Help get the word out about what's happening at FPC! We need a volunteer each Wednesday afternoon of the program year to prepare the paper version of Windows for mailing and take it to the post office in time for the 5:30 p.m. mail collection. All staff members are involved in Wednesday night program preparation and other activities then and would greatly appreciate help with this task.

Timing is important. If the newsletter is in post office hands by 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, it can be delivered to readers by Saturday. After 5:30, the newsletter will not be mailed until the next day, and people will not receive it until Monday, too late to learn about what to expect on Sunday.

Preparing the paper version of Windows entails printing the newsletter PDF supplied through the office; slapping on the mailing labels, also supplied by the office; folding and sealing each copy; running the copies through the postage meter; and driving to the Post Office on Sixth Street to slide them through the slot before 5:30 p.m. The office copier does the collating and stapling, and written instructions and real people are available to get you started. This is an urgent need. To volunteer, contact Scottie Bales at [email protected] or Betsy Galliher at [email protected].

We've reserved our space at Blowing Rock Conference Center for our annual Women's Retreat February 22 - 24, s o you can start daydreaming now about getting away for a wonderful weekend of fellowship, worship, and exploring . Invite a friend to save the date with you! Details to come.

The Officer Nominating Committee is asking  the congregation to nominate FPC members to serve as Elders, Deacons, and Trustee. We welcome your suggestions of those you see as particularly gifted for serving as officers of the church. You will find nomination forms in the narthex and Fellowship Hallway. You may turn your suggestions in to the church office or to one of the committee members: Chuck Thompson (Chair), Nancy Butterworth, Debbie McMillin, Laura Ong, and Kathryn Parker. Feel free to consult any committee member for more information. A table of all current officers of the church is at the end of this newsletter.

The Duties of Elders

The Book of Order, G-2.0301, states: "As there were in Old Testament times elders for the government of the people, so the New Testament church provided persons with particular gifts to share in discernment of God's Spirit and governance of God's people. Accordingly, congregations should elect persons of wisdom and maturity of faith, having demonstrated skills in leadership and being compassionate in spirit. Ruling elders are so named not because they 'lord it over' the congregation (Matt. 20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life. Ruling elders, together with teaching elders, exercise leadership, government, spiritual discernment, and discipline and have responsibilities for the life of a congregation as well as the whole church, including ecumenical relationships. When elected by the congregation, they shall serve faithfully as members of the session."

The Duties of Deacons

The Book of Order, G-2.0201, states: "The ministry of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion, witness, and service, sharing in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the friendless, the oppressed, those burdened by unjust policies or structures, or anyone in distress. Persons of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly and sisterly love, sincere compassion, and sound judgment should be chosen for this ministry.

The Duties of Trustees

The Book of Order, G-4.0101, states: "The corporation so formed, or the individual trustees, shall have the following powers: to receive, hold, encumber, manage, and transfer property, real or personal, for the congregation, provided that in buying, selling, and mortgaging real property, the trustees shall act only after the approval of the congregation, granted in a duly constituted meeting; to accept and execute deeds of title to such property; to hold and defend title to such property; to manage any permanent special funds for the furtherance of the purposes of the congregation, all subject to the authority of the session and under the provisions of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The powers and duties of the trustees shall not infringe upon the powers and duties of the session or the board of deacons."

First Presbyterian Church will serve as the venue for the next Jobs for Life training course in Bristol, which is scheduled to begin Monday, September 24. Jobs for Life is a national organization founded in 1996 in Raleigh, NC, and implemented in Bristol when the United Way of Bristol coordinated the first class in the spring of 2018. The effort involves a coalition of individuals from a variety of churches and social service organizations.

Classes will be held twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday evenings, for eight weeks. Individuals who are unemployed or underemployed are eligible to apply for the course, which teaches biblically based life skills and how to navigate the journey to meaningful employment.

An estimated six students and an equal number of mentors, four teachers, and other volunteers will gather at 5:30 each evening to share a meal provided by local churches and restaurants. The classes will begin at 6:15 and conclude around 8:00.

Please pray for these visitors to our church building as Jobs for Life seeks to fulfill its mission: Restoring Dignity, Changing Lives, Transforming Communities. To learn more about Jobs for Life, visit their website at www.jobsforlife.org. If you are interested in getting involved, contact John Vann at [email protected]. / John Vann

Abby (right) and co-teacher with their sixth-grade class.

Learn more by visiting her   blog, "Further Up, Further In," or click  here to donate now.

Come to Student Fellowship from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. this Sunday! We'll be jumping into week three of The Greatest. Have you ever noticed how quickly your opinion of yourself changes? When things are going great, our value goes up. But when the opposite is true? Our value plummets. But is this really the best way to measure our worth? This week, we'll discover the greatest place we can look for our value: in the eyes of God. See you there! / Katie Arnold

After the night of the autumnal equinox comes the dawn of the pledge campaign, and both foretell thanksgiving. Investing his talent for taking care of our church, Larry Connolly (September 19-22) will prepare the lawn in time for each propitious point. The stars will continue to grind around with less fanfare the following week, but JB Madison (September 26-29) will carry on the work of stewardship here below with thought for naught but the greater good. The holidays are but a blur on the far horizon and already we give thanks for Larry and JB and all our faithful volunteers.

Join the mowing team! You can sign up for spring! We welcome men and women, adults and teens, and entire families: younger children can move debris to the curb, and a parent or elder sibling can mow. It's easy, and you suit your own convenience, mowing once or up to three times. Simply contact Randy Cook at [email protected] or 423-956-1541. If you're new to Scag mowers, he will be happy to give you a lesson on ours.

Music Notes: Sunday's anthem is "He, Watching Over Israel," an adaptation of Psalm 121:4 that Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy used in his great oratorio Elijah, written in 1846. The choir sang a different chorus from Elijah on September 9 and will finish out September with yet another selection from the oratorio. The chorus being sung Sunday is from Part II of the larger work and depicts Elijah's exile into the desert and his frustration that the Israelites will not remain faithful to Yahweh. Elijah attempts to console the people with these words from the Psalms.

Handbell Choir: We are now getting together to practice on Wednesdays from 6:20 to 7:15 p.m. Come upstairs to room 212 after the fellowship supper and ring in some fun. Hey, you'll even burn some calories!

Organist's Footnotes: César Auguste Franck (1822-1890) was a French composer, organist, and pianist who served as organist and choirmaster at Ste. Clotilde, Paris, for 32 years. While he composed in all forms, he is acknowledged as the founder of the modern French school of organ composition.

	C ésar Auguste Franck

Sunday's prelude, Franck's "Pastorale, Op. 19," was published as part of his Six Pieces for Large Organ. It is dedicated to the great organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll and is a modest display of the symphonic sonorities of the organ Cavaillé-Coll installed at Ste. Clotilde. Our offertory and postlude, appropriately named "Offertory" (Offertoire) and "Postlude" (Sortie), respectively, are taken from Franck's late opus for harmonium, L'Organist (1889), which consists of 59 short pieces.

Music Participants: Bob Greene, Pat Flannagan, Sanctuary Choir.

Sunday, September 23

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

5:00 p.m.       Stewardship Comm., Room 117

6:00 p.m.       Student Fellowship, Youth Wing

Monday, September 24

7:00 p.m.       Session of Elders, Room 123

Tuesday, September 25

10:00 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 26

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

6:20 p.m.       Adult Learning

6:20 p.m.       Handbell Choir, Room 212

7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir, Room 220

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

Thursday, September 27

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

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

Church Officers
ELDERS
Class of 2018	Class of 2019	Class of 2020
Aaron Brooks	Anna Booher	Nancy Allerton
Randy Cook	Lee Galliher	Rebecca Beck
Debbie McMillin	Pete Holler	David Hyde
Stuart Parker	Han Ong	Jordan Pennington
Chuck Thompson	Pete Stigers	Jerry Poteat
DEACONS
Class of 2018	Class of 2019	Class of 2020
Adam Abel	Sujean Bradley	Blake Bassett
Nancy Butterworth	George Linke	Rhonda Comer
David Ginn	Greg Roberts	Brenda Lawson
Rett Stocstill	Nate Sproles	Barbara Thompson
Ann Woods	Bill Whisnant
TRUSTEES
Class of 2018	Class of 2019	Class of 2020
Charles Webb	Nancy Cook	Peggy Hill