Windows

October 22, 2023

Exuberant Ellingtonia has been cancelled 

We regret to inform you that the Exuberant Ellingtonia with acclaimed jazz duo of Peter H. Bloom, flute, and John Funkhouser, piano, scheduled for Friday, October 20th has been cancelled. We understand that this may be disappointing, and we apologize for any inconvenience it may cause.

Join us for Trunk or Treat! 

Trunk or treat is a fun and safe way for kids to celebrate Halloween! Our Trunk or treat event will be held starting at 6:00pm on Tuesday, October 24th in the Fairmount School parking lot from which you can reserve a spot online. To participate in a trunk or treat event, simply decorate your car trunk and bring candy to hand out. You may also want to bring other fun items, such as stickers, glow sticks, or temporary tattoos. Decorated cars need to be parked by 5:30 to ensure the safety of our Trunk or Treaters. Once you arrive at the event, park your car in the designated area. Don't want to decorate your car, but still want to help? We need volunteers to help with other tasks too! Be sure to have fun and be creative with your decorations!

Join us Sunday, October 29th at 2:00pm for this fall favorite! Choose a pumpkin to paint and decorate, and take it home to enjoy. Get your face painted with a fall-inspired design, play a variety of fun and festive fall games, enjoy delicious fall treats and wonderful fellowship. Spend time with your friends and family and make new friends at our fall festival. We'll have plenty of space to play games, eat snacks, and relax. We hope to see you there!

Join us October 21st for our Men's Fellowship Breakfast at 7:30am here at First Presbyterian Church! We will come together to have coffee, food, fellowship, and spiritual growth. It is a time for men to connect with each other, build relationships, and learn from each other.

Next Wednesday Fellowship: Grow

As a community being made whole by God, we love, serve, and grow through Jesus.

You’re invited to the next session of our mission statement series on Wednesday! We’ll be discussing what it means to grow with God in guidance and forgiveness. When we grow closer to God, we are better equipped to help others grow in their faith. Our scripture readings for this lesson will be Psalm 25:11-15, John 15:1-11, and 1 Peter 2:1-10. Fellowship dinner will begin at 5:30 PM in the fellowship hall, followed by the adult study and activities for youth and children.

If you don't already participate in a Home Group, please sign up here. Access the resume on our website or watch for it to drop on our Home Groups Facebook site. If you need help finding or starting a Home Group, please email Dave Welch. 

Sharing Christ



Join us in serving our downtown neighbors dinner at Sharing Christ! On October 21st we will be serving PB&J sandwiches and bananas for lunch, and baked spaghetti casseroles for dinner. We need a few volunteers to help with prep, serving, and cleanup. Please respond to Becca Tate if you’re interested in volunteering at 404-790-1223 or [email protected]. Thank you for your willingness to step out and serve our neighbors!

October Mission: Rise Against Hunger Mission Focus

As we share our money (for October’s special offering) and time (to pack meals at FPC on Sunday November 5th), you might be wondering where these resources will be distributed! The Rise Against Hunger organization distributes food relief meals of vitamin and mineral-enriched rice, soy protein and dehydrated vegetables across 6 continents and 37 countries, including Ukraine, Cambodia, Ghana, Haiti, Madagascar, and many others. Some meals will travel to school feeding programs, providing essential nutrition to help children in areas of food insecurity. Provision of these meals also encourages students to attend school more regularly and perform to their best potential without suffering from empty stomachs. Other meals are used for food crisis relief in areas that have experienced natural disasters, political strife, armed conflict, or other local emergencies. Please make plans to support this mission effort by donating to this month’s offering or volunteering to help package meals together in the Fellowship Hall on November 5th! Registration for this event will open in mid-October.

Realm Church Directory is Here!

The wait is over – a new online church pictorial directory is in the works! Everyone who is a member or attends worship services on a regular basis is invited and encouraged to participate. Our data source for the directory will be Realm®, the church management software platform our church already uses for our membership database and giving records. (All giving information is completely secure and is not available to anyone other than the giver and FPC’s Business Administrator.) Those with online capabilities will access the directory from a computer and/or smart phone after setting up a personal Realm account. Those without online access can chose to have their information updated/included for them and will be provided with a paper copy of the directory. Whether you are a technical genius, have never touched a computer or smart phone, or are somewhere in between – we want you to join us in the directory. ONLY members of the FPC community who chose to participate will have access to the online directory. By electing to be in the directory, your name will be visible to everyone with directory access. If you decide to add a photo to your profile, the photo will be visible as well. As you set up your personal Realm account, you can choose to limit visibility of other personal information such as address, phone number(s), email address(es) and/or personal information that includes birth month and day, skills, and interests.

READY? - CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

For church members who do not use computers or smart phones – please hold tight – you can attend one of the Directory Help Sessions (Oct 22 or Oct 29; 10-10:50 AM in the Parlor) and complete your directory sign up via paper, or if homebound, we will be contacting you in November to offer sign up at home.

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:

• Nancy Carter: to the Student Ministries Fund from Huffman Insurance Agency

Organist's Footnotes

Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–1780) studied with Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ. J. S. Bach held him in high regard, punning on both their names by calling Krebs “der einzige Krebs in meinem Bach” (the only crab in my stream). From a technical standpoint, Krebs was unrivaled next to Bach in his organ proficiency. However, Krebs found it difficult to obtain a patron or a cathedral post. His Baroque style was being supplanted by the newer galant music style and the classical music era. Krebs took a small post in Zwickau, and in 1755 (five years after the death of Bach, which is normally referred to as the end of the Baroque period) he was appointed court organist of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg under Prince Friedrich. 

Krebs had seven children and struggled to feed his family. Despite never holding a court composer post and never being commissioned for a work, Krebs was able to compose a significant collection of works, though few were published until the 1900s. For years I have owned a copy of Krebs’ “Prelude and Fugue in C Major” (referred to as the “Postilion” Fugue). I’ve considered learning this piece many times before, but have always shied away from the challenge. To conserve time in worship I am dividing the piece in half, playing the Prelude for the opening voluntary, and the Fugue for the closing voluntary. The Prelude begins with 10 measures of sweeping 32 nd note runs and arpeggios in the manuals, then a solo pedal passage of 12 measures with 16 th notes and 32 nd notes, before finally combining all together. It can be played “organo pleno”, or as the editor suggests, “full with reeds”. Either way, it makes for an exciting start to our worship service. The Fugue is in 12/8 time, with a fugal subject 3 measures in length. Because of its complexity, a more conservative tempo and registration is advisable. Interspersed between the fugal sections are free-form sections.

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



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 varies frequency. 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