What a great way to start the school year! The chancel was filled this weekend during worship at the time of the creed and prayers as children, teachers, and support staff for our schools gathered for the "Blessing of the Backpacks" and to be prayed for as another school year begins. How great it was to see everyone again after a lot of vacations and traveling has kept us scattered throughout the summer.
Along with that blessing, Bonnie Lanyi, in her sermon gave us a particular image to carry with us into this week and into another school year. That is, in communion, as we receive Christ himself in the bread and wine, He becomes a part of us on a cellular level. Not in the "cell phone" sense of "cellular" but in the physiological sense, as that bread and wine, the Living Bread, Jesus Himself permeates our bodies and becomes a part of our very cells. Think about that. How can it be business as usual knowing that Christ is a part of who we are and what we do, and that we are connected with God on a deep level like that? Thanks for that image, Bonnie, as another school year begins.
This coming week our Church Council meets on Tuesday at 7pm. For this meeting we will open with a 20 minute video of Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, from this past summer's ELCA Youth Gathering. That will be followed by developing a welcoming statement for our congregation. If anyone is interested in being a part of this, as always, council meetings are open and you'd be welcome to attend. We will probably be meeting in the sanctuary this Tuesday to be able to best view the video.
Youth Group continues meeting on Wednesday at 6:30pm. This week the Youth Group will also meet in the sanctuary and watch that video, followed by a musical jam session, along with finalizing plans for Rock the Universe coming up in September. All kids, middle school through high school are welcome. In this sometimes crazy world, a time and place like this for our kids is a good way for them to be grounded and centered in a relationship with God and each other. What better place to be?
As this new school year begins, be watching for updates and activities in these emails, and also check our website at: www.oursaviorelca.com.
Have a blessed week, and we'll see you in church! Pastor Jack Diehl +
PS....Yay! Pastor Shelly returns from vacation this week!
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