This Fall

Dear People of Christ Church,
Vestry met on Monday, and it was so good to be back together scheming about all the things we'll do together this year.  One new thing I'll invite us toward on September 1 when we return to the 10:00 service is a blessing over all of our backpacks as we head back to work and school for the new year. Even though I haven't started a new school year for 10 years, I always get a sense of promise and newness in turning toward fall, so briefcases and other work bags will also be welcome (we'll also have our first Sunday of the month children's sermon on that day as well, along with our special diaper collection).

This year we're also trying out a new start time for Children's Education, starting the classes at 9:45 instead of 10.  The structure of our Godly Play program is dependent on being able to start all together, so we're hoping that having more time will enable a smoother transition and opportunity for deeper reflection. The key question for Godly Play is "I wonder," and it's hard to "wonder" freely if you're panicked about whether your kids are going to get upstairs in time for communion.

Yet ANOTHER new thing is an experiment with our coffee hour configuration. As we sang in my Montessori class at age 4, "Make new friends, but keep the old...one is silver and the other's gold."  By making a switch to round tables with food in the middle (separate from the coffee), we hope that we'll be more nimble in being able to talk with different people, but also have sitting room for more in depth conversation. Please offer your feedback to the vestry.

This fall, we also have some great educational opportunities to look forward to. Last spring, we were part of a Hartford Seminary study of growing congregations and many people participated in focus groups and filled out surveys about what's working well and where we need to focus our energy.  As part of our learning, we'll send a team of 4-6 people to a series of consultations (4 Saturdays, at different locations) for leadership training and coaching in our area of growth.  If you'd be interested in being part of that group, please let me know.  For five or six weeks over September/ October, we look forward to a series on looking for that elusive life balance of work and play, time and money, based on the work of Mark and Lisa Scandrette in their book, Free: Spending Your Time and Money on What Matters Most.  Come September, I'm looking forward to trying a "sermon talk back" conversation one Sunday a month to hear more about where you are hearing the word of God both reflected in preaching (where I kind of get to monopolize the floor) as well as in your life in the world.  

I'm also looking forward to the diocesan resource day on peace (see below), our yard sale (coming up in just a few weeks), and all the ministries we engage in that bring us closer to God and one another. Don't forget to talk with Anna Jones (annapeacebaby@gmail.com) about whether you might be able to bring a meal to the Community Day Center; we're now on the third Thursday of the month, and hope to get a schedule down for the whole year.

Peace!
Sara+