JUST INCREDIBLE...
MUSIC IN THE VALE 2023 was INCREDIBLE! The weather was perfect. The music was beautiful. Where else can you hear country ballads, sing along praise songs, and an Irish band in the same event ... and that was just a few of the extremely talented musicians who so graciously shared their talent with us. Did you realize that we had artists travel from Alabama and Georgia because they wanted to be a part of MIV. And the food - delicious! For the first time since I can remember, we went through all the burgers (over 100), all the bar-b-que (thank you Olan), and most of the hot dogs. And the desserts - scrumptious. We do not know the actual number who attended but it was the best attendance that I remember. There was a great mix of all ages, and people constantly coming and going. My guessamation would be between 250-300 (or more). And the furthest a guest came - Washington State! (Thanks Charity for sharing your family with us.) Please note, to make this day so special and successful it took the involvement of many. And you stepped up!! In most churches and organizations 20% of the people do 80% of the work. At FCC I believe 90% of the people do 99% of the work!
Saturday, one of my favorite sights was watching the many children run and play. And my favorite sound (and there was a lot of beautiful music) was the laughter heard by so many enjoying the day. Our goal of MIV was to "love on" our neighbors and share the love of Christ. FCC I would have to say "well done Church Family!"
Also, last Saturday morning, while preparing for a wedding and MIV, I received a text from Susan Schuster stating that Dave had to go to the hospital. They were not sure what was going on. This past week Dave went through a series of tests in a variety of areas of health. We are still not exactly sure what occurred, but his test came back with good results, and he was finally able to go home on Friday. Thank God for the good report and the excellent care that he received. Let's keep Dave and Susan in our prayers. We are praying for a complete, strong recovery. I have asked them to let us know how we can help. And we will definitely continue to pray.
Speaking of prayer, as we were tearing down and putting up after MIV last Saturday, I walked by our renovated (work in progress) Prayer Garden. The solar accent lights and lighted fountain accentuated the beautiful mums and plants in the Garden. The soft sound of the water was so calming and refreshing. Again, thank you to all involved in making this beautiful part of our facility so inviting.
Last Saturday was definitely a very full day at FCC. Not only did we have our largest attendance at our biggest outreach event of the year, we also had a wedding in the Worship Center on Saturday morning. All involved in the wedding were so impressed and thankful for our Church and Church Family. Of course I invited all to join us for MIV and at FCC. And I believe the The marrying couple would, except that they are extremely active with the "Church in the City" in Franklin. They were hoping to have their wedding in a beautiful, special place. And they did. (They were so thankful and appreciative for the opportunity.)
And speaking of water, (the fountain in the Prayer Garden), please pray for rain. Lots of nice, wet, water from the heavens! Our area is in a drought. There is a no burn ban. The rivers are low. We need a good steady, thirst quenching rain. During MIV we had to share with our guests about our dry situation. Everyone was so understanding. Thank you to all who helped to better the lack of water situation. (A special thanks to my bride, Patti, who literally went and bought every gallon of water from Walmart and Publix). On Sunday morning, not only did you show up for Bible Study and Worship with your Bibles, you brought gallons of water. And many of you repeated this act of wet kindness on Wednesday night. Thank you! We will keep you posted on our progress - but keep praying. Pray too that we have the wisdom to make any changes, if needed, to strengthen our ongoing water situation.
Finally, last Sunday's Worship was so special. I loved the simplicity of, as Pastor Lee called it, our time of "Restoration Worship". Just like the entire weekend, it was special. Let's keep this wonderful momentum of FCC going. So, I hope to see you on Sunday. We will be wrapping up our look at the Epistles of John by focusing on 3 John. Again, Thank You!! Remember...
YOU ARE LOVED!
Pastor Lonnie
(You can reach Pastor Lonnie by calling or text 615-496-2502 or send an email to lonniecastle@gmail.com)