It’s time to knock off those summer schedule cobwebs and rally together for FPC and Griffin this fall! We need you! There is a lot to be excited about at FPC. We welcome Hannah Lentz to our staff as the new Director of Children and Youth Ministries. I cannot wait to see what God will do through Hannah. She really loves the Lord and she is ready to love your kids and grandkids. We have new Sunday School classes planned, mission opportunities in the commu-nity, and of course, worship on Sunday morning will be better than ever. Be excited with us and join us every week! Also, invite a friend to help us grow. We are learning about joy in our study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He loves you. He loves us. He loves our community. He is with us always. Let the joy of this truth overflow! “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6).

Pastor Drew

Philippians 1:3-6

NEWS

August 2018

Pastor Drew’s Views: We Need You!

Website: www.fpcgriffin.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/FPCGriffin

Summer hours ENDING

The FPC Sunday morning schedule will return to regular times

on Sunday, August 5th. 9:45 – 10 a.m. Coffee fellowship 10 – 10:45 a.m. Sunday School for all ages 11 a.m. Worship

Mission, Outreach, & Evangelism

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Jesus said “Go”, so let’s GO! Here are some opportunities to serve together with unconditional “agape” love (sign ups in the Narthex or just call the church office):

Rushton’s Hope We will serve the homeless again at Rushton’s Hope on Sat. September 1st. . We will not prepare the meal this time, but we will help serve one. We will also serve in the clothes closet and simply share the love of Jesus! Sign-ups in the Narthex.

Abundant Life Soup Kitchen

We will serve together again at the soup kitchen on Tuesday, August 21st,from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. If you haven’t tried this yet, it is a great opportunity to serve in our community with the love of Christ and also get the word out about who we are.

Futral Road School We are reaching out to our neighbors at FPC. This includes our next door neigh-bors Futral Road Elementary school, Stepping Stones, Spalding High School and The Woods. We served lunch to the teachers and staff of Futral Road on July 30th during their planning period. Praise God! If you would like to get involved at Futral Road, or with any of our other neighbors, please let us know.

Ideas for service in the community?

We are always looking for new ideas to serve in the community. If you have an idea from the Lord, let us know.

Here’s a quote: “We’ve been here for 20 years this year and many of you have stood along-side us for many, if not all of those years! We appreciate very much your important role in the work of this ministry.” – Doug and Roberta Moore (River of Life Romania)

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Cereal Sunday

The first Sunday of each month, FPC Griffin has the honor to participate in "CEREAL SUNDAY". We ask members to bring bags or boxes of dry cereal and place them in the grocery cart located in the Narthex, near the wing of the Chil-dren's hall. This FOOD PANTRY ministry provides many poor and homeless indi-viduals a nutritious meal that can either be eaten dry or with milk. Please bring ce-real on August 5th.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD (OCC) SHOEBOXES

Collection Week is November 12-19, 2018

CONTINUE COLLECTING ITEMS FOR THE SHOEBOXES! Samaritan’s Purse has a calendar of items to collect each month. January was Hats, Gloves and Scarves. February was Accessories, which includes: sunglasses, hair ties and/or clips, and princess crowns. (Remember: little girls, ages 2-4 and 5-9, love the princess crowns.) March was Quality Crafts: for example, knit hats, drawstring bags, finger puppets. April was stuffed animals. May was hygiene items: tooth-

brush, comb, washcloth, soap. Remember: no liquids (shampoo, lotions) and no toothpaste. June was toys (soccer ball and pump are a great WOW! item) and July was clothing (socks, t-shirts, flip flops, sandals, etc.). Flip flops are in the dollar stores. August is school supplies. They are every-where! Griffin-Spalding Schools Open House is August 2. School starts August 6. Look for great bar-gains on these items. For more information, go to www.samaritanspurse.org/operationchristmaschild; or contact Debbie Hammond.

In July, we delivered 26 boxes of cereal, 2 canned items, 1 jar of grape jelly, and jars of peanut butter to the food pantry.

Frontier Fellowship

Cody Watson visited us in July and delivered a

message on the Great Commission. If you missed it

you might want to listen for it on our website! He

also mentioned an opportunity for anyone who is

interested. He will be leading a visioning trip to

India in January.

So far he has 8 people going with him. The only one from our Presbytery is the pastor of the

Douglasville church. The trip is Jan. 7-17, 2019. The trip will be an opportunity to meet with

church planters and to participate in the annual Training Conference for church planting.

You will worship in House churches and hear testimonies of God's faithfulness. This is a

great opportunity to experience the movement of God in India as

thousands are coming to Jesus! Cody will lead the trip. For more information: Cody Watson:

cwatson@frontierfellowship.com or Paul Petersen: docpmp@aol.com

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Congregational Care Wow! Where has the summer gone? Since school begins August 6 and we have multiple upcoming activities, we will not have a potluck this month. The first one will be September 12.

Peaches!

Eleven folks went to Dickey Farms in Musella July 16 to get peaches and most delicious peach ice cream!! You missed a treat! We enjoyed a ride in the country and a stop at The Garden Patch All You Can Eat Res-taurant in Barnesville for lunch.

Rally Day

Sunday, August 12, we will be helping Christian Education and Youth and Young Adult Ministry Teams with Rally Day. Plan on staying for lunch after church.

August Meal Coordinator is Lynn Mitchell.

Bullets & Barbecue

Tuesday, August 14, the Men of the Church are in-vited to Russell Johnson’s at 6p.m. for Bullets and BBQ. Make plans to attend for fun, good food and great fellowship!

Note: Please look on the office window for posters announcing community events that might be of interest. The Newsletter is displayed on the big bulletin board across from the office.

Check out the news and what’s going on at FPC!

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Darlene Chipman Pruitt Health Monroe

4796 Highway 42 North Forsyth, GA 31209

Richard & Jane Gaston

1809 Maple Drive Griffin, GA 30224

Joyce Jones

1203 Oxford Drive Griffin, GA 30224

Ione Kelly 3223 Newnan Rd., P-9

Griffin, GA 30223

Donna Krepps 1705 Oak Knoll Road

Griffin, GA 30223

Marty Lang 201 Crosstown Drive

Peachtree City, GA 30269

Anne Mixon Brightmoor Assisted Living

3223 Newnan Rd. Griffin, GA 30223

Michael & Maggie Rockholt 1211 Pebble rock Road Hampton, GA 30228

Richard Turner

929 Springer Drive Griffin, GA 30224

Louise Upole

Brightmoor Assisted Living 3223 Newnan Rd, Room M9

Griffin, GA 30223

Here is a list of our members who are not able to get out and about. Remember them in your prayers, send them a card, give them a call, drop by to visit.

Let’s don’t forget them!

Attention, Ladies of the Church!

There are two upcoming events you might be interested in attending.

Laura Story (Laura Mixon Story Elvington-Bill Mixon’s great niece) will present a morning of worship sharing stories and music Sat-urday, August 11, from 10a.m-12p.m. at First Baptist Church in Griffin. She wrote and recorded “Blessings”, her popular Gram-my Award-winning song to encourage all of us to trust God and worship Him through good times and the bad. Her new album, Open Hands, continues encouraging listeners to worship God with surrendering hearts. Some members may have read her book, When God Doesn’t Fix It: Lessons You Never Wanted to Learn, Truths You Can’t Live Without. She will be sharing stories and music in Morgan Hall at First Baptist. There is no cost but seating is limited and registration is required. Go to fbcgriffin.org and click on the Laura Story box.

Soul Cry with Pam Jenkins will be Saturday, November 10, at Rock Springs Church, Milner, GA. Pam Jenkins, author and Bible Teacher is the Key Note Speaker with special guest speaker, Pas-tor Courtney Wall of Rock Springs Church. The day will be all about the Soul and the God who radically pursues it. Registration is at 8a.m.; the Conference is from 9a.m. to 3p.m. Tickets are $25, which includes breakfast and lunch and all confer-ence events that day. Tickets may be purchased online at www.jabbokministries.com or at event-

brite.com/soul cry. If no tickets are available, please contact Ruth Allison.

Christian Education

August Church-wide Memory Verse

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good:

for His lovingkindness is everlasting."

Psalm 136:1

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1st

and 3rd

is back!

Men! We will meet at Chick-fil-a again starting in August on the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 8 a.m. (Taylor Street). Join us August 6th and 20th for fellowship, a short devotional and prayer.

What's Happening in Hope Town?

This month we're going all the way back to the beginning! That's right. We will stand in the wings and watch as God, in three persons, creates the world. We will see that God loves creation, that He says it is good, that He wants us to take care of His cre-ation, and that God wants us to love and care for one another. We will also explore what we can learn about God from the Creation. What an imagination He has! Is anything impossible with God? No! Join us each Sunday for an action packed look at the event that started it all!

Men’s Pancake Breakfast

The men’s pancake breakfast will resume in September with

this great opportunity for pancakes and fellowship!

End of Summer Big Splash Bash On Saturday, September 8, we will be hosting an exciting outreach event for the entire church and for our neighbors! And we need you.

There will be water games, dry games, and even indoor games - something for everyone!

So start planning your picnic dinner, think about people to invite, and watch for further details and sign-up sheets.

Looking Ahead...

Griffin Bible Study

9 9 12

Griffin Bible Study will begin again on August 22nd at 9:30 a.m. This Fall we will study Exodus! The teachers will be Katie Buckles, Jane Burke, Cin-dy Baynham, Ina Jones and Susannah Goodman. Our Study book is edited by J.I. Packer. We ask for those who are able to give a donation of $10 or $20. This pays for the book and allows us to provide nursery care. Wednesday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 please join us as we learn more about God's faithfulness and mercy!

Rally Day Round-Up!

It's here again - another shiny new year of Sunday school. Sun-

day school may seem like just a part of the past in these busy

days filled with work, to-do lists, and family activities, but it is

still the best way to grow relationships and to grow in wisdom

and knowledge of the Lord.

That's why we are challenging you to make this special hour in

your week a priority, and that's why we're kicking it off in style!

Join us on Sunday, August 12 right after church for a fellowship meal and some fun activi-

ties, and hear all about the great offerings we have for you!

We are providing the fried chicken and desserts and ask that you bring a side dish to share.

So put on your best cowboy duds, round up your posse,

and join us after church on August 12. Yee-haw!

Under Construction

The new adult Sunday morning classes are in development. You do not want to miss any of the choices, but sadly, you can go to only one unless you’ve found a way to violate the laws of physics.

Make sure to come to Rally Day on the twelfth of August to hear about all these exciting opportunities!

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Meeting Jesus at His Table

What exactly is happening when we come to the Lord’s table and celebrate the sacrament of Communion? This is one of those issues about which Christians disagree passionately. We can think of all the many understand-ings of the sacrament as falling into three groups. First, there are a lot of Christians who think that the action of the Supper is only horizontal, involving the com-munity’s act of memorializing the death of Jesus. These people think that Jesus is present when they enact the Lord’s Supper exactly the same way He’s always present. The special thing about the Supper is that we’re re-membering how much Jesus loved us on Calvary. These people tend to be the most casual about how they han-dle the bread and wine or juice, not feeling that the elements require any particular reverence or care. They are likely to celebrate the Lord’s Supper only a few times a year, but when they do they generally welcome every-one who is present at the service without distinction. Most non-denominational churches, most Pentecostals, and most Baptist churches belong in this group. Second, there are even more Christians who think that the action of the Supper involves the presence of Jesus being dispersed into the world. The motion of the sacrament is vertical, coming down from heaven and being spread around into all parts of creation. These people think that Jesus is present in a special way when they cele-brate the sacrament, and it’s a way that validates the worth of the material world. Since Jesus is really present in the bread and the wine, these people tend to be the most reverent about how they handle the elements. They will celebrate the Lord’s Supper (or, as they are more likely to call it, the Eucharist) every week, and some of them will even celebrate every day because they see the sacrament as so vital to their spiritual well-being. Catholics, Lutherans, and some Anglicans belong in this group. Presbyterians and other Reformed Christians belong to a third group, along with Eastern Orthodox Christians. That may seem an odd grouping, since those in the Presbyterian/Reformed tradition and those who are Eastern Orthodox disagree about many other things, but it’s the truth. These two traditions both teach that the action of the Supper is vertical, but not because Jesus comes down. Rather, when we share the bread and the cup, we are all gathered up to be united with Jesus in heaven. He doesn’t move; we do. Those of us in this group believe that Jesus ascended as a fully human person, complete with His human body, which is now—mysteriously—in heaven, which is why His body cannot be passed around in the world. That’s not how human bodies behave. It’s very important that the incarnation of Jesus continues so that He can be our High Priest and mediator, and so it’s important to say that his body is still a human body with a location. Even if the way His resurrected body is located in space is now different that it was before the resurrection, it’s different in a way that’s proper to an embodied, human creature. At the same time, people in this third group think that Jesus is really present in the celebration of communion in a way that is more direct than His everyday presence. In Communion, the bread and the cup become for us a sort of door that the Holy Spirit opens in order to lead us into the presence of Jesus in heaven, so that our human nature gets joined to His in order to be made like Him. For those of us who take this view, it will make sense to have communion regularly, since it is such an important way to nurture our faith and our likeness to Jesus. This is why John Calvin wanted to have Communion every week. One difference between Presbyterian/Reformed Christians and Eastern Orthodox Christians concerns how we understand the elements. Eastern Orthodox Christians think that the bread and the wine function much like icons do in Orthodox worship, as signs that give access to what is signified, and so the elements should be treat-ed very respectfully. Presbyterians think that the access isn’t so much in the piece of bread or in the juice or the wine, but rather in the action of eating and drinking. The elements are only holy while we are eating and drink-ing them. It still makes sense to show some respect for the elements, the way we do for lots of special items that we use in church. The truth is that over the years many Presbyterians lost this understanding of the sacrament, even though it is part of our tradition. There are a lot of Presbyterian and Reformed congregations that celebrate communion as if they are members of group one, the memorialist group. But our Book of Confessions is absolutely clear that we do not belong to group one. We believe in the real presence of Jesus in the sacrament of communion, and we believe that the Holy Spirit uses communion to unite us to Jesus in a special way. When Jesus told us to eat of His body and drink of His blood, we believe He meant we should be deeply and truly united to Him through this sacrament. Our Essential Tenets describe Communion in this way. Our ECO polity encourages us to find ways to celebrate the sacrament of the Supper more often, which I think is one of the most lovely aspects of our new life together. I hope that sessions and presbyteries will have many conversations about how best to use this new freedom in ways that honor our sacramental theology and increase our access to this gift that Jesus left with us.

The Reverend Doctor Laura A. Smit

Worship

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Summer is almost over and it was a HOT one for sure!

We hope you enjoyed the lovely refreshments on the patio (most days/there was an occasional rain-out) be-fore Sunday School and Church. The Worship Ministry Team would like to thank the following people that made this fellowship possible: Debbie Hammond, Kim and Leah Slaughter, Becki and Tim Brown, Evelyn Ingram, Mimi Johnson, Diane and Bob Gordon, Ruth Allison, Martha Dennis, and Cindy and Tom Baynham. A special thanks to Bonnie Pfrogner for arriving early to set up the coffee and juice and Kim Slaughter who helped as well. Hope you enjoyed it. Christians are "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works”. (Ephesians 2:10) As follow-ers of Christ, we emulate His love and compassion when we show hospitality.

On July 11, the Worship Ministry Team hosted a Workday to organize the Tartans for the Kirkin' o’ the Tartan Day and to 'deep clean' the sanctuary. Everything was dusted and vacuumed and polished and scratches touched-up. Many thanks to Lou Baldwin who identified the tar-tans by clan name earlier and to Evelyn Ingram who made embroidered labels for each tartan. They are beautiful. Bill Johnson and Diane Gordon attached the labels, alphabetized the tartans and took pictures for a future Tartan Directory. Those attending got to meet Hannah Lentz, our new Director of Children and Youth Ministries. She and Millie joined us for a salad luncheon. The workers present were: Debbie Hammond, Evelyn Ingram, Ruth Allison, Tim Brown, Ina Jones, Bill Johnson, and Diane and Bob Gordon. There was joyous laughter and the scent of Murphy's Oil Soap in the air! We also greatly appreciate Joyce and George Kirby for polishing the piano and organ this summer.

Your current Worship Ministry Team consists of Pastor Drew Elling, Sylvia Hollums, Joyce Kirby, Debbie Hammond, Pat Brown, Evelyn Ingram, Dianne Pinson, Tom Baynham , Bill Johnson, co-chair and Diane Gordon, co-chair. We meet on the first Monday of the month in the church library at 12:00. Our next meeting is August 06, 2018. We would welcome your attendance and any suggestions that you may have to enhance the worship experience at First Presbyterian will be openly received. Diane Gordon Worship Ministry Team Co-Chairman

Prayer from the Heidelberg Catechism

LORD of the harvest, it's not a question of 'if' anything is growing in my life but 'what." Help me to know that the root of what I see in my life is found in the quiet planting of thoughts, words, looks, desires, and gestures. Guide me to examine those quiet, hidden places of my life and to sow the Spirit, so that my life contributes to the growth of your good kingdom, for all to see and enjoy. Amen

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Children

For Kindergarten through

5th grade

Blast Calling all KIDS!

What? - BLAST

When? - August 5th

What Time? - 4:00-5:00

It’s going to be...well, you know...a BLAST!

Thank you Laura Kirby!

Laura has done an amazing job helping us in the transition time as our Summer Intern. One of her biggest accomplishments was being such an im-portant part of our best Sports Camp yet (50 kids!). Laura has shared her gifts and talents in a variety of ways to serve God and build up FPC. We will miss her when she starts school at West Georgia in August. Thanks again Laura!

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Facilities

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It is always smart to wear sunglasses outdoors, but WHOA, put them on when you enter the kitchen in the activities building! Another great job of floor waxing, remov-ing, cleaning, and replacing the equipment and appliances was done by a group of hard working volunteers and our floor crew! Fresh paint has been applied to the east side of the activities building with more paint-ing to be done in the near future. (Hint, hint; we need volunteers for slated projects.)

All the carpets and rugs in the main building have been cleaned except for the sanctuary. Emergency exit push bars have been installed on the side doors of the sanctuary through a gener-ous donation. Funds were received from the sale of the bus to replace some broken and needed sound equipment. Please note; improvements to our facility are financially supported by generous donations ABOVE tithes and offerings. No improvement projects are budgeted for. Only basic repairs come out of the budgeted monies. We are already in the red due to roof and water pipe leaks, freezer, refrigera-tor and ice maker repairs, and the replacement of a broken window. Other repairs are completed by our members who provide their free labor and the only cost is the actual cost of the materials. It takes a lot of work to maintain our facility. We don’t think about changing filters or batteries, trou-bleshooting HVAC issues, repairing leaks, replacing light bulbs, and other items that “suddenly” need repaired. If you see things that require attention, please ask Millie for a repair form to submit. We will look at it as soon as practicable. Please thank Roger and Linda Soons, Joe Bailey, Ralph Jones, Sharon Day and George Kirby for their hard work as they give countless hours of their time so that our church is operational and pleasing to attend.

Chairs

Children’s wooden chairs are still available. “Good” ones are $10.00 each and those needing repairs $2.50. Please get yours as soon as possible. Proceeds go toward missions.

Second Mile Projects

If you are willing to make a generous designated donation to our church, we have a “SECOND MILE” notebook in the office with suggested projects. If you would like to donate for another cause, please talk with Michael Biddle or Roger Soons. Thank you!

Join Us!!

We are in need of additional Facilities committee members. If you are interest-ed in serving, please contact Michael Biddle.

Youth

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Base Camp

Several of our youth went to BASE CAMP July 16 – 20 at Rock Eagle 4-H camp. Our new Director of Children and Youth Minis-tries, Hannah Lentz, also went for the week along with Laura Kirby.

Welcome Hannah Lentz!

We welcome Hannah Lentz as our new Director of Children and Youth Ministries at FPC. Hannah has already started and is raring to go! Hannah loves Jesus and is passionate about leading young people to Him! She brings an extensive background in children and youth ministry. This includes summer camp counseling at SuperWow and Impact and a variety of roles at her church in Fayette-ville. She served as an intern at Harps Cross-ing Baptist Church in 2012. Her pastor at Harps Crossing spoke about her in glowing terms. She has a strong, innovative teaching style, and she loves God’s Word! Hannah is a self-described Reformed Baptist. One of her favorite teachers is R.C. Sproul. She is super excited about this opportunity and getting to know her new church family. Make sure to say “Hi” as soon as you can. Praise God for His provision!

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Things are changing in the PYF group! We have a new fearless leader (Hannah

Lentz- that’s me) who is bringing some fresh new ideas, so make sure to tell

your friends to come check it all out!

Important Things to Know:

* To end the summer, PYF had a pool party July 29, 2018 at Mimi and Russell

Johnson’s home starting at 5:00pm.

*PFY Sunday school on July 29th, 2018 began diving into 1 Peter 1

*PYF Sunday evening will be walking through the book Visual Theology – focusing

on what the Gospel is, Our Identity in Christ and many other topics starting at

5pm on August 5th, 2018.

We serve in August

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Just a reminder

The church leadership team/staff meets most Tuesday mornings from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm.

The office closes at noon every Friday.

August Elder in Charge

Bill Johnson

Church Hour Nursery Age Limits

The nursery during the church hour is for

children in Pre-K and below. No child older

than 4 should be in there. This is for the

safety of our toddlers.

Thanks for your cooperation,

Your CE Ministry Team

Communion Servers August 5th (Intinction)

Debbie Hammond, Capt. Bill Day

Wendi Kirby Jim Skinner Bill Baldwin Lou Baldwin

Bonnie Pfrogner

August Children’s Message

August 5 - no children’s message August 12 - Drew Elling August 19 - Diane Gordon August 26 - Wendi Kirby

August Ushers

Pat Brown, Capt. Robert Webster Elizabeth Webster Tiffany Doran Bob Gordon, Alt.

Church Nursery Volunteers (age 2 - 4 year olds)

August

5 - Jim & Christy Skinner

12 - Stewart and Allison Esary

19 - Wayne and Patti Boylan

26 - Mike and Wendy Biddle

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Dates & Stuff

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Session meetings

The next regular Session meeting will be Sunday, August 26th, after worship. The next regular Session prayer meeting will be Sunday, August 12, at 9:15 am.

Communion will be served on August 5th.

August Anniversaries

8/4/2012 - Denny & Kacie Jones 8/6/1983 - Tom & Cindy Baynham 8/13/1955 - John & Dorothy Craig 8/15/1993 - John & Ruth Allison

8/28/1965 - Roger & Linda Soons August Birthdays

2 - Jane Bailey 4- Todd Thacker 6 - Drew Tingle 8 - Herb Ziegler

11 - Martha Dennis 11 - Maggie Jones

12 - Ione W. Kelley 14 - Juantia Sadder 15 - Kyle Johnson 16 - Jayden Hamby 17 - Belinda Stapp 18 - Janice Aiken

18 - Jennifer Elling 20 - Bradley Hamby 24 - Camille Berry

26 - Matthew Doran 27 - Linda Soons

28 - Rachel Bailey 29 - Cindy Baynham

30 - Carter Esary 31 - Ted Spencer

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Newsletter deadline for September is August 20th .

1349 Macon Road Griffin, GA 30224

Our App is available on Android & Apple devices!!

Download The First Presbyterian Griffin App:

http://www.livingforthejoy.com/app_download/fpg

Thanks to Ed Springer, Jr. for our app!

The Women of the Church Bible Study, taught by Camille Berry, will meet in the Traylor Room

at 10:15 on the second Tuesday of each month, beginning on September 11th.

Please note that the day has changed from last year. All ladies are welcome and encouraged to participate.