There is hope for your future, says the Lord:
your children shall come back to their own country.

Jeremiah 31:17

I'm a parent, and these days, that means worry. I'm worried about the start of the new school year. Will the kids be able to go back? Won't they? Will there be sports? Can we parents take another semester or so of in-home, online instruction?

As I think about this, my worry extends to their teachers and the staff of our various school systems. I know the past few months have probably driven each of them to the edge of sanity as they try to comply with all the mandates coming down, as well as try their best to care for their students. And then those same teachers also have to carry the burden of worry for their own kids.

I'm also a pastor, and I share this worry over our church family. I could go on....

It's here that we need the witness of Scripture and the inspiration of the Spirit to pierce our veil of worry and anxiety. We need to hear God's Word of life, and Jeremiah gives it to us. These words were initially given to the children of Israel as they faced the dual terrors of the destruction of Jerusalem and their deportation from Babylon. Jeremiah's words gave respite to God's people amidst the cutting words of judgment that often mark his message. In short, chapter 31 is filled with words of assurance.

Although it seems unlikely, and even more difficult to discern amidst the voices coming out of Ramah (Jeremiah 31:15), there is a direction, there is a purpose, and there is a redemption awaiting God's people beyond hope's edge. It is more than a desire, and so much more than wishful thinking and hopeful prognostication. God tells his people in verse 17 that no matter what comes, we will have a future, and that future is fulfilled in ways that exceed our paltry hopes and desires.

We are people of promise, and that promise extends to our children, and our children's children. Just as Israel would be remade and re-established, so too will we emerge on the other side of this present string of disasters and the collapse of our provisional plans, and we will stand. We will remain a blessing as we seek new ways to bless our neighbors.

I see the seeds of this future in the plans being laid now for the return of the Boys & Girls Club. I saw them Sunday as our Senior Class gave a powerful witness to Christ's lordship over their lives, and to the role this church has played in their spiritual development. I see them on your faces when we are able to come together, faces that still find ways to laugh and smile, though we really have every excuse to cry.

The place beyond the edge of hope might look dark and terrible, and full of unknown terrors. However, I believe that beyond that edge lies the future God has prepared for us. Yes, it is dark because it is presently unknown to us, but in God's time, it will be revealed in living color as we come to know as we have already been known by God (1 Cor. 13:12).

God is faithful, and 2020 is no hurdle to a grace that is destined to overcome. There is hope for our future. Thanks be to God!

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

Some of our YouTube users had difficulty streaming our One Worship service last Sunday. We have identified the issue and fixed it. We are so sorry that you could not join us live at the time! We invite you to view that worship service online this week to receive the witness our Senior Class shared Sunday.

Asia Malone, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of the Mountain Empire, sits with Pastor Sam and Dave to sign the lease agreement.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we have repeated one refrain over and over: "Remember, be a blessing!" I am sure that each of us has done our best to be that blessing, doing so in the name of our Lord Jesus. As we bless others, we only pass on the blessing we have received through him. As a church, this has manifested itself in many ways. Our responder teams have reached out to connect with those who are at risk. We opened the Food Pantry back up when it was shut down. We have gathered together, as safely as we could, to support and pray for each other. We've done food collection drive-bys. The list could go on.

Today this call to be a blessing has taken on a new and extremely rich flavor. I am happy to announce that on Tuesday, July 28, First Presbyterian Church became one of the new homes of the Boys & Girls Club in Bristol. This relationship deepens our commitment to kids, especially in the Fairmount region of our city.

This partnership will require us to share space in our educational wing, and while that might present some challenges, we are confident that we can overcome them. Most important, we feel that the presence of the Boys & Girls Club provides a real opportunity to bless our community, and to be blessed by their presence. We ask that you pray that God would open up new doors through this new relationship as we seek to be a blessing in our area.

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

Thank you for your continued prayers, service, and financial commitment to the mission and ministries of First Presbyterian Church. The church has never in our lifetime had such a unique combination of challenges to meet the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of our church family and our local and global partners. Thanks to God's blessings and your faithful giving, our church's outreach and programming have been able to remain at the center of the life of our church family, and despite sheltering in place and social distancing, quarantine, and schedule changes (and changes and changes!), we have been and are connected as a body in Christ.

God's faithfulness and yours have allowed First Presbyterian to responsibly weather the financial seas of the first six months of the year. While total pledges and worship offerings were under budget by about $40,000 through June, expenses were under budget by even more for the same period, thanks to our staff's diligent expense control efforts, which puts us in a "better than budgeted" position as we prepare to face the challenges of the second half of the year. Thanks be to God!

Thank you again for your faithful giving, especially during these unprecedented times. Please contact any member of the Finance Committee or Betsy Galliher in the church office if you have questions. / John Vann

Two more ticks of the calendar and it's August. Our mowing team will not be caught by surprise. David Moore (July 29-August 1) mows the church lawn for the first Sunday in August. Ron Fox (August 5-8) takes over for the second. It's all in such good hands that we can relax and admire their work from a safe distance. Thank you, gentlemen!

	Barrel organs

Of the organ works by the great master Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) 17 sonatas have string accompaniment and the other, smaller pieces are not especially idiomatic for the organ. Mozart composed several pieces for a small mechanical organ called an Orgelwalze, or barrel organ. Our prelude, Andante für eine Orgelwalze, is one of these.

During communion, I will play Adagio, K. 356, which was composed for the glass harmonica, an instrument known since at least the mid-17th century. Benjamin Franklin, during one of stays in Paris, is thought to have applied his famous inventive mind to improving the instrument, making it possible to play simple keyboard music on it. Because the organ is a "continuous sound" instrument, the Adagio lends itself more to it than to any other modern keyboard instrument.

	Glass harmonica

Intrada und Fuge in C - phrygisch, KV 399, (our postlude) was composed for the pipe organ. The Intrada is slow (tempo is marked grave) and dramatic. Then it speeds up ( allegro) with a three-part fugue. The closing bars return to the previous grave for a satisfying conclusion.