On August 13 all worship hours will shift as we continue to grow in mission.  The worship schedule will be: 

Traditional Worship - 8:30

Contemporary Worship - 9:45 & 11:00 

This will allow for TWO Sunday school hours at 9:45 and 11:00.  This shift also allows new opportunities for both children and adults at the 11:00 hour.  We are less than a month out now, so mark it in on your calendars and share it with your friends.  

As we move into this new season of ministry to our community, it is good to see so many answering God's call to be right here, right now for Christ.  It is exciting to know everyone who gathers in this church has a part to play in the coming weeks, months, and years as we continue to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world.  

2 years ago this congregation responded with compassion and extravagant generosity to a felt need in a land on the other side of the planet.  The church received news of one of the ways in which this has been a blessing to many.  Well done good and faithful servants.

This space has its roots in the history of how this congregation came to be - a group of Jesus followers inviting others to come and see Christ and live that faith out together.  Once a month, we will bring forth a devotional from years gone by.  Today we re-member (put together again in our minds) from thirty years ago  in the Lenten Devotional of 1984 - March 24th to be precise:

"What did you say?"  I've said that often to my children and to David when I suddenly realized that one of them was talking to me and I hadn't been listening.  I am often preoccupied with my own thoughts and have to be prodded to give my attention.

Sometimes I act as if I have to approach God in the same way others must approach me.  I pray in order to get His attention so that He will be aware of my concerns, or needs, or difficulties and will focus on my problems.

May Day Baskets, does anyone remember those?  According to Wikipedia; “May day is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival.  Dancing, singing and cake are usually part of the celebrations.” (After a long dissertation on the origins I finally found what I was looking for.)  “May baskets, were small baskets of sweets or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors doorsteps.”  Now we are getting somewhere!

Yes, as a child in small town MidAmerican, May baskets were a very real thing.  a lovely thing to give or to receive.  Not because they were grandiose or expensive but because they were a sign of friendship and caring.  My mother taught us early on to make and give these little bundles of happiness.

Knowing I’d be in the car quite a bit during our family spring break trip, our amazing VBS leader Emily Easley made sure I’d have the CD full of songs for this year’s Vacation Bible School (via a personal delivery to the windshield of my car, she rocks!). I am excited to get to help lead the children in song to provide an active and exciting opening and closing each day.  Somehow for me, the songs we sing at church are the most effective way for the depths of the Christian message to truly sink in. Maybe it’s the repetition of the chorus, maybe the actual vocalizing the words, maybe the emotion of harmony – whatever it is, truth comes to me through music.  Have you noticed you can sing lyrics to songs you heard only a few times, or decades ago?  Music has staying power, and can preserve foundational principles to guide us.  This really struck me as I began to listen, practice and learn the songs for our darling children this year.  Children love music, and rarely perceive it to be, shall we say it, preachy (no offense Pastor J & C).  But through music, we can equip them with a soundtrack for their lives – key phrases that may subconsciously come to them in those critical moments of decision-making or heartbreak as they face the challenges of growing up.  One song from this year’s set, in particular, affected me with its message:

A year ago, I was feeling low.  A sadness permeated my days.  The first half of 2016 had been really difficult.  In April, my husband’s aunt passed away.  We had no way of knowing at the time, but the time we spent in Kansas for Aunt Betty’s funeral was also the last time we would spend with our niece, Alle.  A few weeks later, on Mother’s Day, Alle died by suicide.