Session Meeting...Giving Opportunities...
First Press Weekly e-News
December 6, 2018
Our weekly e-news is a snapshot of what is happening in the near future here at FPC. If you have any questions please call the church office at  770-786-7321 , or send us an e-mail  HERE .

To view our weekly worship bulletins and monthly newsletters, click  HERE .
 
ONLINE DIRECTORY  Stay in touch with your FPC family by logging into  REALM  where you will find an online directory and up-to-date records of your giving. If you don't already have a login for the site, contact Peni Kehoe at the church office via e-mail  HERE .  
 
FIND US ON FACEBOOK!  If you haven't seen our page on Facebook recently, please be sure to "like" us and add us to one of your "interest lists". Use the button below to find us. 
Session Meeting
Sunday, December 9th
The stated monthly meeting of the Session will be held this Sunday immediately following worship in the fellowship hall. Session members are reminded to submit your ministry team reports to John McCarthy, Clerk of Session by Thursday, December 6th.
Presbyterian 101
Sundays, December 9th & 16th
Each year we offer a series of classes on " What it Means to Be a Presbyterian" for our newly elected class of elders as well as for anyone else who is interested in the theology (beliefs), polity (government), and history of the Presbyterian church. Classes will be taught by our pastor Steven Barnes. Everyone is invited!
Silver Saints & Ambassador Choir Luncheon
Thursday, December 13th @ 12:00pm
The annual Christmas Party luncheon for the Silver Saints and the Ambassador Choir will take place on Thursday, December 13th at 12 noon. This is a catered affair. We will also enjoy a fun time following the meal as we exchange Christmas gifts with a value of $10.00. Please call the church office (770 786 7321) to make a reservation so preparations will be adequate. Please join us for this holiday fun. 
Alexis Ward
It is with sadness that we have announced that Alexis Ward, our Director of Music, has submitted her resignation as she plans to move to Delaware to be closer to family during her husband's lengthy deployment with the military.

Alexis' final day as a staff member will be Sunday, December 16th. On that morning, we will worship together on Music Sunday and be filled with the beautiful music that Alexis has arranged and prepared. We will honor Alexis by having a reception for her and her family in the narthex following the service.

Click HERE to read a letter from our pastor for more details.
Opportunities for Giving
Angel and Salvation Army tree gifts for children and nursing home residents: CRITICAL NEED! We have Angel tags for 24 children and 8 adults remaining on the trees. If you are able to take one or more of these this Sunday it will help us to reach as many people as possible. Remember when selecting an Angel please record your name by that person's name on the provided clip board. All gifts should be placed under the trees before December 16th...unwrapped but tagged for the children, wrapped and tagged for the nursing home residents

Food Pantry: The food pantry is overwhelmed with requests for food. Non-perishables can be placed in the boxes provided in the narthex, or deliver them to the food pantry. Checks can be written to the church with a designation of food pantry. Call Bernice Bailey 770-786-3048 for further information. 

Pastor’s Discretionary Fund: Each year we have last minute requests from families who are not covered by the Salvation Army but cannot afford Christmas gifts for their children. After investigating the request, church staff gives the family a gift certificate to one of the local stores. If you would like to contribute to this fund, make your check out to the church and designate Pastor’s Discretionary Fund. The Discretionary Fund is used throughout the year to help local folks with various needs. 

Homeless Needs: With weather getting colder and daylight getting shorter, the needs of the homeless in our community are on the rise. As the church - the body of Christ - we are daily called upon to meet the needs of our homeless neighbors in many different ways, most of which require money. If you would like to contribute to our fund that is being used to directly help those who are without housing, please make your checks payable to FPC and designate "Homeless" on the memo line.  
Sidewalk Lights
It is with great excitement that we can announce to you that our sidewalk lights are working again. Many thanks go out to Stan & Dana Hall for their hard work in re-wiring, sanding and painting the old fixtures and making them look and work like new!

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5
Advent Devotional
God Lifts the Lowly, is the 2018 Advent devotional offering published by Presbyterians Today. The devotional is from Mary's Song of Praise found in Luke 1:52. "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly."

Read more about the devotional HERE.  

Copies are available in the narthex, or you can download your copy HERE.
Praise & Prayers
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Guy Tittle who died this week. Mr. Tittle is the father of Loucy Hay.

Please keep the following people and their families in your thoughts and prayers this week:

  • Alexis, Thomas & Hazel Ward - moving
  • Sam Ramsey - Emory Hospital (brother-in-law of Alice Walker)
  • Betty Lunsford - home
  • Beverly Star Edmonds - cancer (mother of Steve Kapp)
  • Eleanor Scarborough - home recovering from shoulder surgery
  • Roger Gossage - traveling for medical care
  • Warren Liem - home 
  • Judith Barton - home (mother of Perri Walden)
  • Emma Bowen - Riverside (sister of Debbie Gossage)
  • William Hessler - health issues (cousin of Warren Liem)
  • Howard Barton - home (step-father of Perri Walden)
  • Pat Musarra - stroke (mother of Danielle Schubert)
  • Agnes Campbell - Riverside
  • Florine DeConinck - surgery 10/19
  • Williams Reavis - home (father-in-law of Steven Barnes)
  • Anne Adams - multiple surgeries (sister-in-law of Gene Wallace)
  • Diana Bradford - surgery (daughter of Reed Blakeney)
  • Robby Ashworth - brain tumor (son of Joyce Ashworth)
  • Kim Floyd - home (mother of Chelsie Coggins)
  • Russell Loveland - stroke (father of Caryn Thompson)
  • Caleb Thompson - ill at college (son of Michael Thompson)
  • Matt Cooper - CPD Officer injured in the line of duty; Shepherd Spinal Center
  • Adriane Ivey - home
  • Mark Fogarty - cancer
  • Spencer Boyd - cancer
  • Angela Gregory - cancer (sister of Dave Gregory)
  • Sharon Wallace - back surgery (sister of Debbie Gossage)
  • Sophia Hawley--Cystic Fibrosis (home)
  • Tom Holmes - cancer (friend of Dan Walden)
  • Clynton Byer - heart surgery (friend of the Ardis family)
  • Brandon Massey - blood cancer (grandson of Chuck & Sherry Brasher)
  • Jeanette Davis - hospice care (mother of Maria Davis)
  • Ethan Lassiter - brain tumor (8 y.o. grandson of E.G. and Maryanne Lassiter)
  • Anderson Krieger--chemotherapy at home
  • Carol Baynes--cancer, friend of Phyllis Yoder
  • Robin McKeown - cancer, friend of Phyllis Yoder
  • Chuck Hodges--treatment for lymphoma (friend of Patti Lanford)
  • Ron Swatty--heart problems (brother-in-law of Charles Ardis)
  • Mitchell Jessup--cancer (father of Nick Jessup)

Please update your prayer requests this week! 
Email: penihaug@gmail.com or call the church office, 770-786-7321.