Dr. Dan Donaldson is a PCUSA pastor who retired recently after serving First Presbyterian Church in Greeneville for 19 years. Previously, he was the Director of Calvin Center, the Camp and Conference Center for the Greater Atlanta Presbytery. He also served as Associate Executive for Youth Ministry and Camping for the Presbytery of East Tennessee. Dan has been pastor of Cross Roads Presbyterian Church in Knoxville as well as Ruby and White Oak Presbyterian churches in South Carolina. He and his wife, Pat Pickel Donaldson, are both graduates of King University. They have two children and one granddaughter.

We celebrate the election in last Sunday's congregational meeting of Nancy Cook to serve as our new Trustee. Nancy will fulfill the unexpired term of Don Moneyhun.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).

This Monday, May 21, FPC Student Ministries will host an off-campus retreat to celebrate our graduating high school seniors. One way we are honoring them is by collecting Legacy Letters to give them on the retreat. We invite everyone who wishes to show support for our seniors to write a letter or card to one or more of them. Our hope is that the Legacy Letters will give family and friends and others who know these young people an opportunity to share the personal impact the seniors have had on them.

Legacy Letters describe ways in which the senior has affected the writer's life. Letters can share old memories, stories, lessons learned, or significant moments. This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage the senior in future plans and faith as well as to acknowledge the beautiful gifts God has given them. The letters will be a beautiful collection of love and truth that they can read as they begin a new journey after high school, and they will serve as a reminder of the loving community cheering them on their way!

Class of 2018
AnnaLee Adams	Madyson Kent	Lauren Patterson
Blakesley Bassett	Judson McCray	Rose Rosser
John Blair	Adison Minor	John Thomas Scott
Bailey Jones	Aidan Moore

 

If you would like to participate, please mail or deliver all cards and letters by this Sunday, May 20, to:

First Presbyterian Church

Attn.: Katie Arnold

701 Florida Avenue

Bristol, TN 37620

If you prefer, you may email your Legacy Letter to [email protected].

Thank you for joining us as we celebrate this important and exciting time in the lives of our students! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. / Katie Arnold, Director of Student Ministries

JB Madison is using one of his gifts to prepare the church grounds for our observation of Pentecost this Sunday. You may see him roving Tiger Cat-like on the lawn during a break in the showers May 16-19. If the rain continues, Jim White will find plenty to feed the Cat May 23-26, when he mows in anticipation of Trinity Sunday.

Come on, come out and join the mowing team! We welcome men and women, adults and teens. Families too: younger children can move fallen branches and debris to the curb, and a parent or elder sibling can mow. It's easy, and you can mow only once or, if you choose, even thrice. Simply contact Randy Cook at [email protected] or 423-956-1541. If you're new to Scag mowers, he will be happy to give you a lesson on ours.

Sunday's music participants: Pat Flannagan; Bob Greene; Sanctuary Choir; Adult Handbell Choir, Laura Ong, soloist.

Sunday's music: Our anthem, "Spirit Divine, Attend Our Prayers," is a setting of the chorale tune Gräfenberg. The text, written in 1829 and first published in 1842, is by Andrew Reed (1787-1862), a British hymn writer and Congregational Church minister. The tune, composed by Johann Crüger (1598-1662), dates from 1647. This musical setting is by Andrew Hicks, who served this congregation as Minister of Music from 1983 to 1999. Andy is currently serving as Minister of Music at Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City, IA. All of the hymns used in worship Sunday emphasize the many forms of the spirit that resides in each of us as a gift from God.

Organist's footnotes: Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) created comparatively few compositions in his lifetime, but those he left us are extraordinary. It is believed that the three movements of his monumental Opus No. 4, Prelude, Adagio et Choral varié sur le

	Maurice Duruflé, c. 1962

thème "Veni Creator" were composed at different times. The last movement, the "Choral varié" (which you will hear Sunday) was composed first. Duruflé originally called his composition Variations sur l'hymne "Veni Creator" in the plural, and he wrote it in 1926 while he was still a student of Charles Widor at the Conservatoire. Three and a half years later, he used it as the final movement of a three-movement work for the competition hosted by Les Amis de l'Orgue in 1930. The guidelines called for unpublished works consisting of three movements in the form of either musique pure, or fantaisie, or musique à programme. Duruflé composed "Prélude" and "Adagio" so that with "Variations" he would have a work of three movements eligible for the competition. It suited his purposes to rename "Variations," giving it the singular title, "Choral varié." These variations (as well as the first two movements) are based upon the Gregorian chant Veni creator spiritus, "Come Holy Spirit, Our Souls Inspire."

Peter Hurford (b. 1930) is a British organist and composer known for his interpretations of Bach's organ music. Set to a famous text by Robert Herrick (1591-1674), his "Litany to the Holy Spirit" (Offertory) was composed in 1958, and is sung worldwide.

Though I originally titled Sunday's Postlude "Carillon," I composed "Danza del Espiritu Santo" for Pentecost Sunday when I was Organist and Choir Director at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, in Niagara Falls, NY. It won First Prize at the 2011 Regional Convention for the American Guild of Organists, Region V, in Lexington, KY, and was published by Morningstar Press. A couple of years after its premiere in Lexington, I learned that the fellow who performed it, John Linker, had become Director of Music at Christchurch Cathedral, in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he performed it on Pentecost Sunday. "Danza" is dedicated to my organ teacher, J. Melvin Butler, whose performance of it in Houston was recorded, and later aired on National Public Radio's Pipe Dreams program.

Sunday, May 20

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m.       Engaging Volunteers, Chapel

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

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

Monday, May 21

6:00 p.m.       Student Fellowship Senior Celebration, Off Campus

7:00 p.m.       Session of Elders, Room 123

Tuesday, May 22

10:00 a.m.     Staff Meeting, Room 117

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

6:00 p.m.       Venture Crew 3, Room 165

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

Wednesday, May 23

7:00 p.m.       BSA Eagle Presentation, Chapel

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

Thursday, May 24

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

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

Church Officers
ELDERS
Class of 2018	Class of 2019	Class of 2020
Aaron Brooks	Anna Booher	Nancy Allerton
Randy Cook	Lee Galliher	Rebecca Beck
Debbie McMillin	Pete Holler	David Hyde
Stuart Parker	Han Ong	Jordan Pennington
Chuck Thompson	Pete Stigers	Jerry Poteat
DEACONS
Class of 2018	Class of 2019	Class of 2020
Adam Abel	Sujean Bradley	Blake Bassett
Nancy Butterworth	George Linke	Rhonda Comer
David Ginn	Greg Roberts	Brenda Lawson
Rett Stocstill	Nate Sproles	Barbara Thompson
Ann Woods	Bill Whisnant