Worship with us online
June 7, 2020
Scripture:
Ecc. 4:9-12; 1 Cor. 12:12-31
Sermon:
One Body,
Chris Joiner
Hymns:
Holy, Holy, Holy
I Sing the Mighty Power of God
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Tonight at 6 PM, you are invited to the Jesus and Justice Candlelight Prayer Vigil hosted by Empowerment Community Church in remembrance of George Floyd, Ahmaud, Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many more. This event will be live-streamed on the Facebook pages of Empowerment Community Church, Strong Tower Bible Church, and First Missionary Baptist Church.
Click here for the FB event page
.
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Sharing Our Stories
We've started our new devotional blog
Sharing our Stories: Faithful Responses Through COVID-19.
Click here
to read the stories from our congregation.
You are invited to contribute to this project by sharing the story of your faith through this COVID-19 crisis. We have chosen the Book of Psalms as the scripture text to guide you. Psalms are poems from the heart of sacred writers and cover every human emotion while showing God’s faithfulness and love through all kinds of human experiences.
Your story/devotion can tell of your experience of quarantine daily life, journal reflections, faith ponderings, poetry, or how a particular Psalm is speaking to you during this pandemic. Our goal is to be open and encourage creativity in your storytelling experience, so guidelines are minimal. There is not a word limit, but keep in mind that brevity is usually best. If you have an entry and do not have a suggested Psalm, we can help with that and know it is not “mandatory” that you use one.
Please prayerfully consider this request. We hope this invitation helps you connect with God and each other in mind and spirit. Let us know any questions you might have and if this is a possibility for you.
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Join us tomorrow 10 AM - 8 PM for Summer Safari at FPC!
Tomorrow we are remembering God’s good creation and taking an animal safari on our beautiful church grounds. Look for 50 of the animals God created. When you find a stuffed animal, please DO NOT TOUCH IT. Just find the animal’s name in one of the boxes below and color that box. If you would like to print at home
click here
. Copies will be available on the bench at the Narthex/Sanctuary doors.
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Children's Sunday School
Growing in God's Love
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Rocks of Love
Friends, if you’re looking for an easy activity and chance to brighten someone else’s day, paint a few rocks and leave them around our church campus. While you’re there, see if you can find any friendly rocks waiting. If there’s a special rock you’d like to take home, please consider it a gift from your church family. Supplies for painting rocks are waiting outside the preschool entrance.
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Compassion Camp: Be Loved. Be Kind. Be You.
July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 At-Home/At-Church/Virtual program where kids and families explore what it means to have compassion for others, ourselves, and the world. While it is geared toward both preschool-aged children and K-6th graders, it will be flexible, adaptable, and fun for the entire family, older siblings included. There will even be community art project we can all add to!
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Saturday Morning Men’s Bible Study
– 7:30 AM
Every Saturday, Come well... something... or high water.
About 7 – 12 men get together every Saturday morning to discuss events, historical context, and theologies presented in the Bible along with bridging contexts (between Biblical and contemporary times) and contemporary application of Biblical passages. (i.e., what do I do with this passage?) None of us are experts (indeed perhaps most of us have never before read the passages we are covering). None of us are teaching elders, just a bunch of guys enjoying each others company while learning about what’s in, and the significance of the Bible, how and maybe why it got there, and what it might mean to us. Discussion leadership rotates each week to whoever volunteers to do it the next week.
We are currently very slowly making our way through Acts of the Apostles using William Barclay’s commentary on this book as a discussion guide. We would love you to join us and contribute your own 2 cents.
We are currently meeting by Zoom so you don’t even need to leave home. Just BYOC. (That’s COFFEE).
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Summer Series
Beginning May 31 and going through August 2, Pastor Chris will be leading an adult Sunday school class on Zoom and preaching a series of sermons on the theme,
The Resilient Church
.
We are all learning these days what it takes to be resilient in the midst of significant change. The pandemic affecting the world has created major disruptions in the way we live. These disruptions have caused grief and pain for many. We are all being thrust into the kind of circumstance that calls for resilience, both as individuals, and as a church.
We will be reading and discussing two books. The first is
Weathering the Storm: Simple Strategies for Being Peaceful and Prepared
, by Tracy W. Mehr-Muska
. Resilience enables us not only to survive adversity, but to be transformed by it. This book offers simple and proven strategies to develop resilience that will be of enormous benefit to anyone who is yearning to feel more peaceful and prepared. Tracy is a Coast Guard veteran, a Presbyterian pastor, and interfaith chaplain. This book promises to help all of us as we learn together how, by God’s grace, we can respond to this crisis with resilience. We will read and discuss this book in June.
In July, the emphasis will shift to the practices in the faith and in the church that ground us in ancient traditions that are ever-new in each generation. Especially as we walk through these days of crisis, our congregational resilience is surely grounded in those practices which have nourished and led followers of Christ through all the ages. We will be reading
Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer
, by Rowan Williams
. Williams served as the 104
th
Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002-2012, and is currently the Chancellor of University of South Wales. This book is an exploration of the essential elements of the Christian life, those simple and recognizable things that make you realize that you are part of a Christian community. Part of what makes Christian communities resilient in times of crisis is a deepening reflection on these basics. We will spend the month of July joining Williams in this reflection.
These books are available on Amazon or wherever you purchase books. It is not necessary for you to have read the books to participate in the class discussion. All are welcome. Pastor Chris will preach in June and July on the themes present in the books, bringing them into conversation with relevant biblical texts.
Join us this summer and let us embrace the call of these times for resilience.
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Sisters in Spirit
Sisters in Spirit small group is starting a new study on June 12th and would like to invite interested women in our church to join us. During this time of isolation we have loved holding Zoom meetings every Friday at 10 AM and have decided to extend these meetings through the summer. Our meetings have brought us great joy as we experience fellowship, discussion and prayer with our friends. Our new study will focus on the book
Even Better Than Eden
by Nancy Guthrie, a local teacher, speaker and author. Please contact
Martha Johnson
,
Cindy Blackburn
, or
Dianne Wood
if interested. We will happily answer questions, provide more information and send you a invitation/link that will help you easily join our next meeting.
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Farewell Organ Recital, May 31, 2020
We said goodbye to our beloved organ that was installed at the downtown location of First Presbyterian Church in 1976 with a Farewell Recital played by Michael Snoddy, Director of Music and Organist. If you missed the live event on Sunday, you can watch it
here
.
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New Pipe Organ Update
Casavant Countdown: 5 Months
Casavant Opus 3938 (Installation – November of 2020)
Work continues on the new organ in the Casavant workshop in Montreal, where assembly is currently taking place. Watch for continuing updates and information each month!
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(
Above
) The artist's conception of the completed instrument in the room.
(
Below
) The current assembly as seen in the builder's workshop in Quebec. Please note a portion of the organ's largest pipes have already been installed and await the "raising of the wind".
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Hymn Stories
Join us for a new hymn story each Monday on Facebook!
Each week we will discover a little bit of background information about your favorite hymn…and hear it played. Send in a favorite title to the church’s main page, the music group page, or via a simple email. Look for your favorite to be featured in the coming weeks.
Q:
I would like to own my own copy of the hymnal, how may I do so?
A:
Use the following link to find out more information on how to order.
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Carillon Schedule
Hymn Program (Daily at Noon and 6:00 PM)
Ringing the Hours (Weekdays: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM)
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We want to hear from you! Be sure to fill out
this form
and let us know what you're doing during this quarantine. We miss you all and are in this together!
Get to know this week's family: Barbara and Dale Roos
Who do you have in your home with you?
Each other and our dog.
How are you all doing?
We have never spent so much time together in our lives. But we are enjoying getting to know each other!
Are there things that you have come to appreciate more during this time?
We're spending time doing things around the house that we haven't had time to do. We made raised gardens and planted vegetables and herbs...and they're alive and growing!
Have you created any new Family Traditions or Rituals?
Yup! We go to bed a lot earlier than we used to.
How are you staying connected to family, friends, and the church?
ZOOM and ZOOM and Some FaceTime with the occasional phone call or text!
Do you have anything else you want to share with our church community? A prayer, a funny story from quarantine, or a word of encouragement?
We are thankful that we are both healthy and our families are all healthy also. We are grateful for the church and it's amazing staff who keeps everyone connected. The daily devotionals are wonderful. We still feel a closeness even though we are all spread out and distant. We hope that everyone stays healthy and that we can see everyone very soon.
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Wednesday
10AM-8PM: Summer Safari on FPC Grounds
Thursday
Saturday
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