Author: Church Office

Variety seems to have been the stuff of the summer, especially when it came to the weather. It was wet. It was pleasant. It got hot. It got hotter. It stopped raining. It stayed hot. It started raining. Too much rain. Became bearable. And it got hot again. It kept us on our toes.

As we turn the corner into the final one third of the year, variety will abound at Holy Spirit. The calendar in the middle of this newsletter will show you that. From our Rally Day, to our four-week Stewardship Pledge Campaign, to weekly Christian education classes for children and adults (including a presentation about our companion congregation in Tanzania), our third annual Blessing of the Animals Community Pet Event, as well as the Book Club, two Bible studies per week, Evening Prayer, choir rehearsals, and now bell choir rehearsals, plus the “usual suspects” of committee meetings, this place is jumping!

But let’s remember that all of these great things are motivated by our love of God, our devotion to Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Through our encounter with the Holy Trinity in our weekly word and sacrament worship, we hear God’s forgiving words, are sustained by Jesus in the bread and wine of the Holy Communion, and are propelled by the Holy Spirit into areas of service and care.

Wordship of God remains our defining, uniting activity. Join your family members of faith in our Sunday thanksgiving to God.

Clifton D. Eshbach,

Pastor

 

A long time ago, very early in my ministry, a retired pastor (long retired at this time) told me to enjoy the “summer slowdown.” “You’ll have time for a little rest, get a chance to catch up on reading, and even set a few plans for later in the year.”

Now, after 18 plus years of ministry, I am still waiting for my first summer slowdown to occur.

As we enter the eighth month of the year, we might feel lured into our own sort of summer slowdown. Don’t be fooled.  God’s call continues. For us as individuals and for us as a congregation.

This call will be very noticeable in the gospel texts we will hear in August. Actually, it began on July 29, and will continue through every Sunday in August. For those five weeks we will insert ourselves into one…just one…chapter of John’s gospel.

The sixth chapter of John is a powerhouse of ministry and information. And to take it in each week, we need to be alert and thoughtful to hear what God is saying and doing through the ministry of Jesus. We will hear about miraculous events of feeding and walking where no one else is able to walk. Jesus will teach about bread from heaven leading to eternal life. People following Jesus will tell him that all of this is hard to understand.

This is a time of the year when we have the opportunity to take in very important messages from Jesus. I hope you will be present for all of them. They will help us as we continue to share Jesus’ love in word and deed.

Now, I am going to try to lean back in the chair for a minute…

Clifton D. Eshbach,

Pastor