First Presbyterian Church News (Clarksville, TN)

On Wednesday Nov. 8, Roger Khan and Dr. Shabeer Abubucker will share about their Islamic faith and embracing other cultures. You won't want to miss their fascinating insight about religious and cultural tolerance in Islam, shaping our bias, prejudice, and assumptions, as well as how external influences shape our perspectives. Come to dinner at 5 pm and stay for the presentation & discussion from 5:45 to 6:30.  Roger Khan is first and foremost a Servant of God. He recently turned 48 years old and has a renewed focus in the last half of his life on Faith, Family and Community. Roger is a husband of 20 years to wife Sarika and father of 3 children ages 4 to 8. In addition to owning and running Smokin' Chicken in Clarksville, Roger is a faith leader within the local Muslim community as well as current President of the Islamic Center of Clarksville and Director/Principal of the Islamic Sunday School.

Look forward to a powerful presentation by Jennifer Ellis and Lisa Martin at Faith Focus this Wednesday. Come for dinner at 5 and the presentation around 5:45 in Fellowship Hall. "Joining the Journey: Exploring Spiritual Direction" is an open-ended invitation to explore spiritual life through relationships  with God, companions, and all creation. Prayer, song and Scripture will be shared with  the intention to discover God’s presence in our lives and the world with curiosity, wonder and  awe!

A Celebration of Faith 2023 First Presbyterian Saints (Recent) Diane & Jay Bowland Susan Weakley Elliott Tom Goder Sarah Goder Karen Goggin Lucille “Lucy” Gonyea Tom Graves Aubrey Harvey Cindy Crutcher Harvey Charlotte Jolly Pamela Matthews Jerry Mealer Lewis Metts Mary & Cecil Morgan, Sr. Jeffrey Christian Nuckolls Richard Watson Nuckolls Nancy E. Pryor Dr. & Mrs. Richard C. Pryor William “Bill” Ryan Billy Smith Ralph Stewart Elizabeth “Liz” Thomas Mr. & Mrs. George Thomas Henry I. Thomson Hart Thomas Vaughn Diane Welker Rayna Williamson First Presbyterian Saints (Full List) Ted Atkinson George & Margaret Ackley  Angel & Helen Adames  Dan 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 Elizabeth Baddley  Corinne & Jim Bailey  Sa

If you would like to light a candle in honor of a loved one for All Saints Sunday, come 10-15 mins early to 10 am worship this Sunday. The congregation is invited to light candles upon entry into the sanctuary in memory of those whom you have loved in this life, who now live eternally with the Lord.

FPC will host the Presbytery of Middle TN for their next meeting on Thursday, Nov. 9. Congregants are invited to the opening worship service held in the sanctuary at 10 a.m.

This Wednesday at Faith Focus, representatives from Sanctuary on Main will lead us in exploring "The Mind-Body Connection" with light movement and guided meditation. As always, dinner begins at 5:00 in Fellowship Hall followed by the presentation and children's activities around 5:45. Join us as we dig deeper into the everyday implications of our faith and put those beliefs into action through this grant-funded worship program!

Awe: Finding Our Wow! Every Day And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” (Luke 5:26) At FPC, we believe that giving is born of gratitude—and gratitude is born of awe, that feeling of being in the presence of something vast, something that transcends our current understanding of the world. It is appropriate to begin our journey into awe by celebrating All Saints on October 29, and the enormous expanse of people whose lives have influenced ours for the better.  On All Saints, we celebrate the immense importance of moms and dads, grandparents and caregivers, and heroes and teachers, in our lives.  We encounter the immense Divine in that ocean of All Saints, past, present, and future, and a foretaste of God’s love that fills us with awe. We will continue the series on November 5 by experiencing awe at other people’s courage, kindness, strength, and ability to overcome—exceptional examples of virtue,

If you would like to submit the name of one (or more) saints in your life for inclusion in our public prayers and bulletin on All Saints Sunday, October 29, please email or call the church office by October 24. A link to the full list from years past will be in the Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 newsletters.

We're jumping back into Faith Focus this Wednesday, October 18, with dinner at 5:00 in Fellowship Hall! Doug Young will lead a discussion around “Living the Faith in Austere and Stressful Conditions” and share his experiences as a Christian lay leader on a Navy submarine. You will be sent out with a "Practicing Our Faith Exercise" for your week. 

Join us this Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in Fellowship Hall for the next Faith Focus program, including dinner, a presentation, children's activities, discussion, testimony, and an exercise for your week. Leo Adames will lead us in thinking about where God is in our lives, what language we use to describe God, and how to expand our concepts of God. 

Join us this Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in Fellowship Hall for the next Faith Focus program, including complimentary dinner, a presentation on “Persevering through Struggle" by blind artist Tracy Bettencourt, children's activities, discussion, testimony, and a "Practicing Our Faith Exercise" for your week! Tracy Bettencourt, owner/artist of Bettencourt Originals, advocate for persons with disabilities, former fitness competitor, motivational speaker and APSU alumni, began to lose her eyesight in her early 30s from an eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. Although the disease has left her blind, the hardships she experienced have not prevented her from living her life to the best of her abilities. She brings new insight to how art is viewed.

The  Peace & Global Witness Offering will be taken up during worship on World Communion Sunday, October 1. Envelopes will be provided if you would like to make a donation during worship or you can click on the link below to give online.  GIVE HERE A gift to the Peace & Global Witness Offering enables the church to promote the Peace of Christ by addressing systems of conflict and injustice across the world. Individual congregations are encouraged to utilize up to 25% of this Offering to connect with the global witness of Christ's peace. Mid councils retain an additional 25% for ministries of peace and reconciliation. The remaining 50% is used by the Presbyterian Mission Agency to advocate for peace and justice in cultures of violence, including our own, through collaborative projects of education and Christian witness.

Join us this Wednesday at 5:00 in Fellowship Hall for the next Faith Focus program, including complimentary dinner (pizza and sides), a presentation on “Doing Justice, Loving Mercy, Walking Humbly” by retired judge Ross Hicks, children's activities, discussion, testimony, and a "Practicing Our Faith Exercise" for your week. 

Join us this Wednesday at 5:00 in Fellowship Hall for the next program, including complimentary dinner (fajitas), a presentation by Loaves and Fishes Director John Durnell , a hymn, children's activities, discussion, testimony, and a new "Practicing Our Faith Exercise" for your week! The exercise we are currently working on (from Rhonda's presentation last week) is:  As you go about your daily tasks this week, see if you can identify all four parts of purpose (passion, mission, profession, vocation). In which activities do they overlap? In which activities are some of them missing?

You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace! - Isaiah 55:12 For World Communion Sunday this year, we are celebrating our unity through song! Hymns and music will replace the sermon. You can expect to sing some old standards as well as new-to-us songs from other cultures. You may even hear some of the liturgy read in other languages. We cannot wait to hear the sound of FPC echoing through the sanctuary! 

Our Kickoff last week was amazing! Join us this Wednesday at 5:00 in Fellowship Hall for the next program, including complimentary dinner, Rhonda presenting on "God and Our Evolving Work", children's activities, discussion, testimony, and a "Practicing Our Faith Exercise" for your week. Hear about Rhonda's past as a microbiologist, mom, and now lay pastor and how God is with us as our callings change over time.