Windows

August 10, 2023

Service Opportunities at A Place to Be

A Place to Be, a day center that provides care for unhoused people in Bristol, is constantly in need of donations to support their operations and provide for their patrons. Most needed are blankets, backpacks, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and men’s and women’s underwear, pants, jackets, shoes, and T-shirts. Try to keep these in mind as you glean things from your closets and shelves. You can drop off your donations at 137 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. In April, FPC collected nonperishable snack items, the only food some folks get all day, to feed the 40 people a day who come to the center.

Another way to assist with this local effort for unhoused people in Bristol is to volunteer to serve an occasional hot lunch there. This would involve a group of people to provide the components for hot lunch (casseroles, hot veggies, fruit, dessert) and folks willing to go there for a couple hours midday to set up, serve, clean up, and perhaps visit with some of those who come to the day center, as we do for Sharing Christ. If you can help with this, please call (423-956-3837) or email Beth Flannagan.

Family Promise of Bristol opened A Place to Be about a year ago. The center, located in the Salvation Army building, is open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Anyone can come to have a snack, eat lunch, take a shower, or do laundry. Two full-time case managers help guests obtain IDs and access services from other agencies in town. Partners such as Ballad Community Health, Sullivan County Health Department, Frontier Health, Bristol Public Library, and Healing Hands come to the center once a week to serve clients. An AmeriCorps intern is there daily to help people create resumes and fill out online job applications. Family Promise is a United Way agency.

Gratitude from Young Life

Matt Richardson recently sent us the letter of thanks below on behalf of Young Life, our mission focus in June.

Dear First Pres family,

We just received the generous donation taken up over the month of June. Wow! I’m reminded of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives as well.”

Thank you for “sharing your lives” with teenagers in our town. We were able to take every kid that wanted to go to camp this summer, and several came to know and trust Jesus for the first time. On behalf of our new brothers and sisters, thank you from Young Life!

Student Fall Retreat Sep. 2–4

Sixth through 12th graders, sign up for a weekend of fun and fellowship with your friends! Student Ministries invites you to our Fall Retreat weekend at Look Up Lodge in Travelers Rest, SC. This is an annual favorite that you won't want to miss!

We will share wild fun and adventure in the great outdoors, worship together, and bond with our church family. We’ve reserved nice cabins for our stay. We will leave from the church Saturday morning and return Monday afternoon.

If you register with a deposit by August 15, you will receive a T-shirt, and your total cost for the trip will be $175, which includes transportation, lodging, meals, camp activities, and programming. After August 15, the price will increase to $200, and T-shirt size cannot be guaranteed.

Ready to go? Submit the registration form and pay the nonrefundable deposit of $50. Pay online here. Choose “Fall Retreat” in the drop-down menu. If you have any questions, email Katie Arnold or call or text her a 770-296-1671.

Be a Reading Buddy

Reading Buddies is gearing up for another school year. Thirty minutes of your time makes a huge difference in the life of the elementary student you will partner with! Last spring’s reading scores underline the importance of this help to elementary school students. Please contact Kay Ward at [email protected] to let her know you want to be part of this important program with Bristol Tennessee City Schools.

We Want to Dig a Community Well in Nigeria

Throughout the month of August, we are raising funds through offerings and donations to help pay for the digging of a well in Kaduna State, Nigeria. This well is a project of the Shabach Beyond Center Nigeria, founded by our own Jerry and Rachael Swam Sidi. The Shabach Well will supply clean drinking water to more than 20,000 people in the Ungwan Boro community. There is no life, and no ministry, without water. Please be generous.

Potential Mission Trip to Zambia Next May

Over the years since FPC members Mark and Catherine Bell made their first trip to Zambia in 2011, this beautiful African country has become a second home to them. They fell in love with the culture, the people, and the churches and are in awe of the spiritual maturity of the friends and leaders that live in this majestic part of the world. They feel blessed that, through their relationship with the Zambian founders of the Phoebe Foundation Africa (PFA, a Christian non-governmental organization) and with Chris and Phoebe Chanda, they have been a part of carrying out the mission of this Christ-centered ministry.

Zambians love soccer, and Mark has felt called to continue to collaborate with the Africa Impact Project to share the gospel with Zambians through the sport. In response to the global mental health crisis, Catherine has been invited to continue to share counseling education with pastors and community leaders through Mapalo Counseling Ministries. These two ministry initiatives are under the PFA umbrella.

The Bells are the co-chairs of the PFA USA Board of Directors and are currently praying about and planning a trip that they hope to lead from May 16 through May 30, 2024. It will be their eighth mission trip to Zambia and an opportunity for them and those interested in joining them to engage and serve this beautiful community, and to experience what the Bells describe as “the multilateral and transformative mutual learning” that takes place every time they spend time there.

To learn more about this mission opportunity, come to a presentation about the ongoing work in Zambia Wednesday, August 23, after our fellowship dinner. The meal will be at 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall, and the presentation will begin at 6:15 in the chapel. Justin Miller has offered to connect interested persons with the Bells. You will find more information here.

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 a gift to the Memorial Fund from Cora Lee Raccioppo, in memory of Tony Raccioppo, and a gift from Peggy Semancik in honor of Harold Rutherford’s 90th birthday.

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



Condolences

Our love and sympathy are with the family of previous member Claudette Easley, who died July 17 in Cincinnati, Ohio. After the death of her husband, Dick, in 2006, Claudette moved to Ohio to be near her children.

In Our Prayers

We have several unnamed or private requests. Please 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.

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We encourage you to use text, mail, or our website to safely continue your faithful support of our ministries. Give online here; choose a fund from the drop-down menu. Text fpcbristol to 73256 to send your pledge, offering, or special gift to the church. Messages and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. Text HELP to 73256 for help. Text STOP to 73256 to cancel. If you prefer, you may mail your contribution to the church.

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