I hope your hearts and voices are lifted in praise and thanksgiving for a wonderful (and gone too fast) September in God’s church at Community! From Labor Day to now, much has transpired.
Besides full schedules of meetings and regular ongoing church outreach and activities, the Child Development Center began a new school year. We welcomed new baby, Reese, with her older brothers and parents Katie and Kyle just two weeks after they moved to Crofton from Australia. We are better able to greet one another by name after the aid of four weeks of back-from-summer-name-tag Sundays. We shared the loss of Adrienne Devlin Deaton with family and friends at her homegoing and also celebrated the baptism of her grandson, Devlin, who was born on her dying day. Sunday adult formation classes started and are in full stride with renewed enthusiasm and new participants. Jason and Crystal Bove brought Lily Rose for baptism into our church family. Several members and Pastor Doug heard the Bishop share Conference plans and resources for local churches during an evening Listening Session for our new Harbor District. Trustees worked feverishly to get inspections and necessary repairs on the fire suppression system to ensure that the church and CDC are safe, and annual re-licensing of the preschool by Anne Arundel County goes smoothly. On Tuesdays, Pastor Doug began a daytime study on Prayer (with lunch fellowship, too!) and in the evening A Disciple’s Path small group meets to grow deeper in followership of Jesus and knowledge of what participation in the United Methodist Church means in belief and practice. Chapel for CDC pupils is exploring Creation with Pastor Doug on Wednesday mornings. On the fourth Sunday, worship planning experimented with contemporary worship and music planning along with celebrations of the presentations of a first Bibles to our third graders. Prayers for the world and concerns in the community were voiced, home and hospital visits were made, caring cards were written, and the first membership audit calls since COVID were made.
Working with lay leadership and staff, Pastor Doug developed a “State of the Church Report” that has been circulated in the Community Connection. It is jam-packed with observations and insights of well-being and well-doing plus opportunities to rise up to new ministry levels of hospitality, worship, faith formation, mission and service, generosity, and peace with justice in Jesus Christ.
And, as the old adage says, “the best is yet to come…” Together, we’ll embrace Gospel values and grow in transformative discipleship, worship and service. Who knows, we may actually delight in adopting Bishop Schnase’s categories of fruitful church elements (named above) with their added descriptors: radical, passionate, intentional, risk-taking and extravagant! Righteousness and justice are characteristics of God we want to embrace more faithfully.
Do you find it as wonderful as I do seeing all that God is doing in our congregation and to imagine…dream dreams…of what is yet to be,
Blessings, friends! And, enjoy friendly ghosts who may be visiting your lawn at the beginning of Fall,
Barb Julian, Lay Leader
