In preparation for the Outreach for Hope bike ride, I’ve been trying to get out there and pedal a bit each week. I was conveniently using the wet spring and hot summer as an excuse for my laziness. But the ride is coming up and there is no putting it off. I was riding along a heavily wooded segment of the Oak Leaf Trail. Parts of it sometimes make you forget you are riding in the city. I came across a tree. All of its leaves had already turned the brightest yellow. That was the trigger for me that, despite the warm temperatures, fall is here. Intellectually I know it’s fall but I always try to hang on to summer until something tells me otherwise.
I guess there is no reason to doubt the calendar as we have had a very productive summer and are looking ahead to our usual many fall activities. Summer progress includes the significant work of the Call Team. By the time you are reading this they will have completed their first round of interviews with the pastoral candidates. They are excited by the quality of the candidates and the desire of each of them to be our pastor. This summer we have also been actively reaching out to our community. We offered outdoor services and hosted a very successful Food Truck Night and Community Picnic. We have also begun experimenting with being present in our community through our Suds & Stories of Faith and Coffee & Conversation events, held in local businesses. We rekindled our relationship with Reformation in Milwaukee by hosting a Faith Fellowship Dinner with them. On top of all that, we made significant improvements to the look of our campus by cutting and trimming trees and bushes that were dead, overgrown, and/or too close to the building. Last weekend (though this is really a fall event) we donated, made, and delivered 100 bag lunches to Street Angles as part of our God’s Work Our Hands service. Whew, I thought summers were supposed to be quiet. I am grateful for each of you that have played a part in any of these accomplishments, thank you! Looking ahead to fall, after service on September 15th we will view a video and discussed how the church and the world are changing and just what God is calling us to do in response. We will continue to make brief presentations about our ministry partners at the start of Sunday services. This is both part of our stewardship emphasis leading up to Harvest Sunday in November and an effort to explain to newer members how these partnerships have developed over the years. We have a Coffee and Conversation scheduled for 10am on September 25th and will be scheduling a Suds and Stories of Faith event in October. Also in October we are hoping to put together a “Trunk or Treat” event for the community. For those not familiar, we will have this event in the parking lot. We’ll be asking members to decorate their vehicle trunks (we may have help for that) and hold a trick or treat-like event for kids from the community. We are looking for a food truck to be a part of this event too. Also this fall, Bible study is back on Thursday mornings as is our Learning Together intergenerational Sunday School. The choir is back rehearsing, and Dart Ball will begin on Monday, September 23. There is lots going on so pay close attention to the announcements and emails. (Please note that ways to get involved or help out are in italics.) Calendar in Brief:
Blessings, Tom
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