“I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.”

Psalm 121: 1-3

On Wednesday mornings the lower school on campus has chapel in our Nave and I usually go in and sit with my fourth grader. I enjoy starting our day like this together once a week. It’s not part of my job so there’s no responsibilities for me and I just get to sit and worship with my son. Well today, I had so much on mind. I’m busy making the final preparations for our Fall Festival on Sunday and I just didn’t want to take the time to go to chapel. I walked out there to try to catch him on his way in to tell him that I was going to skip today because I had too much work to do but as I walked into the space and I picked up my bulletin, I felt the distinct tug of God. It was an invitation to just take a moment to pause. The work would be there when I was done. 

And sure enough, multiple times in the service I felt the unmistakable presence of God, the peace that surpasses all understanding. I tell the kids in Children’s Chapel all the time that we have to practice listening for the voice of God in order to hear it more clearly. Well, I’ve had a lot of practice at this in these past few years as I’ve wrestled with some of the deepest grief in my life. When your foundation is shattered it becomes easy to lean into God because there aren’t any other solutions. But the more self-sufficient we are, the easier it becomes to cut corners in our spiritual life and then we begin to feel disconnected from everything around us.

So here I am with a reminder of God’s open invitation to us all to pause. Take a step away from your work and your to do list and all the important things you do every day and just rest in God’s presence and remember that everything we are and do is rooted in God’s great love for us. And this Sunday, prepare your hearts for some tangible expressions of God’s love and joy as we celebrate with a parish-wide Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat. Kids and kids at heart are invited to wear costumes to Church and everyone is invited to our Fall Festival including a petting zoo, train rides, chili and hot dog lunch, a cake contest and of course lots of candy!

Renee Stephens

Director of Membership and Children's Ministries

Click above to watch Bill's sermon from last Sunday!

Pastoral Notes 

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