I love getting good news, and even more than that, I love sharing good news. This past week, I have received and participated in more than my fair share of that goodness, and so I am excited to share it with you now. The first piece of good news is that the results of our stewardship campaign are in: we have met our pledge goal of $646,000, and we may even exceed that for 2019! The Lord has been good, and you have been generous. The second piece of good news comes from our recent installation service. It's official: we're hitched!

All in all, there is much to be thankful for, and I give thanks to God for each of you. From witnessing the community rally to meet our budgetary needs, to receiving the great love you have extended to me and my family, I breathe a sigh of relief today, acknowledging that through you God has "delivered me from all my fears." Together, we have accomplished much in Christ's name, and I am excited for what the future holds. I have watched this community come together, overcome difficulty, and all the while, do it with an eye towards the larger calling God has on our lives together.

Therefore, along with the Psalmist, I call on us to "exalt his name together." Together. That has been the key to our success so far, and if we will keep this in mind, there is much that God will accomplish through us. More than this, by remaining grounded in God's steadfast faithfulness, our "faces shall never be ashamed." Yes, we have had and will have anxieties; there will be moments when our fears get the better of us. Nevertheless, God will continue and accomplish the good work begun in us (Philippians 1:6).

So, thank you. Thank you so much for being you. Thanks be to God for who He has called us to be together. May we look towards Him through Christ so that all that we are will "be radiant" as we reflect Christ to our community and out into the world.

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

In a One Worship communion service last Sunday, we celebrated the installation of Sam Weddington as FPC's new Senior Pastor and Head of Staff. As you can tell from the photos below, he has been thoroughly installed! The celebration got off to a proper Presbyterian start as officiants, Sam, and choir members processed in behind Andrew Hicks's bagpipe. The Reverend Eungyoung "Grace" Kim, Sam's wife, delivered the sermon, and as many of the congregation as could squeeze in around him made Sam ours.

We will collect a Thanksgiving Offering November 18 at both services. This special offering will benefit Bristol Faith in Action. Please be generous!

This Sunday, November 11, we will hold an orientation for students in grades 6 -12, with their parents, who wish to discern whether they are called to serve as acolytes in traditional worship. We will meet in the chapel after the 11:00 service.

Our new Student Ministries intern, Kingsport native Brittany Starnes, is a sophomore double-majoring in youth ministry and psychology at King University. While working as an aesthetician at Austin Springs Spa in Johnson City after high school, Brittany fell in love with nursing and was sure that was her calling. She returned to school and began working as a CNA to gain experience for a career in nursing. After just two semesters at King and a Spring Break trip to Camden, NJ, she realized that ministry, not nursing, was the direction God intended for her to go in. Upon graduating from King, Brittany hopes to attend seminary. "I am excited and blessed to be a part of this internship program and the FPC family," she tells us.

The King University Symphonic Band and the 250 Jazz Band will give a concert in our sanctuary tomorrow, Friday, November 9, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call Dr. Susan Nicholson at 423-652-6332.

Sunday's music: Our anthem, "Create in Me," with familiar text from Psalm 51:10-12, was composed by Dr. Terre Johnson, Director of Choral Activities and Chair of the Department of Music at Houston Baptist University. Johnson holds degrees in choral music from Troy University, Auburn University, and Florida State University. While at FSU, he became accompanist and rehearsal assistant to Robert Shaw, who often visited the campus to conduct concerts.

	Dr. Terre Johnson

Johnson has conducted every kind of choir, from church to professional, and has taught in public schools and universities. He founded and conducted the acclaimed Birmingham Chamber Chorus and the Southeastern Chamber Orchestra. His compositions are published by MorningStar Music Publishers, Choristers Guild, and Southeastern Music. An ordained Southern Baptist minister who has pastored several congregations, he was Minister of Music at the Vestavia Hills Baptist Church for 12 years.

Sunday's music participants: Pat Flannagan, Bob Greene, Sanctuary Choir.

Organist's footnotes: This past July I attended the American Guild of Organists' National Convention in Kansas City, home to the National World War I Museum and Monument. 2018 marked the Centennial of the end of WWI, and this was a recurrent theme of the convention. One of the remembrances was a worship service called The Road Home, which focused on letters sent from soldiers on the front to their loved ones back home. Michael Bauer, my next-door neighbor and childhood friend from New York (now Professor of Organ and Church Music at the University of Kansas) played Aaron Copland's (1900 -1990) "Preamble for a Solemn Occasion" as the prelude to this service. I have chosen to play this same piece for Sunday's prelude because the moment I finish playing should mark to the minute the 100th anniversary of the Armistice between the Allies and Germany, which took effect on "the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month" in 1918. This slow and stately piece was written in 1949 to mark the first anniversary of yet another milestone in peace, the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" by the United Nations. Copland scored the work for orchestra and narrator, but he also created a version without narration, and in 1953 arranged that version for solo organ. He said, "It was not difficult to compose, for the words, which were drawn directly from the United Nations Charter, were in themselves inspiring." Here is a portion of those inspiring words:

We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to affirm faith in fundamental human rights, of the dignity and worth of the human person, of the equal rights of men and women, and of nations large and small, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.

Handbells: The Sanctuary Handbell Choir welcomes all adults who'd like to help the music ring out on Sunday mornings. No experience required: it will be fun to teach you! We practice Wednesdays from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. Please talk with Beth Flannagan or Bob Greene, and join us in the narthex Nov. 14 after the fellowship supper.