Word from the Stewardship Committee:
Thanks!
The following is from the thank-you letter that will be going out to those who made their pledge for 2022. There is still time to make your pledge; see the details in "Returning Pledges."
As we dedicated our pledges to God’s service Sunday morning, Pastor Sam shared a vision for our church to continue sowing seeds of love and kindness and compassion, even if that might sometimes disrupt the plans we had made for our lives. We are so thankful that you have chosen to keep sowing, to keep trusting! Much of what we have sown lately might have seemed to lie fallow for too long, like seeds overwintered in harsh conditions before the return of spring. But as the words of this sturdy and uplifting hymn recall, we know the harvest will surely come:
Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide, and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Together, we look forward to a new year of ministry, of rebirth in our communal life of worship, and to the new growth of all the seeds God has planted in our church and our community. Thank you for answering the call to sow in faith and in expectancy of God’s provision. Please continue to pray for our church, our staff and church officers, and our community partners near and far, as we serve together to bring God’s kingdom near.
In Christ,
The FPC Stewardship Committee
(Chase Mitchell, Laura Ong, Matt Peltier, Karen Pennington, Annette Tudor, John Vann)
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Returning Pledges
If you have not yet made your 2022 pledge, you can do so now by picking up a pledge card at the church or downloading a copy here. You can then drop off the completed card at the church office, mail it in, or send your pledge directly to our business manager by emailing Betsy Galliher. |
Give Safely
We encourage you to use text, mail, or our website to safely continue your faithful support of our ministries during the pandemic. You can give online by going to our website and clicking on “Give” in the upper right corner. You can send your pledge, offering, or special gift by texting fpcbristol to 73256, or mail your checks directly to the church. |
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Worship
November 7
24th Sunday after Pentecost
Communion
Scripture
Psalm 147:12–20
Joel 3:12–16
Matthew 13:24–30
Sermon
Parable of the Weeds
Sam Weddington
Last Sunday’s Attendance
9:00: In person: 106;
Livestream: 32; Playback: 87
11:00: In person: 74;
Livestream: 18; Playback: 51
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Calendar
Sunday, November 7
9:00 a.m.
Contemporary Worship
Fellowship Hall
10:10 a.m.
Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
Traditional Worship
Sanctuary
6:00 p.m.
Student Fellowship
Monday, November 8
10:00 a.m.
Staff Meeting
Room 123
7:00 p.m.
Worship Committee
Room 123
Tuesday, November 9
7:00 p.m.
Boy Scout Troop 3
Scout Hall
Wednesday, November 10
5:30 p.m.
Fellowship Supper
Fellowship Hall
6:15 p.m.
Adult Enrichment
Chapel
High School Small Groups
Student Room
Wednesday Night Kids
Education Wing
Handbell Practice
Sanctuary
7:00 p.m.
Praise Band Practice
Fellowship Hall
7:15 p.m.
Choir Practice
Room 202
Thursday, November 11
7:00 a.m.
Men’s Bible Study
Parlor
8:30 a.m.
Meals on Wheels
Fellowship Hall
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There Goes DST
Daylight Saving Time leaves quietly in the early hours this Sunday, November 7, when you’re not looking. What to do? Set your clock back one hour when you go to bed Saturday night. See you in worship!
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Join Us
for Wednesday Fellowship
Join us Wednesday evenings at 5:30 for our fellowship supper, then stay for programming for all age groups at 6:15. We are serving and seating you with care. We strongly encourage you to wear masks when not eating, and to get vaccinated.
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How to Join Us Online
You can watch the livestream of our worship services and other activities at FPC Bristol on YouTube. Click on the link and hit “Subscribe” to receive notifications of new videos. To connect to our various Facebook sites, go to Facebook and type in FPC Bristol. Several accounts will show up. “Like” the page or ask to join a group. |
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Updated COVID Protocols
Effective Sunday, November 14, the session has changed our current COVID-19 policies to say: “The session strongly encourages masks for those not fully vaccinated, or at higher risk of COVID-19 complications. The session continues to encourage everyone to be vaccinated if they have not yet done so.” You can read the entire update online here. |
Five Cents a Meal Offering Sunday
We will collect our quarterly Five Cents a Meal offering this Sunday, November 7, at both services and online. You can give this offering remotely here. (Click on the arrow on the Fund line, then scroll down and click on Five Cents a Meal.) The suggested offering is $13.65 per person, or about a nickel for each meal in a three-month period. Feel free to round up! The monies we collect for hunger relief will go to Bristol Emergency Food Pantry and Holston Presbytery Hunger Ministries. Please be generous in these difficult times! |
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Trunk or Treat
Sweet Fête Feat
We took the party inside for the October 28 Trunk or Treat at Fairmount School. It's easy to see that everyone had a sweet time!
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Gifts to the Church
Memorials and honoraria are published in the newsletter only after the family has been personally notified by our business office. Today we gratefully acknowledge the following gifts in memory of:
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Alice Moore: to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund from Jack & Anne Southerland, from Margaret Wade
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Jim Wiseman: to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund from Jack & Anne Southerland
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Organist's Footnotes
Sister Suzanne Toolan, RSM (pictured), moved to Hollywood at age 17, before she became a professed Sister of Mercy. Born in 1927 in Lansing, Michigan, she earned a master’s degree in humanities and then began her teaching career, directing choirs for high schools, colleges, parishes, and seminaries. One day in 1964, while between classes, she wrote words to a new hymn. Disappointed with the results, she tore up the manuscript and threw it into the waste can. Leaving the room, she encountered a freshman student who asked what she had been playing. The student thought it was beautiful. Sister Suzanne rescued the shred and reworked it. It was “I Am the Bread of Life,” and it has certainly enjoyed a life of its own. It appears now in more hymnals and collections than any other title in the GIA catalog and has been translated into 20 languages.
We will sing “I Am the Bread of Life” at the end of Sunday’s service. For the prelude I will play a setting of it by Thomas Fielding (b. 1975). He holds a DMus degree from Indiana University Jacobs’ School of Music and is director of music and liturgy for St. Augustine Cathedral, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The choir’s offertory anthem, “Gift of Finest Wheat,” was written by lyricist Omer Westendorf (1916–1997) and composer Robert E. Kreutz (1922–1996). Submitted together, this text and tune were chosen from about 200 entries to be the official hymn of the 41st International Eucharistic Congress held in Philadelphia in 1976. At the center of its many biblical images, the third stanza draws on 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 (“one bread … one body”).
I hope you like the tune ST. GEORGE’S WINDSOR (better known as “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”), because you will hear it several times Sunday. We will sing the first three stanzas for our opening hymn and the fourth stanza as a response. Then during Communion I will play two short settings: one by the Dutch composer Flor Peeters and one by me. Finally, for the postlude I will play a setting by Alec Rowley (1892–1958), an English composer, organist, pianist, lecturer, and writer on music. Rowley composed a large number of works, mainly on a small scale and often of an educational nature, though some were larger-scale orchestral and choral works. He was a dedicated teacher, broadcaster, and writer; after his death the Alec Rowley Memorial Prize was established at Trinity College of Music.
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We want to pray for and celebrate with you! Send your prayer requests and glad tidings to [email protected].
Condolences
Our love and sympathy are with Lee and Betsy Galliher and their family on the death of Lee’s father, Carl Galliher, October 27; and with Karen Boone and Barb Duncan in the loss of a close friend.
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In Our Prayers
Please also pray for the members of our community who wish to remain anonymous.
Anna Arbo & family
Mendy Bechtold
Bill & Betty Bingham
Bud & Marg Branscomb
Bristol Tennessee City Schools
Blair Bullock
Becky Busler
Ariel Damasceno
K.D. Forsha
Garrett Foster & family
Ron Fox
Family of Carl Galliher
DeeDee Galliher
Josh Galliher
John Graham Sr.
Emma Grubbs & Gina Roberson
Haiti
Lou Hebb
Eddie Hill
Porter Hillery
Davan & Kristi Johnson
Jim & Joan Keith
Marty & Kara Keys
Morgan & Josh King & family
Nancy Lilly
Diana Mattison
Dot Mattison
Roger McCracken
Kathy McGlothlin
Montana Indian Ministries
Abigail Myers
National & international leadership
Breanna Necessary
Palestine & Israel
Pastor Bruce Plummer
Cora Lee Raccioppo
Michelle S.
Susan Solomon
Malcolm Sprinkle
Teachers & school administrators
Margaret Wade
Michael Weller
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Deadline & Subscriptions
Monday is the deadline for contributions to Windows. Subscribe to our free e-newsletter by sending your name and preferred email address to the editor.
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701 Florida Avenue | Bristol, TN 37620 | 423-764-7176 | fpcbristol.org
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