Davis Akard, son of David and Rae Akard, has graduated from Tennessee High School and will major in computer science at the University of Tennessee Tickle College of Engineering.

Sophie Arnold, daughter of Piper and Andy Arnold, has graduated from Tennessee High School and will major in elementary education at East Tennessee State University.

Blakesley Bassett, daughter of Blake and Laura Bassett, has graduated from East Tennessee State University with a degree in media communications and a minor in marketing. She will begin a job in marketing with the new Hard Rock Casino in Bristol.

Bailey Bechtold, daughter of John and Mendy Bechtold, has graduated from Tennessee High School and will be attending Tennessee Tech.

John Blair, son of Keith and Ruthie Blair, has graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in aerospace engineering. He will be moving to Denver to begin a career with Lockheed.

Jon Blankenship, son of Chris and Elizabeth Blankenship, has graduated from John Battle High School and will be attending King University and playing basketball.

Lauren Emma Bryant, daughter of Tommy and Marcie King Bryant and granddaughter of Julie King, has graduated from Concord High School in Knoxville and will study psychology at East Tennessee State University.

Keona Fielitz, daughter of Chris and Alice Fielitz, has graduated from Tennessee High School and will be attending Purdue University.

Hannah Gastineau, daughter of Elisa Gastineau, granddaughter of Karen Boone, and niece of Barb Duncan, has graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in architecture. She will be working in Atlanta for Cooper Carry Architecture and Design.

Michael J. Gastineau, son of Elisa Gastineau, grandson of Karen Boone, and nephew of Barb Duncan, has graduated from the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media with an associate degree in music technology. He has his own music studio in Atlanta.

Zora Gross, daughter of Dan Gross and Dawn Eubanks, has graduated from Tennessee High School.

Alex Inman, son of Brenda Inman, grandson of Karen Boone, and nephew of Barb Duncan, has graduated from Milligan College with a degree in accounting and business administration.

Madyson Kent, daughter of Martin and Vonda Kent, has graduated summa cum laude from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience and a minor in disabilities studies.

Rachel Kent, daughter of Martin and Vonda Kent, has graduated from Tennessee High School and will be attending the University of South Carolina.

Andrew David Keys, grandson of Al and Loretta Thomas, has graduated magna cum laude from the University of Tennessee School of Architecture.

Lily Rosser, daughter of Tom Rosser and April Rosser, has graduated from Tennessee High School and will be attending Auburn University.

Beckham Schiesz, son of Byron and Mary Lee Schiesz, has graduated from Tennessee High School and will be attending Northeast State Community College.

John Thomas Scott, son of John and Amy Scott, has graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in civil engineering with a concentration in structures and construction. He will be heading to Abilene, Texas, to be a project engineer for Mortenson Construction Development.

Michael Trotter-Lawson, grandson of Brenda Lawson, has graduated from East Tennessee State University with a degree in music. He plays the trombone and participated in Concert Band, Marching Band, and Jazz Ensemble.

Samuel Weddington, son of Sam Weddington and Grace Kim, has graduated from Tennessee High School and will be attending the College of William and Mary.

Abigail Christine Welch, daughter of Dave and Linda Welch, has graduated from the University of Tennessee with a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.

Keona Fielitz, one of our high school seniors, shared this reflection in worship on Sunday.

My journey with First Pres started about a year before the pandemic, when my family and I were searching for a new church to attend. During that time, I was also good friends with Bailey Bechtold, who encouraged us to try out her church and see if we liked it. That decision has greatly influenced my faith journey.

It started with the immense amount of kindness the church body showed to my family the instant we joined in to worship. I was amazed at how welcoming the congregation was, and how it immediately felt like we were wanted there. This kindness was even extended to the youth group bible studies and all the youth activities. Their kindness made all the difference because coming in, I was very nervous about going to youth. It was my first time ever participating in something like this, because our old church did not have bible studies specifically for teenagers. But everyone there ended up being so kind and fun to be around. I started actively attending youth and would look forward to going.

Since then, I have been able to get involved in my community. I've had the opportunity to help stream church services, hang out with kids during vacation bible school, volunteer at the food pantry, and more. I am so grateful that I can serve Christ in these various communities thanks to First Presbyterian. Additionally, in the few years my family has been here, I think I have learned more about the Lord and His word than in all the previous years of my life combined.

Sometimes we might not realize how much influence the environment we create has on other people. By being so welcoming to my family, you all have created a positive environment for me, my brother, and my parents where we can learn about and glorify His name. Paul wrote, in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” I have witnessed time and time again how this church body welcomes people from all walks of life, and I appreciate this because you never know how much a warm welcome can mean, and you never know who needs that encouragement to start their own journey in Christ. /Keona Fielitz

Sunday’s prelude and postlude are both based on the hymns we’ll sing. Our prelude is based on “Blest Be the Tie That Binds,” set to the tune DENNIS, composed by the Swiss music educator and publisher Johann G. Nägali (1773–1836). Franklin D. Ashdown (b. 1942) composed seven short variations on this tune.

In addition to being a composer, Ashdown is a retired physician, having pursued dual careers for three decades. He studied piano for 12 years, and at the age of 13 was recruited to play the organ for a local congregation. He later studied organ with Judson Maynard and James Drake, and was privately coached in composition by Fred Tulan in San Francisco and Leonard Raver of The Juilliard School. Ashdown’s organ and choral compositions have been widely published and performed in venues ranging from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City to Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London and the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. His music has been featured on American Public Media’s Pipedreams, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s CBS broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word. Leonard Raver and Stephen Burns recorded his Requiem for the Challenger on the Classic Masters Label, and James Welch has included some of his solo organ music in his series of recordings for various labels.

Our postlude is based on “There Is Now a New Creation,“ which is based on the tune STUTTGART, composed by Christian Friedrich Witt (1660–1717). David McCarthy (b. 1971) has created a brief setting in 12/8 time that dances a jig in the manuals while the pedals carry the hymn tune melody—chopped up into four separate phrases.

McCarthy was born in Winnipeg. He has degrees in music from McGill University, the Eastman School of Music, and Houghton College, is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, and is a member of the AGO’s Board of Examiners. He is the organist and choir director at Atonement Lutheran Church in Brighton, New York. He teaches music (organ, composition, history, and theory) privately and at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, where he is a lecturer. He lives in Brighton with his wife, Sherry, and daughter, Leah.

McCarthy performs repertoire and improvisations in concert regularly around the Northeast. He was a semifinalist in the 2016 National Competition for Organ Improvisation, and won second prize in the 2019 University of Michigan Organ Improvisation Competition. His compositions are published by Paraclete Press and Augsburg Fortress and on his website; they have been performed around the world. He has received a composer’s award from ASCAP annually since 2005.

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