By Rosie Moore

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it.” Reverend Charles Michael Mills uttered these words nearly every Sunday to his congregation for many years. He recently retired as pastor of Fairmont Presbyterian church after a long pastorate of sixteen years. He also served as pastor in churches in Kentucky and Indiana. He is a native of Evansville, Indiana and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a graduate of the University Louisville with a cum laude degree in  English Literature. He is a member of the Woodcock Society of the University of Louisville which is the equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated in the top 1% of his class.

He received a Master of Divinity degree from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary receiving the Anderson Fellowship for General Promise in the Ministry. Further study was  done at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville and Princeton Divinity School.

To add to his accomplishments he is also the author of David, Lion and Lamb, From Dusk to Dawn, and Dirty Hands, Pure Heart. He is the past president of the New Albany, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, Civil War Roundtable. For several years he was the editor   of the Adjutants Call, a monthly Civil War  newsletter. He is a Kentucky colonel.

He met his wife, Dalinda, in Clarksville, Indiana, where he was minister of Grace Presbyterian church and where her mother and sisters were members. They started talking about books and discovered they liked the same things. They married in 1980. In 1998 they came to Fairmont in Knoxville. She has shown bravery and courage during her health problems.

He was undecided between becoming an English or History teacher but due to his church work he decided he could be of better use to others in the parish ministry. His love of church work was prompted by his parents. They were active in the church serving in various church offices.  His sister, Linda,  has been excellent teacher of high school students. He is  aware of world affairs and interested in politics, and a rabid sports fan. He and Dalinda enjoy the antics of their cats, Buttons and Molly.

I was somewhat wary to write about this prolific and charismatic person that I was privileged to know in my life. I hope I did him justice  in this article. He is fondly remembered by the congregation at Fairmont and sadly missed.

As we know, life is full of changes, How we grasp them, with fortitude or dispassionately, determines our  outlook on life. Reverend Mills hopes to make guest appearances in the future. Good future,  Reverend  Mike!

Thought for the day: When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.   John Ruskin

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