August 31, 2020 Dear Kirk family and friends,   It was a joy to eavesdrop on a conversation between Pastor Kelsey Sorge and member Bill Robinson before worship on Sunday. Bill was sitting in the Fireside Room before worship to try to stay warm and Kelsey was waiting for me and Angela to join her for our prayer before worship.

My hunch is that Kelsey, our new associate pastor for youth ministry, will teach her fair share of Sunday school classes (once we are out of this pandemic!) - but she will probably never match Bill. He’s been teaching for 79 years. “My ambition,” he told her, “was to teach the grandchildren of the first children I taught.”   “Did you make it?”   “Yes I did.”

He has taken his time with it. As I said in my sermon on Sunday, “too often we don’t slow down and wait - wait and trust God to be God.” Bill is a man who has spent a lifetime waiting on God, trusting in God, and helping others to trust God.    Today he turns 95 and we celebrated him yesterday with a drive-thru birthday parade. I think he loved every minute of it!

We continue to live out a call to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. While people wait on God and trust in God, God invites us to stand in for him and bring hope in the midst of waiting.   We have children in Pontiac waiting to see what school will look like for them this year. Your amazing donations of school supplies will bring hope to them. This is how God shows up! Thank you to all those who have given! We are collecting supplies through next Sunday at the garden service or weekdays from 10 a.m. - 1p.m. in the Welcome Center!

Accent Pontiac will echo that hope to the students as well. Just this week, Accent Pontiac students performed for family, friends, Kirk members and Pontiac community members at the Oakland History Center, sharing the music they learned during summer porch lesson camp. The featured piece was "We Believe", a piece Accent Pontiac students wrote themselves featuring lyrics:   We believe in us. We believe in you. We believe we can do anything we put our mind to. We believe in friends and family. We believe.

Pastor Kelsey continues to develop relationships with our young people at the Kirk - helping them, too, learn that God can be trusted. This week she dreamt with some of the youth about what the youth room at the church could look like, talked with leaders about “back to school” care packages, and spent some time with the kids - just hanging out and drinking smoothies. She hopes that youth and families will join her for an ice cream truck event from 7-8 pm on September 13th at the Kirk. Let Kelsey know that you are looking forward to seeing her by emailing [email protected].

More and more people, especially during this pandemic, are having to trust God for their next meal. One family from the community, inspired by a mission project with the Kirk earlier this summer, joined Midge Barrow in cooking for SOS. This family bought and cooked a full turkey dinner for 100 homeless people being sheltered in a hotel by SOS!

If you would like to offer help in this way, the Kirk is partnering with All Saints Episcopal church every 4th and 5th Saturday of the month to serve breakfast and offer essentials from 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. to the our homeless neighbors in Pontiac and those with food insecurities. We are forming a core group of people to take turns leading the four different areas of the breakfast and will eventually have our small groups join them. If you would like to serve on the core team please contact Julie Walker at [email protected].

Finally, last Saturday we closed out the Summer Carillon Series. We received a call late Thursday from a woman that had attended the Carillon concert a week ago Saturday. She is not a member of the Kirk, but called because she said that she and her four year old granddaughter had attended together and it was a very special time for both of them. She loved the song selections from Puff the Magic Dragon (she said it brought tears to her eyes) to Blowin in the Wind. She said she was able to explain the Puff the Magic Dragon story to her granddaughter and it led to talking about love and what love is and means and the various forms it can look like. She was so touched by the whole thing. She wanted to make sure you all knew how much of an impact you are having on the community at large.

What are you waiting on God to do?   Are you waiting for a meal?   For a friendship?   For support?   Is it especially tough to wait in these times? Many of us are separated from our plans, our traditions, and our people. Even our church is different. We are doing our best to offer worship services that meet everyone’s needs (register for Garden Service worship HERE), classes that keep everyone engaged, and service opportunities that allow everyone to give back. Still, things are different and it might be that you are feeling like God is taking way too long to keep his promises.    Try to remember though, like Bill Robinson has been remembering for 95 years …   … to wait for God to be God.   God can be trusted.   Stay warm,   Pastor Nate

Relational Mission Opportunities Accent Pontiac Block Party   Accent Pontiac is hosting AP Block Party, a virtual benefit concert, on September 11 at 7:00 p.m. The virtual concert will feature performances by Accent Pontiac students and professional guest musicians including Thornetta Davis, Stormy Chromer and more! Suggested donation is $25 per guest and all proceeds benefit Accent Pontiac's social change through music programs in Pontiac. Visit www.accentpontiac.org/apblockparty for more information and to RSVP.”

Lighthouse Food Ministry  Join Julie Walker to pack food boxes and/or deliver food for those dealing with food insecurity. Help is needed every Thursday during August between 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.   Social distancing guidelines are in place, everyone is required to wear a mask, and no more than 6 people are in the packing area at one time.   For more information click the sign-up link here or contact Julie Walker.

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We envision a world where every heart experiences God's transforming love.