We are thrilled to announce that our own Scottie Bales has agreed to serve as our new Food Director, beginning September 1. With Scottie in the kitchen, our fellowship dinners and the evening programs that follow them will begin September 7.

If you have a question about any of our programs or events, please call the church office at 423-764-7176 or send an email to Lilly Osborne (Children's Ministries) at losborne@fpcbristol.org, Katie Arnold (Student Ministries) at karnold@fpcbristol.org, Steve and Vicki Fey (Music Ministries) at svfey@fpcbristol.org, or Dave Welch (Minister for Discipleship/Stated Supply) at dwelch@fpcbristol.org.

Deidre Pendley will provide the bag lunches. We need volunteers to donate the following dinner items. The casseroles are needed downtown at 5:00 p.m. on the 27th, but the other items can either be delivered then or taken to the church by noon on Friday the 26th.

We also need seven people to warm and serve the food and to clean up, from 5:00 until around 8:00 p.m. at Sharing Christ. Thank you for your service to our neighbors downtown!

Lorri Looney's DVD Bible study group is ready to go again after a great summer break! We will resume meeting at 9:30 on Wednesday mornings, beginning August 24, in the Coffee Klatch classroom. We will start the fall season with Open Your Bible by Raechel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams. Workbooks will be available for purchase at $15 at the first session. We will complete this study September 28. After taking a week's break, we will come back October 12 to finish the fall semester with Entrusted: A Study of 2 Timothy by Beth Moore. We should complete this study November 30. Workbooks for the second study will be available when it begins.

Remember to bring your deposit for the Fall Retreat! All the info can be found at www.fpcbristol.org/growing/student. Katie Arnold is Director of Student Ministries. You can contact her at karnold@fpcbristol.org. 

Boy Scout Troop 3 had a busy and eventful summer, starting big in May with a 14-mile weekend hike on the Appalachian Trail, from Carvers Gap to 19E. This was a challenging section of the trail with some phenomenal views. We can't wait to hike it again!

In June the troop attended summer camp at the Blue Ridge Scout Reservation in Pulaski County, Virginia. Most of the boys attended Camp Powhatan, the largest council-owned Scout camp in the United States. A few attended Claytor Lake, which is an aquatics base geared toward older Scouts. One of our Scouts attended Foxfire National Youth Leadership Training.

In July we held our annual Trooporee at Roan Mountain State Park. This is a weekend family get-together and campout with swimming, hiking, tomahawk throwing, water games, concerts, campfires, and much more. We are grateful to Herbert VanNostrand and Richard Allison for taking the lead in the planning and cooking!

Congratulations to Nathan Willis for earning his Eagle Scout rank this summer! He served as the troop's senior patrol leader last spring and attended summer camp at Claytor Lake as an assistant Scoutmaster. Nathan is a graduate of Tennessee High School and will be attending the University of Tennessee to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering.

We are now looking forward to some great outings this fall, and we will begin this weekend with a biking and camping trip on the Creeper Trail. Over the Labor Day weekend, we will go to Washington, D.C., where we will participate in laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In mid-October, the troop will camp out and assist with Cub Haunted weekend, a district-sponsored event for local Cub Scouts.

The Boy Scout program is open to boys who are between 11 and 18 years old. If you would like to know more about our troop, please feel free to contact Brian Johnson, Scoutmaster, at brianpjohnson@btes.tv or just come on out and visit us. We meet every Tuesday evening from 7:00 to 8:30 in FPC's Scout Hall.

Sunday's music participants: Sanctuary Choir.

	John Bell in 2009

Sunday's music: As an anthem at the 11:00 service, the Sanctuary Choir will sing the new hymn "We Cannot Measure How You Heal" with a text by John Bell (b. 1949) and Graham Maule (b. 1958), who serve as worship leaders of the Iona Community of Scotland. Carl Daw writes: "This disarmingly simple text models the essence of real prayer. Its unadorned, direct manner bespeaks a level of trust and intimacy honed through years of companionship with God." It is set to a Scottish folk melody, "Ye Banks and Braes," which has been used as a hymn tune in North America since the early nineteenth century with the name "Star of Bethlehem." The postlude is John Rutter's "Toccata in Seven," an annual tradition marking the anniversary of our coming to FPC, as this year we begin our eighteenth year of ministry here.

More rehearsals: More rehearsals have begun or are gearing up for the new program year! Children's Handbells and Savior's Singers Children's Choir (both for children in grades 2 through 6) kicked off the program year August 17, with bells at 4:15 p.m. and choir at 4:45 p.m. Jubilate Youth Choir (grades 7 through 12) will begin in conjunction with Student Fellowship this Sunday, August 21, with choir at 5:15 p.m. and youth activities at 6:00 p.m. Our Wednesday night fellowship suppers and programs following won't resume until after Labor Day, so children and youth may be picked up at 5:30 p.m. until then. The Youth Bell Choir (grades 7 through 12) will have their first rehearsal at 4:45 p.m. on September 7, finishing in time for our first fellowship dinner of the fall. Sanctuary Handbells (college students, adults, and advanced high schoolers) will begin rehearsals on Monday, September 12, at 5:30 p.m. The Sanctuary Choir is well underway, but welcomes new members any time of year!

Arts Series: It's hard to believe, but it's almost time for the Arts Series programs for this season to begin! A letter will be sent soon asking for donations for this year's series, but anyone may donate any time. Checks should be made out to the church, with "Arts Series" on the memo line. The program that soprano Cheryl Parrish had to cancel in the spring because of family illness will be first up, and may even happen before we get a brochure out! Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 11, at 3:00 p.m.

The Reverend Steve Playl was born in Madisonville, Kentucky, and graduated from Western Kentucky University and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Sammie, have lived in Bristol for almost 30 years, during which time he assisted her in raising their four children: Stephanie, Shannon, Stacia, and Stephen Jr. Those four children have helped to produce Steve and Sammie's seven precious grandchildren. Steve served as pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church for 28 years. He is presently the staff chaplain at Bristol Regional Medical Center, writes a weekly column for the Bristol Herald Courier, and teaches at King University as an adjunct instructor. Sammie works for King University as both an administrator and an instructor. She holds degrees from Tusculum College and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to their ministries, Sammie and Steve enjoy being the caretakers of their vintage house in the Historic Fairmount neighborhood and traveling ... every chance they get.

 

8:30 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

9:00 a.m.       Cherub Choir, Room 209

9:45 a.m.       Sunday School

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

4:00 p.m.       Evangelism & Outreach Committee, Room 117

5:00 p.m.       Stewardship Task Force, Room 117

5:15 p.m.       Jubilate Youth Choir

6:00 p.m.       Student Fellowship, Youth Wing & Fellowship Hall

7:00 p.m.       Session of Elders, Room 123

9:00 a.m.       Staff Meeting, Room 123

10:00 a.m.     Morning Prayer Group, Conference Room

6:00 p.m.       Venture Crew 3, Room 123

7:00 p.m.       Boy Scout Troop 3, Scout Wing

4:15 p.m.       Children's Handbells, Room 212

4:45 p.m.       Savior's Singers Children's Choir, Room 209

5:30 p.m.       Fun Family Fellowship, Fellowship Hall

6:00 p.m.       High School Devos, Katie Arnold's Home

7:00 p.m.       8:30 Worship Team Rehearsal, Fellowship Hall

7:15 p.m.       Sanctuary Choir, Room 202

7:00 a.m.       Men's Bible Study, Parlor

12:00 p.m.     Noon Bible Study, Room 117

6:00 p.m.       Parents' Night Out, Fellowship Hall

5:00 p.m.       Sharing Christ Mission, Sixth & State Streets