Pastor Gayle's Reflections
The new school year is upon us! While the church calendar and the school calendar do not begin at the same time, the fall does mark changes in the schedule of the congregation. We will return to our regular worship time of 11:00 on September 12. That is also the day that the choir and Sunday School return to their regular schedules. We will start the day with a Rally Day Breakfast and continue the gathering with a celebration of Holy Communion during worship.
So what can we do to prepare for that special day of celebration? At our final 10:00 worship of the summer, on September 5, we will celebrate new beginnings by welcoming three boys into the church through the Sacrament of Baptism. And on Saturday, September 11, we will host an Open House, with the hopes of opening our doors and our church family to new people and new opportunities in the Jefferson Park neighborhood.
Preparing for the new also requires examining the “old.” Why do we do what we do as a congregation? Is it because we can’t ever remember it being done a different way? Or because “that’s the way we’ve always done it?” Or do we do things they way we do them because we are called? Is there a theological reason for the things we do? I’m sure that at least some of you just groaned, but I’m here to tell you that we are all theologians. You don’t have to write down your theology or use fancy theological terms; simply thinking about God and how our faith in God guides our lives makes us theologians. So think about the theology of what we do as a congregation, in worship and otherwise. And as we prepare to open ourselves up to the community, ask these two questions: How do we live into our theologies? And how do we represent our theologies in the community?
May God strengthen us to welcome the new without forgetting who we are!
Gayle’s Miscellany:
· If you have a college student in your family, please send that student’s information to the church so we can keep in touch with them while they are away.
· I am still open to ideas for the fall session of Think Tank! Please feel free to send an email, call the church, or hand me a note on Sunday morning with your ideas.
· I will be meeting with the CMA Committee on Standing the morning of September 9. If all goes well, I will officially be a member of the CMA soon!
Office Hours
Generally speaking, my office hours will be 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM, Monday through Thursday each week. Of course, it is always possible that a congregational visitation, church-related meeting, or pastoral emergency may take me away from the church. It is still best to make an appointment, if possible, by calling the church office or sending an email to the church address. Please note that my office hours will differ on days when Cabinet, Guild, Confirmation or other groups meet outside of these regular hours. I will continue to observe Friday as my day off and will not schedule appointments on that day.