We have been awash in "Love" sermons for the past few weeks. The titles include "Loving Our Neighbors," "Loving Ourselves," "Loving Creation," "Loving Our Families," "Loving Our Enemies," "Loving One Greater Than Ourselves," and "Loving What God Loves." That's a whole lotta love!

But, God is a whole lotta love. He loved us enough to sacrifice his only son to redeem our sins. He loved each one of us enough to give you and me a precious and unique gift: the gift of life. God gave each of us a one-of-a-kind, personalized, custom-tailored, purpose-filled life. It is a package that includes good, bad, and ugly stuff. It is a set of challenges and opportunities, tests and rewards, successes and failures, joys and sorrows. It is a package deal. Roses and thorns.

It is easy to be grateful, to give thanks for the roses, for the joys, for those experiences that lift our spirits and give us pleasure, and for the love we receive. Who doesn't feel pleasure holding their newborn child, smelling the ocean mist, listening to the rain on the roof, or tasting strawberries and chocolate? Thanking God for the joys in life is easy.

Then there are the not-so-joyful parts of this gift of life: failed relationships, physical or mental illness, acts of violence, unexpected tragedies, or the feelings of loss and emptiness when a loved one dies. All of these experiences are a part of that same precious gift of life that is wrapped in God's love and presented to each of us. Loving God means loving and being grateful for His gift. If we treat this gift of life in a manner that reflects the love we have for the giver, then every part of it is precious.

Remember the story from Matthew 25 about the three servants who were given the responsibility for various sums of money from the master? We know how that went. As believers, we know that God loves us and that our love for him is shown in the way we handle the gift of life and by how we value the lives of others ... all others. We honor Him by being good stewards of our gift of life and by serving the needs of others.

We know how to finish the sentence, "For God so loved the world that He...." But do we know how to finish this sentence: "For I so loved God that ..."? / Jerry Poteat

You will find the video of this talk here.

Our acolyte team will have their final preseason rehearsal this Sunday, September 1, at 12:30, directly after the traditional worship service. They will resume their role in the 11:00 traditional worship service the following Sunday, September 8.

The Sanctuary Handbell Choir is counting on you to count with us! Our bells add an element to worship that can't be duplicated. We are looking for a few more regulars and a couple of substitutes. We practice from 6:15 to 7:15 on Wednesday evenings in room 212 upstairs, and we play for the late worship service about once a month. If you can read music, that's great, but we can teach you how. Some coordination and the ability to count are what matters. Please email or call Bob Greene ( [email protected], 276-696-9091) to talk about joining this fun-loving group.

Don't miss the orientation for Fairmount Elementary School's Reading Buddies program at 6:00 tonight, Thursday, August 29, in the Fellowship Hall. The goal of the Reading Buddies program is to build a positive relationship with a child. No previous teaching experience is required. For more information, contact Kay Ward at 423-652-9251 or visit www.readingbuddiesbristol.org.

The Children's Ministries will hold a Parents' Night Out from 6:00 to 8:30 on Friday, September 6, in the Education Wing. This event is for newborns through sixth graders. Please let Lilly Osborne know the number and ages of the children you will bring so that she can provide dinner and materials for all of them. To sign up, email Lilly at [email protected], call or text her at 423-383-5476, or use the Children's Ministries Facebook page.

FPC needs a volunteer or two to answer the phone and the doorbell from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. We can work around your schedule, however, if you want to be here earlier, at 12:00 or 12:30, for example. If you can help regularly or even occasionally, or if you'd like more information, please call the church office at 423-764-7176. Thank you!

By the time Labor Day arrives, Randy Cook (August 28 -31) should be relaxing after dashing in and out of the rain to mow the lawn for Sunday, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Fred Harkleroad (September 4 -7) will prepare the lawn for the events of the following week, which will introduce the first Parents' Night Out of the new program year.

On Sunday a group of our Fusion kids (fifth and sixth graders) had a splashing good time in the pool. There could have been more sun, but we made our own! Thank you so much to T eresa and David Mills for hosting us! Parents and kids, stay tuned for information on our September outing!

Please mark your calendars for this year's Fairmount Neighborhood Trunk or Treat. It will take place at Fairmount Elementary School on Thursday, October 24, at 5:00 p.m. Sam Weddington already has his costume, and Linda Welch is brainstorming new car-decorating ideas. Put on your thinking cap, don your witch's hat, put a bee in your bonnet. It's planning time!

	Gerald Near

Sunday's music: Our anthem this week is "Now the Silence, Now the Peace" with music by Gerald Near (b. 1942) and lyrics by Jaroslav Vajda (1919 -2008). It explores the meaning of the Holy Eucharist and emphasizes the temporality of our experience. The first half is a series of phrases that begin with "now" and explain what happens as we take the elements. The second half contains phrases that all begin with "then" and explain what will happen after we receive, and how that process will transform us. It is a contemplative piece in the Neo-Romantic style with rich harmonies in the organ and a soaring descant in the sopranos.

Near was a composition student of Leo Sowerby at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and also studied composition at the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota. He is now Choirmaster and Cantor at Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Over the past four decades works by Near have been commissioned and premiered many times at conventions and events of the American Guild of Organists. Vajda was a Lutheran minister and hymnist known for writing and translating more than 200 hymns that appear in more than 65 hymnals worldwide.

	Benjamin Culli

Organist's footnotes: Benjamin M. Culli (b. 1975) is a composer and church musician now serving as organist at Peace Lutheran Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin. He lives with his family in Milwaukee, where he is senior keyboard publications editor at Hal Leonard. Culli studied music education at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. Utilizing his experience directing high school and elementary school bands, a children's choir, and an adult handbell choir, he has composed music for organ, choir, chamber ensembles, and concert bands.

Sunday, September 1

9:00 a.m.       Worship, Fellowship Hall

10:10 a.m.     Sunday School

10:30 p.m.     Sanctuary Choir, Room 202

11:00 a.m.     Worship, Sanctuary

12:30 p.m.     Acolytes' Final Rehearsal, Sanctuary

6:00 p.m.       Student Fellowship, Fellowship Hall

Monday, September 2

Church offices closed for Labor Day

Tuesday, September 3

10:00 a.m.     Staff Meeting, Room 117

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

6:30 p.m.       Board of Deacons, Rooms 117 & 123

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

Wednesday, September 4

5:15 p.m.       Baby & Toddler Care, Rooms 34 - 37

5:30 p.m.       Fellowship Dinner, Fellowship Hall

6:00 p.m.       Wednesday Night Kids

6:00 p.m.       Middle School Gathering

6:00 p.m.       High School Small Groups

6:15 p.m.       Adult Enrichment

6:15 p.m.       Handbell Practice, Room 212

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

7:15 p.m.       Worship Team, Fellowship Hall

Thursday, September 5

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

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

Friday, September 6

6:00 p.m.       Parents' Night Out, Education Wing

Church Officers
Class of 2019	Class of 2020	Class of 2021
ELDERS
Anna Booher	Nancy Allerton	Ann Abel
Lee Galliher	Rebecca Beck	Randy Cook
Pete Holler	David Hyde	John Graham
Han Ong	Jordan Pennington	Katie McInnis
Pete Stigers	Jerry Poteat	John Vann
DEACONS
Sujean Bradley	Blake Bassett	Fred Harkleroad
George Linke	Rhonda Comer	Matt Kingsley
Greg Roberts	Ron Fox	Lisa McClain
Nate Sproles	Brenda Lawson	Drew Rice
Bill Whisnant	Barbara Thompson	Joyce Samuel
TRUSTEES
Nancy Cook	Peggy Hill	Jack Butterworth