August Church Update

Whew July and August we a whirlwind at the church weren't they? We were busy with the July 4th potluck, game night, Free Indeed Concert, National Night Out and VBP! It felt good to get back into the more normal rhythms of church life. Fortunately, church life continues this fall. Don't forget Sunday is a Family Sunday! The kids will be worshipping with us in the sanctuary. The children can sit with the children's workers so that parents can worship. Or the kids can sit with the parents, whatever parents decide. This week, however, we will also be bringing back the children's moment. This is something I am SUPER excited about. This coming Tuesday, August 24 is our first "Cottage Prayer Meeting." This is a time to pray for the church and its ministries. We will be gathering at Brent and Janis Metz' house. Maps will be in the bulletin on Sunday for those who need it. Wednesday night we continue with adult, children, and teen classes. Starting Sept. 1 at 6:00 PM we will be starting Wednesday night dinners. These will be open to the public and a chance for us to gather offering hospitality to each other and our neighbors. Sunday August 29 is a Sunday you will NOT want to miss. The church board has officially hired John Ashby Jr. to be our youth pastor. In the past John has volunteered to be our youth leader. He has felt a call to ministry for years, he is pursuing his education and his ordination. We firmly believe in that call and have hired him on. We will be installing him as youth pastor in the service on August 29. Be sure to be here so we can cover him in prayers. Sunday Sept 19 is the national back to church Sunday. In the past I've called it the "Everybody's Here Sunday." We know that our church is larger than the given attendance on any Sunday. We try once a year to get our whole family together, almost like a homecoming. Be sure to mark your Calendars for this special Sunday and be prepared to bring a dish to share for the church picnic following! Additionally, with cases increasing, the Church Board is recommending that we wear masks again in church. We are not going to be taping off rows, we won't be doing two services, we won't turn people away who don't wear masks. We aren't trying to virtue signal or cause divisions. We are simply recommending that we wear masks.