1. In accordance with the Sullivan County mandate, those attending church functions are expected to wear a mask. This differs from our previous language of "strongly encouraging" mask usage. Please, follow the direction of the session, and wear your mask. If you do not have a mask, we have plenty on hand for you. Although churches are technically exempt from the state mandate, we feel that this measure helps us protect the health of our community. Those who preach and lead worship may remove masks during portions of worship where they are called upon to lead.
2. Anyone attending church functions sponsored by FPC, including outdoor activities, must practice social distancing of at least six feet. Masks are strongly encouraged for outdoor activities, where possible.
3. Seating in the fellowship hall and sanctuary will return to the wider spacing utilized in Phase I. We will also block off the first four rows in the sanctuary to allow greater distancing between congregants and worship leaders.
4. Everyone is strongly encouraged to stay home from in-person worship or other FPC activities for 14 days if they have:

• tested positive for COVID-19,
• traveled outside the area,
• had close contact with anyone from high risk areas, or
• been around anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Come downtown Saturday, August 1, and help us serve Bristol's poor with Sharing Christ Ministries. FPC folks have generously signed on to donate food, but we still need volunteers to help downtown from 4:30 to around 7:00 p.m. We'd love to welcome a new volunteer or someone who hasn't joined in in a while. If you'd like to help or simply want to know more, please contact Dottie Havlik at [email protected] or 423-956-6747. Sharing Christ is located at the corner of State and Sixth streets.

Believe it or not, schools will be opening and students will return this fall. With this in mind, the Evangelism & Outreach Committee has designated Fairmount Elementary School as our monthlong mission focus. Every Sunday in July we will collect supplies that teachers and students can use as they start the new school year. (See the list above.) You can drop off your donations at either worship service, or bring them to the church Monday through Thursday. If you have questions, please contact Dave Welch.

• Donating 100% cotton sheets (any color)
• Pre-washing and ironing donated sheets and other fabric
• Cutting sheets and other fabric into rectangles according to pattern
• Sewing the masks together (instructions and materials supplied)

We have not heard handbells in our sanctuary since before we heard of COVID-19. This Sunday they will ring our anthem, "Peace Prelude," a beautiful gem by Annette Sims, a composer for whom I regret I have no biographical information. However, both composers of Sunday's organ music are well known for their music for handbells and a host of other genres.

	Michael Helman

Michael Helman (b. 1956) is Director of Music and Organist at Faith Presbyterian Church in Cape Coral, Florida, where he directs the Faith Choir, a graded handbell program for children through adults, and coordinates the church's concert series. Prior to moving to Florida in 2006, Helman was Director of Music and Organist for 15 years at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Wilmington, Delaware. An active composer of handbell, organ, and choral music with numerous pieces in print, he has won nine composition contests and is in demand as a handbell festival director and clinician all over the US. Helman is a past Dean of the Delaware Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, has served on the Board of Area III of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (I got to know him personally when we served together on that board), and is now Southwest Florida District Chair. He has begun two community handbell ensembles: the Wilmington Handbell Ensemble and the Southwest Florida Handbell Ensemble.

	Douglas Wagner

Douglas E. Wagner (b. 1952), a native of Chicago, is an internationally recognized composer and arranger who has served several denominations as a church musician. With 30 years as a secondary school music educator and administrator behind him, he now devotes himself to writing, editing, and allied activities. He is an ASCAP award-winning composer and an editor for a major publishing company. He has published 2,400 titles since 1973, including original works and arrangements for church and school choirs, concert band, orchestra, handbell ensemble, organ, piano, instrumental solo, and voice. Well over 14 million copies of his music have been sold. Performances of Wagner's music have been noted in concert settings and on television and radio broadcasts in the US, as well as on concert programs and broadcasts in 26 foreign countries. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, Sandy, a professional artist and music engraver, to whom he dedicated his "Fanfare and Processional." I'll eat my hat if he didn't compose it for their wedding!