In response to many concerns expressed over the past few weeks and with the new and increased giving and pledges we have received, the Session has recommended the following change in the proposed 2018 budget. At its meeting on March 26, the Session approved a motion to include the position of Associate Pastor/Minister for Discipleship in the 2018 budget through the end of the year. Therefore, if a new pastor is hired in the next few months, there will continue to be two pastor positions funded through the remainder of the current year.

If the new Senior Pastor does not come on board until September or later, the Associate Pastor/Minister for Discipleship position will be funded for at least four months after the arrival of the new Senior Pastor (instead of two months as had been proposed when the Session was looking for ways to balance the 2018 budget). It is hoped that as the new Senior Pastor and Dave Welch begin their work together, there will be a new level of enthusiasm, new life, new members attracted, and a new spirit of giving that will allow us to give consideration to retaining the two-pastor model for our church in 2019 and beyond. / Pete Holler

The Reverend Elizabeth Patrick is an ordained pastor of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a graduate of Erskine College, Duke Law School, and Princeton Seminary. She served as solo pastor of Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church in Sandy Springs, South Carolina, before moving to Bristol in 2008 to marry Dr. Bill Linderman, Professor of Mathematics at King University. Since then, she has served as pulpit supply at a number of churches in the Tri-Cities and beyond. Elizabeth is active in our congregation but says she spends most of her time building Lego creations and otherwise caring for her sons, Henry and Ben.

During the month of March, several elders and members met in the chapel on Sunday evenings for prayer and dialogue regarding the 2018 proposed budget and other church matters. Out of those meetings came a better understanding of church business and an appreciation for face-to-face communications with each other. As a result, the Season of Prayer will continue from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. each remaining Sunday in April. Anyone connected to FPC as a member, staff, officer, or interested party is encouraged to attend. Please spread the word and plan to be there. / Jerry Poteat

The goal of the Deacons' Care Shepherd ministry is to show Christian love and care to those of our church family who are in need. Opportunities exist to provide meals to those just home from the hospital, visit our shut-ins at home and in care facilities, and comfort those in distress.

Volunteers serve one month at a time on a Care Shepherd team that ministers to the needs of the congregation for that month. Five deacons (Sujean Bradley, David Ginn, Brenda Lawson, Barb Thompson, and Ann Woods ) will each coordinate a team. We already have a team in place for April, but we are humbly seeking volunteers to serve in the remaining months of the year and in 2019. Please pick up a volunteer sign-up sheet during one of the worship services this week. Thank you!

Every Thursday morning at 7:00, you will find several FPC men gathered in the parlor for Bible study. We seek the Holy Spirit's influence as we study the scripture on which each Sunday's sermon will be based. The discussion seeks to reveal how the teachings of Christ and the Bible apply to our daily fellowship and stewardship. While the hour may seem a bit early, participants are awakened to God's glory and mercies. What a blessing! Please join us as you are able. / Jerry Poteat

• Adults & Families: 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 27
• KidzFest: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 28
• Youth Night (Adults and families welcome): 7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 28
• Adults & Families: 4:00 p.m. Sunday, April 29

• Final Prayer Gathering: Sunday, April 22. For all participants, University Parkway Baptist, Johnson City, 7:00 p.m.
• Counselor Rehearsal: Thursday, April 26. For those selected to serve as counselors, Freedom Hall, Johnson City, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

Many of us at First Presbyterian Church will wish to bestow upon Billy Graham our highest acclaim for his lifelong career as a faithful evangelist for Jesus Christ. His steadfast dedication and energy carried him to every continent of our globe, and one can only speculate as to how many thousands and millions heard his message. Our church library has brought together a wide sampling of Graham's writings, and if you have not had the chance to read any of his books, now would be the opportune moment. The next time you are in our church building, take a few moments to visit the display in the library. You will find that it contains not only Graham's writings, but also books by his wife, Ruth, and by Anne, their daughter. / Bill Wade

Volunteers at work for the Alliance Stamp Ministry.

Thanks to everyone who is saving their cancelled stamps and putting them in the box outside the Fellowship Hall! We have heard from the Alliance Stamp Ministry that from the sale of stamps in 2017 a total of $29,000 was received to furnish Sunday School materials for Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, Spain, and the United States. This total is less than the previous year's, so we need to do what we can to help. Keep up the good work, and don't forget to leave a border of at least one-quarter inch around each stamp. Thank you! / Peggy Peters

Come hear Spring: Gardens, Flowers, Birds, a recital of organ music composed by Jehan Alain, Samuel Barber, Robert Farley, Daniel Gawthrop, Gerald Near, Antonio Vivaldi, and the performer himself, Robert Greene, Sunday, April 29, at 3:00 p.m. in our sanctuary. Assisting him in this varied program will be baritone Mark Davis and flutist Charlotte Ellis. Admission is free, and the public is welcome.

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

Sunday's music: Our anthem, "The Lord Is Risen Indeed," was composed by William Billings (1746 -1800). Billings is regarded as the foremost composer of the early American primitive style, and his works have become an integral part of the American folk tradition. A tanner by trade, he taught himself music. Among his friends were many prominent figures of the American Revolution, including Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. Billings's compositions include hymns, anthems, psalms, and fuguing tunes. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality, freshness, and straightforward harmonies. "The Lord Is Risen Indeed" is dominated by an exuberant rhythmic energy among all the parts. Although reportedly missing both an eye and a leg, Billings was active as an itinerant singing master and was influential in furthering the singing-school tradition of American folk culture. His six publications include The New-England Psalm-Singer (1770), the first collection entirely by an American composer, and The Singing Master's Assistant (1778, known as "Billings' Best"). His compositions were championed as patriotic music by the American Revolutionary forces because they did not sound anything like the polished and sophisticated British music of the day.

Organist's footnotes: All three organ pieces Sunday are 21st century arrangements of 17th and 18th century hymn tunes. The prelude, "O filii et filiae" ("O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing"), is based on a French carol melody found in Airs sur les hymnes sacrez (1623), though it originated more than a hundred years before that. Rebecca Groom te Velde (b. 1956) has created a series of short, contrasting vignettes, which are played end-to-end without interruption. "Easter Hymn" originally appeared in the John Walsh collection Lyra Davidica (1708) as a rather florid tune. Tempered to its present version by John Arnold in his Compleat Psalmodist (1749), "Easter Hymn" is now one of the best known and most joyous Easter tunes.

Michael Bedford's (b. 1949) quiet meditation (offertory) is a lovely alternative to the bombast of most arrangements. "Maccabeus" (postlude) is an arrangement of a tune from the chorus "See, the Conquering Hero Comes" in George Frederick Handel's (1685 -1759) oratorio Judas Maccabeus (first performed without this chorus in 1746). Handel initially used the tune in his oratorio Joshua (1747) but transferred it to Judas Maccabeus in 1751; such changes were common in Handel's operas and oratorios. Handel is reported to have said to a friend, "You will live to see it [the tune] a greater favorite with the people than my other finer things." Aaron David Miller (b. 1972) has created a lively festival march that changes back and forth in un-march-like fashion between 4/4, 5/8, and 7/8 meters. Miller specifies the use of the organ's loudest reed, the trompette en chamade. Choir members, beware!

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

Sunday, April 15

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

1:00 p.m.       Called Session, Room 123

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

5:00 p.m.       Season of Prayer, Chapel

6:00 p.m.       Student Fellowship

Monday, April 16

5:30 p.m.       Adult Handbell Choir

Tuesday, April 17

9:30 a.m.       Staff Meeting, Room 117

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

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

Wednesday, April 18

9:30 a.m.       Heart to Heart Bible Study, Coffee Klatch Room

5:15 p.m.       Baby & Toddler Care, Rooms 34 & 35

5:30 p.m.       Fellowship Dinner, Fellowship Hall

6:00 p.m.       Pastor Nominating Comm., Room 117

6:00 p.m.       Wednesday Night Kids

6:00 p.m.       Student Small Groups

6:10 p.m.       Adult Program, Fellowship Hall

7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir

7:30 p.m.       8:30 Worship Team, Fellowship Hall

Thursday, April 19

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

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

Saturday, April 21

3:00 a.m.       After-Prom Party, Off Campus