Pastor's Page
By Rev. Susan Fox  

By mid September there is a change in the air, and not only a change in the air but in our activities and attitudes. Along with the crisp cool mornings we are refreshed in outlook.  For some the change is signaled by the first day back to school.  For some it is the beginning of football season.  For retailers it’s removing the summer merchandise to make way for Christmas.  For some the change entails packing up and returning to or going off to college for the first time. For parents it’s the reality that their children are one year closer to adulthood.  For older adults it’s the awareness that another winter may be hard to bear.

 For me fall has always signaled a return to routine and a recommitment to life long habits that I believe lend towards good health: daily devotions, exercise, and cleaning out my closets :) to name a few.  Fall invites a reassessment and inclusion of those things that are most important to us, friends, family, education, recreation, reordering our stuff and enjoying the out-of-doors.  And, oh yes —Church.   Hopefully church is included in your list of priorities.  Some years back we began a program we refer to as “Wednesday Church Night” in hopes of offering people the opportunity to make church a top priority among the countless ways we can spend our time.  The Wednesday church program was never meant to further complicate your life but to help you get back to the basic pillars on which so many of our lives are built,  home, church, and community.

Participation in the Wednesday Church Night program has gradually grown and changed over the years.  This year we are trying something new on the first Wednesday of the month:  instead of a covered dish supper we are offering a prepared meal for a small donation.  The suggested donation is $6.00 per adult and $4.00 per child age 2 and up.  However, we welcome any lesser amount or no donation what-so-ever.  We just hope you will come, enjoy some Christian fellowship and a nutritious meal.   Any profits from these dinners will be used to help finance our youth group activities.

 The kick off event is our second annual Health Fair (see insert).  A similar event will be offered in December planned by the Social Ministry Committee, a Volunteer Fair.  This event will feature agencies throughout our area where you might donate a bit of your time and/or utilize their services.  Our October program will be a different format, featuring the skills and interests of our own Terre Lewis as she shares a power point presentation on communication, a presentation deemed extremely helpful when presented to our council and church staff.   It is appropriate for all but our youngest members for whom child care will be provided.

 On Wednesdays other than the first we are encouraging a small group format which currently includes a Bible study, junior youth, bell choir, book club, and “NAMI,” a support group for families dealing with mental illness.  If you have a special interest and would like to facilitate or participate in a small group please pass that on to myself, Sue Creed, Louise Wilson, or Pastor Routte.  And, oh yes, for those who don’t like to come out at night, or like to come out twice, we offer our noon-time Bible study on Wednesdays, beginning with a light lunch.

 As you settle into this fall season, reordering your priorities and renewing your routines we sincerely hope you will consider including some or all of our Wednesday Church Night programs.

   Let us not grow weary in doing what is right,

  for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not

  give up.  So then, whenever we have an

  opportunity let us work for the good of all,

  and especially for those of the family of faith.

  Galatians 6:9-10