Windows

November 10, 2022

College Ministry Fall Events

What’s next in our College Ministry outreach to King University students as the fall semester draws to a close? Here’s the schedule from Jerry Swam Sidi, our Director of Contemporary Worship and Campus Evangelist to King:

• Next College Worship Night: This Sunday, November 13. Dinner at 6:00 and worship at 7:00 in the FPC College Room.
• Friendsgiving: November 21. We will celebrate with King students.
• End-of-Semester Celebration Night: December 4 at 6:00 for all Youth and College ministries. Gingerbread houses in the Fellowship Hall.
• Study at First Pres: December 5–9 in the College Room.

Remember to Send In Your Stewardship Pledge

We are forging ahead through the final stretch of our stewardship campaign, now with $591,640 toward our goal of $715,380. We need $123,740 more to fully fund our ministries in 2023.

If you have not yet sent in your pledge, you can still submit the card you received in the mail (also available at the church) or access online giving through the QR code below.

You can read all about it here. If you have any questions about stewardship or why we pledge or any aspect of our church’s life, please reach out to any member of the stewardship committee or any church officer or staff member.

The FPC Stewardship Committee: Barb Duncan, Chase Mitchell, Matt Peltier, Karen Pennington, Jerry Poteat, Annette Tudor, and John Vann

Now Accepting Officer Nominations

The Nominating Committee is accepting nominations for the offices of Elder, Deacon, and Trustee of FPC Bristol through November 23. Five elders and deacons and one trustee will be elected for three-year terms that begin in January.

We invite you to prayerfully consider who you feel is being called to serve in these important roles. Whom do you recognize in our church family as having the gifts, energy, and spiritual maturity to fulfill the assigned duties? If you would like to be considered, nominate yourself!

Options for submitting nominations: 

1. Use the QR code above.
2. Email your recommendations (or questions) directly to the committee.
3. Access online nomination forms that provide a definition for each position here and here.
4. Pick up printed forms in the church office, outside the worship spaces, or from the pew racks. Completed forms can be submitted to the church office, placed in the Connect visitor-card boxes, or attached to an email to the committee.

Thank you for your prayers and your assistance in identifying whom God is calling to serve our church in these ways.

Sharing Christ Dec. 3

We are scheduled to serve again at the Sharing Christ downtown mission on Saturday, December 3. Our main dish will be an old favorite, Sharing Christ Chicken Casserole, with sides of green beans, applesauce, and rolls. The ministry now provides bag lunches only to those who come to worship with them on Sunday. That is usually 20 people, a big reduction from our previous provision. If you can help in any way, whether by contributing meal components or helping to serve, please email Beth Flannagan or text 423-956-3837, or email Becca Tate or text 404-790-1223. We welcome your contributions in any form. Those who turn to Sharing Christ are always so friendly and express their thanks for our presence. What a blessing to have this opportunity to serve others!

Check Out These New Adult Classes

Two new adult classes are meeting weekly on Sunday mornings from 10:20 to 10:50.

New Members Class. This is for those interested in joining our fellowship or just learning more about the Presbyterian Church (USA), and FPC in particular. The class includes videos, conversation, questions and answers, and the occasional field trip. To learn more, contact Dave Welch or join us in the chapel.

The Epistle to the Colossians. Pastor Sam Weddington leads this line-by-line reading and discussion of Paul’s letter. The class meets in room 125, the corner classroom across from the men's restroom.

Join Us for the Hanging of the Greens Nov. 27

The annual Hanging of the Greens is scheduled for Sunday, November 27, and we need your help! Our team is looking for some new friends to join us in decorating the church for the Advent and Christmas seasons. A delicious lunch will be provided to thank you—and bribe you to maybe even help us take it all down in January! We’ll work after both services, so you can come when you can that morning.

If you are interested in helping, we would love to have you! It’s a fun tradition, and the soup is worth the couple of hours it takes to get everything up and decorated. I promise! Come! Really! It’s a neat way to get the holidays started! To join us or learn more, call or text Katie Sword at 423-914-2181./Katie Sword

Wednesday Fellowship Suppers

The best meal of the week is Wednesday night in the FPC Fellowship Hall! Family-style dinner begins at 5:30, and programs for children, youth, and adults follow at 6:15. To offset the cost of the meal, we suggest an offering of $5 per adult, $3 per child, but no more than $15 per family. Family is anyone who comes with you in your car! Please join us!

Life Together for Home Groups

Our latest Home Group curriculum, Life Together, is about how we can be new persons and communities centered in Jesus Christ. Access the curriculum on our website or watch for it to drop on our Home Groups Facebook site.

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.

Pick Up Your Advent Devotional

Our 2022 Advent devotionals will be available for pickup at the church this Sunday, November 13. This year we are using the meditations reflecting on the person and coming of Christ offered in NIV Once-A-Day, 25 days of Advent. Each daily reading includes scripture from the NIV, a meditation written by Dr. Kenneth Boa with Joan Alan Turner, and a prayer.

Christmas Play Rehearsals

Rehearsals for our children’s Christmas play, The Innkeeper, are held on Sunday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:30 in the fellowship hall. The play will be presented Sunday, December 18, at 3:00. To learn more, contact Sujean Bradley, Melissa Galliher, or Lilly Osborne.

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.

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:

• JoAnn Hatcher: to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund from the Blue Stocking Club, from Louise Bowdoin, from Jim & Ruthie Henderson, from Dot Mattison
• Ann Faucette Niblock: to the Memorial Fund from Charles & Teralea Moore
• Peggy Nicar: to the Memorial Fund from Cheryl Stone & Eddie Roberts

On Sunday we will hear two pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Our Opening Voluntary is his "Fantasia in D minor," K. 397, estimated to have been composed in 1782. This composition was discovered after Mozart’s death and published posthumously. He appears to have left it unfinished, and some speculate that he may have intended to follow it with a fugue. In the 1806 publication, someone (most likely August Muller) “completed” this fantasia by composing ten additional measures. This somewhat abrupt ending continues to be performed to this day. As a fantasia, this piece is very free-form and does not conform to specific writing structure, such as a minuet or a sonata. I have enjoyed playing this quirky little piece for many years.

Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310, was composed around the time of his mother's death in the summer of 1778. His choice of a minor key is significant because the great majority of his works were composed in major keys. Little is known about the precise circumstances surrounding the composition of this sonata. The surviving manuscript was written on the same type of paper that Mozart purchased in Paris and used for Symphony No. 31 in D major, K. 297. I will play the third and final movement of this sonata, “Presto,” for our Closing Voluntary./Bob Greene

We want to pray for and celebrate with you! Send us your prayer requests and glad tidings.

In Our Prayers

Please also pray for the members of our community who wish to remain anonymous.

The session continues to encourage masks for those at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 or not fully vaccinated. The session encourages everyone to consult their medical professional about vaccinations and boosters.

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.

701 Florida Avenue | Bristol, TN 37620 | 423-764-7176 | fpcbristol.org