Change is in the air. As many of you know, we are changing the time of our 8:30 contemporary worship service to 9:00, starting Sunday, March 10. (Don't forget, that's also when Daylight Saving Time begins!) For many of us with young children, the extra thirty minutes might translate into a sliver more sanity remaining at the end of the day after the scramble to get our kids out the door and to church. For others, 9:00 may still be too early. Still others may worry that the time move might stifle a full worship experience.

Change is in the air, and change is hard. I know. However, I want to encourage everyone to pull together as we take this next step. I want you to know that what has driven this discussion in staff meetings and with the Session is the deep-seated desire to try and make sure our worship time makes us accessible to as many families as possible, especially families for whom 8:30 is just a tad too early for them and their little ones. From my perspective, if 9:00 allows one or two more families join us to worship our Lord Jesus on Sunday morning, then it will have been worth it.

However, I acknowledge the difficulty this change in our pattern of meeting poses to our community. I want to thank you in advance for your patience with us as we figure out how to worship in a different time slot and under different constraints. I also want to assure you that in all that we do, we honor Paul's instructions in Ephesians 5. No matter what, we will sing, we will read Scripture, we will pray, and we will give thanks. In the end, the praise and worship of God in the name of Jesus is the only standard that matters.

To that end, I want to highlight what you will see and experience on the morning of Sunday, March 10:

In closing, I ask that you pray for the church and the staff as we navigate this change together. Please pray that all that we do glorifies God, and that God will increase the ministry of God's church in our little corner of the world.

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

We will collect our quarterly Five Cents a Meal offering this Sunday, February 17, at both services. The suggested offering is $13.65 per person, or about a nickel for each meal you eat in a three-month period. Your contribution will provide hunger relief through both local and global ministries. Last year our Five Cents a Meal offerings enabled FPC to help feed the hungry in Bristol through Haven of Rest and Bristol Emergency Food Pantry, and in Ethiopia and Brazil through our missions in those countries. Please be generous!

Kelli Campbell

Our church has six bereavement teams that work in rotation to provide a meal (on request) when a church family has a death. We now need at least six new team members. Each member provides a dish when it is his or her team's turn and, depending on where the meal is to be served, may be asked to help set up and clean up. Often, we simply deliver the meal to the family's home.

If you are interested in serving the church in this ministry, please call or text Nancy Butterworth at 423-341-3734. If there are any men who wouldn't mind an occasional call to help set up and clean up, please let Nancy know that as well. Thank you!

Linda Welch

I would like to thank my Student Ministries volunteers and highlight the different ways folks can serve in this ministry. Leading off this series is Linda Welch. We are all so thankful for her! Linda serves behind the scenes and oversees the dinner operations for Student Fellowship on Sunday nights. She has quickly become a pillar of our team. Her faithfulness and love in serving students in this way is inspiring. Without her in this role, our student ministry would not be the same. We thank Linda for serving our students and being the hands and feet of Jesus to the next generation. If you see her this week, please take a moment to thank her for all she does!

There are many ways to serve in the student ministry. If you feel God pushing on your heart to love our students and pour into the next generation, please contact me at [email protected]!/ Katie Arnold

We are pleased to share the highlights of our December 2018 financial report.

 

2018	Year-End Actual ($)	Annual Budget ($)	Variance ($)
Revenue
Total Pledges	673,522	649,436	24,086
Offerings	122,041	82,000	40,041
Other Gifts , Income & Reimbursements	105,894	104,713	1,181
Total Income:	901,457	836,149	65,308
Expenses
Evangelism & Outreach	67,786	50,297	17,489
Worship & Music	71,412	76,105	(4,693)
Christian Education	244,734	244,041	693
Administration	223,056	231,281	(8,225)
Building & Grounds	152,688	151,962	725
Fellowship & Stewardship	20,303	32,518	(12,218)
Total Expense:	779,979	786,204	18,771
Transfer for Capital Loan	80,000	0	80,000
Transfer to Contingency Funds	41,000	0	41,000
Surplus/Deficit(-)	478	49,945

 

Sunday's early service songs: You can hear the songs we'll sing in the 8:30 service here.

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

	Paul Christiansen

Sunday's music: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 -1750) originally composed the anthem for Sunday, "Glory to God," for a different text in his oratorio Magnificat in 1723. Bach is seen today as the most prolific composer of sacred music of his era and probably the most influential composer in Western music history. The majority of his career was spent in Leipzig, Germany, where he served the congregations of four churches simultaneously. Viewed today as a master composer of organ music, Bach seldom played the organ at the churches where he worked but often led the main music of the day, Hauptmusik, from the viola stand. The text that we are singing is a straightforward hymn of praise arranged by Paul Christiansen of St. Olaf College fame.

Organist's footnotes: While Sunday's sermon deals with spiritual warfare, the prelude, "The Agincourt Hymn," alludes to physical warfare, in particular the Battle of Agincourt. John Dunstable (also spelled Dunstaple; ca. 1370 -1453) was the author of "The Agincourt Hymn" celebrating the victory of Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt in France, on St. Crispin's Day, October 25, 1415. This battle was an important turning point in the Hundred Years' War. We know little about Dunstable, a contemporary of Chaucer. It is believed that he was in the service of the Chapel Royal. One epitaph describes him as "an astrologer, a mathematician, a musician, and what not." "The Agincourt Hymn," also called DEO GRACIAS, is associated with "O wondrous type! O vision fair," and "O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High." It is here arranged for handbells. It is interesting to listen to music composed from that period, such as the offertory, "Composition on a Plainsong," and the postlude, "Under Thy Protection." Many of the conventions of music writing we take for granted today were at that time not yet "set in stone," making for some surprising twists and turns.

Sunday, February 17

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

4:00 p.m.       Evangelism & Outreach Comm., Room 117

Tuesday, February 19

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

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

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

Wednesday, February 20

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 Program, Fellowship Hall

7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir

7:15 p.m.       Worship Team, Fellowship Hall

Thursday, February 21

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

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

Friday, February 22

Women's Retreat Begins, Blowing Rock Conf. Ctr.

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