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vacation bible school 2025 August 4th-August 7th for ages 3 years old to those who have finished fifth grade VBS 2025 Registration Form Child's First Name Age Grade Entering Child's Last Name T-Shirt Size Parent/Guardian First Name Parent/Guardian Last Name Phone Email Street Address Street Address Line 2 City Region/State/Province Postal / Zip code Country Country Early Care is available beginning at 7:45 a.m. Check this box if you will be arriving early. Emergency Contact #1 Emergency Contact #1 Phone Number Emergency Contact #2 Emergency Contact #2 Phone Number Does your child have any medical or allergy concerns you need to share? I allow my child to participate in this event with First Presbyterian Church. If my child should need medical treatment, I give permission for my child to be transported to a hospital to receive that treatment until I can be reached. I give permission for use of photos from this event for publicity with the understanding that their image will not be identified with their name. Your Signature Clear Register Thanks for registering for VBS 2025. See you there!

WORSHIP TIMES 9:00 a.m. DayOne Worship in-person in the Fellowship Hall and livestreamed 10:00 a.m. Sunday School 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary Worship in-person in the Sanctuary and livestreamed SANCTUARY WORSHIP The traditional service at First Presbyterian takes place in our beautiful sanctuary. Organ music reverberates amongst the century-old space, which is bathed in light filtered through magnificent stained glass. The order of worship is traditional but less rigid than you may expect. It is an ideal service to slow down, escape from the hectic nature of modern life, and gather in the presence of God in a space which has hosted such worship since the 1890s. Slip inside this special room and let the presence of God be made manifest in your life. DAYONE WORSHIP Our casual service, held at 9:00 in the church’s fellowship hall, invites you to a unique style of worship. Come in, grab a cup of coffee and prepare yourself for a worship service that meets you where you are. At Day One you will find elements of traditional worship in a coffee house setting, blending a subtle liturgical movement with a modern feel. The contemporary band mixes praise songs, re-imagined traditional hymns and the occasional blue grass tune to bring forth an eclectic feel. NURSERY CARE Childcare is available from 8:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Sundays in the Family Center. The entrance to this building is located underneath the breezeway. There you will either be greeted by a nursery care worker or you will have access to a doorbell to receive assistance. Our nursery is ages birth to 6 years old. After that, we encourage children to be in worship. We look forward to meeting you and your little one(s) soon!

IT’S CHRISTMAS STORE TIME AGAIN The First Presbyterian Christmas Store is right around the corner. Volunteers are needed to help price gifts, do inventory, decorate, serve as shopping assistants, help set up. Most importantly, we need gifts, gift tags, gift bags, and cash donations for the store! If you are purchasing toys, only buy items priced between $10-$45, leaving the price tags on. Our Christmas store is designed to empower struggling families to purchase their own gifts. We provide quality gifts, then reduce their price tags so families can afford to buy them. You can turn in gifts to the church office or contact Mission Chair, Kim Wohlford or Keley Simpson, if you would like to volunteer. Below is a shopping list of requested toys. Please bring toys to the office by December 1. IT’S CHRISTMAS STORE TIME AGAIN For Infants to Preschoolers: Disney princess dolls, Hot Wheels trucks and cars, baby dolls, dress up tutus, musical toys, Paw Patrol toys, arts and crafts, dinosaurs, diapers, teething rings and blankets, ride on toys, push toys, doll houses, Mr. Potato Head For Grade School Children: Barbie dolls ( most kids prefer “real” Barbies and dolls of a variety of ethnicities are popular), Moana-themed dolls, OMG Dolls, LOL Surprise, Lego sets, remote control monster vehicles, PJ Masks Deluxe Figure Set or any PJ toy, arts and crafts kits, Nerf toys, light globes, super hero figures, Tonka trucks, train kits, play tents, robotic toys, Hatchimals Pixies and surprise eggs, science kits, board games For Teens and Tweens: Make-up kits, false lashes, acrylic nail kits and nail art, video games, shave kits, snack kits, skateboards and hover board, sports equipment like soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, knee pads, arts and crafts kits including paints, scooters, Marvel series books and merchandise, scarves and gloves, headphones, curling iron or straightening iron, Axe Body Spray, telescopes, dart board game, fishing poles, beanie hats, lava lamps, water color pencil set For Those with Special Needs: Night light projector, fidget toys, pinch me dough or play dough, noise canceling headphones, lavender pillow Out of town or can't get out and still want to support? Check out our Wish List ! It will come directly to the church office.

King Speaker Series Finding Inspiration in Every Turn We, as Presbyterians, believe continuous Christian education is of paramount importance. Through our King Speaker Series, we gather authors, ministers, and other interesting people to speak about their lives, experiences, and faith journeys. Most speaker events are free to the public. Keep an eye on our various social media pages for upcoming King Speakers. Hope to see you there! Upcoming Event The Enneagram with Suzanne Stabile June 6, 2025 6pm-9pm and June 7, 2025 9am-5pm We are hosting the "Enneagram Godmother" for a 2-day workshop weekend event! Find your personality number--describing you based on your core motivations and desires! Tickets cost $50 with an optional $10 lunch add-on. Tickets go on sale NOW! Click the link below to sign up and see more details. Sign up here! Previous King Speakers Jonathan Martin March 2025 Author, Chaplain, Podcaster Daniel Taylor March 2020 Writer, Speaker, Traveler Mike McHargue January 2020, December 2017 "Science Mike" Dominique Gilliard March 2019 Author, activist, racial justice consultant Kaitlin Curtice September 2018 Author, Poet-Storyteller, Public Speaker Casey Tygrett April 2018 Pastor, blogger, adjunct seminary professor Diana Butler Bass February 2018 Author, historian, public theologian Sarah Bessey September 2017 USA Today bestseller Chris Hoke April 2017 Organizer, author, speaker Peter Enns September 2016 Writer, teacher, speaker Becca Stevens April 2016 Priest, author, entrepreneur Sarah Thebarge March 2016 Author, blogger, journalist Lillian Daniel October 2015 Preacher, author

WHO WE ARE What do you want to know about a church before you visit it? I don’t have any idea, so I am going to tell you a few things that I think you should know about First Presbyterian Church. We were one of the first congregations planted in Fort Smith, established back in the 1840s. All those people are dead now, but other people have managed to keep this thing going for nigh on 175 years. I feel that alone deserves some respect, I mean how many other things in our community have been around that long? You see my point. We’ve done a lot of different things over the years, and we have lots of folks who have worshipped here for decades, but that just makes us colorful! Today, we have three areas of emphasis. The first is mission. We define this as helping and loving our neighbors in Fort Smith. You can check out our mission page to learn more, but if there is one way I like to describe our philosophy it is this; we seek to empower and encourage people we help, and to foster their sense of dignity and self-worth. Everyone is valuable and we want to help folks transform their lives. The second area of emphasis is music. I’m not going to lie, some of us don’t love to sing, but we love to listen to other people sing. Our music in our two worship services is eclectic. Day One ranges from praise and worship to bluegrass. Our traditional worship service is, well, traditional. We have a really great organ, and you may think, “I don’t like the organ, in fact, I don’t even know what it is,” but trust me when I say if you like music you will like the organ. It’s traditional, but it’s still pretty great. We also host a concert series called, “The McDonald Concert Series.” This series features folks on the classical spectrum who are excellent musicians that you can listen to for free in our sanctuary. The third area of emphasis is education. We are Presbyterians and we really like to think. We like to discuss interesting things about our faith and world, and we like to listen to smart, educated folks tell us what they have learned. My wife and co-pastor, Tasha, and I teach each Sunday during the school year. You can learn more about those classes on the education tab but suffice to say they cover a broad range of topics, issues, ideas, and theology. This is First Presbyterian in a very small nutshell. All of our areas of emphasis are rooted in what we believe about Jesus, how we experience him, and how we feel he calls us to live. We aren’t perfect, quite the opposite, but we like Jesus and we do our level best to make him the center of things around here. Perhaps that is how we have lasted this long as a church. I have been here for several years now, and I have to say that I love this church, I hope you will love it too. Peace, The Reverend Phillip Blackburn MULTIMEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and YouTube . 1 PRES POD Find the 1PRESPOD on Spotify , iTunes , or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Welcome to FIRST PRESBYTERIAN OUR MISSION It’s pretty simple for us. Our mission is to serve Jesus Christ. It’s hardly earth- shattering for a church to say this, but the truth is that throughout history, when churches have actually served Jesus, the results have been, well, earth-shattering. Churches have done amazing things in this world by serving Jesus first and foremost, and we like to believe that from time to time our dedication to Jesus leads to amazing things. As you explore this website and get to know our congregation, you should find that serving Jesus has led to real transformation in our community and congregation. About "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7 give BE inspired SUBSCRIBE Thanks for submitting!