Men’s Breakfast

Join us for Bristol area’s Men’s Fellowship Breakfast that happens the third Saturday of each month. This Saturday, September 16, at 7:30 am is the next one - DON’T MISS IT! All meetings are held at First Presbyterian Church of Bristol. All men are welcome.

Boy Scout Troop 3 Yard Sale

FPC’s Boy Scout Troop 3 will hold their annual yard sale Saturday, September 23, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and would love to have the support of their church community. The troop welcomes donations of gently used clothing, shoes, household items, linens, gardening supplies, and outdoor gear. They cannot accept TVs, stuffed animals, mattresses, couches or other heavy furniture, or particle board or pressed wood furniture. If you have questions about items for donation, please contact Karen Haaser (423-383-1287; karenhaaser@gmail.com).

The troop will accept donations for the sale from this Sunday, September 17, through Thursday September 21. Donations can be left in the first classroom on the left as you enter the church by the Scout Hall door. Drop your donations at the church at these times:

• Sunday, September 17: 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Monday, September 18: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

• Tuesday, September 19: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

• Wednesday, September 20: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

• Thursday, September 21: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Join the Youth Choir!

FPC Bristol Youth Choir (grades 3rd-8th) is beginning September 6 for the Fall 2023 season, and we want all enthusiastic singers to participate. No singing experience or music reading ability is required! All you need is a desire to learn how to read music and lead worship through song.

Participation is only a four–week commitment. Practices will be on Wednesdays from 7:15 to 7:45 p.m. in room 209, from September 6 through September 27. The fall performances will be on Sunday, October 1 at the 9:00 and 11:00 worship services.

Sept Mission Focus

Adult & Teen Challenge Appalachian Region

On August 20 our church had the privilege to hear from Brad Rose, Program Director for Adult & Teen Challenge of the Appalachian Regional Training Center.

Brad told us about the work being done for recovery from life controlling problems as well as the financial realities and constraints the center faces. While it may have been the first time some of us heard of the program and the work the center does in this region, for others of us this organization has been a light when all else seemed lost. Visit the website here.

The center works through spiritual and academic instruction, behavior management, work skills and ethics training, life management training, and emotional support, all delivered within a disciplined and regimented atmosphere that offers the love of Christ to each resident as they fight life-controlling problems.

This organization has meant so much to some members of our congregation that our Mission & Outreach Committee chose it as our mission focus for September. Read a personal testimony here.

Wednesday Fellowship

Wednesday fellowship dinners have concluded for this semester. When we start back up in January, come join us for a delicious dinner followed by Bible study for adults and other programming for youth and children.

Our Choir Wants YOU!

The Sanctuary Choir has resumed weekly rehearsals on Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. Come sing with us! The choir is a welcoming place for all singers, young and old. We would love to start our year with some new faces. If you have an interest in or any questions about the choir, email Pat Flannagan.

Be a Reading Buddy

Reading Buddies is gearing up for another school year. Thirty minutes of your time will make 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 email Kay Ward to let her know you want to be part of this important program with Bristol Tennessee City Schools.

Donate or Serve

Donate: A Place to Be, Family Promise’s day center for unhoused people in Bristol, always needs donations to support operations and provide for patrons. Most needed are daily snacks, 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.

To donate items, email Dottie Havlik at dhavlik@charter.net or text her at 423-956-6747. She will receive and deliver your donations.

Serve: Another way to assist with this local effort for our unhoused neighbors is to volunteer to serve an occasional meal at the day center, as we do for Sharing Christ. We need a group of people to provide the components for a hot lunch (casseroles, hot veggies, fruit, dessert) and folks willing to go to the day center for a couple of hours midday to set up, serve, clean up, and perhaps visit with some of the patrons. If you can help in any way with this meal, please contact Beth Flannagan at 423-956-3837 or by email.

August Mission Focus

Throughout the month of August, our mission focus will be on 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.

The Shabach Beyond Center is a training ground. Jerry tells us that if we were to visit Nigeria, we’d discover that Nigerians are some of the happiest people on the face of the earth and passionate about the gospel and worship. He says that God is moving powerfully in Nigeria. The persecution of the church by radical Islamist groups has succeeded in strengthening the faith of the people in Jesus Christ and watered the seed of the gospel of Christ’s love.

A worship leader and recording artist from the Bajju tribe in Southern Kaduna State, Jerry serves in Bristol as Area Coordinator of King University’s RAs and Student Life and as FPC’s Contemporary Worship Director. His vision is to train and empower fellow believers in Nigeria. On July 2, he traveled to Nigeria to sign the paperwork and begin the groundwork for the establishment of the Shabach Beyond Center. The Swam Sidis are remodeling their home in Kaduna State to serve as the Center, whose focus is to equip worship leaders to return to their various churches to point their congregations to the risen King Jesus. Future plans are to house some of the already adopted orphans, who will be taken care of by a full-time, paid housemother, who will live on the property.

There is no life, and no ministry, without water. Please be generous.

2023 Fall Home Groups Conclude

The fall 2023 Home Group curriculum has been completed. However, the curriculum is still available for personal or family study.

Click here to access all past Home Group studies and let us know how we can help you as we continue to study the scriptures together.

Coming soon: Spring Home Groups!

July Mission Focus

During the month of July, our mission focus will be donations of school supplies for Fairmount Elementary School.

Any of the following will be greatly appreciated:

Crayons
Kleenex/Tissues
Clorox Wipes/Disinfecting wipes
Pencils
Glue Sticks
Ziploc Bags (gallon or sandwich size)
Scissors
Expo markers
Composition notebooks
First Aid Supplies

Donated items may be brought to the church office or placed in the bins in the Narthex or the hallway outside Fellowship Hall.

Keep Growing

In John 8:31 Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Abiding in (to live in, to dwell in, to make your home in) God’s word is important to our spiritual journey as Christians. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV)

We cannot think of any better method for spiritual growth than to spend time together in God’s word. We invite one and all to come study and linger in that which can grow us and equip us for service. The opportunities for doing so at FPC —

Men’s Bible Study, Thursdays, 7:00 a.m. in the Parlor

Women’s Bible Study, Thursdays, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. in Room 123

Sunday School Classes for all ages: Explore here for adults, college, youth, and children

Wednesday night Bible studies following fellowship dinners at 5:30 p.m. each week

Together, Let’s Keep Growing!

Volunteer: Vacation Bible School

You’re invited to help launch kids on a cosmic quest where they’ll have a blast shining Jesus’ light to the world. This year’s Vacation Bible School, Stellar, rockets kids on an out-of-this-world adventure that’s light years of faith-building fun.

If you would like to help, register here.

Stellar VBS

July 16, 2023 — July 19, 2023

5:30pm — 8:30pm (EDT)

June Mission Focus

June’s mission focus is our local branch of Young Life, a world-class ministry for adolescents. Its mission statement is:  

 INVITING YOUNG PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE LIFE AS

GOD DESIGNED IT TO BE LIVED

Their aim is to introduce every teenager in Bristol to Jesus and help them grow in their faith. Their staff and volunteers enter the world of kids, focusing on what matters to them — fun, adventure, friendship and a sense of significance.  

In doing so, they have the privilege of talking to them about something that matters most of all — the truth about Jesus and His love for them.

While Young Life was founded in 1941 and exists in more than 100 countries, here locally the ministry includes the area high schools as well as all the middle schoolers they can find.

Senior Legacy Letters

If you know one of these seniors, we would love for you to write them a letter or a card!

Claire Hankins, Paige Helms, Payne Ladd, Tom Meredith, Chelsie Proffitt, Laynie Richardson, Maddie Smith, Logan Tudor, Ethan Webb, Grayson Webb, Jeremiah Webb, Wade Witcher

Legacy Letters are written by family and friends to a senior and describe ways in which the senior has impacted the writer’s life. Letters can share old memories, stories, lessons learned, or significant moments. This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage the senior in their faith and future plans as well as to acknowledge the beautiful gifts God has given them. Our hope is that the Legacy Letters will give family and friends an opportunity to share the incredible impact the seniors have had on those around them. The letters will be a beautiful collection of love and truth that the seniors can read as they begin a new journey after high school and serve as a reminder of the incredible community they have cheering them on in their journey!

All letters need to be turned in by May 12. Please send to: karnold@fpcbristol.org, or mail to:

First Presbyterian Church

Attn.: Katie Arnold

701 Florida Ave. karnold@fpcbristol.org

Bristol, TN 37620

Encourage Our Confirmands

Since September 2021, our confirmation students have participated in weekly classes that have taught, informed, and challenged their ideas of faith. Watching them grow over the past school year and take ownership of their faith has been a joy and an inspiration! It will soon be time to share this joy with all our congregation.

In the combined service on Sunday, May 21, these young people will have the opportunity to proclaim their faith to our church family and become members of First Presbyterian Church. As we prepare for this special day, we ask friends and family to send in cards and letters of spiritual encouragement for our confirmands. The kind words you share will not only encourage them as they prepare to be confirmed but also be kept for years as a reminder of the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds them and that will continue to love, guide, and encourage them as they run the race.

2023 Confirmands

Palmer Akard

AJ Arnold

Lucy Bechtold

Lilly Hankins

Sylvia Kingsley

Rob Meredith

Branch Sword

Katie Arnold is your contact for more information. Please deliver all cards and letters to her attention at the church by Friday, May 19. Thank you for joining in the celebration of this important and exciting time in the lives of our students! 

May Mission Focus: Montana Indian Ministries

Montana Indian Ministries is a Christian organization that aims to share the gospel and serve the needs of Native American communities in Montana. They work with several tribes, including the Blackfeet, Crow, and Northern Cheyenne, to provide various programs and services.

Their programs include Bible studies, discipleship classes, and youth camps that aim to help Native American individuals and families grow spiritually. They also offer a home repair program that assists with home maintenance and repairs for those in need.

In addition to their spiritual and practical services, Montana Indian Ministries also works to promote cultural understanding and respect between Native American and non-Native American communities. They strive to bridge the gap and bring people together through various events and activities.

First Presbyterian church has been able to partner with Pastor Bruce and have sent teams who have helped with maintenance repairs as well as serving at the annual Powwow.

To highlight the Powwow ministry specifically, Bruce and his teams will set up tents during one of these events, provide water and coffee, and pick up trash. If the opportunity arises from this form of hospitality, they will share the gospel with those in attendance. The goal is to publicly acknowledge the Montana Tribes culture and demonstrate a servant's heart. The hope is that by embracing the wonderful and unique culture of these tribes and having a heart of service, the Gospel will be exemplified. 

This month's Special Offering will be going to further assist the work that is being done on the reservations in Montana. Montana Indian Ministries is dedicated to sharing God's love and providing practical support to Native American communities in Montana. We will have a special collection bin on Sundays as well as a Montana Indiana Ministries label in the online giving drop down menu.

Read more about the history of Montana Indian Ministries here.

Home Groups

The Spring 2023 gatherings of Home Groups are now concluded, but you may still access the guides for your personal study of God’s Word here.

We hope you have had fun getting to know one another while studying God’s Word in a relaxed, small group setting. There’s more information on our Home Groups page.

Be watching for the announcement about the start of our Fall, 2023 season of Home Groups!

April Mission Focus: A Place to Be

Family Promise of Bristol has opened A Place to Be, a day center to provide care for unhoused people in Bristol. The center, located in the Salvation Army building, is open from 9 a.m. to 3 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. We will not collect financial offerings or enable online giving for this mission.

During the month of April, FPC will collect snack items to feed the 40 people a day who come to the center. These snacks are the only food some people get all day, so please bring snacks to church! Family Promise volunteers will pack them into bags for their guests. All sizes of snack containers are useful. Suggested snacks:

• Cereal bars

• Granola bars

• Protein bars

• Peanut butter crackers

• Cheese crackers

• Goldfish

• Fruit gummies

• Popcorn

• Cookies

• Jerky

• Chips

• Pop Tarts

• Cheez-Its

• Baggies

Fall 2024 Home Groups

The new Fall 2024 Home Group study series is entitled “Jesus Is…” Together we will explore the apostle John’s writing on who Jesus revealed himself to be. Home Groups will begin the week of September 9 -16 and meet through the week November 18-22!

Plan to gather with friends, neighbors, as a single family, or with lots of families for this exciting Bible study and lots of good fellowship.

If you would like to be part of a Home Group, facilitate a group, or start your own Home Group, sign up here and we will help get you plugged in.