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

In This Issue
Worship
Deadline & Subscriptions
Students Cook Up Spaghetti and Fun for a Worthy Cause
Don't Miss Sunday's Arts Series Concert!
In the Pulpit March 31
Easter Lily Season Begins
Wednesday Night Looks at Resurrection
Celebrated Bluegrass Mass Here April 10
Sing Sistah Sing!.in Our Sanctuary April 15
Student Ministries Volunteer Spotlight
Bro-Down Showdown April 4
We're Preparing an Easter Egg Hunt
Comfort in the Midst of Grief
Next to Godliness
Go Crackers! Give Goldfish to Fairmount
Gifts to the Church
Music Notes
Pray for One Another
Church Calendar
Our Church Officers
Worship
March 24
3rd Sunday in Lent
Lessons
Isaiah 53:7-9
Luke 18:31-34
Sermon
Who Could Have Imagined?
Sam Weddington
Hymns
In the Cross of Christ I Glory
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Anthem
Agnus Dei
Last Sunday's Attendance
9:00: 146; 11:00: 101
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 kacuff@fpcbristol.org

Windows

on First Presbyterian Church

March 21, 2019
Students Cook Up Spaghetti and Fun for a Worthy Cause
Don't cook dinner Sunday night-come to the Fellowship Hall at 5:00 p.m. and enjoy a spaghetti supper made by FPC teens. They are holding a fundraiser to finance their May 26 mission trip to our sister church and school in the village of Felipe CamarĂ£o in Natal, Brazil. To get the flavor of our partnership with our Brazilian brothers and sisters, simply bring an appetite and a donation with you. You'll be immediately rewarded by the pleasure of being with some wonderful teens! These are the team members:
 
Students
Adults
Alie Bassett
Ethan Moore
Katie Arnold
Gracie Buckles
Reece Proffitt
John Vann
Autumn Cathey
Kloey Tester
Karen Vann
Hope Godsey
Lance Tudor
Sam Weddington
Cole McBrayer
Lauren Turner
Linda Welch
Riley McCracken
Nolan Wishon
 
 
Don't Miss Sunday's Arts Series Concert!
Charles Frost
Organist Charles Frost, a world-renowned recitalist and recording artist, will perform music by African American composers at 3:00 p.m. this Sunday, March 24,in our sanctuary. Works by Fela Sowande, Ellie-Trevor Weston, Undine Moore, Ulysses Kay, Calvin Taylor, Phillip Barnette McIntyre, Ralph Simpson, David Hurd, Florence Price, William B. Cooper, and Carl Haywood are on the program. This event will be the last in our 2018 -2019 Arts Series. Admission is by a suggested donation of $10. The recital will be followed by a reception for the artist in the church parlor.
In the Pulpit March 31
Dr. Brian Blount
We are pleased to announce that the Reverend Dr. Brian Blount, President of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA, and Charlotte, NC, will be preaching at our church on Sunday, March 31. President Blount is also a professor of New Testament at the seminary. Before that, he was the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Princeton Theological Seminary. The author of many books and commentaries, his area of academic expertise is the Gospel of Mark and the Book of Revelation, with emphasis on apocalyptic literature as a lens into ongoing cultural discussion and debate. He comes to us by invitation as the church continues to strengthen its relationship with the seminary through our support of international mission travel opportunities and internships for students through the Syngman Rhee Global Mission Center for Christian Education. We invite you to not only come and receive the news that President Blount will share with us that Sunday, but to also join us for a reception for him following the 11:00 service.
Easter Lily Season Begins
We will place Easter lilies in our sanctuary on Easter Sunday, April 21, in the name of those we love and honor. Opportunities to order plants, which are $15 each, will be available for the next two weeks. To order, fill out a form and return it with payment to the church office by Monday, April 8. To ensure correct acknowledgment in the Easter worship bulletin, please print all names exactly as you wish to see them. You can find order forms on the kiosk in the office hallway and in the sanctuary, the Fellowship Hall, and the church office.
Wednesday Night Looks at Resurrection
What difference can the claim that Jesus rose from the dead 2,000 years ago make to us today? With the scholar N.T. Wright, we are looking at the political, historical, and theological issues at stake then and now. Please join us March 27 as we continue our study of the Resurrection DVD series.
The evening's fellowship will begin with a lasagna supper at 5:30. The Resurrection study will begin at 6:20. High School Small Groups, Middle School Gathering, and Wednesday Night Kids will meet at 6:00. The Sanctuary Handbell Choir and any adult who wants to learn how to do what they do will practice in room 212 at 6:15.
Celebrated Bluegrass Mass Here April 10
A very special event awaits us after Wednesday night fellowship on April 10. At 7:00 p.m., head to the sanctuary to hear Come Away to the Skies: A High Lonesome Bluegrass Mass, which combines ancient texts of the church with gospel hymns and, of course, a bluegrass band. Tim Sharp and Wes Ramsey have arranged these texts and songs with a bluegrass flavor to give us a wonderful piece of music. The Chuck Nation Band will be joined by our Sanctuary Choir and choirs from King University. Come join us for an evening of great music that connects Christian worship across the centuries through a unique combination of text and music. Admission is free and the public is invited.
Sing Sistah Sing! in Our Sanctuary April 15

World-renowned mezzo-soprano Andrea Baker will perform Sing Sistah Sing! in our sanctuary at 7:00 p.m. Monday, April 15. A mixture of storytelling, jazz, blues, opera, art song, gospel, and (on that evening) the rollicking piano of Peter Maleitzke, this show has won great international critical acclaim. Sing Sistah Sing! is both a celebration of the extraordinary breadth of the African American female voice and a heartfelt retelling of inspiring life stories. It brilliantly weaves together these women's struggles in the civil rights movement and in their fight for artistic freedom at home and abroad. Augmenting this theme, Baker is scheduled to talk about Civil Rights/Truth and Reconciliation with Pauline Moore from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. April 14 at Lee Street Baptist Church.
An artistic trailblazer herself, Baker is the first African American to sing the roles of Fricka, Waltraute, Erda, and the Second Norn in the premiere of Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Beijing Arts Festival; the first African American Carmen at the Sydney Opera House; and the first African American to sing Ortrud in the South Korean premiere of Lohengrin. Baker began her operatic career with the San Francisco Opera and now lives in Scotland.
Student Ministries Volunteer Spotlight
Chuck and Barb Thompson
This week's Student Ministries volunteer spotlight is on Barb Thompson. Barb plays one of our most important roles. She coordinates the schedule to provide dinner for all our students and volunteers at Student Fellowship on Sunday nights. To Barb, this isn't just filling in names on a schedule; she takes the time to call each family and invite them to minister to students through delicious food. Her gracious and loving approach paints a beautiful missional vision that families are eager to be part of. Barb, we are so thankful for you! Thank you for serving and loving our Student Ministries so BIG!
If you would like to join Barb in this ministry, please email me at karnold@fpcbristol.org and find out how you can help feed students! / Katie Arnold
Bro-Down Showdown April 4
Hey, middle school and high school guys! Save the date for the best guys' event of the year! Join us Thursday, April 4, for a night of gruff, manly fun! It's an all-night adventure, from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Invite all your friends, and register on the church website. Do you need to know more than that? Seriously? Then email Katie Arnold at karnold@fpcbristol.org.
We're Preparing an Easter Egg Hunt
Children's Ministries will hold the annual Easter Egg Hunt for ages 4 through 4th grade Saturday, April 13. We'll gather in the Fellowship Hall at 1:00 p.m. and go from there. While we await the date, we are collecting donations of plastic eggs and candy. Lilly Osborne and her team will make up treat bags to give the children after the hunt, rather than put candy in the eggs, so donations of chocolate are welcome! Please bring your donated items to the church by Monday, April 8. You will find a collection box near the Little Red House in the Fellowship Hallway, near Lilly's office. For more information or to learn how you can help, email Lilly at losborne@fpcbristol.org.
Comfort in the Midst of Grief
FPC's six bereavement teams need a few more volunteers who can contribute one dish to a meal to comfort a grieving family. We also need a couple of men who can help occasionally with setup and cleanup. Teams work in rotation to provide a meal (if requested) when a church family has a death. Each volunteer provides one dish when it is his or her team's turn. We normally deliver the meal to the family's home, but from time to time we need to set up and clean up elsewhere. If you can serve in this ministry in any capacity, please call or text Nancy Butterworth at 423-341-3734.
Next to Godliness
FPC Picture
Our volunteer mowers keep our church lawn looking righteous for Sunday worship, Wednesday fellowship, and special events like the fast-approaching Arts Series recital. Thanks to these faithful few, we tend to our sense of order and beauty, hold our heads up in the neighborhood, and never have to whisk visitors inside under cover of darkness. It's the little things, isn't it? And before you rebuke this sinful display of pride and vanity in the season of Lent, just remember it really comes down to self-respect. And cleanliness--that's the ticket!-which is right next to godliness. We could hardly think of anything more Presbyterian.
FPC invites more high-minded zealots to join our mowing team. We welcome men and women, teens and adults. Just contact Randy Cook at npolecook@aol.com or 423-956-1541. If you've never used a Scag mower before, Randy will reveal its mysteries.
Go Crackers! Give Goldfish to Fairmount
We are fishing for folks to donate goldfish crackers for snacktime at Fairmount Elementary School. Please bring bags of these little goodies to the Little Red House in the Fellowship Hallway. We will make sure they reach the school.
Gifts to the Church
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 in memory of:
Tom Daniel: to the Capital Campaign from Nancy DeFriece
Music Notes
Sunday's Early Worship
You can hear the songs we'll sing in the 9:00 service here.
 
Sunday's Late Worship
Participants: Pat Flannagan, Bob Greene, Sanctuary Choir.
Max Reger
Music: Continuing through the church season of Lent, the choir will sing another setting of the "Agnus Dei" ("Lamb of God") text this Sunday. This setting is by Max Reger (1873 -1916), a German composer who decided to become a musician after attending the operas of Wagner at the Bayreuth Festival. Reger was very active as a teacher of piano, organ, and theory and took a position at the University of Leipzig. He began to tour Europe as a soloist and conductor while producing a great number of new compositions. His musical language was a combination of traditional forms and avant-garde harmonies. History has not regarded Reger as a major figure, despite his fame during his lifetime. Keeping up with Pastor Sam, I have made my own translation of this setting from the original German.
Organist's footnotes: In honor of our guest recitalist, Charles D. Frost, who will perform organ music by African American composers at 3:00 Sunday afternoon, on Sunday morning I will play organ pieces composed by African American composers.
David Hurd
David Hurd (b. 1950) is a composer, concert organist, choral director, and educator. Dr. Hurd was Professor of Sacred Music and Director of Chapel Music at General Theological Seminary in Chelsea, New York City, for 28 years. He was also the Music Director at the Church of the Holy Apostles, Chelsea, until May 2013. He is now the Director of Music at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in New York's Times Square. His "Evening Song" (prelude) was composed in 1978 and published in the AGO 90th Anniversary Anthology of American Organ Music in 1988.
Raymond Henry (offertory) is a freelance composer and music educator in New York and accompanist at Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn. Adolphus Hailstork (postlude) is Professor and Eminent Scholar in the Department of Music at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
Sanctuary Handbell Choir wants you: We want you to ring a bell every once in a while on a Sunday morning (like this one) and most Wednesday evenings at 6:15. Come to room 212 after the fellowship dinner and join a group of fun-lovers who are learning together. Surprise Bob Greene at bobthecomposer@gmail.com or 423-341-0378.
Pray for One Another

In Our Prayers
Please also include in your prayers members of our community who wish to remain anonymous.
Mendy Bechtold
Ethiopian brothers & sisters
FPC Search Committees
Ben & Patsy Frizzell
DeeDee & Sarah Galliher
Dianne Glymph (Mary Ellis Rice's mother)
Elizabeth Graham
Martha Graham
Ron Grubbs
Nancy King
JB Madison's mother
Dot Mattison
Bob Millard
Pastor Sam's mother
Pendley family
Sharon Potter
Don Preston
Reeves family
Gary Roberts
Larry Roberts (Greg Roberts's brother)
Earl Rose Sr.
Louise Rutherford
Virginia Rutherford
Sikorski family
Marynan Smith
Stigers family
Chuck Thompson
Bill Wade
Jeremy Weaver
Sam Witcher
 
Birthday Prayer Fellowship
March 24         Alison Looney, Roby Witcher
March 27         Bennett McInnis
March 28         Betty Barger, Jay Regan, Bill Ward
March 30         AnnaLee Adams, Don Evans, Ann McAllister
Church Calendar
Sunday, March 24
9:00 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall
10:10 a.m.     Sunday School
11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary
3:00 p.m.       Arts Series Recital, Sanctuary
5:00 p.m.       Brazil Trip Dinner, Fellowship Hall
Monday, March 25
7:00 p.m.       Session of Elders, Room 123
Tuesday, March 26
10:00 a.m.     Staff Meeting, Room 117
10:00 a.m.     Morning Prayer Group, Conf. Room
6:00 p.m.       Venture Crew 3, Room 165
7:00 p.m.       Boy Scout Troop 3, Scout Wing
Wednesday, March 27
9:30 a.m.       Women's Bible Study, Room 117
5:00 p.m.       Baby & Toddler Care, Rooms 34 - 37
5:30 p.m.       Fellowship Dinner, Fellowship Hall
6:00 p.m.       Wednesday Night Kids
6:00 p.m.       Middle School Gathering
6:00 p.m.       High School Small Groups
6:15 p.m.       Handbell Practice, Room 212
6:20 p.m.       Adult Learning
7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir, Room 202
7:15 p.m.       Worship Team, Fellowship Hall
Thursday, March 28
7:00 a.m.       Men's Bible Study, Parlor
12:00 p.m.     Noon Bible Study, Room 117
Our Church Officers
Church Officers
Class of 2019
Class of 2020
Class of 2021
ELDERS
Anna Booher
Nancy Allerton
Ann Abel
Lee Galliher
Rebecca Beck
Randy Cook
Pete Holler
David Hyde
John Graham
Han Ong
Jordan Pennington
Katie McInnis
Pete Stigers
Jerry Poteat
John Vann
DEACONS
Sujean Bradley
Blake Bassett
Fred Harkleroad
George Linke
Rhonda Comer
Matt Kingsley
Greg Roberts
Ron Fox
Lisa McClain
Nate Sproles
Brenda Lawson
Drew Rice
Bill Whisnant
Barbara Thompson
Joyce Samuel
TRUSTEES
Nancy Cook
Peggy Hill
Jack Butterworth