By order of the Session of Elders, we will hold our annual congregational meeting Sunday, January 20, at 10:00 a.m. We will elect officers, approve the pastoral terms of call, and receive an annual financial report. We will then convene as a meeting of the corporation to receive an update on relevant matters and elect a new Trustee. We encourage all members of First Presbyterian Church to attend.

Bennett (front) and Baine McInnis

On December 23 we welcomed Baine and Bennett McInnis, sons of Katie and Taylor and brothers to Noelle, as members of the church of Jesus Christ through baptism. We celebrate their presence among us, and we ask that you pray for their continued spiritual growth in the years to come.

Our Stewardship Committee delivered the following message to the congregation in worship December 23.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. - - 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

A brand-new year, 2019, is coming in a few days. The annual operating budget has been fully funded by your pledges. The programs for the year have been established. As we celebrated last month, an army of FPC volunteers is already serving in a multitude of roles.

New things are special, but the new wears off of material things. The fresh newness of God's grace and a life in Christ endures. Each day is a new piece of life for us to live our faith, excited about the ways we can share and serve, and a day in which we know we will be blessed.

As we look forward to the new year, let us think about the windshield and rearview mirror on our own vehicle. The forward-looking view is much larger and more visible than the view looking backward. Where we are going is much more important than where we have been. Living forward, God continues to grace us with all we need to roll up our sleeves and engage with the challenges ahead.

2 Timothy 2: 15 tells us, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." How we live, what we say, how we serve reflects our diligence as disciples and believers. It is our task to see that God's grace in its various forms produces fruit. May we keep looking, working, and praying forward into the new year; teaching and learning about stewardship as an act of worship and generosity as well as an expression of faith and spiritual discipline. Let us look forward to the day when the Lord says, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Happy New Year!

A choir sings during last year's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Lee Street Baptist Church in Bristol, VA. (Thomas Gray/WCYB)

Once again, Lee Street Baptist Church will host an annual service celebrating the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. A community gospel choir under the direction of Lee Street Music Director Troy Shelley sings for the service every year, and anyone in the community may join them. FPC member Geneva King ( [email protected]) was in the choir for the 2018 service, and she will be happy to talk to anyone who is interested in participating.

The service will be held Sunday, January 20, at 4:00 p.m. at Lee Street Baptist Church, 1 West Mary Street in Bristol, VA. Four choir practices will be held in the sanctuary  before the event:

Save the date for our annual Women's Retreat at Blowing Rock Conference Center! This beloved event is scheduled for February 22 -24 and will feature the Reverend Grace Kim as guest speaker. Grace has titled her talk, "Just As I Am." Mark your calendars now!

We want to be ready when Fairmount Elementary students return from their holiday break January 8, so we are beginning to collect pretzels for winter snack times. We need small pretzels or pretzel sticks, which teachers can easily arrange into individual servings. Please bring your donated pretzels to the Little Red House in the Fellowship Hallway to perk up the Fairmount children when their energy begins to wane. Thank you!

Sunday's music: Both the words and music for our anthem, "You Have Put on Christ," were composed by Howard Hughes, a Marianist brother whose music has been known to many of us since 1964. Brother Howard is a most prolific writer. In addition to nearly

	Howard Hughes

700 published works, he has written a great deal of unpublished music for use within his own community. First professed in 1948, he taught from 1950 through 1971 in various Marianist schools. From 1971 through 1989, he was a musician at the order's provincial house in Baltimore, and has since assumed direction of the pastoral music program at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, where he also teaches in the fine arts department. He has a graduate degree in French and a master's degree in liturgical music from Catholic University of America. This work is actually a duet reminding all of us of the transformation that occurs through the sacrament of baptism.

Sunday's music participants: Pat Flannagan, Bob Greene, Laura Ong.

Organist's footnotes: Sunday is the twelfth day after Christmas, Epiphany, "the commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles" (Merriam-Webster). Théodore Dubois (1837 -1924) composed his "March of the Magi Kings" (our prelude) while serving as the titular organist at La Madeleine in Paris (1877 -1896). The piece was published in 1899 in Twelve Pieces for Organ or Pedal Piano, dedicated to his colleague Eugène Gigout, organist at St. Augustin. The sustained high note represents the star that guided the wise men (the Magi kings) to the Holy Family.

"Puer nobis nascitur" (our postlude) is the Latin name of the tune of our opening hymn, "What Star Is This, with Beams So Bright." It is a medieval German melody adapted by Michael Praetorius (1571 -1621). Rebecca Groom te Velde (b. 1956) has created a festive postlude based upon this tune.

Sunday, January 6

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

Monday, January 7

6:30 p.m.       Board of Deacons, Rooms 117 & 123

Tuesday, January 8

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

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

12:00 p.m.     Staff Lunch, Off Campus

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

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

Wednesday, January 9

9:30 a.m.       Women's Bible Study, Room 117

7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir, Room 202

7:15 p.m.       Worship Team, Fellowship Hall

Thursday, January 10

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

8:30 a.m.       Meals on Wheels, Fellowship Hall

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

5:00 p.m.       Human Resources Comm., Room 117

6:00 p.m.       Search Comm., Room 123

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