First Church Family,
There are several things that happen that make me realize summer is moving to its end. One is that I notice a yellow jacket’s nest on my property. That happened Thursday, and thank goodness, this year I saw the nest and took care of it before I ran over it with a weed eater (which is usually what happens.)
Another reminder that summer’s end approaches is the fact that anyone who grows tomatoes, okra, or peppers now has a lot of all three and has the privilege of beginning to give some of it away.
And finally, at summer’s end, high school students who participate in football, cheerleading, marching band, volleyball, and soccer no longer have flexibility in their schedules (along with educators, of course.) It’s August, and all of those things are happening!
Several very important things happened in our congregation this week.
First, we completed our fund-raising for the Habitat House we will build this winter. We officially reached our $25,000 goal, which is amazing.
Thank you for your faithfulness. Soon, we will learn the identity of the family we will serve and for whom we will provide a home.
Do you realize what that means? In the past seven months, above our ambitious regular commitments, First Church has dug and built two fresh water wells in Guatemala, which are now providing crystal clear water for families who previously had none, and now, our congregation is ready to provide permanent shelter for an impoverished family in our community.
Let that sink in for a moment. We are a church that follows Jesus’ command to serve the poor.
Also, teams from our church prepare and serve meals to people in need in our community through our Room at the Table program. And we are gearing up for another busy year filling backpacks with food that impoverished elementary children can take home to their families on the weekends.
I don’t know about you, but that is the kind of church I love being a part of!
Let me share a couple of things about designated financial gifts: you have supported our Backpack and Room at the Table ministries at such a high level that it will be years before we need additional funds in those areas.
Our Finance Committee appreciates your incredible commitment to serving Christ, and acknowledging bursting Backpack and Room at the Table fund balances, encourages you to contribute first to our church’s General Fund and then to our Christian Service Fund, both of which can be used in any number of ways to serve the needs of our community and world.
What a wonderful bit of news to share at summer’s end! We are making a difference for Christ, here and around the world! It is humbling to be a small part of it all.
Blessings and love,
Pastor Dave