APRIL 2020

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 10612 DAYTON PIKE , SODDY DAISY , TN 37379

MAIL: P.O. Box 9, SODDY DAISY, TN 37384 TEL: (423) 332-2327 E-MAIL: FIRSTPRESBYTERIAN@EPBFI.COM

KNITTED TOGETHER
“… speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up into Him in every way who is the head, into Christ, from whom
the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied when each part is working
properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love.” Ephesians 4:15-16 RSV
“For Thou didst form my inward parts, Thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13 RSV

LET’S PRAY Pastor’s Notes

TOGETHER
Members & Participants
Bobby McRee, Heather Shannon
Batson, Sherry Clark, Billy Crowe,
Nita Crowe, Danny Curvin, Dottie
Curvin, Gene Curvin, Bud Ellis, Bill
Newberry, Barbara Newman, Jan
Newman, Dora Sowell, Doug
Stephenson, Lorie Tessmer, Delores
White, Taylor Williams
Family & Friends
Becky Burchard (Irene Ammon’s
niece), The Clifton Family (friends of
Linda Kurzenberger), Gary Cross
(friend of Bill Newberry), Kevin
Daughtery (nephew of Jan
Newman), Marilyn Kurzenberger-
Wittke (family of John and Linda
Kurzenberger), David McCarell,
Jerry Newman (Gary’s brother/
Barbara’s son), Karen Smith, Vickie
Sullivan, Jill Tobin, Sophia Turner,
Rick Kephart, David Stephenson,
Rev. Bud Little, Mary Richey
Military
Thomas Pelham and Family
(Thomas is the son of John and
Jody Pelham; grandson of Billy and
Nita Crowe)
Our church has made drastic changes to how we worship and how we
interact, but how we approach this Holy Week does not change.
Easter week runs through all of our Human emotions beginning with
enthusiasm and excitement, then guilt and shame, remorse and
repentance, fear and at last hope, relief and deep joy.
We begin with the “Hosanna!” A loud shout to our Lord Jesus of Palm
Sunday. We enter this week with the palm branches, joining in the
excitement of the crowd in Jerusalem who celebrated Jesus’ entry into he
city. We were happy to welcome Him but they did not understand His
call. They wanted God on their own terms, a god who would beat up their
enemies and put power into their hands.
On Thursday we gather for an evening service remembering the Lord’s
Supper, the beginning of what we call communion. This sacrament is a
meal of mix emotions. This is a last meal together before the crucifixion,
the day when Jesus took our sins on His own body and died for us.
This Lord’s Supper reminds us of our own sin and our own guilt. As we
face Good Friday, this is a night of remorse and repentance, a time to
regret for the things we have done that we should not have done and for
the things we should have done and have neglected.
On Easter Sunday we celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper again.
This time everything is changed because of Christ is Risen! We focus on
the empty tomb and the risen Lord. Because of Risen Christ, we too will
be risen with Him at the end and receive everlasting life. Therefore, we
look not at the past, but at the present and the future: a new life in Christ
here and now, loving and serving others; and we place our hope in Christ
for the everlasting life to come, life with our Lord.
As we go through this uncertain time, may God provide you with all the
emotions that draw near to Him, who came to us first to love us and to
save us. May God lead us from the fear and guilt to lasting hope and
peace that only comes from God.
Rev. Peter Choi

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CHURCH SCHEDULE
* All schedules are cancelled
due to coronavirus.
Services
Sunday Worship 11:00 am
(Facebook Live)
Nursery
Caregiver - Kathleen Djami
* Available for children ages
cradle to 4 years old
Children’s Worship
Sunday Worship 11:00 am
* Available for children ages 5 to
5th grade
Wednesday Bible Study
Adult Bible Study 6:30 pm
Children’s Activity 6:30 pm
(Caregiver - Kathleen Djami)
Ministry Opportunities
Newsletter Editor: Monthly
Children & Youth Ministry
- Teachers, assistants for Sunday
worship and other activities
Movie Nights - Monthly
(Talk to Rev. Choi)
Fellowship of the Table
- Lunch following Sunday
worship at various locations
- Covered dish dinner on
APRIL 2020
News From The Session
We hope that you and your families are well and that you are
not being significantly impacted by the many business and
school closings that have resulted from the Coronavirus. It was
not an easy decision for the Session to close the church for in-
person worship, but the circumstances for the health of our
members and directions from government officials dictated that
we do so. Because the situation changes daily, we don’t know
when we will be able to gather again in person, but it will be at
least the beginning of May. We will all miss celebrating
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ together as a community
of faith on Resurrection Sunday, April 12, but remember that
God is with us wherever we are. We will keep you informed
when we plan to resume normal worship services. In the
meantime, we hope that you are able to see Pastor Peter’s
worship service using our Facebook page.
One of the things that the unprecedented closures due to the
coronavirus has highlighted is our need to be able to rapidly
keep in touch with everyone in our congregation about
changes in our worship and other activities. The Caring and
Sharing text messages have been our best way to get the word
out. The others without the text messaging capability receive a
telephone call. A special word of thanks to Danny Curvin, Nancy
Burks, and Becky May for doing this. For Pastor Peter’s Letter to
the congregation about the coronavirus, we took a new
approach and sent an e-mail to about half of the congregation
for whom we have e-mail addresses. The rest of the
congregation received the letter via the regular U.S. Post Office
mail. We are looking at using e-mail more for things such as the
newsletter and letters to the congregation. We would
appreciate any feed-back you have on this.
We continue to pray for everyone around the world as well as
all who struggle to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. We are
especially prayerful for those in our congregation who struggle
with physical and mental ailments. If you have any issues or
concerns, or just need someone to talk to, please contact one
of your Session members.
May the Peace of Christ be with you.
Jim Hargrove, Clerk of Session
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 APRIL 2020

WOMEN OF THE Financial Notes

CHURCH
Women’s Bible Study
*Cancelled due to coronavirus
MEN OF THE
CHURCH
Men’s Group Gathering
*Cancelled due to coronavirus
As you know, the regular bills for utilities, food, and other
necessities haven’t gone away even though much of our
economy is shut down. Some of you may have lost your
work and are struggling to make payments. Our prayers go
out to you that God will guide you through these times.
Though we have cancelled our worship services and other
Every
activities, Wednesday
the church’s regular bills for@ 5:30
the pm
pastor’s salary,
utilities, and other expenses continue. Through the
generous bequests of several former members, our church
is in a strong financial position to meet our financial
commitments. Praise God! Below is a summary of our year
to date financial status as of March 15.

Income $ 13,428.00
Expenses $ 24,784.85
Checkbook balance $ 51,251.03
WEEKLY PRAYER Investments $ 630,122.77
MEETING
Please note that our income from tithes and offerings only
*Cancelled due to coronavirus
paid 54% of our expenses. A deficit was anticipated when
we hired Rev. Choi, but we would like to see more of the
expenses covered by congregational giving, so that we
don’t have to liquidate some of our investments
prematurely. Therefore we ask that, if you are able , you mail
in your tithes and offerings to:

First Presbyterian Church

PO Box 9
Soddy Daisy, TN 37384

God loves a cheerful giver.

Jim Hargrove, Clerk of Session

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 APRIL 2020

L.O.C.K.D.O.W.N.
L isten to God’s voice and reflect. Let go and Let God.
O bey His word and His teachings.
C all on Jesus’ name and be Calm.

K now that God has a purpose for all of this.

D well in His presence. Do not panic.

O ffer a prayer for everyone’s safety

W ait on the Lord and be patient. This too shall pass

N urture our personal relationship with God.

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 April
SUN MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Palm Sunday
Worship 11AM
(Facebook live)

12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Resurrection Sunday
He is Risen!
Worship 11AM
(Facebook live)

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Worship 11AM
(Facebook live)

26 27 28 29 30
Worship 11AM
(Facebook live)

March Birthday Wedding Anniversary

April 15 Cody Fuller April 5 Charlie & Nancy Burks

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Soddy Daisy, TN 37384
P.O. Box 9
First Presbyterian Church
Newsletter will be published monthly near the 1st of the month. Please send items to publish to Pastor
Peter, soddydaisypc@gmail.com by the 20th of the previous month. Thank you.
Our newsletter staff is: (production manager); Jim Hargrove (distribution manager).
Review editors include Effie Heiss, Doug Stephenson, Danny Durvin, Peter Choi.
Please give Jim Hargrove (423-760-8787; jhargrove@epbfi.com) the names, mailing addresses or email
addresses of family and friends, and possible new members, so that we can send them our monthly
newsletter. Please let Jim know if you prefer your newsletter via email.
Newsletter can also be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fpc37379
Church telephone number: 423-332-2327
Church email: firstpresbyterian@epbfi.com