Looking Up and Within

At the time this newsletter arrives in your inbox (virtual or physical), we will be in final preparation for our Navajo friends’ arrival and week of outreach. On Thursday, August 3rd, Pastor Evelyn will be leading a Bible study and sharing her testimony in our sanctuary at 1pm. From 5-8pm, Pastor Evelyn, Robert, Sharon, and Mariah will be with our youth and children for a night of hot dogs, cultural sharing, faith sharing, music, and ice cream. All of our scouting families are invited, along with all of our families with children (and anyone who would like to come and help out for a few minutes). On Friday, August 4, we will have a community worship service beginning at 7pm. On Saturday, they will be leading us in a Women’s Retreat for the community and entire district, and on Sunday, we will bring together the music of our church and the reservation and the preaching of Evelyn for a combined service at 10am, followed by lunch. It will be a whirlwind of blessed and holy activity, anchored by some of the sweetest and most genuine people I have met.

Keeping with the theme I began a few months ago, this month is a month to look up – that is, to look to God for guidance and inspiration. I hope we can use the visit of our Navajo friends to jumpstart us all by putting our focus back on God’s will for our lives. It is also a month to look within, that is to look at our fellowship, our body, and who God is calling us to become. In that effort (to look up and within), I want to bring forth two suggestions I made last month: When we held the Listening Tour in June, one of the ministries we highlighted in the recent past was the vibrant Thursday night dinners we used to hold. We don’t, right now, have enough people to pick that ministry back up. But what if we partnered with our scouts and AA groups to host one or two dinners in the fall? And what if we also offered a community Thanksgiving dinner at the neighborhood center down the road where those groups could work with us and spark conversations about the future? It has become harder and harder to “rustle” the pastors to put on a community Thanksgiving service, but a dinner the week of or before Thanksgiving may be possible.

Another direction we could pursue: Years ago, we had “tables of 8,” which were groups of people in the church who had monthly meals in each other’s homes. What if we expanded that idea and created “tables of 8” across a broad swath of our community, bringing together people across a broader spectrum of our community? If that’s an idea that has some appeal for you, let me know! I’d like to start building a team to dream it, try it, and figure out how to make it both succeed and help it become something our community will talk about.

We are living through times of tremendous change and challenge. What we do now will impact what is possible in the future. We won’t all agree on the details, but we can agree that God has a purpose for our church that is worth investing in. Each time we pray for each other, our community, and our church, and each time we invest our time, talent, and resources to our ministries, we are creating that future together.

It is an honor to be part of our vibrant church, making Christian disciples and enriching lives through outreach.