from the pastor

July 20, 2003

The dew on the grass catches my eye this morning. Any rabbit or squirrel who chooses to hop or scamper through my backyard will get soaked. But my eye can catch no animals, not at this moment. It is all so inviting: the dew, the orange lilies, the pink cone flowers, the fat green tomatoes, the bird bath. I suspect this backyard is a remnant of the Garden of Eden.

The quietness of the yard this morning is a balance to the church these days. Busy, busy, busy. I'll tell you a few things I know off the top of my head.

Corn. We began picking and selling sweet corn on Monday. This is the 23rd year that Grace Church has planted a patch of sweet corn, picked it ourselves, sold it to the neighbors, and donated all the proceeds to mission. By best estimate, we picked and sold 10,800 ears of corn this past week. There is another full week (and probably more) of picking and selling ahead of us. This is a huge project and we need all the help we can get.

Vacation Bible School. You saw the lighthouse this morning as you approached the church. We call our Vacation Bible School the Philo Road Kids Fair. This year's theme is the "Lighthouse Kids." We anticipate lots of kids from our church and neighborhood to be with us August 3-6. Each night we will have a meal, crafts, games, Bible stories, and special guests. Our grand celebration of the event will be Wednesday, August 6--and that's where the whole congregation comes in. Pay attention for further details.

Children's Musical. The cast from the musical will be singing in both worship services today. The musical this year is titled Solid Rock Cafe. The drama centers around a group of kids in a praise band who end up missing their destination. They end up instead in the Solid Rock Cafe--and get a little unexpected help. It kind of goes along with my July series of sermons on sin: missing the mark (the definition of sin)--and the help God gives us when that happens. There is plenty of work to do in preparation for this musical--performed for the congregation next Sunday night (July 27) at 6 p.m. Rehearsals, sets, costumes, and panic are all on the agenda for this coming week.

Youth. This is a transition summer for the youth program at Grace. Todd and Lisa Searing are retiring as the youth leaders, and Marcia Burns (our newest staff person, the Director of Developing Ministries) is in the process of working with us to create a new model for relating to middle and senior high kids. (When it comes to youth work, a new model is usually necessary every 6-12 months!) Next Sunday is our time to express appreciation to Todd and Lisa for all the years of work they have done with our youth. That will occur during the fellowship hour. In the meantime, Marcia is doing one on one conversations with all the parents of middle school youth. And Julia Burns is instigating some fun get-togethers for the senior high youth. Be sure and let Marcia, Julia, or me know if someone you know needs to be included.

--Mike

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