I can’t believe this coming Sunday is Labor Day weekend and the unofficial end to summer. The older I get, the faster the days go by. I used to think, the days are long and the years are short, now I just think it all is short!

With that being said, the Sunday after Labor Day, we have traditionally resumed our fall worship schedule. Due to COVID, we are making some adjustments. Our goal is to provide opportunities for worship for as many people as possible in as many safe and sacred environments as our resources allow. To accomplish this, each week, there will be an in-person worship, outdoor worship (weather permitting) and online worship. The format and schedule will follow.

Sunday morning

Worship – 9:30am

in-person and streamed on our website
Alternate between our Traditional and Contemporary formats
Faith Formation will immediately follow worship. More information below.

Sweet Worship Tuesdays (SWT)

Tuesday – 6:30PM, outdoors under the tent (and lights as it gets darker)

This will have a little different feel to it. Instead of using the coming weeks Gospel lesson, we will make this more of a Faith Formation and fellowship opportunity by reading through the Bible and learning the grand narrative that is going on and how the stories connect to one another to create a larger story that we are all part of. It will still be a worship with communion and singing and a sermon(explanation) but Jon Koekler and Jonathon Bock will play and sing a bit more as they did last summer.

Then, immediately following the 30-minute service, we will have dessert. Each week, we will ask one person to provide dessert for the following week. It doesn’t need to be something that would be featured on “Dessert Week” on The Great British Baking Show, but we wouldn’t complain if it was!  (Victoria Sponge Cake anyone?)

It should have a casual, relaxed and perhaps festive atmosphere where we can enjoy each other’s company and learn about the Bible and our faith. Perhaps, kind of like the feel of the Backyard Wednesdays from this past summer.

Faith Formation

Each Sunday, we will provide everybody with an experience or opportunity to learn more about God’s love and community, but do it in different ways. Two years ago, we experimented with this and we are going to continue that. Every Sunday, after worship, we will participate in one of the five following options: an intergenerational event, Age-Appropriate Faith Formation (think Sunday School and Adult Forum), some type of larger food and fellowship event, a service project, or we will take the Sunday off and have regular Fellowship. The schedule for September and early October follows.

September 12 – Ice Cream Social and Root Beer Floats!
Sept. 19 – Intergenerational Activity – Create Bible Stories out of play-dough
Sept. 26 – Age-Appropriate Faith Formation (Adult Forum topic TBD)
Oct. 3 – Octoberfest! Church picnic! No beer, but maybe brats!
Oct. 10 – Intergenerational Activity– Bingo! Bingo! Bingo! Prizes to be awarded!

We will be outdoors for all of this as much as possible. Hopefully the stifling heat has passed and rain won’t come on Sunday mornings. As the winter begins to turn, we will determine if we can move these activities indoors.

As the church moves into the future, it will require us to be more creative and adaptive. Some of what we do will remain the same. Some of what we do will change. We believe, whether it remains the same or changes, the primary goal to be accomplished is to convey the love of God that burns brighter and hotter than a thousand suns for you and all of creation

We hope you can join us this fall.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim