First Presbyterian Church News (Clarksville, TN)

  During Advent this year, we will read the little book of Haggai.  It is only two chapters, a mere thirty-eight verses long!  It is set in 520 BCE, with the prophet's last words recorded in the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, our November-December.  Haggai is very much an Advent preacher. This year's Advent series, titled "Greater Glory," is adapted from the journal Reformed Worship .  Each Sunday we will pair a passage from Haggai with a reading from the Christmas story.  Each Sunday we will receive a fresh promise from God:  I am with you. I will grant peace. I will bless you. I have chosen you. I will fill this house with glory.  These promises are just what tired and distracted people need.   Paneled houses and an unfinished house Nearly two decades had passed since the first exiles came home from Babylon.  They had been busy and they were tired and worn out.  Yet Haggai asks them this question: "Is it a time for you y...

Enough! Stewardship 2026 Stewardship Season 2026 runs from All Saints' Sunday, November 1, through Christ the King Sunday, November 22, with Consecration Sunday on November 15 . We Have Enough to Spare Dear FPC Members and Friends, Every November the Thanksgiving holiday reminds us of God's call to gratitude. The corn and soybean fields around Clarksville are now mostly empty, the harvest gathered into silos. Our refrigerators, freezers, and tables fill up with Thanksgiving fare, and even our clocks "fall back" on November 1, handing us a whole "extra" hour. At First Presbyterian, stewardship season is and has always been a season of gratitude: it is our time to count the gifts God has placed in our hands and decide what portion to return to God in gratitude. We have chosen the cornucopia as our symbol for gratitude. The old "horn of plenty" spills over with apples, grapes, squash and corn. There is always enough, and more than enough on ou...

August Newsletter — Month Three of Our Summer in Corinth Fourth in a five-part newsletter series accompanying our sermon journey through 1 and 2 Corinthians If June and July were the months of Paul the teacher, August is the month of Paul the pastor.  We also meet Paul the wounded apostle. We are deep in 2 Corinthians now and the letter has taken on a bitter tone not usually associated with Scripture.  The congregation has been listening to rival teachers (so-called "super-apostles") who have been making Paul look small according to the Corinthian measuring stick:  Paul is not impressive in person.  His speech is unremarkable.  He refused our money, which proves he doesn't really love us.  He suffers too much to be a real apostle of a powerful God. Paul does not try to out-impress the super-apostles.  He leans into weakness.  He talks about beatings and shipwrecks and sleepless nights.  He talks about being a fragile clay jar carrying th...

NATURALLY TENNESSEE Carolanne Nadeau I am a nature photographer, shaped by a childhood spent outdoors, and inspired most deeply by my father, also a nature photographer. Through RV travels with my husband— hiking, kayaking, and exploring—I try to capture and share fleeting moments of natural beauty with the hope of inspiring others to truly observe the world around them. This work is a celebration of Tennessee’s natural beauty and heritage as well as a quiet reminder of what we stand to lose if we do not protect it. I hope these photographs encourage you to slow down, breathe deeply, and perhaps seek out your own sanctuary in the wild.

  Dear Friends of Loaves & Fishes, Mark your calendar — the John Waddle Memorial Shoot is coming up on August 22 at Cross Creek Clays in Palmyra , and we can't pull it off without a great team behind us. This event is one of our most important fundraisers of the year, helping cover the essential costs that keep our doors open and our neighbors fed. John Waddle believed in showing up for this community, and every volunteer who steps up honors that legacy. We are looking for help in three key areas: Promotion Help us spread the word before the big day — sharing on social media, distributing flyers, making personal calls to potential participants and sponsors, and helping build excitement in the community. Silent Auction Assist with soliciting auction items from local businesses, organizing and displaying items the day of the event, and managing bidding activity throughout the shoot. Day-of Event Support Be part of the crew that makes the day run smoothly — greeting guests, mana...

1 Corinthians 11 - 2 Corinthians 1 July — Month Two of Our Summer in Corinth July is the hinge month of our summer series.  We finish 1 Corinthians and step across into 2 Corinthians.  However, the one-page gap between those two letters is misleading.  Paul did not write 1 Corinthians, drop it in the mail, and then sit down a few weeks later to write 2 Corinthians.  Between the two letters lies roughly eighteen months of relationship trouble.  There were follow-up visits that went badly.  There was at least one painful, tearful letter that has been lost to history.  There were rival teachers who showed up in Corinth and began undermining Paul behind his back, calling him unimpressive in person, accusing him of being a con artist, suggesting his refusal to accept their money proved he was not really an apostle. By the time Paul writes 2 Corinthians, he is a wounded pastor writing to a congregation that has broken his heart, asking them to trust him one ...

  Why We Celebrate Juneteenth  Each year on June 19, people across the United States observe Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and celebrates freedom, resilience, and hope.  Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved African Americans were free—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued. This historic moment became a symbol of liberation and a reminder that freedom and justice are gifts that should be extended to all people.  As Christians, we recognize that every person is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Throughout Scripture, God calls His people to pursue justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). The story of Juneteenth reminds us of God's concern for the oppressed and His desire for freedom, dignity, and reconciliation among all people.  Juneteenth is both a celebration and an opportunity for re...

I’ve always been a journalist and a doodler, even as a child, but after my daughter Heidi died, I found my regular journaling just didn’t do anything for me. I needed something more. I attended my first writers conference as an avid reader and learned so much about authors, their writing techniques and how they tell their stories. The second time I attended, I went to a workshop on poetry given by Shana Thornton. I loved it. I also had recently attended a poetry reading by Joey Grisham. When I heard her read her poems aloud, I was so moved by the depth of passion that could be expressed with so few words in a poem or prose. These two events really jumpstarted my journey into poetry. I feel like I have finally learned to walk side-by-side and hand-in-hand with my grief. It will never be easy, okay or better, but poetry has been a wonderful outlet. I’m deeply grateful to these ladies, Joey Grisham, Shana Thornton, and also Laurina Lyle and Ellen Kanervo with the Clarksville Writers Confe...