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TRANSCRIPT
This Month’s Events
Coffeehouse
Swing dance
Middle school movies
Centering Prayer
New youth director
arrives
Benton Baby Shower
Annual lasagna dinner
& Congregational
meeting
Evening Light & BYOB
FPC has new director of youth and children’s ministries
January 2014
The Banner
Inside this issue:
From your pastor 2
Member spotlight
Narthex decor 3
Food for thought &
Session news
4
Continued from pg. 1 5
Parish Nurse
ORCMA Concert
6
Children, Youth, &
College Students
7
Adult CE classes 8
Bits ‘n’ Pieces 9
Worship volunteers
Guest preachers 10
Calendar 11
First Presbyterian Church
Center, the Smoky Moun-
tain Homeless Shelter,
Knox Area Rescue Mission
volunteer ministries, stu-
dents at Austin East High
School, Project GRAD, and
a family crisis center.
“Karissa is excited to start
work at FPC this month
and is looking forward to
meeting everyone attending
our church,” said Colin
Colverson, chair of the
search committee responsi-
ble for selecting her.
Welcome, Karissa!
Prepare to welcome a new
face at First Presbyterian!
Karissa Stewart will begin
serving as our new director
of youth and children’s min-
istries on Jan. 15. She has
more than six years experi-
ence working with children
and youth at First Presbyte-
rian Church of Knoxville.
Karissa, a lifelong Presby-
terian, has had a passion
and desire to work in a
church ever since watching
her mother teach Christian
education classes for many
years.
A graduate of the Univer-
sity of Tennessee, Karissa
has experience working
with the UT Presbyterian
FPC members urged to help homeless Jan. 27-30
ing Anderson County’s
homeless a temporary
home, where they can sleep
overnight and receive some
nourishing food and drink.
This “Warming Center” will
be open Jan. 27, 28, 29, and
30.
Members of ORUUC,
First Presbyterian, First
Christian, High Places
Community, Roberts-
ville Baptist, and United
Church, Chapel on the
Hill, are asked to pro-
vide food to and con-
verse with the homeless
these four nights.
“Whoever is generous to
the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will repay him for
his deed.”—Proverbs 19:17
In 2012 at least 85 persons
in Anderson County were
classified as homeless. Yet
the county has had no emer-
gency shelter—until now.
“Some of the homeless
live in cars or outside, and
others are couch surfers
who are ‘precariously
housed’ and have no address
of their own,” said Zabrina
Minor, executive director of
TORCH in Anderson
County.
TORCH, based in Oak
Ridge, is the lead agency for
conducting the point-in-time
(PIT) count. The Anderson
County mayor appointed
TORCH to conduct the
count in coordination with
the Tennessee Valley Coali-
tion to End Homelessness.
Every January Zabrina and
many community volun-
teers count the number of
homeless in the county.
On Jan. 24, 2013, they
counted 85 homeless, in-
cluding an elderly cou-
ple huddled in a car in Clax-
ton and a person in the
Kroger parking lot. Con-
gress allocates funds to the
county based on data col-
lected from the PIT count.
The 2014 federally man-
dated 24-hour PIT count of
the homeless will be held
Jan. 28. To help with the
effort, Oak Ridge Unitarian
Universalist Church is offer-
Happy New Year!
As I recuperate from sur-
gery and become acquainted
with my newest knee, I am
cherishing the gift of time to
ponder the year just passed
and the opportunities that
lie ahead in 2014. How
blessed and grateful I am to
be part of the First Presby-
terian Church family of
faith.
‘Tis the season for making
resolutions, of course. In-
stead of offering a list of the
usual fare, I want to share
with you a prayer written
by Ted Loder (Guerillas of
Grace). It holds much to
ponder at the beginning of a
new year. The title is “Keep
Me in Touch with My
Dreams”:
O Lord, in the turbulence and
the loneliness of my living from
day to day and night to night,
keep me in touch with my
roots, so I will remember
where I came from and with
whom; keep me in touch with
my feelings, so I will be more
aware of who I really am and
what it costs; keep me in
touch with my mind, so I will
know who I am not and what
that means; and keep me in
touch with my dreams, so I
will grow toward where I want
to go and for whom.
O Lord, deliver me from the
arrogance of assuming I know
enough to judge others; deliver
me from the timidity of pre-
suming I don’t know enough
to help others; deliver me from
the illusion of claiming I have
enough when I have only
risked little, that, so liberated, I
will make some of the days to
come different.
O Lord, I ask not to be deliv-
ered from the tensions that
wind me tight, but I do ask for
a sense of direction in which
to move once wound, a sense
of humor about my disap-
pointments, a sense of respect
for the elegant puzzlement of
being human, and a sense of
gladness for your kingdom,
which comes in spite of my
fretful pulling and tugging.
O Lord, nurture in me the
song of a lover, the vision of a
poet, the questions of a child,
the boldness of a prophet, and
the courage of a disciple.
O Lord, it is said you created
people because you love sto-
ries. Be with me as I live out
my story.
I’ll see you in a couple
of weeks!
With a grateful heart,
Sharon
From your pastor
Page 2 The Banner
Sharon Youngs, Pastor
Additionally, we ask all of
you to pray for the well-
being of the church, its staff,
and its members.
-Rosalyn McKeown-Ice
Completing and returning
your “time and talents” form
to the church is an impor-
tant part of the stewardship
campaign. The information
from the time and talents
forms is being entered into a
database that will be shared
with the chairs of standing
committees and special
teams. The chairs will then
call for volunteers to help
out as needed.
Here are some responses
from church members about
their forms: “It is still in my
email inbox.” “I am volun-
teering for the same things I
did last year.” “I completed
it and it is sitting right here,
but I’ve not taken it to
church yet.”
Whatever the reason, be
assured that the steward-
ship team and the commit-
tee chairs want everyone to
complete and return a time
and talents form.
To return the form, you
can place it in the large ma-
nila envelope on the bulletin
board in the fellowship hall,
put it in the collection plate,
or email or mail it to the
church office.
O Lord, it is said you
created people because
you love stories. Be with
me as I live out my
story.
Calling for all time and talents forms
Page 3 J anuary 2014
Kathy Carney-Layendecker,
a doer and a leader, is one
of the five new members of
our session. She is a native
of Beloit, Wisconsin. Her
father was a manager for
Sears, Roebuck & Company.
She earned a B.A. degree
in industrial management
from the University of Ken-
tucky and an M.S. degree in
environmental management
from the University of
Findlay in Ohio. She is also a
certified hazardous materi-
als manager.
Kathy met her husband
Steve, son of a Presbyterian
minister, when they were
both working at Battelle
Memorial Institute in Co-
lumbus, Ohio. Steve is a
certified health physicist and
nuclear facility complex
manager for ORNL’s Non-
Reactor Nuclear Facilities
Division.
At Battelle Kathy was
manager of its hazardous
waste operations and at
Brookhaven National Labo-
ratory, she was manager of
its Waste Management
Division. In 2002 the
Layendeckers moved from
Long Island to Oak Ridge to
work at ORNL.
Kathy worked as program
manager and then director
of ORNL’s Environmental
Protection and Waste Ser-
vices Division. She is cur-
rently operations manager
for ORNL’s Physical Sci-
ences Directorate. In sup-
port of the directorate’s
Center for Nanophase
Materials Science, Chemical
Sciences Division, Physics
Division, and Materials Sci-
ence and Technology Divi-
sion (whose director is
Gene Ice), Kathy is respon-
sible for providing the facili-
ties, equipment, systems,
and tools.
She is also the environ-
ment, health, and safety
manager for a worldwide
collaboration of physicists
who are building a special-
ized detector a mile under-
ground in Lead, South Da-
kota. “They are searching
for a rare form of radioac-
tive decay that may help
Member Spotlight—Kathy Carney-Layendecker
scientists understand why
matter exists,” Kathy
said. “I will be going back
there this month.”
Steve and Kathy’s daugh-
ter Ashley, who once per-
formed as a dancer at FPC
services, is in the Art
Education program at
the University of Tennessee,
where she is pursuing a
master of education degree,
with an emphasis on special
education.
In 2003 the Layendeckers
joined FPC. “What we like
about FPC are the church
members, the music and
inspiring worship services,
and the community out-
reach programs,” Kathy
said.
As a new session member
Kathy will chair the Prop-
erty and Maintenance com-
mittee. “I like to do a lot of
stuff with my hands,” she
said. “I would like to avail
myself in a way that meets
the needs of the FPC mem-
bership, learning along the
way and yielding myself to
the Spirit’s calling.”
Kathy Carney-Layendecker
Favorite Bible verse:
“Whatever your hand
finds to do, do it with your
might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
Favorite quote: “We are
all faced with a series of
great opportunities, bril-
liantly disguised as impos-
sible situations.” (Chuck
Swindoll)
gested this idea for the De-
cember display. “Please pick
up your scene on Sunday,
Jan. 5, so Karen can get
started on a new display for
January.”
Many church members and
visitors have greatly enjoyed
the variety of nativity scenes
displayed in the sanctuary
narthex during the Christ-
mas season. For those who
haven’t been able to spend
time in the narthex, photos
of each scene appear on the
church website at
www.fpcor.org/
narthex.html .
“I would like to express
my thanks to Karen Pence
and all the folks who loaned
her their nativity scenes for
her attractive display in the
narthex,” said Music Direc-
tor Anna Thomas, who sug-
Nativity scenes in the narthex: pickup date is Jan. 5
need of clean drinking wa-
ter. We thank you for your
healing touch on the lives of
men, women, and children
who will live because of the
kindness of others giving
money, time, and other re-
sources to go and help our
neighbors. We thank you
for providing the resources
we need to carry out the
work of the ministry. Please
continue to make a way for
us to help our neighbors in
need. We ask that you
would quench the thirst of
those who are thirsty and
heal the bodies of those
who are hungry because of
chronic diarrhea that comes
from unfit drinking water.
We ask that you would
make a way for all your
creation to drink from your
fountain. Please minister to
your people. Protect those
who go to serve. In Jesus
we pray, Amen.
-Living Waters for the World
newsletter
don’t let your hearts be
troubled. I have overcome
the world. So wait in the
midst of it all, just before
the dawn, for in the midst
of the night, there are
strange and redeeming
events afoot. And with this
the church begins a new
year, asked to begin afresh,
not just on a calendar, but
in individual hearts, in rela-
tionships, in congregations,
and in our yearning for a
promise worth living for.
Hearers of this passage are
bidden to live lives of faith-
ful, active waiting in the
meantime because they hear
again the name of the One
who holds them in the end-
ing time.
-Wesley D. Avram
Religion & science
The Living Waters for the
World ministry is an excel-
lent example of the theo-
logical implications of sci-
ence and technology.
”Thank you God for your
generous hand to those in
New Year’s prayer
Dear God, Thank you for
your love and watchful care
in days gone by. I am grate-
ful for your guidance along
life’s pathway. Please help
me reach forward to the
future. I ask you to help me
leave every negative thought
behind and enter into this
new year filled with dynamic
thoughts and anticipation.
Please, Lord, deepen my
faith. Give me a greater ca-
pacity for meaningful life.
Help me to believe that
good things will happen this
year.
Thank you for the gift of
life itself. Thank you for
helping me to be a better
person than I had been be-
fore. Grant that a better
tomorrow may dawn for all
humanity through Jesus
Christ, our Lord. Amen
-Norman Vincent Peale
Devotion based on Luke
21:25-36
In this text Jesus said, “the
world is a scary place, but
Food for thought Jim Wessel, Clerk of Session
Page 4 The Banner
Expenditure of $800
from the Early Head
Start escrow fund ac-
count to trim limbs
overhanging the play-
ground;
The first communion in
2014, which will occur
in February, and
The proposed 2014
budget, as amended
($347,600).
At the December 2013
meeting, the session ap-
proved:
The baptism of Miles
Thomas Suratt, son of
Sarah Strickler and Cory
Suratt, at the early
Christmas Eve worship
service, Dec. 24;
Don Thomas, Daniel
Tipton, and Bob Cantrell
as the preachers on
Dec. 29, Jan. 5, and Jan.
12, respectively;
The purchase of the
Holman Old and New
Testament Commen-
tary to assist Sunday
school teachers and the
curriculums for the
Early Bird class and
LGBT Bible study;
Use of the Educational
building’s ADFAC room
by our Boy Scout troop;
Session News: substitute preachers, 2014 budget OK’d
Annual Congregational
meeting scheduled for
Sunday, Jan. 26, following
worship and a lasagna
dinner. Annual reports will
be available for review
Sunday, Jan. 19.
Page 5 J anuary 2014
“I prefer a church
which is bruised,
hurting and dirty
because it has been
out on the streets,
rather than a church
which is unhealthy
from being confined
and from clinging to
its own security.”
-Pope Francis, The
Joy of the Gospel
Homeless (continued from page 1)
homeless if they are not
veterans or have no mental
or physical disabilities, ad-
dictions, or abuse experi-
ences. Thus, a single
mother with two children
and a very low income finds
it more difficult to access an
emergency shelter (such as
one in Knox or Blount
county) than do people
with certain classes of prob-
lems.
TORCH can provide case
management clients with
three to five days of hotel
space until permanent hous-
ing can be arranged.
TORCH tries to address
the needs of clients who
know they will be evicted in
the next 10 days.
PIT count purpose
The Tennessee Valley
Coalition to End Homeless-
ness gathers data for the
U.S. Housing and Urban
Development Department.
HUD was directed by Con-
gress over nine years ago to
gather information annually
about homelessness from
each state.
From November 2009 to
January 2013, the coalition
served 44 chronically home-
less people in Anderson
County. These chronically
homeless cost county tax-
payers $1.6 million in one
year—a staggering statistic.
The PIT count allows
TORCH to estimate the
number of area homeless.
Because no emergency shel-
ter has existed here, the
homeless are scattered
rather than concentrated in
a shelter.
Some pastors and mem-
bers are also volunteering to
sleep overnight at ORUUC
to help with the Warming
Center.
If you want to partici-
pate in these efforts,
please contact Carolyn
Krause. Maureen Hoyt and
Christine Purcell at ORUUC
will provide more informa-
tion later in the month and
are writing a shared ministry
plan for the six local
churches.
“I believe that our church
members have the compas-
sion, resources, and willing-
ness to participate in this
Warming Center effort,”
said Pastor Sharon.
The chronically homeless
are those who have had no
home four or more times in
the past year. The sheltered
homeless are clients who
live in emergency shelters
and have no other place to
go. Reasons for homeless-
ness are loss of job, lack of
affordable housing, under-
employment or low income,
domestic violence, or sub-
stance abuse.
Michael and Lynn
McCutcheon will make a
house available as a transi-
tional housing site for a
homeless family identified
during the PIT count. The
Agape House is located in
the Woodland section of
Oak Ridge. Michael is a
member of the board of the
Free Medical Clinic of Oak
Ridge.
“Anderson County,”
Zabrina said, “has long
needed a transitional house
for eight to ten persons to
address the people falling
through the cracks.”
How does TORCH help?
The mission statement of
TORCH is “to invest in and
support the holistic trans-
formation of the economi-
cally disadvantaged in our
community as they pursue
self-sufficiency.” Shelia Mi-
chel, TORCH founder, vis-
ited different communities
to determine the gaps in
services for the homeless
and ways to meet those
needs.
Oak Ridge and Anderson
County have service agen-
cies with missions for spe-
cific populations. For exam-
ple, Ridgeview Psychiatric
Hospital serves the chroni-
cally homeless suffering
from mental illness or sub-
stance abuse. However,
some clients are too poor
to afford the $12 photo ID
they need to get food
stamps or housing. This bar-
rier prevents Ridgeview
from meeting some families’
basic needs.
TORCH’s program called
GAPS—gathering assistance
to provide services is de-
signed to “to address those
little gaps that become huge
barriers,” Zabrina said.
TORCH has a literacy pro-
gram where tutors meet
students once a week to
help them earn their GEDs.
In April TORCH started a
“teaching English as a sec-
ond language” program.
TORCH also identifies
agencies that can assist cli-
ents with utility payments
so they don’t, for example,
have to pawn car titles to
pay electric bills.
No programs are currently
available for sheltering the
From your parish nurse: Blood clots can be serious health risk
Page 6 The Banner
Meg Tonne, Parish Nurse
A Health Luncheon
will be held Thurs.,
Jan. 16 at noon in
room 102, Activities
building. Naseem
Saadia, MD, Infectious
Disease Specialist with
Oak Ridge Internal
Medicine Associates,
will speak on “The
Battle Against Infection:
How Our Bodies Protect
Us.” The program is
free and open to the
public. Lunch costs
$5.00. Please call
the church office at
483-1318 for reserva-
tions. Come and
bring a friend!
Know the signs of
serious clots
Venous thromboembolism
(VTE) doesn’t just sound
scary. If left untreated, it can
be fatal.
The disease includes two
separate conditions: deep
vein thrombosis (DVT),
which occurs when a blood
clot forms in one of the
deep veins, typically in the
leg; and pulmonary embo-
lism (PE), which arises when
a clot—usually DVT re-
lated—travels to the lungs
and blocks blood flow.
About one million cases of
VTE are reported each year
in the United States, and
people with arthritis, espe-
cially rheumatoid arthritis
(RA), are particularly vul-
nerable. Studies show they
are twice as likely as indi-
viduals in the general popu-
lation to develop VTE. Joint
replacement surgery and
corticosteroids also in-
crease the risk.
What to watch for
If one of your legs is swol-
len, tender to the touch,
red, warm, or feels like you
have a persistent charley
horse, you may be experi-
encing DVT; therefore, you
should be examined by a
physician the same day. A
PE can mimic heart attack
symptoms, including short-
ness of breath, a racing
heartbeat, or a pain in the
chest that gets worse when
you take a deep breath. If
you have any of these symp-
toms, head to an emergency
room immediately.
How to reduce your risk
The best way to prevent a
PE is to lower your risk of
developing a clot. Steps that
ease arthritis symptoms—
keeping your weight in
check, not smoking, and
staying physically active—
also lower the risk of devel-
oping blood clots. Long pe-
riods of sitting or airline
flights longer than four
hours increase DVT risk.
Consider wearing com-
pression stockings, which
enable the veins and mus-
cles in your legs to work
more efficiently. While fly-
ing, drink lots of water and
walk in the aisle every hour
to promote circulation. Sur-
gery poses the most danger,
but most surgeons are on
high alert. They will monitor
you carefully and may put
you on blood thinners to
prevent clotting.
-Camille Noe Pagan in Arthritis
Today
Coffee concert Feb. 1 at FPC features member’s brother
2005 to 2007 and the Cen-
tral Florida Symphony Or-
chestra in Ocala during the
2005-2006 season.
In two commencement
concerts at the Berklee
College of Music, Aaron
performed with celebrities
such as Smokey Robinson,
Linda Ronstadt, Juan Luis
Guerra, and Steve Win-
wood. He also played violin
in The Life and Music of
Burt Bacharach concert and
the Movie Premier Orches-
tra for August Rush con-
cert, both in Boston.
Donations of $5 or more
will benefit ADFAC, the
charity of Colin and Aaron’s
choice.
There are at least five rea-
sons you should attend the
Coffee Concert on Saturday,
Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m.
First, the Oak Ridge Civic
Music Association concert is
free. Second, the refresh-
ments are free. Third, the
location is our church.
Fourth, the program will be
a mix of classical and con-
temporary music by a pro-
fessional violinist—music
that should appeal to all gen-
erations.
Last but not least, the vio-
linist is Aaron Colverson,
brother of Colin Colverson,
a member of our church.
Recently, Colin visited
Aaron and their parents,
who all live in Kenya.
“Aaron is currently a con-
temporary violin soloist,
working across East Africa
in a variety of musical gen-
res with a host of different
bands and artists,” Colin
said. You can listen to se-
lected cuts of Aaron’s music
at his website reverbna-
tion.com/aaroncolverson .
For the concert, Aaron
plans to play music from
Appalachia, Africa, China,
and Europe (classical), ac-
companied by visual images.
In 2009 Aaron earned a
B.A. in professional music
from Berklee College of
Music in Boston. He played
violin with two orchestras
in Florida: the Gainesville
Chamber Orchestra from
Aaron Colverson, violinist
Page 7
J anuary 2014
Children and youth ministry
Children’s moment
1/05: Anna Thomas
1/12: Bob Cantrell
1/19: Mike Hilliard
1/26: Chuck Hadden
1/5
PYC meeting—welcome back!
1/12
TBD
1/19
TBD
1/26
TBD
Upcoming Presbyterian Youth Connection (PYC) activities
Middle school
movie nights—
6:00 p.m., Rm. 102.
January 10—National Treasure
January 24—TBD
Pizza, popcorn and drinks
provided ($3 donation).
Bring friends!
Activity time
1/05: Tiffany Murray, Luke Holt
1/12: Anne Backus, Lily Jaques
1/19: Sue Byrne, Andrew Brittain
1/26: Mary Keller, Laura Budai
NEXT COFFEEHOUSE
Friday, January 3
from 7:00-10:00 p.m. in Rm. 102
Come catch up with friends.
SWING DANCE
Saturday, January 4
from 7:00-10:00 p.m. in Rm. 102
of the Activities building.
Page 8 The Banner
Dale Hadden is creating
the adult Sunday school
class on usury from the
PCUSA statement titled
"A reformed understanding
of usury in the 21st cen-
tury." The PCUSA docu-
ments present a nice combi-
nation of scripture, theol-
ogy, and contemporary con-
text in their statements and
reports.
Early Birds
The Early Bird class, which
meets every Sunday morn-
ing at 9 before the worship
service, has been studying
Ecclesiastes for the past
four weeks and the study
will continue this month.
The leaders are Sue Byrne
and Mike Hilliard, and the
class meets in Room 6 next
to the sanctuary.
“We share fellowship and
coffee, pray together, and
read scripture in class,” Sue
said. “Then the attendees
discuss that scripture, draw-
ing on Bible commentary,
the Internet, and conversa-
tion with one another to
Eco-Social Justice
Many Americans find it
disturbing that credit card
issuers and banks charge
their customers 12% or
more in interest payments
on bills not paid in time.
After all, for centuries most
societies have protected
borrowers by limiting inter-
est rates that lenders can
charge.
Owing to a U.S. Supreme
Court decision in 1978, al-
most half of all states do not
have laws that cap credit
card interest rates. Most
major credit card issuers
are based in states without
usury laws and without in-
terest rate caps on credit
cards, so they can charge
any rate they choose.
Usury—the practice of
lending money at unrea-
sonably high rates of inter-
est—is the topic of the next
series of Eco-Social Justice
classes, which are held after
the worship service in
Room 102 of the Activities
building.
gain new insights and dis-
coveries and to articulate
the application of the verses
to our lives today.”
Traditional
Ted Atkinson will lead a
Bible study on the Book of
Mark after worship in the
parlor. The class will com-
plete its study that started
last fall, picking up in Chap-
ter 4. Then the class will
undertake a Lenten study.
LGBT friendly
On Thursday nights, Rosa-
lyn McKeown-Ice will lead
the LGBT Friendly Bible
Study in the fellowship hall.
The focus of the class is I &
II Kings.
Jonah
On Sunday, Jan. 26, Pastor
Sharon and Music Director
Anna Thomas will conduct
the monthly Evening Light
service at 6 p.m. in Room
102. A light meal will be
served at 6:30, followed by
discussion of the Book of
Jonah during the Bring Your
Own Bible (BYOB) study.
Adult Christian education classes for 2014
Church Women
United Church Women United
of the Oak Ridge Area has
announced its schedule for
the first half of 2014. The
local group is part of “a
racially, culturally, and
theologically inclusive
Christian women’s move-
ment celebrating unity in
diversity and working for a
world of peace and jus-
tice.”
In an attempt to attract
career women to its pro-
grams, CWU-Oak Ridge
will hold its first Friday
lunchtime gatherings. The
dates, locations, and pro-
grams are:
Feb. 7, Oak Valley
Baptist Church, Com-
munity Mediation Ser-
vices”
Mar. 7, Grace Lu-
theran, “Church
Women United in Ac-
tion”
Apr. 4, St. Mary’s, Co-
lumbus Hall, “Healthy
Start of Anderson
County”
May 2, St. Stephen’s,
Parish Hall, “Through
God Our Hands Can
Serve”
To learn about CWU,
whose mantra is “Agreed
to Differ, Resolved to
Love, United to Serve,”
visit churchwomen.org .
For more information on
the local organization and
its programs, contact
Gaye Marie Logsdon at
483-7940.
We give our heartfelt thanks to the
congregation for their outpourings of love
in Bill’s illness and death. Our special
thanks go to Meg and Sharon, the card
senders, the kitchen crew, the guitar
group, and the quilters, whose gift quilt
was never out of his sight. “In life and in
death he belongs to God” through our
wonderfully caring church.
Mary Ann and Adele Davidson
Bits ‘n’ pieces
January Birthdays
1/4 Catherine Backus
1/4 Emily Backus
1/5 Syd Murray
1/9 Sandra Edwards
1/11 Dick Philippone
1/12 Mary Ann Davidson
1/13 Ashley Layendecker
1/13 Austin Washington
1/15 Bart Hadden
1/16 Kate Porter
1/16 Madeline Stone
1/18 Scott Trowbridge
1/19 Sue Byrne
1/20 Debra Stone
1/22 Daniel Tipton
1/23 Rick Shipp
1/26 Bob Fulcher
1/26 Janet Swift
1/29 John Drake
1/31 Brian Drane
Congratulations
and blessings!
Page 9
J anuary 2014
ADFAC crisis cupboard FPC will be collecting toiletries
and household items for the AD-
FAC Crisis Cupboard in January.
The crisis cupboard holds practi-
cal items that cannot be pur-
chased with food stamps, such as
soap, toothpaste, and shampoo,
as well as toilet tissue and laun-
dry detergent. Items for infants,
such as diapers, are also needed.
Please bring your items and
place them in the collection box
in the narthex.
Women’s Lunch— The second Monday of each month, the
women of First Presbyterian gather for
lunch at a local restaurant. On Jan. 13 at
12:30 p.m., the group will meet at Razzle-
berry’s in Jackson Square. Razzleberry’s
will be contributing a portion of a day’s
profits to ADFAC. The women of the
church are invited to come enjoy an after-
noon of fellowship as they support this
local charity.
For the schedule of local restaurants participating
in ADFAC’s “Dine & Donate” program, see ad-
fac.org.
Christmastide Choral Festival—on
Sunday, Jan. 5 at 6:00 p.m. at Grace
Covenant Church, the First Presbyterian
Church choir will join with choirs from
five other area churches to celebrate
the beautiful music of the Christmas
season. The festival is open to all. Grace
Covenant is located at 320 Robertsville
Road here in Oak Ridge.
Last call! If your family dedicated
one of the old blue hymnals and
you’d like to take it home, please
pick it up in the back of the Fellow-
ship Hall. Thank you.
A New FPC Baby in the New Year!
Our church will be blessed with a new baby
early in 2014! Anne Marie and Jack Benton
are expecting their first child in mid-
February. Their son, to be named James
Franklin Benton and nicknamed Jim, will be
a “third generation” child of the church.
Proud grandmother is Anne Backus, a very
active member of First Presbyterian
Church.
The congregation will have a baby shower
on Sunday, Jan. 12 during fellowship
time after the worship service. To wel-
come young Jim into our church family, we
encourage gifts in the form of cash or gift
cards to Babies-R-Us or Wal-Mart.
Who’s missing Wed. night dinners? Ok, besides me? If you are, too, here’s a note from the head cooks
and a favorite recipe:
We want to give a special thank you to all
the cooks, servers, and cleanup crew mem-
bers who came out in force to help with the
fall Wednesday Night Dinner series. It was
another successful series and it really would
not have been possible without all the extra
help we got this year. God provides the best
help when you need it the most! Many
thanks to all. We are looking forward to
starting up the series again in March!
- Susan Sharp and Sandy Rohwer
Chicken & Sweet Potato Soup
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, in bite-size pieces
2 lbs. sweet potatoes, in bite-size pieces
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 large can diced tomatoes
2 cups apple juice
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup reg. flour (or gluten-free)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. water
1 splash Tabasco sauce
Dredge chicken in flour, salt & pepper mixture
in a bag. Sauté garlic in a soup pot. When garlic
becomes fragrant, add the chicken, stirring until
golden brown. Remove chicken and add onions
to sauté 2 min. Add water & stir to deglaze pot.
Cover & cook until onions begin to soften. Stir
in sweet potatoes. Add chicken, tomatoes (with
liquid), juice, and broth. Stir. Add in hot sauce &
stir again. Reduce to medium heat and cook 45
min., stirring every 15 min. to prevent sticking
to bottom of pot.
Sunday, January 5
Liturgist: Jim Tonne
Children’s Moment: Anna Thomas
Activity Time: Tiffany Murray, Luke Holt
Sound Guild: Dale Hadden
Ushers: Team I, led by Irene Darko
Counters: Priscilla Campbell, Fred Haywood Flowers: Anna George Dobbins
Fellowship Hosts: Judy Greeson, Shirley Knight
Opening/Closing: Mike Hilliard, Dave Mullins
Sunday, January 12
Liturgist: Shirley Knight
Children’s Moment: Bob Cantrell
Activity Time: Anne Backus, Lily Jaques
Sound Guild: Don Spong
Ushers: Team II, led by George Darko
Counters: Elizabeth Myhre, Dan Terpstra Flowers: Shirley Knight
Fellowship Hosts: Karl & Mary Keller
Opening/Closing: Mike Hilliard, Dave Mullins
Worship Volunteers
Page 10 J anuary 2014
Sunday, January 26
Liturgist: Kathy Carney-Layendecker
Children’s Moment: Chuck Hadden
Activity Time: Mary Keller, Laura Budai
Sound Guild: Carolyn Krause
Ushers: Team IV, led by Dennis Strickler
Counters: George Darko, Anna Robinson Flowers: Anna & Bill Robinson
Fellowship Hosts: Kate & Walt Porter
Opening/Closing: Mike Hilliard, Dave Mullins
Page 10 The Banner
Sunday, January 19
Liturgist: Herb Krause
Children’s Moment: Mike Hilliard
Activity Time: Sue Byrne, Andrew Brittain
Sound Guild: Sydney Murray
Ushers: Team III, led by Joe Grey
Counters: Trygve Myhre, Lewis Phillips Flowers: Elizabeth & Trygve Myhre
Fellowship Hosts: Lewis & Phyllis Phillips
Opening/Closing: Mike Hilliard, Dave Mullins
Pulpit supply in Pastor Sharon’s absence
Daniel Tipton will speak on Sun., Jan. 5. Daniel is no
stranger to FPC, having served as director of youth from Jan.
2009 through Aug. 2010. Under the care of our church, Daniel
attended Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louis-
ville, Ky, earning a master of divinity degree in May 2013.
Currently, he is working as chaplain at the University of Ten-
nessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
On Sun., Jan. 12, our guest preacher will be the Rev. Bob
Cantrell, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church, Oak
Ridge, from 2000 to 2006.
A native of Oak Ridge who participated in FPC’s monthly Eve-
ning Light and BYOB gatherings this past fall, Bob was a pastor
at United Methodist churches in the Holston Conference for
39 years. Now retired, he lives with his wife Marie in Oak
Ridge.
He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville
and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in
Atlanta. He serves on the staff of the Keystone Adult Day Pro-
gram at First United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge, which is
his home church.
“In addition to my involvement in Keystone,” Bob said,
“some special joys are practicing daily meditation and deep
breathing, listening to jazz, and not going to evening meetings!”
Januar y 2014
Please note this calendar is subject to change.
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2
7 pm LGBT
Bible Study
3
7 pm
Coffeehouse
4
7 pm Swing
Dance
5
9 am Early Bird Class
9:00 am Choir
10 am Worship
11:15 am Sunday school
5 pm *PYC
6
12 pm Men’s
Lunch
7
12:15 Centering
prayer
8
7 pm P&M Committee
9
7 pm Choir
7 pm LGBT Bible Study
10
6 pm Middle
school movie
11
12
9 am Early Bird Class
9:19 am Choir
10 am Worship
11:05 am Baby Shower
11:15 am Sunday school
5 pm *PYC
13
12 pm Men’s
Lunch
12:30 pm
Women’s lunch
(see note on pg. 9)
14
10 am Prayer
Shawl Ministry
12:15 Centering
prayer
6:30 pm Guitar
Workshop
7 pm Soc. Concerns Committee
15
16
7 pm Choir
7 pm LGBT
Bible Study
17
Banner
Deadline
18
19
9 am Early Bird Class
9:19 am Choir
10 am Worship
11:05 am Reception for
Jinny Dunlap
11:15 am Sunday school
5 pm *PYC 5 pm Finance Committee
20
12 pm Men’s
Lunch
21
12:15 Centering
prayer
6:30 pm Guitar
Workshop
22
7 pm Session
23
24
6 pm Middle
school movie
25
26
9 am Early Bird Class
9:19 am Choir
10 am Worship
11:05 am Lasagna dinner
& Annual meeting
27
12 pm
Men’s Lunch
28
12:15 Centering
prayer
6:30 pm Guitar
Workshop
29
30
31
1 February
*PYC—Presbyterian Youth Connection
Located at the corner of
Lafayette & Oak Ridge Turnpike
Phone: 865-483-1318
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: FPCOR.org
The Banner team includes
Carolyn Krause, Jim Tonne,
Adrienne Pyle, and Sharon
Youngs, with thanks to
contributors from the
congregation, session, and
church staff.
First Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 6106
Oak Ridge, TN 37831
First Presbyterian Church January 2014 Oak Ridge, Tennessee
God’s spirit, given by Christ, flows through us as
living water to wash, heal, and satisfy. As a congregation we
become a fountain, sharing this living water with others.
The Banner
Blessed with God’s love and grace, we celebrate
gifts of diversity. By Jesus Christ’s example, we welcome,
in love, all who rejoice and worship with us.