Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Romans 12:12-13 NRSV

The Evangelism & Outreach Committee is happy to announce that we will be highlighting Ethiopian mission for the month of November. We have several things planned. For one, we will be sending a small team appointed by the Session to Ethiopia to celebrate 100 years of Presbyterian mission in Dembi Dollo. We will send the team off with prayer at our worship service this Sunday. We ask that you pray for the team while they are away.

We will also open up opportunities for members of the congregation to contribute to our mission work in Ethiopia. You are invited to contribute by check or online, noting "Ethiopian Mission" when you give. Every dollar you share for this ministry will go to support ongoing efforts in Dembi Dollo to educate children, youth, and ministers through the work of the Bethel Tulama Elementary School, Berhane Yesus Elementary School, Bethel Evangelical Secondary School, and Gidada Theological College.

If you would like to learn more about these wonderful ministries, visit our "FPC Bristol, TN" YouTube site. Once there, scroll the playlists and select Missions. Among the many videos there, you can see the short video we created about Ethiopian mission in Dembi Dollo.

November is a great month for us to take to heart Paul's words to the Romans. We are the church together, and the church extends far beyond the borders of FPC's many walls. We are the church in partnership with our brothers and sisters in Dembi Dollo. Together, we are the body of Christ that rejoices in hope for all that God has done and will continue to do.

If we are in this together, then we share in one another's burdens, and we pray for one another. Paul is clear: "Persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints." Beyond the giving of resources to bless our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia, we also ask that you pray for them in earnest in November as they celebrate 100 years of God's faithfulness towards them. Pray for 100 more!

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, but you probably won't notice. It will happen silently, at 2:00 in the morning, so you'll need to get the jump on it before you go to bed. Just set your clocks back one hour. You won't really be rewarded with an extra hour of sleep, because you'll just be getting back the hour that slipped away last spring, while you were looking the other way. Unsettling, that. Almost Halloweenish. Boo!

We will collect our quarterly Five-Cents-a-Meal offering this Sunday, November 3, at both services. The suggested offering is $13.65 per person, or about a nickel for each meal in a three-month period. Our contributions will help both local and global ministries to provide hunger relief. Last year our Five-Cents-a-Meal offerings helped Haven of Rest and Bristol Emergency Food Pantry feed the hungry in Bristol, and our missions in Ethiopia and Brazil feed the hungry in those countries. Please be generous!

Students at devotions on a previous mission trip.

The members of our Ethiopia Mission Team, Nancy Allerton, Geneva King, Han Chuan Ong, and Dave Welch, are excitedly anticipating their departure for Dembi Dollo, Ethiopia. They will leave after worship this Sunday, November 3. Our church has been invited by the Western Wollega Bethel Synod to join in their centennial celebration of Christian mission there. It is gearing up to be a grand celebration; people from all over the world will be coming for the weekend-long celebration. This Sunday we will lay hands on the team and pray for them as they prepare to depart.

The second goal of this trip is to visit and learn more about the mission outreach projects that our congregation supports there. These include three schools that we have supported for some time (Berhane Yesus Elementary School, Bethel Evangelical Secondary School, and Gidada Theological College) and one school that we have recently begun supporting, Bethel Tulama Elementary School. Each representative from FPC will take supplies for the schools, including 300 pounds of books for the Gidada Theological College library!

We appreciate prayers for our travels, and also for the people in Dembi Dollo, that we may all experience God's grace during our time there. / Ethiopia Mission Team

Among the families who joined our congregation last Sunday are the Bechtolds and the Boohers. John and Mendy Bechtold, with their children, Bailey, Micah, and Lucy, come to us by way of Christ Fellowship, after having made deep connections in our youth and children's programs. Mendy serves as an administrative assistant at King University, and John is a civil engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation. John and Mendy enjoy travel, home improvement, and outdoor activities with their children.

The Booher family

Come to the choir room (202) after the late worship service this Sunday and learn about choral singing! From 1:00 to 2:30 on November 3 we will hold a Choral Skills Workshop. We will have sandwiches on hand, so you won't go hungry. This opportunity is open to all. / Chris Bingham

I am happy to report to the congregation that the Session has adopted a plan to deal with the acoustic issues in the sanctuary. We will be taking a phased, incremental approach that tests to see whether measurable changes are being made. A letter containing details of the plan will be in the bulletin for the 11:00 service this Sunday. We will also have copies throughout the church, or you can simply ask for a copy in the office.

The first step is to update the sanctuary air conditioning registers to make them quieter. We will also host two companies, M3 and AVCO, who will demonstrate a designed, line-array speaker system. A team will conduct a hearing assessment during that demo, and you may be invited to participate in it. Pending the results of the assessment, we will consider the options listed in the letter available at the church.

More than anything, we are happy to have made it this far in the process, and we ask for your prayers as we continue to deliberate on how to best deal with the acoustic issues in our sanctuary. / Pastor Sam

Join women of faith for a weekend of spiritual renewal at Holston Presbytery Camp in Banner Elk, NC, November 15 -17. Come refresh your busy soul and engage a deeper connection with yourself, your community, and your God. Remember, you are a human being, not just a human doing!

The theme of this year's retreat is Be Still My Soul: Finding Balance in a Chaotic World. Grounding ourselves in Psalm 46, we will explore practices of care, connection, and spiritual renewal. Activities include "Connecting with God in Nature," "Mindfulness Hiking," "Creative Writing as a Spiritual Practice," yoga, and more! On Saturday evening, Beth Yarborough will lead a worship service with communion.

The weekend begins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and ends at 10:00 a.m. Sunday. The cost of attendance is $125 and includes a two-night stay in Guenther Lodge and four meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday). For more information about facilities, please see the Holston Presbytery Camp's website.

For more information, email [email protected]. You can register here or scan the bar code at the right.

It's fall cleaning time at FPC! The Building & Grounds Committee has scheduled Saturday, November 16, beginning at 10:00 a.m., as Basement Cleanout Day. We need volunteers from the congregation to help with this task. Fear not! We know for a fact that there are no monsters lurking among the odds and ends. In fact, there may be some treasures down there that the church no longer needs. So come on out! There is a large quantity of slate from previous roof replacements that those of you with an artistic flair can do something creative with. We're asking $2 apiece for roofing slate (we have to pay for the dumpster somehow!).

If you can help, please contact Randy Cook at 423-956-1541 (text preferred) or email [email protected]. Stay tuned to hear when the basement will be available for "shoppers" before cleaning day! / Randy Cook

A huge Thank you! to all who helped with Trunk or Treat at our neighborhood elementary school. Fairmount was very appreciative! We handed out approximately 10,000 pieces of candy to 450 children. Thank you for your donations of candy, for dressing up a car trunk and/or yourself, for judging the costume contest, and for coming out to support our neighbors! The principal, along with many faculty and staff, expressed their gratitude for our church. And there were many happy children! Again, thank you for showing the love of Jesus in the community. / Lilly Osborne

Student Ministries has many mouths to feed on four Sunday evenings. Will you help? We need people who can provide dinner for 35 to 40 students on November 3 and 10 and December 1 and 8. Families can team up together or do it individually. Our dinner coordinator, Sarah Gannaway, or our director, Katie Arnold, can suggest what to bring and easy ways to accomplish the feat. This is a beautiful way to serve and support our students! Please contact Sarah at 423-573-2680 or Katie at [email protected] to volunteer.

Start the new year right with FPC Bristol at Passion 2020! We're going to join thousands of 18 -to-25-year-olds at the Benz in Atlanta from December 31 through January 2. Passion is filled with incredible worship, dynamic speakers, and sweet time with your church family. The cost is $150 if you register by December 1 and pay a $50 deposit. After December 1, the cost rises to $200. For more information and to register, contact Katie Arnold at [email protected] now!

FPC high school students are invited to spend a week in Panama City Beach, Florida! We will leave from the church on June 19 and return June 27. We're going to BigStuf Camp for worship, engaging speakers, mission opportunities, and tons of beach time with hundreds of high school students from around the country. We will stay in a beachfront hotel at the convention center.

Spots are limited, so invite your friends and get the best price by registering now on the Student Ministries webpage or here.

The cost includes:

Memorials and honoraria are published in the newsletter only after the family has been personally notified by our business office. Today we gratefully acknowledge gifts in memory of:

Nancy King: to the Memorial Fund from Julie King

Kathy Story & Larry Story: to the Building & Grounds Fund from Julie King

Barbara Thomas: to the Minister's Discretionary Fund from an anonymous donor

Chuck Thompson: to the Student Ministries Fund from Julie King

	Sir Edward Elgar

Sunday's music: Our anthem this week is "Ave Verum Corpus" by Sir Edward Elgar (1857 -1935). The text is a short, 14th-century Eucharistic chant attributed to Pope Innocent VI. It has been set by many composers, including Mozart and William Byrd. Elgar's setting was one of his first published compositions and begins with a solo, sung this Sunday by Laura Ong. This simple, homophonic setting clearly declares the text and has light organ accompaniment.

Elgar is one of the great English composers of the late Romantic period. He is most known for his orchestral works Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches and for the choral masterwork The Dream of Gerontius. Today Elgar is considered one of the most typical English composers, but during his life he was met with skepticism because of his Roman Catholic background and the fact that he did not come from the upper class. It was not until his forties that he gained fame with the Enigma Variations, which remains a staple of orchestral repertoire.

	Karl Osterland

Organist's footnotes: For the portion of the Apostles' Creed concerned with the return of Christ in glory (Revelation 1:7-8) I have chosen settings of the hymn "Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending" (#348 in Glory to God). Karl Osterland (b. 1956) is Church Musician at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church in Detroit. His setting is in two parts, "Fanfare" and "Trio," both of which I shall play for the prelude this morning. The postlude is a setting of the same hymn by Lloyd Webber (1914 -1982), an English organist and composer who achieved some fame as part of the modern classical music movement. He is the father of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and the virtuoso cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.

Get ready for Christmas bells: All the Sanctuary Handbell Choir wants for Christmas is a few new members. Come join us for low-key fellowship and upbeat music! We practice from 6:15 to 7:15 on Wednesday evenings in room 212 upstairs, and play for the late worship service about once a month. Come to our next practice! Contact Bob Greene at [email protected] or 276-696-9091.

Sunday, November 3

9:00 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

10:10 a.m.     Sunday School

10:30 p.m.     Sanctuary Choir, Room 202

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

1:00 p.m.       Choral Skills Workshop, Room 202

3:00 p.m.       Christmas Play Rehearsal, Sanctuary

6:00 p.m.       Student Fellowship, Fellowship Hall

Monday, November 4

4:30 p.m.       Christian Education Comm., Room 117

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

Tuesday, November 5

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

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

12:00 p.m.     Staff Lunch, Poteat Home

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

Wednesday, November 6

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

5:15 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.       Adult Enrichment

6:15 p.m.       Handbell Practice, Room 212

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

Thursday, November 7

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

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

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