Dear friends in Christ,
I hope everyone is doing well this week! There are a few things going on to highlight:
Upcoming Memorial Services
Saturday 9/18 @11am in the sanctuary: Skip Northrop
Saturday 9/25 @ 11am on the Green (rain location in the sanctuary): Bill Crutcher
Saturday 10/2 @12pm in the sanctuary: Annamae Hardwick
Book and Bake Sale: 10/16 10am-2pm
On 10/16 we’re going to have a book and bake sale fundraiser. We’re going to need baked goods and volunteers to help make everything a success. You can sign up to volunteer or bake here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0548A4A82DABF58-book
The link to the Facebook event is here: https://fb.me/e/WkKPuJYH
Also, we need books to sell! We’re accepting donations of books (no encyclopedias), puzzles, CDs, and DVDs. You can bring things to the church when the church office is open M-F 9am-3pm.
Church Renovation Update
If you’ve driven by the church this week, you’ll see that the lift we’ve rented to continue work on restoring the front of the church has arrived (see picture.) I’m looking forward to seeing the progress in the coming weeks now that Bob W and Bill M can more easily access all parts of the front of the meetinghouse.
General Comments
I was wonderful to be able to see many of you this past Homecoming Sunday! We had beautiful weather for a picnic. I’ve attached a couple pictures from the day. I want to thank Ellen A. for coordinating our kitchen volunteers so we could have a wonderful meal. Thank you to the Zolds for letting us borrow their tent for some much needed shade. And thank you to our face painters and all our other volunteers who helped make sure we were fed, entertained, and started out this fall on the right foot. Sunday was also a good way to acknowledge our 225th anniversary after our 224th year as a church turned out to be a much harder time than any of us had expected. On Homecoming, one of the prayers I used was this one, which is a slightly modified version of a prayer in the Book of Common Worship, and it seems fitting for the rest of this week as we look ahead to what comes next this year:
“As we begin a new program year together, receive our gratitude, Holy God, for the 225 years through which you have led us here, and open us to the future you promise. In the years that lie ahead, grant us your encouragement in the work of ministry, your consolation in our defeats, and your challenge to our complacency. Give us such trust in your abiding Holy Spirit, that we may find joy and peace in our common life, strength and courage to live in the world for your reign, and hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Peace,
Pastor Katrina
