BRANCHThe

December 5, 2016

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Third Sunday of Advent Senses of the Season: Smell

Family Dedication 10:30am in the Sanctuary

Proclaimer: Jim DantScripture: Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon: What Is This Lovely Fragrance?

Anthem: “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” – arr. LEAVITT;

“What Is This Lovely Fragrance?” – WILLAN

Service Choir: Youth and Sanctuary Choirs

Hearing aid receivers and magnifying glasses available for all worship services.

Extended SessionDirectors: Foster and Leslie

RodwellInfants/Toddlers: James and

Niechelle FreestoneTwos/Threes: JR Christy and Ann

GodfreyFours: Darin Gehrke and

Cherington ShuckerFives: Beau and Laura Harling

Pianist: Peggy NielsonWorship Leader: Helen Lee Turner

WORSHIP

I slid into the seat of my newly restored Volkswagen Beetle (Barney) and drove to the YMCA. The routine is all too familiar: grab backpack from trunk, lock car, slowly walk to the front door – pondering what manner of torture I would put my body through on this particular visit. The regimen was broken, however, by a baked-goods sale at the YMCA entrance. I chuckled at first. After all, who sells brownies, chocolate chip cookies and cheesecake bites at the entrance of a fitness center?!? Then, I saw the sale benefited the Children’s Hospital, and I saw one of our FBG children participating in the sale. Her ministry to our community made my day. I made a donation. I didn’t eat a brownie…

I slid into the pew beside some friends and made small talk for those minutes remaining before the concert began. I scanned the program and made note of the repertoire and the names of our children participating. The Chicora

RustlingsBY JIM DANT

Voices have moved their ‘base of operations’ to FBG. It’s been an honor to have them working under our roof and a greater honor attending their holiday concert in our Sanctuary. It was beautiful. I was grateful for the ministry the students provided…especially those students who are members of our congregation.

On Sunday evening, December 11, our Children’s Choirs will present their Christmas music. The concert will be held in the Sanctuary at 6:00pm with cookies and celebration (Carols, Cookies and Cocoa) to follow in the Fellowship Hall. This is a moment of ministry on our church’s calendar you will not want to miss. Don’t get me wrong. I love all the ministry ‘we adults’ do in the church and in the world, but when our children are involved in ministry – especially during the holiday season – it just speaks to me. I think it will speak to you as well. I’ll see you at church this Sunday morning and evening. We’ll let the children speak and sing a word of truth to us.

— Jim

https://firstbaptistgreenville.com/churchwideretreat2017

Memorial and Honorary Poinsettias available for Advent. For more details, visit the church website or contact Kimberly Coates at kimberly.coates@firstbaptistgreenville.com or 233-2527 ext. 128.

RemindersAnnual Churchwide Retreat

March 3-5, 2017Online Registration

Some of my favorite growing up memories of church were times we got out of the sanctuary and mixed and mingled in some “non-religious” setting: church picnics, church mission projects, church retreats, church square-dances… As a kid, I loved seeing the grownups in street clothes, feeling the freedom to be themselves, interacting in new ways, enjoying children, playing together and being playful together. I felt our bond in a different way.

First on Main is one of those times for us. Each Christmastime for our final Wednesday night MidWeek Fellowship of the year, we reserve the little bandstand at NOMA Square in front of the Hyatt downtown and play secular and silly Christmas songs for the downtown shoppers. Each year we showcase talents you probably didn’t know we had, and this year we’re introducing a Secret Special-Guest Blues Singer we’ve just discovered. Coffee, hot cocoa, and dinner are all available at your favorite Main Street spots.

First on Main is a great opportunity to meet people who don’t know First Baptist and give them a sense of what kind of community we are. But it’s also the chance for us to get to know one another better outside the normal routines of church life and in a new light.

Come as early as you like on Wednesday, December 14. (You might even get a little Christmas shopping done!) We’ll gather at 6:00pm and play from 6:15-7:00pm. Parking is available at the Hyatt, the Richardson St. Garage (66 Richardson St.) and on Main Street itself. If you would like help getting there, please contact me at kyle.matthews@firstbaptistgreenville.com or 864-233-2527, ext. 138. Don’t miss it!

— Kyle

First on MainDECEMBER 14, 6:15PM

CH

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IFE

Planning for Operation Inasmuch 2017 is underway. On Saturday, March 18, our church family will join together to serve our local Greenville community and tackle jobs from painting to landscaping, from craft projects to repairs. We will have opportunities for all ages and abilities, so please mark your calendar to participate in this special day of service and fellowship.

— Jennifer and Jeremy Murphy Inasmuch Co-Chairs

MIS

SIO

NS

Operation Inasmuch 2017IT IS NOT TOO EARLY TO START THINKING ABOUT SPRING!

ADVENT

Poinsettia GiftsShirley Young gives a poinsettia in memory of CJ Young.

A poinsettia in memory of Ed and Nora Barnhill is given by Johnny and Phyllis Flynn.

Johnny and Phyllis Flynn give a poinsettia in memory of John and Madelyn Flynn.

A poinsettia in honor of Don and Laurie Waldrop by Ben, Lindsay, Ian and Abbey Waldrop.

Lindsay Waldrop gives a poinsettia is given in honor of Ben, Ian and Abbey Waldrop.

A poinsettia in memory of Carol League Surles is given by Floyd and Sidney Surles.

Tom Bruce gives a poinsettia in memory of Larkin and Jean Bruce.

A poinsettia in memory of Edna Rampey is given by Al Rampey.

Al Rampey gives a poinsettia in honor of Vin and Jada Rampey.

A poinsettia in memory of Ed, Mabel and Perrie Cargill is given by Anne and Paula Cargill.

Anne and Paula Cargill give a poinsettia in memory of Eleanor, Roy, Lorrie and Rick Strickland.

A poinsettia in honor of Gwen and Max Kennedy is given by Anne and Paula Cargill.

Tom and Sherry Atkinson give two poinsettias in memory of their parents, T. Benson and Louise C. Atkinson and Floyd D. and Genie Jones.

A poinsettia in memory of Mr. and Mrs. J.O. Anthony is given by Boyd and Polly Gaskin.

Boyd and Polly Gaskin give a poinsettia in memory of Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Gaskin.

A poinsettia in memory of Betty and Duncan Baynes is given by Betty Alice and Richard Harper.

Betty Alice and Richard Harper give a poinsettia in memory of Rita and James Harper.

A poinsettia is given in memory of Bill Hunter by Lib Hunter.

The Carson Class gives a poinsettia in honor of Coy Carson and in memory of Barbara Carson and their members who died this year: Bill Dunlap, Oscar Funderburk, Cecil Quattlebaum, John Smetana and Deborah Walker.

A poinsettia is given in memory of Carolyn and Jim Fayssoux by Jim and Martha Fayssoux and children.

Jim and Martha Fayssoux and children and John and Carole Austin and children give two poinsettias in memory of Helen and Erwin Austin.

A poinsettia is given in memory of Helen and John Roberts by the Julie and Joe Freeman family.

Sandra Funderburk and her children, Suzy Harrison, Jaby Funderburk and John Funderburk, give a poinsettia in memory of their husband and father, Oscar Funderburk Jr.

A poinsettia is given in memory of Ruth and Oscar Funderburk Sr. by Sandra Funderburk and her children, Suzy Harrison, Jaby Funderburk and John Funderburk.

Sandra Funderburk and her children, Suzy Harrison, Jaby Funderburk and John Funderburk, give a poinsettia in memory of Grace and Bernard Simmons.

Three poinsettias are given in memory of Cecil Quattlebaum, their Dad and Papa Q, by Lan Quattlebaum, Ana Gibbs, Rolyn Rollins and their families.

The Apphia Class gives a poinsettia in honor of their teachers: Anne Poole, Doris Clanton, Rebecca Dixon and Janet Huskey.

Two poinsettias are given in memory of Banks Clark by First Baptist Greenville’s Stephen Ministers.

Rosalind and Ted Tedards give two poinsettias in memory of their parents, Mell and J.D. Todd and Helen and Jack Tedards.

Two poinsettias in loving memory of Ruth and Henry Little are given by their family.

Martha Hall gives one poinsettia in memory of J. Floyd Hall.

A poinsettia in memory of Glenn Brackin Jr. is given in love by Glenn Brackin Sr., his father, and Carol Ard, Peggy Hope and Brenda Edens, his sisters.

Other dedications will be printed in future editions of the newsletter.

THE N

EWS (U

SPS No. 597060) is published w

eekly January thru Decem

ber (except one week in July and Decem

ber). Periodicals postage paid at G

reenville, SC 29602. PO

STMASTER: Send

address changes to THE N

EWS, 847 C

leveland Street Greenville,

SC 29601. (Phone 864-233-2527). Kim

berly Coates, Editor.

847 Cleveland Street,

Greenville, South C

arolina 29601-4495 (864) 233-2527 w

ww

.firstbaptistgreenville.com

Pastoral CareOn Call Nights and Weekends

December 5-11 Kyle Matthews 236-8587 (h)

370-2522 ext. 199December 12-17

Matt Rollins 346-0971 (h)

370-2522 ext. 199If you are unable to reach this

minister immediately, please call the Church Office, 233-2527, and leave a message by pressing the

number “3” for “Pastoral Care Emergencies.”

Vol. LVII December 5, 2016 No. 48Financial Needs as of 12/3

$2,307,696Receipts of 11/30

$2,092,711Lula Whilden Goal

$125,000Lula Whilden as of 11/30

$67,580

LIVING GENEROUSLY

12/6 7:30pm SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Sinfonia Concert (Sanctuary)12/11 10:30am Third Sunday of Advent Senses of the Season: Smell Children and Youth – Lula Banks Jim Dant, Proclaimer 12/11-18 Host GAIHN Guests12/11 5:00-7:00pm Sunday Night Live for Youth 6:00pm Children’s Choirs Christmas Program (Sanctuary) 6:45pm Carols, Cookies and Cocoa (Fellowship Hall)12/13 9:00am-3:00pm Holy Rollers to Asheville Outlet Mall 12/14 6:15pm First on Main (NOMA Square)12/16 6:30pm Roadrunners to Holiday at Peace

For Your Calendar! Wednesday SupperFull salad bar or regular menu choices are available by reservation by noon on

Monday. Reservations may be made online at our website or by calling the

church office.MENU

December 7 New England Clam Chowder, Vegetable

Beef Soup, Baked Ham and SwissKids: grilled cheese, chicken noodle soup,

fruit, cookiesDecember 14

No Wednesday Night Supper – First on Main

Wednesdays at First ScheduleExceptions and details noted in calendar.

3:00pm Youth Hang Time and Supper 4:45-6:00pm Supper Serving Lines Open 5:15pm Youth Choir 5:30-7:00pm Children’s Missions and Choirs 6:00pm Youth Bible Study 6:15pm MidWeek Fellowship 7:00-8:30pm Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal

Care List as of 12/5/16

HospitalsGreenville Memorial: Joseph FusonReturned Home: Garnette Bane; Craig Nelson to NHC Mauldin

Sympathy to...Phil Watson in the death of his brother.Philip Stoddard in the death of his mother.

It’s Not Too Late!

$16 per poinsettiaIn honor of: In memory of:Will you take your poinsettia at the close of worship on December 24?

Mail all of the above to:Kimberly CoatesFirst Baptist Church847 Cleveland StreetGreenville, SC 29601

MAKE YOUR POINSETTIA REQUESTS TODAY

Start the New Year with Your Church Family!

Instead of Sunday School on Sunday, January 1, the First Baptist Greenville family will gather for breakfast in the Fellowship Hall. The serving lines will be open 9-10am. Please make reservations at https://firstbaptistgreenville.com/january-1-breakfast/ by noon on Tuesday, December 27.

Financial UpdateIn addition to regular cash or check donations, stock may be donated to First Baptist. Please allow time for these transactions to be processed by December 31.If you are 70.5 years old or older, offerings to First Baptist may be directly deposited from an IRA. Please contact Gail House (ext. 103) for more information on either of these giving options.