Windows

February 23rd, 2024

Church Request

Friends, a member of the church (Gil Bailey) is needing to secure rides to attend the Sunday, 11:00 am service each week. His lives close to the church on Old Jonesboro Rd. We have a ride calendar (MealTrain) for folks to signup and drive. If you would be interested in helping please click here. Please note this is not to bring a meal, but to pick Gil up and return him home on a given Sunday morning. Thanks!

Hey parents! Do you need a night out? A little rest and relaxation? A fun activity for your children? Parents’ Night Out will be Friday, February 23 from 6:00-8:30. Dinner for kids provided! Please register here. Contact Lilly Osborne if you have any questions.

Inspired by Matthew 25:35-36, our church joins a "giving in kind" initiative this winter. Donate snacks, gloves, and hats to support local ministries A Place to Be and Haven of Rest. Collection bins are outside the sanctuary and fellowship hall. Haven of Rest's specific needs list is available alongside the collection bins. Let's make a warm impact together!

Our Chili Cook-Off & Talent Show is coming up on Sunday, February 25. If you would like to perform on our stage, please contact Lilly Osborne or Katie Arnold. We always have a variety of talents of all ages! We would love to see your talent! Also, you can dust off that award winning chili recipe and get ready for the contest! Spice things up or bring something sweet! We're looking for chili or dessert contributions to this must-attend gathering.

Join FPC on an intergenerational summer adventure to Orlando, Florida to serve and play! Departing from the church on June 22, the group will head down to Orlando, Florida for a week of missions, beach, and Orlando fun. Experience the richness of working along side people of all ages and building new relationships within our church family. Participants will have the opportunity to serve with different ministries around Orlando. Each day is full of new opportunities and mission experiences. The group will be housed in dormitories at Forest Lake Academy. Meals will also be provided by the academy. The week will include beach time and an optional day at Universal Studios! We will return home June 29. The schedule will be flexible for families who are attending. We want it to be a rich and enjoyable experience for all! This is an event you won’t want to miss! Start making plans and inviting friends and get your $100 deposit in by March 1 to reserve your spot! Fill out the registration form here.

The Friendship Class Announcement

This Sunday, February 25, we welcome the return of our special friends in the Friendship Class to our worship services. Until the Pandemic, they had attended regularly, but since then, they have worshiped remotely in their classroom to avoid exposure to Covid - 19. The Friendship Class began in 1984, founded by Dot Mattison, a long-time First Presbyterian member and elder. At the time, she served on the Board of Directors of Frontier Health Industries, which provides health-related services to our local communities. Dot got to know some of our neighbors with special needs, and thus began this ministry in our church that has been ongoing for 40 years. Dot decided to call this ministry “The Friendship Class” when she observed enthusiastic interactions develop as the dear people spent time among themselves and other members of our congregation. Let’s give a heartfelt welcome to our special friends returning to worship with us.

Double Your Blessing: Both Yours and Those You Serve

In addition to serving dinner at Sharing Christ, this year Mission & Outreach (M&O) is adding A Place to Be (APTB) to our week of service and also provide their Wednesday noon meal – yes, the same week we serve at Sharing Christ!

For those not familiar with this outreach effort, here is a bit of background:

• Family Promise of Bristol coordinates A Place to Be, a day center to provide care for unhoused people in Bristol in the Salvation Army building. APTB is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. A noon meal is provided each of those days, with a hot lunch served on Wednesdays.
• Sharing Christ Ministries and Worship Center is a small non-denominational, evangelical church called to fill a need in downtown Bristol. They host a free meal each Saturday night from 5:30-6:30 and have a clothing ministry. When we serve at Sharing Christ, we usually provide approximately 25 bagged lunches (PB&J, banana, Little Debbie cake). FPC has volunteered for many years.

You are invited to be part of providing the meal and serving at either or both of those venues, both to occur on the same week. The first opportunity will be the week of Wednesday March 13 and Saturday March 16. We will provide the hot lunch at APTB on Wednesday 3/13 and a few days later, provide the same meal to guests at Sharing Christ on 3/16.

The recipe for the casserole to be served will be provided, which is easily doubled. We anticipate the need for 12-14 single casseroles for those weeks we serve the meals.

What we need is those with a servant heart to –

Provide casseroles (recipe to be provided; can be prepared ahead and delivered to the church at any time prior to the dates)

Purchase

• Large cans of green beans and another side TBD
• Little Debbie cakes or something similar
• Dinner rolls

Willing hands to serve and clean up (Wednesday 11:30-1:30, Saturday 5-6:30) For the lunches at Sharing Christ, we will still need: Sandwich bread for 25 sandwiches

Little Debbie cakes (25)

Bananas (25)

Becca Tate (404-790-1223) and Beth Flannagan (423-956-3837) will be coordinating the meals, so contact them to sign up. AND if you’re interested in scheduling your service for all FOUR dates of the year, the additional dates are June 12 & 15; September 18 & 21; December 11 & 14.

Chicken Rice Casserole

Ingredients

3 cans white meat chicken, with liquid

2 cups water

1 pkg. white rice (8 ounces)

1 can (10.75 ounce) cream of chicken soup

1 can (10.75 ounce) cream of celery soup

1 can (10.75 ounce) cream of mushroom soup

Ground black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste (you can use dried minced

onion and garlic, if you prefer)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), sliced into pats & bread crumbs

** Can add peas and/or pimiento for color if you wish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease sides and bottom of a casserole dish.

2. Stir chicken (break up the clumps), water, rice, cream of chicken soup, cream of celery

soup, and cream of mushroom soup together in the prepared casserole dish; add

seasonings to taste. Arrange pats of butter evenly over the top of the chicken mixture

& sprinkle with bread crumbs.

3. Bake in preheated oven until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 1

hour to 75 minutes.

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:

Louise Akard Bowdoin: to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund from Samantha and Nancy Harr, from Robert & Diane Harrison, and from Jim Warren.

Organist's Footnotes

Benjamin A. Tucker graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with concentrations in Music Education and Trumpet Performance. He taught band at Bon Lin Middle School outside of Memphis, and conducted handbells at Evergreen Presbyterian Church. He has at least 20 handbell publications in print. His arrangement of “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me” (our Opening Voluntary) uses an unusual technique known as the “singing bell”, where players create a sustained tone by rubbing the rim of their bell with a wooden dowel. We will also hear an arrangement by Raymond Henry (b. 1931) for organ for the Offertory, and we will sing the hymn “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me” near the end of the service. James Weldon Johnson wrote the lyrics to the Negro National Anthem, “Lift every voice and sing” (our Processional Hymn), in 1900 honor of Booker T. Washington who visited the school where Johnson was Principal and heard the poem recited by 500 school children in his presence, paying tribute to Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Johnson’s brother, John Rosamond Johnson later set the lyrics to music. I wish I had enough space to list all the many monumental achievements of these two gentlemen! Finally, to pick us up and send us on our way, I am playing Adolphus Hailstork’s spirited arrangement of “Every Time I Feel the Spirit” for our Closing Voluntary.

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



Given the recent resurgence in COVID cases in our area, the session encourages everyone to consult their medical professional about appropriate safety measures, especially those who are at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 or who are not fully vaccinated.

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