Churchwide Celebration Sunday
Join us Sunday, August 13, for a churchwide party! We will celebrate the start of another school year with One Worship, food, and fun. Everyone is invited to gather for fellowship at 10:00 a.m. and to sip coffee and other beverages from River & Roads Coffee Truck. Sunday School will be at 10:15 for nursery through fifth grade. At 11:00 we will worship under the oaks with guest pastor João Batista from our sister church in Brazil. After worship, we will enjoy lunch on the grounds from Moe’s taco bar. The front lawn will be covered with bounce-house water slides and games. Bring a lawn chair and, if you want to get wet, a bathing suit and a towel. If you have a tailgate tent, feel free to bring it for shade. The coffee truck goods will be for sale, but everything else is free! Everyone is welcome! If it rains, worship and food will be moved inside.
| |
Fellowship Dinners Resume Wednesday
Our Wednesday Night Fellowship dinners will resume August 16. We are looking forward to gathering again! After our meal, we will hear presentations on our mission work with Serve Orlando and our Brazilian partners. Please plan to join us.
|
Men’s Fellowship Breakfast
Aug. 19
Our next Bristol Area Men’s Fellowship Breakfast is scheduled for Saturday, August 19. All males from sixth grade up are welcome to join us every third Saturday at 7:30 a.m. in the fellowship hall. For more information or a ride, call the church office at 423-764-7176. Be sure to come, and invite a friend!
| | |
Worship
August 13
11th Sunday after Pentecost
Sermon
João Batista
Attendance
July 30: 9:00: In person: 118
11:00: In person: 85
August 6: 9:00: In person: 105
11:00: In person: 83
|
Calendar
Sunday, August 13
10:15 a.m.
Children’s Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
One Worship & Celebration
Church Grounds
Monday, August 14
10:00 a.m.
Staff
Room 123
6:00 p.m.
Scout District Committee
Fellowship Hall
7:00 p.m.
Worship Committee
Room 123
Tuesday, August 15
7:00 p.m.
A&O
Troop 3
Scout Hall
Wednesday, August 16
5:30 p.m.
Fellowship Supper
Fellowship Hall
6:15 p.m.
Adult Enrichment
Student Small Groups
Wednesday Night Kids
Handbell Practice
7:15 p.m.
Adult Choir Practice
Room 202
Thursday, August 17
7:00 a.m.
Men’s Bible Study
Parlor
1:00 p.m.
Women’s Bible Study
Room 123
Saturday, August 19
7:30 a.m.
Bristol Area Men’s Fellowship Breakfast
Fellowship Hall
10:30 a.m.
Fusion Lake Trip
South Holston Lake
| |
Service Opportunities at A Place to Be
A Place to Be, a day center that provides care for unhoused people in Bristol, is constantly in need of donations to support their operations and provide for their patrons. Most needed are blankets, backpacks, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and men’s and women’s underwear, pants, jackets, shoes, and T-shirts. Try to keep these in mind as you glean things from your closets and shelves. You can drop off your donations at 137 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. In April, FPC collected nonperishable snack items, the only food some folks get all day, to feed the 40 people a day who come to the center.
Another way to assist with this local effort for unhoused people in Bristol is to volunteer to serve an occasional hot lunch there. This would involve a group of people to provide the components for hot lunch (casseroles, hot veggies, fruit, dessert) and folks willing to go there for a couple hours midday to set up, serve, clean up, and perhaps visit with some of those who come to the day center, as we do for Sharing Christ. If you can help with this, please call (423-956-3837) or email Beth Flannagan.
Family Promise of Bristol opened A Place to Be about a year ago. The center, located in the Salvation Army building, is open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Anyone can come to have a snack, eat lunch, take a shower, or do laundry. Two full-time case managers help guests obtain IDs and access services from other agencies in town. Partners such as Ballad Community Health, Sullivan County Health Department, Frontier Health, Bristol Public Library, and Healing Hands come to the center once a week to serve clients. An AmeriCorps intern is there daily to help people create resumes and fill out online job applications. Family Promise is a United Way agency.
| |
Gratitude from Young Life
Matt Richardson recently sent us the letter of thanks below on behalf of Young Life, our mission focus in June.
Dear First Pres family,
We just received the generous donation taken up over the month of June. Wow! I’m reminded of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives as well.”
Thank you for “sharing your lives” with teenagers in our town. We were able to take every kid that wanted to go to camp this summer, and several came to know and trust Jesus for the first time. On behalf of our new brothers and sisters, thank you from Young Life!
| |
|
Student Fall Retreat Sep. 2–4
Sixth through 12th graders, sign up for a weekend of fun and fellowship with your friends! Student Ministries invites you to our Fall Retreat weekend at Look Up Lodge in Travelers Rest, SC. This is an annual favorite that you won't want to miss!
We will share wild fun and adventure in the great outdoors, worship together, and bond with our church family. We’ve reserved nice cabins for our stay. We will leave from the church Saturday morning and return Monday afternoon.
If you register with a deposit by August 15, you will receive a T-shirt, and your total cost for the trip will be $175, which includes transportation, lodging, meals, camp activities, and programming. After August 15, the price will increase to $200, and T-shirt size cannot be guaranteed.
Ready to go? Submit the registration form and pay the nonrefundable deposit of $50. Pay online here. Choose “Fall Retreat” in the drop-down menu. If you have any questions, email Katie Arnold or call or text her a 770-296-1671.
| |
Be a Reading Buddy
Reading Buddies is gearing up for another school year. Thirty minutes of your time makes a huge difference in the life of the elementary student you will partner with! Last spring’s reading scores underline the importance of this help to elementary school students. Please contact Kay Ward at [email protected] to let her know you want to be part of this important program with Bristol Tennessee City Schools.
| |
We Want to Dig a Community Well in Nigeria
Throughout the month of August, we are raising funds through offerings and donations to help pay for the digging of a well in Kaduna State, Nigeria. This well is a project of the Shabach Beyond Center Nigeria, founded by our own Jerry and Rachael Swam Sidi. The Shabach Well will supply clean drinking water to more than 20,000 people in the Ungwan Boro community. There is no life, and no ministry, without water. Please be generous.
| |
Potential Mission Trip to Zambia Next May
Over the years since FPC members Mark and Catherine Bell made their first trip to Zambia in 2011, this beautiful African country has become a second home to them. They fell in love with the culture, the people, and the churches and are in awe of the spiritual maturity of the friends and leaders that live in this majestic part of the world. They feel blessed that, through their relationship with the Zambian founders of the Phoebe Foundation Africa (PFA, a Christian non-governmental organization) and with Chris and Phoebe Chanda, they have been a part of carrying out the mission of this Christ-centered ministry.
Zambians love soccer, and Mark has felt called to continue to collaborate with the Africa Impact Project to share the gospel with Zambians through the sport. In response to the global mental health crisis, Catherine has been invited to continue to share counseling education with pastors and community leaders through Mapalo Counseling Ministries. These two ministry initiatives are under the PFA umbrella.
The Bells are the co-chairs of the PFA USA Board of Directors and are currently praying about and planning a trip that they hope to lead from May 16 through May 30, 2024. It will be their eighth mission trip to Zambia and an opportunity for them and those interested in joining them to engage and serve this beautiful community, and to experience what the Bells describe as “the multilateral and transformative mutual learning” that takes place every time they spend time there.
To learn more about this mission opportunity, come to a presentation about the ongoing work in Zambia Wednesday, August 23, after our fellowship dinner. The meal will be at 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall, and the presentation will begin at 6:15 in the chapel. Justin Miller has offered to connect interested persons with the Bells. You will find more information here.
| |
Memorials and honoraria are published in the newsletter only after the family has been personally notified by our business office. Today we gratefully acknowledge a gift to the Memorial Fund from Cora Lee Raccioppo, in memory of Tony Raccioppo, and a gift from Peggy Semancik in honor of Harold Rutherford’s 90th birthday. | |
|
Condolences
Our love and sympathy are with the family of previous member Claudette Easley, who died July 17 in Cincinnati, Ohio. After the death of her husband, Dick, in 2006, Claudette moved to Ohio to be near her children.
|
In Our Prayers
We have several unnamed or private requests. Please pray for the members of our community
who wish to remain anonymous.
| |
|
Ricky Adams
Ginger Alvarado
Fitz Anderson
Wayne Ausmus
Bud & Marg Branscomb
Bristol Tennessee City Schools
Laura Ann Buckles
Nancy Carter & family
Rachel & Ben Cherry & Dean Millard
Bill & Vickie Coleman
Family of Roy Connor
Barbara Daniel
Kathleen Dotterweich
Frances Emerson
Russell Fogelman, Kelli Krajeck & Kendall
Debbie Garritson
John Graham Sr.
Lou Hebb
Betsy Tate Kegley
Cheyenne Little
Mardia Long
| | |
Dot & Diana Mattison
Deborah Mitchell
Montana Indian Ministries
National & international leadership
Lee North
Pastor Bruce Plummer
Don Pridemore
Cora Lee Raccioppo
Harold Rutherford
Patricia Tait
Teachers & school administrators
Michael & Cassie Thornton
Those suffering with addiction
Julia Torbert
Debbie Turner
Ty Wagner
Nancy Walker
Bill & Patsy Ward
Sam Weddington
Abigail Welch
Amy Williams
| |
The session continues to encourage masks for those at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 or not fully vaccinated. The session encourages everyone to consult their medical professional about vaccinations and boosters. | |
Monday is the deadline for contributions to Windows. Subscribe to our free e-newsletter by sending your name and preferred email address to the editor.
Livestream our worship services and other activities at FPC Bristol on YouTube. Click on the link and hit Subscribe to receive notifications of new videos. Find us on Facebook at FPC Bristol. Several accounts will show up. “Like” the page or ask to join a group.
We encourage you to use text, mail, or our website to safely continue your faithful support of our ministries. Give online here; choose a fund from the drop-down menu. Text fpcbristol to 73256 to send your pledge, offering, or special gift to the church. Messages and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. Text HELP to 73256 for help. Text STOP to 73256 to cancel. If you prefer, you may mail your contribution to the church.
| |
701 Florida Avenue | Bristol, TN 37620 | 423-764-7176 | fpcbristol.org | | | | |