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Dear Church,
Last night we concluded our 4-night Evening VBS with Dr. John McCall. Each year, our children perform an original play that parallels the theme, and every year our children simply amaze me. Led by Meghan Griffith, their play titled “Pay Attention” was spot on, with song, comedy, and deep inspiration. It was the perfect ending to a great week.
Dr. John McCall focused on 4 subjects throughout the week: prayer, scripture, community, and service. Each one is a gift by which we can grow in our faith and recognize and come to know God more. Prayer is a space for us to be real with God, speak honestly about what is going on, and connect with ourselves—whether through words or in silence. Scripture allows us to see “God’s strange new world” as we are invited into the story ourselves—scripture is always relevant; we need to find resonance. Community offers the gifts of grace, encouragement, and space to name and claim the good things around us. Service is a way to connect with God through emptying ourselves as Christ did. Each of these, and all of these together, form an inward and outward avenue for maintaining our vertical connection with God and our horizontal connection with one another. It is at the intersection of those two connections that we can truly live into the words, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth [horizontal] as it is in heaven [vertical].”
Our youth will seek to do just that next week during our At-Home Mission Week. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, our youth will engage in worship, community, and service. The theme for next week is Called to Connect as we seek connections with each other, with our community and partners, and with God. We have a long list of projects: landscaping, painting, serving lunch, organizing donations, bagging dog food, playing games with neighborhood children, and writing encouraging notes.
To read about past mission experiences from youth and adults, I encourage you to check out our church blog. And this summer, if you have a meaningful experience of faith (or you had one this past week at Evening VBS), we would love to hear about it!
Second Presbyterian Church Blog
I am grateful for this church, a church that takes seriously our call to educate and to serve… because a head full of knowledge with hands open and ready is a dynamic combination! May we continue to learn, grow, pray, gather, play, study, and serve!
Blessed to be a Blessing,
Ben Brannan
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