodging, and a ticket to Universal are included in the price.

Be an early bird and catch a discount on a fantastic summer adventure! FPC's High School Ministry will head out to Journey in Toccoa Falls, Georgia, in June, but discounted sign-ups start now. FPC students will join other church groups from across the South for a week of wild games, challenges, fellowship, worship, and adventure, all while being invited on a journey to experience God in a whole new way.

We will leave from the church on June 20, and drive to Toccoa Falls College, nestled in the north Georgia mountains. Check out the Journey promo video at www.vimeo.com/103853738, and you'll see that this is an event you won't want to miss! Start inviting your friends, and register early for the best price!

A nonrefundable deposit of $100 is required to secure a spot on the trip. If the deposit is paid by Sunday, March 6, the total cost will be $300. After March 6, the total cost will be $350.

Join FPC's Middle School Ministry on a summer adventure to the Great Escape! We will leave from the church on Sunday, June 12, and head to Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. There we will join middle school students from all over the US for a wild 'n' crazy week of incredible music, captivating speakers, engaging entertainment, and the messiest games you can imagine. And we'll spend one day whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River! We will return around noon on Friday, June 17.

This is an event you won't want to miss! Start inviting your friends now, so you can all take advantage of the early bird discount. A nonrefundable deposit of $100 is required to secure a spot on the trip. If the deposit is paid by March 6, the total cost is $400. After March 6, the total cost is $435. These costs include an FPC t-shirt, the camp, travel, and the whitewater rafting.

Our Fusion group of fifth and sixth grade students will carry out a service project next Saturday, March 5. Stay tuned for details!

On Saturday, March 19, our fifth and sixth grade Fusion group will enjoy a Glow-in-the-Dark Egg Hunt. Last year's was so much fun that we're sure you won't want to miss this year's! Save the date and look for more information soon. 

Another fabulous Parents' Night Out has been scheduled for Saturday, March 5, from 6:00 to 8:30 at the church. As always, we'll make sure that your children have dinner and a lot of fun. Let the church office (423-764-7176) know the ages of the children you will bring, then start making your plans for a carefree evening!

We will hold an Easter Egg hunt at the church Saturday, March 19, beginning at 12:30. This event is always fun for everyone, so plan now to bring your children.

We are now collecting vanilla wafers to share with our young friends at Fairmount Elementary School. Please bring your donations of any brand of these little cookies to the Little Red House in the Fellowship Hallway. The Neighborhood Initiatives Steering Committee will take them to Fairmount, where teachers will divide them into portions for the youngsters whose parents cannot afford to send snacks to school with them. Thank you for giving these children a boost!

While we take halting steps out of winter, spring most certainly is on its way. The songbirds are convinced of it, and plants are budding despite occasional snow. Our list of mowers could use a bud or two, as well. We have fewer volunteers than last season but just as much grass, as will be evident in a few weeks.

The captain of our mowing team, Randy Cook, will be pleased to train volunteers on our Scag mower. We hope you will sign up for regular duty, but if you can help for even a single morning or afternoon, please email Randy at npolecook@aol.com or call his cell at 423-956-1541. 

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir; Randy Cook, soloist.

Sunday's music: The choir at 11:00 will sing as an anthem the hymn "Ho, All Who Thirst" from Glory to God. Ours is the first hymnal that has included this song; its composer/author, Alexander M. Peters (b. 1961), a lawyer in Raleigh, North Carolina, wrote it at the request of his wife. She was completing her studies at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, and was tasked with leading a worship service. She asked her husband to write a hymn for the service, and this song was the result. The song's refrain is drawn from the first verse of our Old Testament lesson for the day, Isaiah 55:1. The three stanzas use Biblical water imagery found in Jeremiah, Revelation, and John. At first glance, the song seems to be a baptismal hymn, but it is really much more, as it reminds us that through the water offered by Jesus Christ our thirst will always be quenched.

Lenten Organ Series: Central Presbyterian Church is again offering a series of half-hour Lenten Noon Organ Meditations through March 16. There is no admission charge, but donations are gratefully accepted. These are the organists for the remaining Wednesdays:

The church is located at 301 Euclid Avenue, Bristol, VA, and the office phone number is 276-669-3157.

Arts Series: March 6 isn't too far away! Come hear two great trumpeters, Dr. Tim Altman and Dr. Larry Wells, accompanied on the organ by Vicki Fey. The program will take place at 3:00 p.m. in our sanctuary, and the concert will be projected on a screen downstairs. Suggested ticket donation is $10 for adults and $5 for students from age 6 through college.

Fred Foy Strang

Before leaving for his current mission in Africa, the Reverend Dr. Fred Foy Strang served FPC as coordinator of our early worship service while on the faculty at King. He has earned degrees from Furman University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Reformed Theological Seminary, and the University of Edinburgh. Fred Foy is Adjunct Professor of Missions, Philosophy, and Religion, King University; Adjunct Associate Professor, Fuller Theological Seminary; and Adjunct Professor, Presbyterian University of East Africa. He is the founder and president of Maasai Special Projects Fund and is the East Africa Partner for The Antioch Partners.

 

Becky Busler

Jude Chambers

Amelia Cordon

Jane Crewey

Dorothy Dollar

Mark Dollar

Fred Frazier

DeeDee Galliher

Bill Goforth

Ron Grubbs

Will Hankins

Gene Haskins

Sharon Hatcher

Vivian Hill

Andrea Hyde

Nancy King

Alice Moore

David Moore

Nancy Preston

Lila Ray

Mary Rice

Brenda Rogers

Virginia Rutherford

Faye VanNostrand

Herb Van Nostrand

 

Feb. 28         Aidan Haaser

Feb. 29         Ashley McGill

March 1       Christian Bolick, Jack Hyder, Linda Ratcliff

March 3       Darlene Pollard

March 4       Weston Foster, Brandi Smith

We gratefully acknowledge recent gifts in memory of:

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

5:15 p.m.       Jubilate Youth Choir

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

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

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.       BSA Troop 3 Cub Crossover, Chapel & Fellowship Hall

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

4:30 p.m.       Heart to Heart Steering Committee, Room 117        

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

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

6:00 p.m.       Parents' Night Out, FPC