Dog Days, Daring Dan, & Coming Home

Last month, I told you about “Dog Days.” I want to start with a little follow up: Our first one, held June 8, went well enough. We had several neighbors who stopped in and we enjoyed fellowship between our youth and our older folks. We were particularly blessed because of the recital that happened during the event and the Rainbow Puppets. Also, we were blessed with sufficient volunteers and all the efforts to set up the spaces and prepare food. As a result, we have decided to skip the July Dog Days and put more effort into planning a bigger event on August 10, including a bouncy castle and adult themed events. Since the idea came from the initial group that created Just Dinner, and the focus was on reducing loneliness in our church and community, we are considering ways to further that mission in August, such as a mental health theme, perhaps with a few vendors and a way to showcase our small groups and potentially create some new ones with our neighbors. Your help would be greatly appreciated in planning and carrying out a plan – our next meeting will be 5pm, July 14.

Sticking with the “D” theme I’ve started, I’ll be starting a sermon series in mid-June, going into August, on “Daring Dan.” There are many great stories of faith and growth in the book of Daniel, stories that touch on the question of how we can be faithful in a climate that does not reward faithfulness. I look forward to sharing and learning with you. No matter what political party is in office, we have entered a time when church attendance is in decline, even while more people are interested in spirituality.

The last item is not a “D,” but an “H,” as in Homecoming. Pencil this date in now – September 21 for a Homecoming event. Now, let the motivations behind Homecoming inspire you: The initial motivation is to encourage people who have not returned to church post Covid to do so. But there is more – we also want to encourage people who feel lonely, left out, forgotten, or worn out to be refreshed. And more – we want to reinvigorate you, our faithful, and refresh your spirits! The prayed for result is increased attendance, but even more, what we are praying for is for more people in our church and community to experience the love of God in Jesus Christ.

As for plans for Homecoming, of course we’re planning for a big, combined service followed by a meal, lots of music, and lots of fellowship. The general theme will be historical, to celebrate and remember where we came from, and hopeful, to look forward to how God will use us in the present and future. If the planning pans out, we will have other, smaller events beyond worship through the weekend to showcase ministries and meet our neighbors. I have begun reaching out to several folks who have served our church and grew up in our church so that we can have guest speakers and leaders for the weekend as well. If you have ideas or want to be part of the planning, simply drop me a line – I’ll be glad for the help.

One of the blessings of following Jesus is knowing, deep in our bones, that not only will he never leave or forsake us, but he is always in the process of transforming us – so our best days are always ahead of us! Sure, they will not look like the best days of the past, but they will be the best days of our present, and particularly our future.