First Presbyterian Church  |  701 Florida Avenue  |  Bristol, TN 37620  |  423-764-7176  |  fpcbristol.org

In This Issue
Worship
Subscriptions & Deadlines
We're Telling Our Stories Wednesday Night
Arts Series Returns! Save These Dates
Handbells by the Numbers
Wednesday Women's Bible Study Resumes Sept. 5
Fall Student Retreat Next Weekend
Sign Up by Sunday to Journey with the Confirmation Class
Engaging Volunteers: Current Needs
Become a Fairmount Reading Buddy
Weathering the Season
Music Notes
Pray for One Another
Church Calendar
Our Church Officers
Worship
August 26
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lessons
Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18
John 6:52-69
Sermon
Agent Provocateur
Dave Welch
Hymns
Blessed Assurance
O Jesus, I Have Promised
The Lord Is God
Anthem
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Attendance Last Sunday
8:30: 120; 11:00: 130
Subscriptions & Deadlines
To receive our e-newsletter, email your name and preferred email address to the editor, Kathy Acuff, at kacuff@fpcbristol.org. The newsletter is emailed a minute after midnight on Thursday morning. It is posted to our website later that day.
Deadline for contributions is the Monday of the week of publication. Windows is a publication of First Presbyterian Church, Bristol, TN.

Windows

on First Presbyterian Church

August 23 , 2018
We're Telling Our Stories Wednesday Night

Our fall schedule of Wednesday night programs continues August 29 with a fellowship supper of lasagna, salad, and dessert at 5:30, followed by programs for all ages. High School Small Groups, Middle School Gathering, and Wednesday Night Kids will meet at 6:00. We'll hear announcements and play table games at 6:10. At 6:20, Dave Welch will lead a second Adult Learning session in "I Love to Tell the Story," a creative and purposeful look at sharing our faith journeys with others. Please join us!
Arts Series Returns! Save These Dates








The FPC Arts Series will enjoy a revival this year with two exciting programs of music in our sanctuary. On Thursday, October 25, Ensemble Chaconne, an early music group from the Boston area, will perform masterpieces of 18th-century chamber music on period instruments at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 24, at 3:00 p.m., organist Charles Frost, whose playing has been described as "soul-stirring," will present an organ program on music of African-American composers. His recital is being co-sponsored by the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists. We will present details of these two events closer to the date of each program. Meanwhile, be sure to mark your calendar!
Handbells by the Numbers
It's all about the numbers.
We are looking to field a team of 11 players.
Football?
No.
HANDBELLS!
Did you know it generally requires 11 players to play a standard 3-octave handbell arrangement? We are capable of playing much larger arrangements; the church actually owns 4 + ½ octaves of bells. That's 56 bells in all: the upper half of a piano and then some. All we need are the people to ring them.
It appears we have 6 ringers returning from last year. We need 5 more people to come practice 1 hour a week, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Monday. Are you 1 of the 5? There is no nominating committee that will call on you. You have to nominate yourself. Age is not important. You can be 8 or 80. But you must love music. If you can tell the difference between a line and a space, you can follow a simple handbell part.
Email me ( bobthecomposer@gmail.com), call me (423-341-0378), or stop me in the hall ("Hey, Bob!"). I'd love to talk with you about ringing with us this year. Our first rehearsal will be Monday, September 10, at 5:30 p.m. Make sure that 1 of the 5 new faces we see is yours. Thanks! / Bob Greene
Wednesday Women's Bible Study Resumes Sept. 5
All women are invited to the Wednesday Women's Bible Study, which will hold its first meeting of the semester on September 5 in the regular 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. slot. The small group formerly used videos but now will follow a printed guideline to study books of the Bible, beginning with Philippians. Each meeting is an informal time to discuss God's Word, pray, and enjoy one another's company. Drop by the Coffee Klatch Room any Wednesday morning to see whether this small group fits your needs. If you have questions, contact Dottie Havlik at 423-956-6747 or dhavlik@charter.net.
Fall Student Retreat Next Weekend
Our annual Fall Retreat for students in seventh through twelfth grades is next weekend! There is still time to sign up for fun and fellowship at Whitewater Express in Copperhill, Tenn. The weekend in the great outdoors will include whitewater rafting, bonding with your church family, and worship. We will leave early on Saturday, September 1, and return on the afternoon of Monday, September 3.
The price for the weekend is $160. Register at  https://goo.gl/forms/yrJOG0SnXcCHcbks1 and turn in a $75 deposit to Katie Arnold or the church office.
Sign Up by Sunday to Journey with the Confirmation Class
FPC invites all middle and high school students who have not been confirmed to embark on a two-year journey to confirmation that will begin Sunday, September 9. Running from September through April each year, this course will prepare students for baptism or to confirm the vows of their baptism by professing their faith in Jesus Christ. All students who complete the course will be invited to confirm their faith at the end of the second year. Students who plan to participate in confirmation should email Katie Arnold at karnold@fpcbristol.org or call her at 423-764-7176 by this Sunday, August 26.
As they learn through discussion and activities, students will find this journey to be a time of individual growth and relational growth with their church family. They will learn, talk, and ask hard questions about faith, God, and more; play games; watch videos; and meet friends in new ways. And in addition to their teachers, each student will have two mentors, an adult and a high school student, to help them as they go through this process.
Our September 9 session will be held in the Fellowship Hall at 10:00 a.m. as part of Sunday School Rally Day. During this event, course participants will each receive a confirmation Bible. Subsequent confirmation classes will be held in the Big Room in the Student Ministries wing on Sunday mornings from 10:00 to 10:45.
Engaging Volunteers: Current Needs

FPC needs volunteers immediately for the following tasks:
Kid's Kirk. We need rotating helpers (not teachers) for both services and Sunday School. Volunteers can sign up for one week, one month, or a specific day, like a particular Sunday of every month. Contact: Lilly Osborne, losborne@fpcbristol.org.
Kitchen Volunteers. Our Wednesday fellowship suppers began this week, and we are still looking for folks to pitch in and help. Contact: Scottie Bales, sbales@fpcbristol.org.
  • Shop. Do the one-stop shopping at Sam's Club then deliver groceries to the FPC kitchen on Tuesday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
  • Prep. Spend an hour or two from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays chopping veggies, making tea, preparing sides, and so forth.
  • Set Up. Those who don't care to cook can help, too. Set the tables from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.; no training required! Simply set out plates, napkins, utensils, and salt and pepper.
  • Clean Up. Be one of the crew that cleans up right after dinner. We will be using disposable plates and cups for more efficient cleanup.
Student Ministries. Work with our youth in Student Ministries! Contact: Katie Arnold, karnold@fpcbristol.org.
  • SM Planning Team. Meet monthly with the Director of Student Ministries to plan, vision, and pray for student ministry. Assist with SM tasks and events.
  • Small Group Leader. Invest in the lives of a few students to encourage authentic faith. Attend Sunday night Student Fellowship (5:30-8:00). Assist with activities and spend time with teens through dinner, games, and worship. After worship, guide discussion with a small group of teens.
  • Dinner Coordinator. Coordinate volunteers to bring dinner to Sunday Student Fellowship.
  • Student Fellowship Setup/Cleanup. Set up dinner and special event activities; clean up after meal and activities.
Become a Fairmount Reading Buddy
An organizational meeting for Fairmount's Reading Buddies program is planned for 6:00 p.m. Thursday, August 30, at FPC. The Reading Buddies program is all about building a positive relationship with a child. No previous teaching experience is required! For more information, contact Kay Ward at 423-652-9251 or visit www.readingbuddiesbristol.org.
Weathering the Season
We are watching the weather and consulting the calendar as summer scuttles across grass that alternately crunches and squelches. In the PC(USA), Saturday, September 1, is World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. The next day begins the Season of Peace, which will culminate in World Communion Sunday. On our home turf in Bristol, Randy Olson (August 22-25) is the volunteer to thank for the serene lawn you'll see when you come to worship this Sunday. Smack in the middle of the intersection of the FPC mowing schedule and the PC(USA) calendar, Aaron Brooks (August 29-September 1) must shoulder responsibility for the care of all the creation he can reach from the Tiger Cat, and quite probably for the ensuing peace. A mower's gotta do what a mower's gotta do.
Join the team! Whatever the weather, signing up is never out of season. We welcome men and women, adults and teens, even families: younger children can move debris to the curb, and a parent or elder sibling can mow. It's easy, and you suit your own convenience, mowing once or up to three times. Simply contact Randy Cook at npolecook@aol.com or 423-956-1541. If you're new to Scag mowers, he will be happy to give you a lesson on ours.
Music Notes
Sunday's music: Our anthem, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," was arranged by the renowned American organist, teacher, and composer John Ferguson (b. 1941). Ferguson is most associated with his arrangements of familiar hymns; he has more than 100 compositions or arrangements to his credit. The text is by Martin Luther (1483-1546) and was written sometime between 1527 and 1529. It is a paraphrase of Psalm 46 and has been translated into English at least 70 times and also into many other languages. While 19th-century musicologists disputed Luther's authorship of the hymn's music, that opinion has been modified by more recent research. It is now the consensus view of musical scholars that Luther did indeed compose the famous tune to go with the words, but many scholars suspect that the tune was inspired by a pub song. Luther is often quoted as saying, "Why should the devil have all the good tunes?"
Sunday's music participants: Pat Flannagan, Bob Greene, Sanctuary Choir.

Fanny Crosby
Organist's Footnotes: This Sunday we will sing the well-known Fanny Crosby (1820 -1915) hymn, "Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine!" Blind from infancy, Fanny composed her poetry by memorizing the lines as she went and dictating them to a family member when her poems were complete. In this way, she wrote more than 8,000 songs in her lifetime! It is said that her good friend, Phoebe Palmer Knapp, dropped by her house for a visit one day. She told Fanny that she had just written a tune but had no text for it. She began humming it then asked, "Fanny, what does the tune say to you? Do any words come to mind?" Fanny immediately replied, "Your melody says to me: 'Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.'" At that very moment, a new gospel song was born.
I have decided to play three arrangements based upon hymns of Fanny Crosby. J. Bert Carlson's (1937 -2017) warm, confident, flowing arrangement of ASSURANCE (our prelude) seems to embody the spirit of the lyrics, building to a full crescendo on the refrain, before ending more quietly. Our offertory is a quiet, sensitive setting of "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross" (NEAR THE CROSS) arranged by Joyce Gilstrap Jones (b. 1930). The hymn "To God Be the Glory" was composed in 1872 and became popular in Great Britain during Moody's 1873 -1874 evangelistic campaigns, but it failed to achieve wide usage in the United States. It finally caught on here in 1954 with the Billy Graham Crusade in Nashville. Our postlude is Don Phillips's arrangement (TO GOD BE THE GLORY), suitably boisterous and exuberant, changing key twice in the middle and broadening to 4/4 meter, then returning to 3/4 time for the finale.
Pray for One Another

In Our Prayers
DeeDee Galliher
Nancy King
Larry & Courtney Sharrett
Chuck Thompson
 
Birthday Prayer Fellowship
Aug. 26       Rose Rosser, Molly Shaw
Aug. 27       Zach Beckner
Aug. 28       Vance McCracken, Breanna Necessary, Katie Vande Brake
Aug. 29       Aaron Addison
Aug. 30       Jackie Burt, Logan Tudor
Aug. 31       Gracie Buckles, Susan Buckles, Ann Davis, Molly Keller
Sept. 1        Sue Barr, Chuck Bolick
Church Calendar
Sunday, August 26
8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall
9:45 a.m.       Sunday School
11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary
Monday, August 27
7:00 p.m.       Session of Elders, Room 123
Tuesday, August 28
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, August 29
5:15 p.m.       Baby & Toddler Care, Rooms 34 - 37
5:30 p.m.       Fellowship Supper, Fellowship Hall
6:00 p.m.       Wednesday Night Kids
6:00 p.m.       Middle School Gathering
6:00 p.m.       High School Small Groups
6:20 p.m.       Adult Learning Program
7:00 p.m.       Worship Team, Fellowship Hall
7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir, Room 220
7:15 p.m.       Traditional Worship Practice, Sanctuary
Thursday, August 30
7:00 a.m.       Men's Bible Study, Parlor
12:00 p.m.     Noon Bible Study, Room 117
6:00 p.m.       Fairmount Reading Buddies Orientation
Saturday, September 1
Fall Student Retreat Begins
Our Church Officers
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
 
TRUSTEES
Class of 2018
Class of 2019
Class of 2020
Charles Webb
Nancy Cook
Peggy Hill