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

In This Issue
Worship
Livestream!
Deadline & Subscriptions
Celebrating Senior Sunday
Please Bring School Supplies to One Worship This Sunday
Sharing Christ Needs Servers
You Can Help Make Masks
We're Ready to Help
RSVP for Advent Devotional by Aug. 1
Celebrate at Doe River Gorge Aug. 16
Back to the Office Safely
Give Remotely to Keep Us Together
Join Us on YouTube and Facebook
Study the Bible Online
The World Needs Our Prayers
Forward, Seniors!
Pray for One Another
Church Calendar
Our Church Officers
Worship
July 26
8th Sunday after Pentecost
Student-Led One Worship (9:00)
Lessons
1 Samuel 17:37-47
Romans 8:5-11, 37-39
Sermon
Growing in Faith
Lance Tudor
Last Sunday's Attendance
In person: 9:00: 22; 11:00: 26
Livestream: 64
Playbacks: 163
Livestream!
Click here to livestream our contemporary service. You can also access past sermons and ministry videos on our YouTube account, "FPC Bristol."
Deadline & Subscriptions
Deadline for contributions is the Monday of the week of publication. To subscribe to our free e-newsletter, send an email with your name and preferred email address to [email protected]

Windows

on First Presbyterian Church

July 23, 2020
Celebrating Senior Sunday
This Sunday we celebrate the senior class of 2020. As we prep and prepare, I am flooded with memories of our time together over the past seven years. This class is unique. When they were confirmed in eighth grade, the class was made up of five girls and one patient guy. As high school approached, the five ladies decided to make it their mission to invite people to youth group and grow their class. Including and welcoming others was a consistent trait as they journeyed through high school. They are dedicated leaders who have taken an active role in mentoring younger students. They've had a hunger for serving others and an eagerness to love everyone. This small class started out on a mission, invited others to join in, and carried out that mission to the very end.
Many seniors who call FPC their church home do not attend with their parents. They have nevertheless found a home here where they have been nurtured, encouraged, and well loved. If you have driven by the church recently, you have seen the lawn lined with graduation signs for each of our graduates. It is so moving to read the names and realize that this class started with six students and now we are celebrating a class of 23 graduates.

We can all look at this class and follow in their footsteps. We are called to be together in community and walk together through all of life's ups and downs. Doing so has been difficult in a season that forces us to be apart, but this class has reminded me how vital community is to our faith. We cannot grow weary of meeting together, we cannot let brokenness get us out of the habit, we cannot believe the lie that we don't really need it. We all are in desperate need of a faith community and have to work hard to prioritize it in our crazy world.
It has been an honor to walk beside these students and parents. The incredible moments of experiencing the Spirit move through us, serving together, laughing together, crying together, and feeling eager to just be together in community. I have witnessed these students love and serve so deeply. As we prepare for Sunday, the seniors have been reminiscing and retelling stories of our time together. This community, our church, has had such a powerful impact on their high school experience. I hope you will all join us in person or online for worship this Sunday, as our seniors share and lead us in worship.
LOVE BIG!
Katie Arnold

Please Bring School Supplies to One Worship This Sunday
Please join us this Sunday, June 26, for our One Worship service at 9:00 a.m. on the front lawn. In addition to recognizing our outstanding graduating seniors, who will lead the service, we will collect classroom supplies for Fairmount Elementary School. We will place a special bin by the snack table for your donations. If you have any questions, contact Dave Welch at [email protected].
These are the supplies needed:
Tape dispensers
Post-its
Binder clips
Scissors
Sticky tabs
Tissues
Mechanical pencils
Sharpies
Magic Markers
Gel pens
Staplers & staples
Colored file folders
Highlighters
Paper clips
Erasers
 
Sharing Christ Needs Servers
We are looking for a few volunteers to serve at Sharing Christ Ministries downtown next Saturday, August 1, from 4:30 to around 7:00 p.m. To protect volunteers and clients from direct contact with one another during the pandemic, we are not staffing a serving line inside. Instead, we are making sack lunches and filling to-go boxes that people pick up from a table outside. We need three or four volunteers to make sandwiches, fill lunch sacks, and put casseroles and rolls in to-go containers. We'd love to welcome a new volunteer or someone who hasn't joined in in a while! If you'd like to help or simply want to know more, contact Dottie Havlik at [email protected] or 423-956-6747. Sharing Christ is located at the corner of State and Sixth streets.
You Can Help Make Masks
We continue to make masks for members of our congregation and various organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We need volunteers for the following tasks:
  • Donating 100% cotton sheets (any color)
  • Pre-washing and ironing donated sheets and other fabric
  • Cutting sheets and other fabric into rectangles according to pattern
  • Sewing the masks together (instructions and materials supplied)
If you can help with any of these steps, please contact the church office (423-764-7176) or Peggy Hill (423-956-0209 or [email protected]). If you need a mask, call the church office.
We're Ready to Help
You are not alone! If you have a need, please call the church and let us know! We want to be a blessing to you and make sure that you have what you need. Our response teams are prepared to deliver essential supplies and make general wellness calls. We also have medical personnel on call. If you see a need, please let us know. If you want to help us in the work, just email Dave Welch or Pastor Sam.
RSVP for Advent Devotional by Aug. 1
If you would like to contribute 300 words to our 2020 Advent Devotional, we would love to hear from you! Let us know, or ask for more information, by emailing Han Ong at [email protected] or Candy Phelps at [email protected] by August 1. If you choose to participate, Han will need your contribution by October 1.
Celebrate at Doe River Gorge Aug. 16!
Our entire church family is invited to our annual celebration at Doe River Gorge in Hampton, TN, on Sunday, August 16, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. The afternoon will be full of lake fun and outdoor lounging. At 4:00 we will have a baptismal service by the lake then move to the dining pavilion for dinner together. You may pack a picnic dinner or pre-purchase a dinner voucher from Doe River Gorge. We hope to have our whole church together for this glorious day of celebration!
Please register for the event at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LDQX8W3. On this site you can also register for dinner at Doe River Gorge. The cost of the meal is $9 for persons 8 years of age and over, and $5 for those 7 and under.
Back to the Office Safely
FPC Picture
As part of our plan to get church functions back to normal, staff are returning to work in the church building on a limited basis. When you need to contact a member of staff, please do so by phone, email, or mail, if you can. We want to limit contact with others for everyone's safety. A later phase of our plan allows for more regular contact within the building, so please stay tuned for future announcements.
Give Remotely to Keep Us Together
During the COVID-19 crisis, we encourage you to give by way of our website or by text or mail. We must hold together, and your continued, faithful giving ensures that we will have the resources to continue our ministries. You can give online by going to our   website  and clicking on "Give" in the upper right corner. You can send your pledge, offering, or special gift by texting (all one word) fpcbristol to 73256. You can also mail your checks directly to the church. Our address is 701 Florida Avenue, Bristol, TN 37620. Thank you, as always, for your generosity.
Join Us on YouTube and Facebook
Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch the livestream of our early worship service and other activities. Go to YouTube.com and type in "FPC Bristol." Click on the link and hit "subscribe." You will receive notifications of new videos. We also suggest that you connect to our various Facebook sites. Go to Facebook and type in "FPC Bristol," and several accounts will show up. Some are open to the public, while others are restricted. In either case, "like" the page, or ask to join a group if it is closed.
Study the Bible Online
We are continuing to offer two adult studies on our YouTube channel. The Sunday Bible study, Praying With the Psalms, looks at the Book of Psalms through the lens of prayer. All you need is a Bible and an open heart. We also post a short study every Wednesday. If you subscribe, you will be notified when new studies become available.
The World Needs Our Prayers
As we weather the COVID-19 pandemic, we are asking you to spend more time in prayer for our church, our community, our nation, and the world. Pray for our leaders, first responders, frontline workers, and the vulnerable. We also ask that you pray for a swift end to this disease.
Forward, Seniors!
It is summer, season of youth, or so it seems from the official Presbyterian Church calendar. Our own FPC calendar names July 26 Senior Sunday. Graduating high school students will lead our combined worship service on the lawn, which will have been prepped by Bruce Gannaway (July 22-25). David Moore (July 29-August 1) takes over for the first Sunday in August.
Pray for One Another

In Our Prayers
Please also include in your prayers members of our community who wish to remain anonymous.
Regina Ambagis
Sue Barr
Bassett family
João Batista family
Joe Bell
Booher family
Sujean Bradley
Brandi & family
Bud Branscomb
Bristol Tennessee School System
Jane Brooks
Becky Busler
Calleigh Cairns
Christians in Nigeria/ECWA
Community, nation & world
Thomas Covington
Ethiopian brothers & sisters
First responders & medical & infrastructure personnel
DeeDee Galliher
Goddards (missionaries in Paraguay)
Rose Marie & Jim Goodrum
Martha & John Graham
Gene Grindstaff
Ron Grubbs
Conor Haaser & squadron
Marjorie Harr
Lou Hebb
Nate & Angela & newborn Higgins
John Holler
Marty Keys & family
Josh & Morgan King & family
Richard Lee
Nancy Lilly
Dot Mattison
Kathleen McGlothlin
Bob Millard
Mott Mitchell
Alice Moore
Brianna Necessary
Doug Nelson's family
Martha North
Caleb Revill
Mary Ellis & Paul Rice family
Harold Rutherford & family
Brittany Salter
Josh & Ta'meka Stigers
Joe Strickland's family
Tom & Kitty Vann
Bill Wade
Maria Wagner
Karen White
 
Birthday Prayer Fellowship
July 27       Barbara Daniel, Cyndi Madison
July 28       Ralph Booher, Jennifer Kennedy
July 29       Shawn Nelson
July 30       Lisa Holmes
Church Calendar
Sunday, July 26
9:00 a.m.       One Worship, Front Lawn & Livestream
                         Online Sunday School (following 9:00 service)
Monday, July 27
7:00 p.m.       Session of Elders, Online
Tuesday, July 28
10:00 a.m.     Staff Meeting, Fellowship Hall
Thursday, July 30
7:00 a.m.       Men's Bible Study, Fellowship Hall
12:00 p.m.     Noon Bible Study, Fellowship Hall
Saturday, Aug. 1
4:30 p.m.       Sharing Christ, State & Sixth
Our Church Officers
Church Officers
Class of 2020
Class of 2021
Class of 2022
ELDERS
Nancy Allerton
Ann Abel
Anna L. Booher
Rebecca Beck
Randy Cook
Bruce Gannaway
David Hyde
John Graham
Will Hankins
Jordan Pennington
Katie McInnis
Dottie Havlik
Jerry Poteat
John Vann
Laura Ong
DEACONS
Blake Bassett
Fred Harkleroad
Mike Cleland
Rhonda Comer
Matt Kingsley
Geneva King
Ron Fox
Lisa McClain
George Linke
Brenda Lawson
Drew Rice
Charlie Taylor
Barbara Thompson
Joyce Samuel
 
TRUSTEES
Peggy Hill
Jack Butterworth
Nancy Cook