Here it comes! The tsunami of activity is upon us with the start of another school year and the end of another summer. I hope you have enjoyed your summer vacation and I hope that you, like me, are looking forward with great anticipation to the year of church activities ahead. In this pondering I would like to address several things that are coming up so you will be more informed. Also, I want you to hear about these things from me so you’ll have my perspective.
All adults are invited to 4x4s.
These 4×4 groups are not just for married couples; they are for everyone who would like to participate. Also, you are not expected to host a meeting at your place of residence. If you have limitations, we’ll work to overcome them. 4×4 groups can meet in someone’s home or they can meet at a restaurant or at the church or at a ball game, etc.. The idea is to get small groups of people together for fellowship. We want you to get to know folks in the church. The format for the 4×4 can be whatever you want it to be. Maybe you go as a group to a movie and then spend time discussing it over dinner. You could have a picnic together in the park. You are only limited by your imagination and of course by your group’s abilities. We hope these will be successful and we can do new groups once every four months or so. If you have a desire to be a part of a 4×4, we want you there so don’t hesitate to sign up.
The nursery needs you.
Changes are coming to the nursery schedule. The Lord has been richly blessing our church with new babies and young children. That is a great praise! It is also the catalyst for some changes that we need to make. Do you remember all those baptisms where you raised your hand pledging to help parents raise that child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Well many have been doing that by serving in the nursery. We are about to expand that to include you if you are between the ages of 21 and 70. If you are over 70 and already serving in the nursery, God bless you, we will continue putting you to good service for as long as you want to participate. If you are over 70 and wish to participate in nursery service, let Mary Claire know in writing. Otherwise all adults 21-70 will be put into the rotation. If for some reason you are incapable of serving or you have other church duties that conflict with serving in the nursery, that is fine, please let Mary Claire know in writing and she will not put you in the rotation. As the Teaching Elder I will be seeking to serve in the nursery during Sunday school as the need arises and I’m not otherwise engaged teaching. I hope you look forward to this great opportunity. We’ll be sending out a letter with more details in the near future.
Are you looking to serve?
We’ll have a number of service opportunities this fall including a chance to go help with disaster response in Louisiana. Locally, the deacons are planning a “Sparkle Day” and the Local Mission Committee (LMC) is planning a service project with one of the missions that we partner with here in the Frederick area. The Lord has called us to be salt and light in the world and one of the ways we do that is to go out and get involved in helping those in need. There is no doubt that the devastation from flooding in Louisiana and Mississippi needs a large outpouring of support. I’m very pleased to see the number of people from our church that are interested in going to help in that good work of clean up. If you are interested please see Ruling Elder Bruce Brierly for more information. For those of you not able to travel and give the time to go away to serve, we have something for you right here in Frederick. The LMC is hosting this year’s mission conference and as part of that event we will be participating in a local mission project. I’m excited about the prospect of getting many in our church out to help with the worthy work our LMC is planning for late October. I look forward to seeing you there.
Youth group is starting this month!
In all the activity we have not forgotten our youth. In fact we are calling all youth from grades 6-12 to come and join in when we kick-off our new year on Sunday, September 18th at 5:00PM. Ministry to and with our young people is such a vital thing for the life of any church and we want to make our young people a priority. Our first meeting will be a time of fun, fellowship, and planning for the 2016-2017 school year. We plan to be doing some service projects together as well as hanging out at private homes once a month. Most weeks we’ll have games, a challenge to discipleship, and of course food. So it should be a good time for all. If you have questions please contact Mary Claire or John Armstrong at the church office. We will need people willing to provide food and we are looking for some that are willing to host the youth group in their home.
Many other things will be happening in the coming months and hope you will, as you are able, come out and join your church family in our life together.
