Windows

April 11, 2025

April Mission Focus: Phoebe Foundation Africa

The month of April, we as a church will turn our attention to the Phoebe Foundation Africa (PFA) for our monthly Mission Focus. Their needs continue to be significant and your offering and devotion to this ministry literally saves lives in 10 severely impoverished villages in Zambia.

Together, we strive to create sustainable solutions, empowering communities to break the cycle of poverty. Goals: - Improve access to clean water and sanitation for 80% of households - Increase food security for 75% of families - Enhance educational and healthcare outcomes for 90% of children.

Thank you for your continued support of this Christ-Centered Ministry! If you would like to donate online, please visit the FPC website or bring a check to the church office. /Catherine & Mark Bell

Ladies Night Out

Ladies Night Out – a new activity from your Women’s Ministry team. Join us for great food and great fellowship on Sunday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. (or whenever you can make it!) at Puerto Nuevo at Exit 7, Bristol Commons, 3170 Linden Dr, Bristol VA. We hope to have an intergenerational gathering to feast and fellowship (i.e. laugh!) together. Bring friends and also sit with someone you don’t know so you can make a new friend. /Karen Torda

Seeking Letters to Confirmands

Encourage & Bless Our Confirmation Students with a Letter

The Confirmation Class of 2025—Mary Tate Gannaway, David Helms, Tyler Hommell, TRex Meredith, and Ginny Sword—has been on a remarkable journey of faith since September 2023. Over the past two years, they have participated in weekly classes designed to teach, challenge, and deepen their understanding of God’s love and their place in His Church. It has been an incredible joy to watch them grow, ask thoughtful questions, and take ownership of their faith.

On Sunday, May 4, 2025, these students will stand before our congregation to proclaim their faith and officially become members of First Presbyterian Church. As they prepare for this meaningful milestone, we invite you—our church family—to write letters of encouragement to these confirmands.

Your letter could include:

· A cherished memory of the student

· A personal story about your own faith journey

· Words of wisdom, encouragement, and prayers for their walk with Christ

These letters will serve as a powerful reminder that they are surrounded by a loving community of faith—a “great cloud of witnesses” cheering them on as they continue to grow in Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2).

If you would like to participate, please send or drop off your letters by May 1:

Mail or Deliver to:                           

First Presbyterian Church

Attn.: Katie Arnold

701 Florida Avenue

Bristol, TN 37620

OR Email to: karnold@fpcbristol.org

Thank you for taking the time to invest in the spiritual journey of these young disciples. Your words will be a treasured gift as they step forward in faith. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out! /Katie Arnold

“…I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:36

Less than three miles from FPC is Highlands Juvenile Detention Center, which houses young men and women under the age of eighteen from southwest Virginia counties detained for violating court orders or probation rules (or sometimes for more serious charges). 

FPC has been involved in outreach ministry there for well over a decade. Teams of two from FPC visit HJDC every Sunday afternoon from 12:30 to 1:30 to share the Good News of God’s grace, mercy, and love found in Jesus Christ. Usually between one and four detainees elect to come to “church,” where we pray, share scripture, and have conversation offering hope for the future. 

Perhaps you are sensing God is calling you to serve in a new capacity and maybe the idea of pouring into these children of God who have taken a wrong turn is something you would like to explore further! If so, and you are over 21 and are willing to commit to visiting about six times a year, please contact John Vann (423-360-1153) or Tom King (423-341-8549). Or ask others already involved how they have been blessed: Leigh King, Karen Vann, Dave Welch, Linda Welch, Amy Williams, Doug Williams, Corey Smith, Chad Smith, Geneva King, Nancy Allerton, John Graham, Alice Graham, Bob Greene, Ben Frizzell, or Jerry Swam Sidi.



“…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me…” Matthew 26:40

Compassion Sunday

On April 27, First Pres will celebrate Compassion Sunday — a day set apart to respond to the needs of children living in poverty around the world. This is part of a global celebration, recognizing the work of the humanitarian organization, Compassion International, and providing the opportunity for churches and their members to join in the mission of this organization. At our sponsorship table, you’ll find photos of boys and girls who would love to have someone like you to serve, honor and protect them, as a sponsor through Compassion International.  When you sponsor a child, you’ll help them see themselves as precious and valuable in the eyes of God — which is one of the most potent weapons against poverty. And when it’s paired with nutritious food to combat hunger, tutoring, regular medical checkups and vocational training ... the result is a tangible and sustainable impact.  You can fight injustice by releasing a child from poverty in Jesus’ name through sponsorship. /John Graham

Art & Praise – April 30

Join us for our final Wednesday night of the semester! After dinner, we will gather for a vibrant all-church fellowship filled with creativity and fun. Whether you enjoy painting, coloring, or drawing or feel you have no artistic ability, there will be options for everyone to express themselves. This event is for all ages, so bring your friends and family to enjoy an evening of art, praise, and community. Don’t miss out on this chance to come together and celebrate the end of a great semester!

A Joyful Celebration: Rock Slinger!

What a joy it was to witness the incredible performance of Rock Slinger by our Children's Ministry! Through music, drama, and laughter, our kids shared a beautiful story of God's presence and faithfulness—and they did it with energy, heart, and talent that left us all smiling.



From start to finish, the performance was full of life and laughter, reminding us not only of the timeless story of David and Goliath, but also of the powerful ways God works through even the smallest among us. It was clear that our children had worked hard, and their joy in sharing this story was absolutely contagious.

We are so blessed to have such talented and enthusiastic children in our congregation. Thank you, kids, for sharing your gifts so generously with us!

A very special thank you goes to Sujean Bradley, Melissa Galliher, Lilly Osborne, and Kayla Stout for their incredible leadership, creativity, and dedication. The performance was a clear reflection of your love, effort, and faithful service. Thank you for bringing Rock Slinger to life and helping our kids shine.

If you missed it or want to experience the joy all over again, click here... Watch Rock Slinger on YouTube

What a wonderful reminder that God continues to do great things in and through the youngest members of our church! /Katie Arnold

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:

Karen Boone: To the Flower Fund from Stephen & Sherry Box, from Vivian Calcote, from Rob Rutherford, from Judy Slaughter, from John & Karen Vann, and from Charles Webb. Another gift was given to the Flower Fund in memory & honor of Karen Boone's legacy in starting the Women's Hearts Burn Bible Study in 2005

Mark Godsey, brother of Nancy Butterworth: To the Memorial Fund from John & Karen Vann 

Peggy King: To the Memorial Fund from John & Karen Vann 

Carolyn Morley, mother of Deborah Smith: To the Music Projects Fund from John & Karen Vann 

Fain Shelton, mother of Pat Boone: To the Memorial Fund from an anonymous donor. 

Congratulations

Congratulations to our Brazil partners João Batista and Rosângela in the birth of their grandson Murilo, born to Pricilla and Tiago on Wednesday, April 2. Also congratulations to a very proud big sister Melissa! 

Organist's Footnotes

April 13: On Palm Sunday both the Opening and Closing Voluntaries are based on our Processional hymn, “All Glory, Laud, and Honor”, or more precisely the TUNE on which we commonly sing those words. “Valet will ich dir geben” is a Lutheran hymn written by Valerius Herberger in 1613 in response to the plague in Fraustadt, as a Sterbelied (hymn for the dying). The text was published with two hymn tunes by Melchior Teschner in 1615. The second of these melodies is the one used by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) for the two chorale preludes we hear today. The words for “All Glory, Laud and Honor”, a translation by John M. Neale of a much older Latin text, were married to this tune with the first publication of Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861.

Both Valet will ich dir geben (BWV 735, our Opening Voluntary) and Valet will ich dir geben (BWV 736, our Closing Voluntary) were both composed while Bach was still in Weimar. The text deals with death. “I bid you farewell, you evil, treacherous world. You sinful, wicked ways are not to my liking. It is good to dwell in heaven, I long for what is above. Where God rewards forever the man who serves him here.” You’d think it should be a sad chorale but Bach sets the chorale to music in a joyful vein, in 24/16^th time, so very lively in triple time. It’s very fast, with many upbeat-like figures. He writes a chorale full of ascending motifs. The idea is that there will be another life after death. That’s why death need not be a sad thing. And then you get the powerful cantus firmus in the bass. All in all, a very special work by Johann Sebastian Bach. 

April 17: The processes by which I go about selecting which organ pieces to play varies from week to week. For our Maundy Thursday service, I wanted a piece with a certain amount of gravitas to set the proper mood. For some reason, I couldn’t get the Libera me movement from Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Op. 48 out of my head. I wondered if there was a suitable organ transcription available. I discovered not one but several of them. I purchased the most promising version. With Libera me as our Opening Voluntary, I wondered how many other movements from the Requiem might be useful in our Maundy Thursday service. I decided to use the Pie Jesu and the In paradisum movements for Communion. But for the Closing Voluntary, none of the remaining movements seemed to fit. For that, I have opted for a simple setting of our Closing Hymn, “My Song Is Love Unknown”, by American composer, Benjamin M. Culli.

Much has been said about Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) and his Requiem, how it came together over a period of years with new movements and larger orchestrations. I believe the following quote partially explains why so many people love his work:

             It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it             a lullaby of death. But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards  happiness above, rather than as a painful experience. The music of Gounod has been criticized            for its inclination towards human tenderness. But his nature predisposed him to feel this way:             religious emotion took this form inside him. Is it not necessary to accept the artist's nature? As        to my Requiem, perhaps I have also instinctively sought to escape from what is thought right and proper, after all the years of accompanying burial services on the organ! I know it all by heart. I     wanted to write something different.

April 18:  Our Opening Voluntary for the Good Friday service is a dramatic setting of a traditional spiritual, “He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word”. Arranged for handbells by Arnold B. Sherman (1948-2024), the dedication reads, “For Leslie Sorrels and the Chancel Bells of Pollard Memorial United Methodist Church, Tyler, Texas”, the church where Sherman served as director of music and the arts for over 30 years. Sherman passed on May 20, 2024 and his celebration of life service was held at Pollard United Methodist Church on Aug. 3, 2024.

Sherman was a prolific composer with more than 400 published works, including many commissioned pieces for prominent concerts and events. He was a recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) Standard Award for many years. He co-founded Red River Music, a music publishing company, which was eventually sold to the Jeffers Handbell Supply Co. Sherman was the founder and director of East Texas Handbell Ensemble and served as area chair of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers. As a clinician and guest conductor, he led choral and handbell workshops and festivals throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, England, Japan and the Bahamas. 

April 20: I recently attended a symphony pops concert. While I sat there listening, I thought about all these classically trained musicians up there playing arrangements of well-known rock songs. One truth seemed clear: the career of a modern musician can take one into many different musical worlds. Such is the certainly the case with our first composer, Simon Lole (b. 1957). Mr. Lole, who hails from the UK, was educated at King's College London (BMus, 1978) and the Guildhall School of Music. After serving as organist and choirmaster for numerous churches and cathedrals, including Salisbury Cathedral, he began working in the crossover musical field as musical director and arranger for many artists (too numerous to mention). Recently he has also been arranging, orchestrating and conducting for the rock band, Archive. As an arranger, Lole is much in demand, and produces a lot of music for the BBC for whom he is a regular musical director and Organist. He has composed over 60 published works. The works I am playing of his include a Toccata on LLANFAIR (Opening Voluntary), which is based on the tune for today’s Procession Hymn: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today. I am also playing a much quieter piece of his for our Offertory, Bread of Heaven.

George Frederick Handel (1685-1759) could also be seen as a “crossover artist”. He composed music for the royal sovereign, and he composed works for the theatre. JUDAS MACCABEUS (the tune sung in our Closing Hymn) is an arrangement of a tune from the chorus “See, the Conquering Hero Comes” in Handel's oratorio Judas Maccabeus (first performed without this chorus in 1746). Handel initially used the tune in his oratorio Joshua (1747) but transferred it to Judas Maccabeus in 1751; such changes were common in Handel's operas and oratorios. Handel is reported to have said to a friend, “you will live to see it [the tune] a greater favorite with the people than my other finer things.” Handel composed only three hymn tunes, one of which (GOPSAL) still appears in some modern hymnals. A number of hymnal editors, including Lowell Mason took themes from some of Handel's oratorios and turned them into hymn tunes. Among the “finer things” Handel alluded to must be the chorus “Hallelujah” from his oratorio “Messiah” (our Closing Voluntary). /Bob Greene

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

To the Church Triumphant

Sue Barr

March 30, 2025

Condolences

Condolences to Bob Tate and his family in the death of his sister Betsy Tate Kegley on April 2 in Bristol, Tennessee 

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