First Presbyterian Church News (Clarksville, TN)

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...

Summertime Sermon Series: 1-2 Corinthians June 2026 We are a couple of weeks into our summer journey through 1 and 2 Corinthians, and already Paul is pressing hard on the question that will shape the entire series: what does wisdom actually look like? The Corinthians thought they knew. They lived in a culture that prized eloquent speakers, impressive credentials, and clever arguments.  Successful people in Corinth had a particular look (very Roman toga-ish, very Greek cosmopolitan).  They were (very!) well-dressed, well-spoken, and well-connected.  Many Corinthian Christians were quietly trying to import that same look into the church.  They sorted themselves into cliques and factions and styled themselves on their favorite influencer-teachers. They boasted about which baptisms counted, which pastors were the most articulate, which spiritual gifts were the most spectacular. But Paul says the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us wh...

  Launching Trinity Sunday, May 31 Beginning Trinity Sunday and stretching all the way through the Sunday before Labor Day, we will spend the summer working our way chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse, through Paul's first and second epistles to the Corinthians.  Across fifteen Sundays we will cover all twenty-nine chapters.  Paul’s message is one that our anxious age needs to hear: strength in weakness . A Church You'll Recognize If you have ever wondered whether the New Testament has anything to say to a culture like ours, Corinth is the place to begin.  It was a wealthy port city sitting on a narrow strip of land between two seas, with trade routes from every direction crossing in its markets.  It had a diverse population of Romans, Greeks, Jews, Syrians, Egyptians, and travelers from across the empire.  It was “The Empire in miniature.”  It had temples on every corner, a reputation for moral looseness so notorious that “to Corinthianize” had beco...

 Art Therapy:  An Exhibition of Paintings by David W Jones   This show represents a year of painting under the teaching of Kitty Harvill. I met Kitty after my partner Teddy commissioned a painting for my birthday. Who knew it would become my main coping skill and lead to this show and the positive feedback I get from my fans. Even though Kitty moved to Brazil a little over a year ago we stay connected. Each Friday, Kitty, Teddy and I come together on zoom to ease our stress doing what we call “Paint and Play." Kitty and I paint while Teddy plays the harp. It’s pretty special. Kitty brought out the artist I never knew was inside of me. I use my art and creativity to distract myself from the pain and anguish I feel about the state of our country and the World. Instead of watching the news and suffering over things I can’t change, I paint. My recovery coach has been encouraging me to use my art as therapy for years. I have now found that it really works. Kitty has a degree i...

  ART WALK Join us for Art Walk this Tuesday, May 5 at 5:00pm. We will be featuring artwork from artist Annalee Parker. Annalee Parker is an artist and illustrator based in Clarksville, Tennessee, and holds a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from Austin Peay State University. Her work centers on themes of local history, the natural world, and the animals and plants that exist within it. She works across a range of mediums, including watercolor, pen and ink, colored pencil, and digital illustration.  As a graphic designer, Parker has worked alongside clients such as the Customs House Museum, as well as nonprofit organizations including Amelia’s Closet in Murfreesboro and PACE Enterprises in West Virginia. Both organizations support women and individuals with disabilities during transitional periods in their lives by providing professional apparel, interview coaching, and the resources needed to build confidence, secure sustainable employment, and improve financial stability.  As a...

Technology and the Christian Life April 2026 Sermon Series What is technology good for? For the Christian, especially Presbyterians, the answer cannot be everything, but it also cannot be nothing . Yet when the question comes up about the use of social media or AI and the like, we tend to hear only extremes.  Embrace it all with the Tech Bros or repudiate it entirely with the Luddites. The Presbyterian middle, it seems, is too hard or too ambiguously murky. This April, we invite you to find the middle ground.  Drawing on Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, this series explores three areas of life where a Christian approach to technology may differ from that of our world and our neighbors.  What does it mean to follow Jesus, a first century Rabbi, in the 21st century?  How do we follow Jesus in our use of technology in this digital age? April 12 | Second Sunday of Easter Green Light: Preservation Genesis 8:15–9:7 · Psalm 144:9–15 From Noah's Ark to the modern hospi...

 

 

A Three-Year Journey through the Gospels: Introducing the Lectionary A lectionary is a collection of readings or selections from the Scriptures, arranged and intended for preaching during worship.  Lectionaries have been used in churches since the fourth century, when large churches began to arrange their Scripture readings according to a schedule which follows the calendar of the church’s year. The Revised Common Lectionary provides a three-year plan or pattern for the Sunday readings. Each year is centered on one of the synoptic gospels. Year A is the year of Matthew, Year B is the year of Mark, and Year C is the year of Luke. John is read each year, especially in the times around Christmas, Lent, and Easter, and also in the year of Mark (the shortest of the gospels). Each year, we will follow the path of one of these gospels as it leads us again to Christ. Year A, Matthew, November 30, 2025 - November 22, 2026 Year B, Mark, November 29, 2026 - November 21, 2027 Year C, Luke...

 

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE ALL SAINTS' DAY 2025 COMMEMORATING THE FAITHFUL "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2, NRSV) Don Atkins Ted Atkinson George & Margaret Ackley  Angel & Helen Adames  Dan & Lynette Aiken Janet Aiken Judy Aiken Marshall Aiken Robert Aiken Kathleen Rowe Agnew Dee Albright Celia Ambrester  Barbara Ann Arnold John M. Arrington  John K. & Mary Arrington Bayless G. Atkins Ed & Anna Kathryn Atkinson Ned Atkinson William Hunter Atkinson Harper N. Ausenbaugh  Crit Austin Elizabeth Baddley  Meredith Baggett ...

 ARTIST STATEMENT "Process defines outcome" Silkscreen Paintings "Process defines outcome" means that the series of actions taken to achieve a goal (the process) is what determines the final result or success (the outcome). By focusing on and improving the process, one can achieve desired outcomes. In the process of silk-screening, my focus is experimental - trial and error. Traditionally, the silkscreen process focuses on one color=one screen. An example would be a one-color silkscreened T-shirt design. My focal process has been on one screen = many colors, where the total design and colors are “loaded” on one screen, then “squeegeed” (pressed through the screen quickly) through the screen, resulting in a multicolored, painted effect. The “process’ is experimental. The “outcome” is unpredictable, colorful, many times loosely defined. One trouble spot in this process was that the paint was drying too soon while still on the screen, forcing me to work quickly in ‘loa...