First Presbyterian Church News (Clarksville, TN)

  Film Screening of " At the River: A Memoir of Struggle and Grace in the Segregated South" at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville in Fellowship Hall   Two Showings: Sunday, January 22, 4:00-6:00 p.m. Monday, January 23, 9:15-11:30 a.m. Important Instructions: If possible, please let Westminster know you are coming by calling their receptionist at (615) 292-5526. The church address is  3900 W End Ave, Nashville, TN 37205.  When you arrive, p ark in the Mayfair lot on the west side of the church and come in the main doors. About the Film: Dr. Carolyn Crowder, the writer and director of the documentary,  At The River , will be traveling from her home in Montreat, North Carolina, to be with us at Westminster Presbyterian Church for a showing and Q&A after the viewing. At The River  is a feature-length documentary about a certain time and place in the deep south. In the Civil Rights era of the 50s and 60s, most Presbyterian ministers stood on the banks of the cultural

  Lenten Sermon Series:  Jazz Gospel Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life.   --Art Blakey Jazz is America’s original music.  It was born out of slavery and nurtured in the same churches where spirituals were generated, and in the cotton fields.  In night spots, and in funeral processions, with great depth, it gives voice both to tragic sounds of suffering and the ecstasy of great jubilation.  It owes a great deal to the gospel and to the Christian worldview that is embedded in its origins.  Jazz is best understood in light of the gospel, the sorrow and joy, the deep pain and the incredible hope that stand at the heart of the Christian faith.  As Ferdinan “Jelly Roll” Morton once said, “Rejoice at the death and cry at the birth:  New Orleans sticks close to the Scriptures.”  In our sermon series on the Jazz Gospel, we will stick close to the Scriptures to guide our way through Lent to Good Friday, as we anticipate Easter. Ash Wednesday, February 22 @ 6:00 p.m. Joel 2:1–2, 12–17, P

JANUARY CARD SHOWER Please join in sending cards of warm wishes to Janet Hudson and Dick and Sue Pryor . For address information, please check Realm or call the church office.

The Green Team will meet via Zoom on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 7:00 p.m. to   discuss the garden project, Learning Center/Preschool collaboration, and future plans. If you're curious about what we're doing or would like to help, email Hannah Cruse. 

Christ the Healer Church on Paradise Hill Road is offering a Unity Service to remember and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. The guest speaker will be Tennessee State Representative from Montgomery County Ronnie Glynn. All from the Clarksville community are welcome.  Sunday, Jan. 15, 6:00 pm 1295 Paradise Hill Rd, Clarksville, TN 37040

Important Announcement Town Hall Meeting Next Sunday, February 5 9 am in Fellowship Hall Please make every effort to attend this congregational meeting! The Session and Staff have important updates to share and are looking forward to hearing from you. All members are strongly urged to be present to hear firsthand about significant challenges facing our  congregation. Additionally, the Coffee House will be open in Fellowship Hall to supply all your caffeine and breakfast needs.

  Winter Sermon Series: City Church We live in a fast-paced, rapidly changing culture that can seem alien to many Christians--and the way that we Christians choose to live can sometimes make us seem alien to our neighbors.  How do we decide what is core to our beliefs?  And how can we appreciate the good things in our culture while hanging on to the gospel?  How can we attend to the harmonies and the dissonances of city, culture, church, and Scripture?  How can we minister to our rapidly growing and developing city in such a way that it will be transformed by the gospel of God’s grace?  In this sermon series we will explore how we are called to minister in the center of our historic downtown to a city and county that are growing exponentially. January 15 Jeremiah 31:10-14, Matthew 13:31-43 Fields or Gardens? January 22 Hebrews 13:1-17, 1 Peter 5:1-14 Bridge to Nowhere? January 29 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 City Culture February 5 Hebrews 11:8-16, A

Sunday, January 8, 2023 Baptism of the Lord Matthew 3:13–17 (ESV) Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Prayer prompt:  There are many “traditional” sites along the Jordan--from its headwaters in the lush landscape of Galilee in the north to the trickle that flows into the Dead Sea in the south--for Jesus’ baptism by John.  Our baptismal tradition emphasizes that it is not the amount of water, or its source, or the holiness of the person doing the baptizing