“Return to me and I
will return to you, says the Lord of heavenly forces.” (Malachi 3:7b)
Within the next week or so, our children and teenagers will be heading back to school to start a new school
year. This should be a reminder to the
rest of us that it’s also time to start back to church if we’ve gotten out of
the habit over the summertime! And just
so everyone feels welcome and “at home”, here are some special new things we’ll
be providing this Fall:
--Cots
will be placed in the Narthex for those who say ‘Sunday is my only day to sleep
late’
--Steel
helmets will be provided for those who say ‘The roof would cave in if I ever
came to church!’
--Blankets
will be furnished for those who say the church is too cold, and fans will be
given to those who think it’s too hot.
--We’ll
have hearing aids available for those who say ‘the preacher talks too soft’,
cotton for those who think that he talks too loud, and a few “Slow Down” road
signs for those who think he talks too fast.
--There
will be TV dinners for those who say they can’t go to church and cook lunch for
their family at the same time.
--We’ve
renovated part of our Sanctuary to have grass and trees for those who feel
closest to God in nature, and part of the grassy area will have a putting green
for those who think that Sunday morning should be for golfing.
--We’ve
turned some of the pews to face backwards, so that those who say ‘I’ll come to
church when I get my life turned around’ will feel at home without ever having
to do that.
--We’ve
also built several small, private rooms connected to the Sanctuary for those
who say that they worship God at home alone, by themselves.
--And
finally, the Church will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and
Easter lilies for those who have never been to church without them!
Okay,
I admit it… we’re not really doing all of these things. But it does highlight some of the many silly
excuses we use for not coming to church.
This Fall as our children and youth head back to school, why not put away your excuses
and renew the habit of coming back weekly to the place where you can meet and
grow with God, fellowship with people who care about you, and find a sense of
purpose and meaning to life.
And as an added incentive, we CAN look forward to a number of special things that ARE happening here at McKendree church this month (read about most of these elsewhere in this week's "Happenings" eBlast):
--8/5: Back to School Blessings of Teachers, Administrators, Students and our recently packed school mission backpacks
--8/19: "Connect Groups" Kick-off Sunday
--8/22: "Back to School" church and community-wide Parking Lot Party and Cookout
--8/29: Wednesday Night Supper and Programs start up
In September, look for several Vision Town Hall Meetings for an update and to solicit input and feedback for use of a major financial gift our church received in the last few years.
Also late this Fall (probably November), look for an open Information Session where we'll share an overview of the recent work of the United Methodist Church's "Commission on A Way Forward" and next February 2019's called special session of the UMC General Conference (read more about this HERE).
As you can see, there are a lot of great things happening in the life of McKendree Church as we seek to carry out our Vision of "Nurturing Community, Connecting All Through Christ." This corporate Vision and calling from God is more important than any individual agenda or personal excuse. So, I encourage us all to make worship and ministry with and through God's people a priority this Fall in our lives!
And as an added incentive, we CAN look forward to a number of special things that ARE happening here at McKendree church this month (read about most of these elsewhere in this week's "Happenings" eBlast):
--8/5: Back to School Blessings of Teachers, Administrators, Students and our recently packed school mission backpacks
--8/19: "Connect Groups" Kick-off Sunday
--8/22: "Back to School" church and community-wide Parking Lot Party and Cookout
--8/29: Wednesday Night Supper and Programs start up
In September, look for several Vision Town Hall Meetings for an update and to solicit input and feedback for use of a major financial gift our church received in the last few years.
Also late this Fall (probably November), look for an open Information Session where we'll share an overview of the recent work of the United Methodist Church's "Commission on A Way Forward" and next February 2019's called special session of the UMC General Conference (read more about this HERE).
As you can see, there are a lot of great things happening in the life of McKendree Church as we seek to carry out our Vision of "Nurturing Community, Connecting All Through Christ." This corporate Vision and calling from God is more important than any individual agenda or personal excuse. So, I encourage us all to make worship and ministry with and through God's people a priority this Fall in our lives!
Remember, God
loves you and I do, too!
