Wednesday, June 26: Choir Practice, 6 pm – all who like to sing are welcome.
Thursday, June 27: “Grill’s On,” 5:30-? We’ll set out tables and get the grill going. Bring a lawn chair, a friend, something to put on the grill or something to share. And a lawn game if you have one.Looking ahead: “Grill’s On” will not be held the following Thursday, July 4.
Note from Pastor Paul
“As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.” ~ Paul (to the church in Galatia, chapter 3) When I first moved up here from Illinois, my new neighbor shared this wisdom: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.” I was struck at the blunt simplicity of his words, but more so at their validity. To this day, when I go on my prayer wanders, I always tuck my rain gear in the pack. I add a sweater as well, and shorts. I bring boots as well as sandals. Never know. Have you complained about the weather this summer? I sure have. These pesky northeast winds off the lake have made summer’s triumphant stand arrive with creaky bones and moans and groans. But then I remember: follow the Mississippi south and the land is inundated with flooding (something we remember all too well here) – storm after storm – the rain doesn’t seem to stop. Farmers have given up any hope to plant. Families have walked away from homesteads, wondering if they should ever bother to rebuild. So I’ve learned to practice gratitude. If not for this cold, gray nor’easter, then for the chance to see clouds in their tumbling motions at all, and for this breath of air, this pulse of my heart. I can live with long sleeves. I can live with gray days. But when I’m just sitting around griping about the weather and pining for something that I don’t have…well, I wonder how much I’m really living then? To live in harmony with the weather we’re given is like sharing our faith with the world around us, just as it is. It may not be like it “used to be,” but souls still live and breathe and love and hurt and grow in anger and find the courage to forgive. They need our faith, and our support – because we’ve learned to be ready for whatever weather comes our way. A kind word can be an extra blanket. An act of love can be a shelter from the howling wind.
Let’s talk.
Pastor Paul