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

In This Issue
About Windows
Worship
Stewardship Pledge Campaign Kickoff Sunday
Congregational Meeting, ONE Worship Sept. 17
Our Financial Summary for July 2017
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Needs You!
Fundraiser for Abby Welch Tonight
Reception and Gift for Shannan
Next Week: The Indulgence Controversy
Women's DVD Bible Study Is Back!
Vanilla Wafers for Fairmount Kids
Cut and Dried
Music Notes
In the Pulpit Sunday
Pray for One Another
Gift to the Church
Church Calendar
About  
Windows
Deadline for contributions to Windows is the Monday of the week of publication. The newsletter is emailed a minute after midnight on Thursday morning.

Windows is a publication of First Presbyterian Church, Bristol, TN. Please direct questions and suggestions to the editor, Kathy Acuff, kacuff@fpcbristol.org
Worship
September 10
14th Sunday after Pentecost
Stewardship Kickoff
Lessons
Exodus 12:1-14
1 Peter 2:9-1
Sermon
What Is in a Name?
Con Sauls
Hymns
Brethren, We Have Met to Worship
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Anthem
Open Thou Mine Eyes
Sanctuary Choir
Last Sunday's Attendance
8:30: 100; 11:00: 105

Windows

on First Presbyterian Church

September 7, 2017
Stewardship Pledge Campaign Kickoff Sunday
An essential event in our ministries together is coming up this Sunday, September 10. Please join us then for our 2018 Stewardship Pledge Campaign Kickoff.
The love of God continues to provide for us and our neighborhood through Healing Hands Health Center, Bristol Faith in Action, Family Promise, Christian Hands Ministry, Community Bible Study, and other FPC service ministries. Mission ministries serve more distant congregations in Brazil, Ethiopia, India, and Africa.
God continues to bless us and this community through the ministry, outreach, and programs provided by First Presbyterian Church. Our church remains a pillar of this community, and the work that we do is a direct reflection of the love and generosity of our Father.
We ask that you continue to engage :
  • engage in the life of this church (rooted in discipleship)
  • engage in the ministry it provides to those in our community and the world (rooted in service)
  • engage in caring for our facilities (rooted in worship)
We often talk about members giving of their time, talents, and treasures, and we ask you to prayerfully consider what that means for you and your family. How can each of us best serve God's great plan through the work of First Presbyterian Church? We can begin with prayer, praying that God speaks to each of us, as He does through our vision verse, 1 Peter 4:10: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.
We are asking everyone to be engaged in the ministries and the future of First Presbyterian Church. Please prayerfully consider a pledge to the church to ensure that our vision is secured now and for generations to come. If you are so moved, join with your brothers and sisters in Christ on Sunday, September 24, as we dedicate our pledges before God, thanking Him for His grace and love. 
Congregational Meeting, ONE Worship Sept. 17
Next Sunday, September 17, all Sunday School classes will begin at 9:30 so that we can share ONE Worship at 10:30 in the sanctuary. Our annual congregational meeting to elect church officers will follow in the Fellowship Hall. This meeting is your chance to nominate fellow congregants to serve three-year terms as elders, deacons, or trustees. Please make plans to attend!
Our Financial Summary for July 2017
PCUSA seal small FPC's financial summary for July shows that pledges remain on track for the year. Here are the year-to-date highlights, followed by a table of receipts and expenditures.
  1. Pledges continue to be on track to meet 2017 expectations. "Actual" for the month was higher because some pledges for August were received on the last Sunday of July.
  2. On the Expense side, Administrative Operations and Facility Maintenance were well below budget through July at $16,338 and $12,797, respectively.
  3. Utilities were $2,834 under budget through the end of the month, with roughly $1,000 of that savings coming in July.
  4. All other programming areas continued to track as expected to the budget through July.
  5. Evangelism and Outreach was ahead of schedule for contributions through July 31 at $16,410 compared to $10,468 allocated year-to-date (YTD), still well below the total budgeted amount of $50,297 for the year. It is a positive that we are able to fulfill these commitments earlier in the year.
  6. We continue not to have to rely on prior years' reserves to meet our current budget, which is a favorable indication of how the second half of the year should play out.
  7. Our Capital Loan Balance on July 31 was $579,008.
 
 
July Actual
($)
July Budget
($)
July 31 YTD Actual
($)
July 31 YTD Budget
($)
   Income:
Pledges & Offerings
69,940
47,764
410,119
387,736
Other Income & Reimbursements
6,223
3,732
63,834
49,444
Reserve Transfers
-
20,194
-
63,996
Total Receipts:
76,163
71,690
473,954
501,176
Total Expenditures:
(65,693)
(71,690)
(457,955)
(501,176)
   Net Position (Surplus+ /Deficit -)
10,470
-
15,999
-
 

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Needs You!
We are inviting participation in a neighborhood service project with our Christian Hands Ministry outreach. The vision of this ministry is to share the love of Christ by bringing together church and community resources to improve substandard social and living conditions and encourage spiritual wellbeing for our neighbors.
A knowledgeable crew boss leads each job. Our upcoming project is a bathroom replacement, and we need your help! Here's the deal:
  • What: Two hours or two days (or more) for tearing out and replacing a bathroom (walls, ceiling, floor, and fixtures).
  • Who: Any person of any age (youth under 18 require a parent's signature).
  • Where: The house of one of our church's neighbors in great need.
  • When: Work will begin the first week in October.
  • How to volunteer: Call Peggy Hill at 423-956-0209, or email her at peggyhill145@gmail.com; call the church office at 423-764-7176; or email Diana Mattison at dmattison@fpcbristol.org.
FPC's neighborhood is defined by these boundaries, identified by the Evangelism & Outreach Committee in 2006:
  • North: The Tennessee/Virginia state line
  • South: Lakeview Street
  • West: The railroad tracks
  • East: Booher Road, King College Road (along the border of King University but excluding the campus), Golf Street
Through FPC's Christian Hands Ministry, we have the chance to serve our church's neighbors in need in tangible ways that allow both neighbor and congregant to witness the love of Christ as we work together for justice, redemption, reconciliation, and restoration.
"I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy" (Psalm 140:12).
Fundraiser for Abby Welch Tonight
Our own Abby Welch, daughter of Linda and Dave Welch, is raising money to teach English as a Second Language in Cape Town, South Africa, and you can help! Abby invites the congregation (and friends!) to a fundraiser dinner at the church at 5:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, September 7. If you would like to attend or contribute, please call or text 423-956-0274. 
Reception and Gift for Shannan
A reception to honor Shannan Miller will be held September 24, after the 8:30 service. We need volunteers to bake cookies, and we are collecting a cash gift. Scottie Bales and Anne Southerland will collect monetary donations until Wednesday, September 20. You may give your contribution to either Scottie or Anne when you see her at church, or email scottie5357@gmail.com or annesoutherland@ymail.com to make other arrangements. Do not give your donation to the church; this is a gift directly from us, so it cannot be tax deductible. Above all, come say goodbye to Shannan, who is leaving us after 17 years as a vital presence in our early worship service.
Next Week: The Indulgence Controversy
Join us next Wednesday, September 13, as Dr. Martin Dotterweich leads the fourth of six Adult Learning programs examining the background and significance of Martin Luther's famous posting of the 95 Theses, which led to the Reformation. Next week's program will be "The Indulgence Controversy and the 95 Theses."
Before the evening programs, we will share a fellowship dinner of chicken casserole, green beans, salad, and dessert at 5:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. The Adult Learning segment will follow at 6:20, and the Middle School Gathering and Wednesday Night Kids will meet separately at 6:00. High School Small Groups will meet at 7:00.
We still have some books in the Fellowship Hallway to choose among for your own. We have commentaries, devotionals, fiction, and nonfiction, all free to a good home! 
Women's DVD Bible Study Is Back!
Lorri Looney's Wednesday morning Heart to Heart Bible Study is back at the old stand, the Coffee Klatch room at 9:30. This month, each two-hour session is focusing on Loving Well, a four-week study by Beth Moore. All women of the church are welcome to bring a friend and join the discussion!
Vanilla Wafers for Fairmount Kids
It's time again to collect snacks for the students at Fairmount Elementary! About 80% of the children get help with lunch, but their families can't afford to buy snacks to get them through the afternoon slump. That's where we come in. We collect the snacks from our generous church family, and the Christian Hands Ministry folks make sure they get to the school. We are now collecting boxes of vanilla wafers . Please bring them to the Little Red House in the Fellowship Hallway to help our friends at Fairmount get through the long fall afternoons. Thank you!
Cut and Dried
Sun and cloud, puddles and flows: these are the times that try men's soles, and the FPC mowing team is as fond of neat shoes as anyone. Randy Olson will cut a swath through the church lawn in anticipation of our 2018 Stewardship Pledge Campaign Kickoff this Sunday. He also has nominated himself to serve up a tidy lawn for us when we attend ONE Worship and the congregational meeting September 17.
If you'd like to be a good steward of the church grounds, join our mowing team! You can sign up at any time of year. We welcome men and women, adults and teens. You can even make a family outing of it: younger children can move debris to the curb, and a parent or an elder sibling can mow. You're done in a trice and you mow only thrice (or once, if that's your preference). If you're unfamiliar with Scag mowers, Team Captain Randy Cook will be happy to give you a lesson on our Tiger Cat. If you can mow even once during the growing season, please email Randy at npolecook@aol.com or call his cell at 423-956-1541. Thank you! 
Music Notes
Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir.
Sunday's music: John Rutter (b. 1945) is perhaps the most prominent composer of sacred music of the past 50 years. A native of London, Mr. Rutter studied music at Clare College, Cambridge. His compositional career has embraced both large- and small-scale choral
John Rutter
works, orchestral and instrumental pieces, two children's operas, music for television, and specialist writing for groups such as the King's Singers. Our anthem for the day, "Open Thou Mine Eyes," is an original composition by Rutter and a setting of a 17th century text by Lancelot Andrewes.
Organist's footnotes: The devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey has been the focus of the news in recent days. As I contemplate the horrible flooding in Houston and other Texan cities (Beaumont, Port Arthur), it hits me a little closer to home. This is because I attended the 2016 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Houston last summer, and on my drive to and from the convention, I made stops in Beaumont and Port Arthur. Hearing of the flooded bayous reminded me of a unique book I brought home from that convention: the Bayoubüchlein. The Bayoubüchlein is a distinctive new collection of organ music for the liturgical year, commissioned for the 2016 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Houston. The title refers to J.S. Bach's volume of chorale-based organ works (the Orgelbüchlein or "little organ book") and Houston's Gulf Coast waterways. Realizing that newer hymn tunes often lacked chorale preludes, the convention's new music committee decided that each piece in this collection would be based on a hymn tune composed since 1960. The works chosen are a combination of pieces commissioned by the convention and pieces selected from an open call for scores.
So in honor of Houston and its environs, all three of Sunday's organ pieces come from the Bayoubüchlein. Two of these are based on hymns found in Glory to God. The tune "Seed, Scattered and Sown," Hymn #531 (Prelude), was composed by Don Feitan in 1987. The tune "Promise," Hymn #250 (Offertory), was composed by Natalie Sleeth in 1986. Read the texts of each of these hymns while listening to the chorale prelude on which each is based. "Sing with All the Saints in Glory" (Postlude) is based on the tune MISSISSIPPI, composed by William Bradley Roberts in 1995.
Youth bells forming: Katie Arnold and Bob Greene are organizing Youth Bells for the new program year. They will kick off Wednesday, September 13, at 4:45 p.m. in the bell room. All interested students in fifth through twelfth grade are encouraged to join!
In the Pulpit Sunday
We know Con Sauls well through his long service to our church through many activities, including his work as an Elder. He now serves Mountain City Presbyterian Church as its pastor.
Pray for One Another
An extensive list of prayer concerns, "Pray for One Another," is available for pickup at the church each week.
 
In Our Prayers
DeeDee Galliher
Bill Goforth
Ron Grubbs
Jo Ann Hatcher
Vivian Hill
Don Moneyhun
Tony Raccioppo
Lynn Richards
Virginia Rutherford
Sam Samuel
Cassie & Michael Thornton
 
To the Church Triumphant
Mack Byars Blevins
September 1, 2017
Joan Delle Buchanan Freels
August 30, 2017
 
Condolences
Our love and sympathy are with Reveley and Carl McGrady in the death of Reveley's mother, Elinor Ruth Bowery Gray, August 28 in Bristol.
 
Birthday Prayer Fellowship
Sept. 10        Mike Adams, Laura Jessee, Paul Rice
Sept. 12        Becky Busler, Cindy Kreiss, Alice Moore, Greer Pendley, Al Thomas
Sept. 13        Torey Bates Samuel
Sept. 14        Sue Mumpower
Sept. 15        Jon McClain, Roger Patrick
Gift to the Church
We gratefully acknowledge a recent gift to the Memorial Fund from Dot Mattison in memory of Neil Ottenfeld.
Church Calendar
Sunday, September 10
8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall
9:45 a.m.       Sunday School
11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary
5:00 p.m.       Middle School Student Fellowship, Youth Wing
6:30 p.m.       High School Student Fellowship, Youth Wing
Monday, September 11
5:30 p.m.       Adult Handbells
7:00 p.m.       Board of Deacons, Room 123
7:00 p.m.       Building & Grounds Committee, Room 117
7:00 p.m.       Worship Committee, Room 163
Tuesday, September 12
9:00 a.m.       Staff Meeting, Room 117
10:00 a.m.     Morning Prayer Group, Conference Room
6:00 p.m.       Venture Crew 3, Room 165
7:00 p.m.       Boy Scout Troop 3, Scout Wing
Wednesday, September 13
9:30 a.m.       Heart to Heart DVD Bible Study, Coffee Klatch Room
4:45 p.m.       Youth Handbells
5:15 p.m.       Baby & Toddler Care, Rooms 34-36
5:30 p.m.       Fellowship Dinner, Fellowship Hall
6:00 p.m.       Pastor Nominating Committee, Room 117
6:00 p.m.       Wednesday Night Kids
6:00 p.m.       Middle School Gathering
6:20 p.m.       Adult Learning Program, Fellowship Hall
7:00 p.m.       High School Small Groups
7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir
7:30 p.m.       8:30 Worship Team, Fellowship Hall
Thursday, September 14
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