August 20, 2021
Dear Prairie Avenue Family,
As 2021 rounds into its final 1/3, it certainly feels like a strange blend of normal and adapting! Students in area school districts have returned to the classroom with statewide mandates for masks. Some of the largest daily case numbers of COVID-19 were declared this past week, and the news of Afghanistan's humanitarian and national crisis came as we heard a booster shot will be provided for waning immunity among the vaccinated. Just after the Labor Day weekend, we will be resuming weekly rehearsals of our handchimes ensemble and our praise band/chorus.
You can get an updated member directory when you attend in-person worship on Sunday (or a digital file can be accessed and e-mailed next week!).
We continue to meet with our partners at Child 1st Center and work towards developing a Crisis Nursery Center for Decatur and Macon County. The first step is gathering a working group of organizational representatives and child care advocates to plan development and launch.
The beginning of the school year is full of possibilities, a new beginning, and a chance to meet new friends, to learn new things, and though I did not know think of it this way as a child, the chance to mature and grow.
That's how I see fall at Prairie Avenue, too. Regardless of your age, each fall is a chance to begin anew--making new friends, learning new things, and growing as a person and a follower of Christ. Do not miss the opportunities to renew your commitment to Christ, grow deeper in your faith, reconnect with others and live your faith joyfully as you serve God and others!
Worship This Weekend:
Soul Food: Hard to Swallow
In the cocktail of various medications I take to treat my chronic heart disease, there is one big pill that sometimes makes my morning difficult. It is an oversized supplement that addresses my slightly low potassium level in the bloodstream. It helps carry the electrical signals of nerves and muscles, especially heart muscles. My lucky seven pills in the morning sometimes drop down my throat with ease. Other mornings I need a full glass to get it to go down.
Did you ever believe that Jesus would be hard to deal with? That he would offer teaching that would cause many followers to leave him? This Sunday we will discover how few the "feeding 5000 crowd" will become as Jesus reveals exactly what it takes to have the life God offers. It will take his life. And we are to swallow it.
Is this cannibalism? What is Jesus talking about taking his flesh and blood? The group that only wanted a mobile never-ending buffet of food has already left the scene. The grumbling Jewish authorities/opposition have already decided that his claim of heavenly origin is too much to swallow. And now it is the disciples, dwindling down to 12 (11 if you include Judas' coming betrayal) who decide whether to leave or draw into this life, drawing eternity into themselves as food enables us to operate and live.
Most of our lives are filled with taking it from others in some way or form. We drew from our mother's resources when she was expecting. We must draw food that is handled and provided for us through some system or method. The same is true with our spiritual lives. It has to come from somewhere. Jesus invites us to take his life: his way and his provisions lead to eternal life with God. It is not easily chosen. Indeed, the disciples were first chosen by him, rather than they choosing him. What are we drawing our life from? Is it able to provide for you eternally?
You can choose to leave. Many tend to do it. Many will find something about Jesus that is difficult to live with or follow. Will we recognize as Peter did (and then would hesitate when fear overcame his faith) that there is no other source to seek for eternity?
Seeking Shalom Masterclass
Sunday, August 15, 10:45 am Golden Circle Classroom
We continue to learn more about traditional charity and its limitations following Modern worship service in the Golden Circle Classroom. This invaluable resource provided by the Lupton Center, will draw our mission and vision for our neighborhood outreach efforts tentatively called Prairie Avenue Neighborhood Services (PANS).
Through Leaders Lab, I am also able to offer individual access to this coursework online. If you are interested in participating through this access, please email me. I will be glad to share the access point information and process.
Service Opportunities
It is time for more congregational participation in the order of service and providing hospitality on Sunday morning. We need worship leaders for each service, 8 am or 9:30 am. The script is usually completed by Wednesday mornings and can be picked up or sent via e-mail to you. We need greeters to open the door, secure it about ten minutes after worship begins, leave the sanctuary just after communion is shared to offer goodbye at the doorway.
We are still seeking nominations for board officers and trustees.
ADOPT-A-STREET CLEAN-UP, Saturday, August 21, 10 AM
Tomorrow is our next opportunity to share the love of neighbor indemonstrable way as we pick up litter along East Main & East Prairie and around the church grounds. The care we show to the area surrounding our posted "Adopt-A-Street" sign speaks loudly to those who may not be aware of us as a church.
COVID-19 AND IN-PERSON WORSHIP
I want to encourage you, if you have not yet been vaccinated, to go get vaccinated. For worship gatherings, I will wear my mask until speaking from the sanctuary chancel area. We encourage but do not require, masks in worship for in-person participants. Attendance at the two services is about 75% of attendees prior to March 2020, with about 5% still joining us online.
PRAYING FOR AFGHANISTAN
There are times I don’t know what to pray. I’ve felt that way this week as I’ve watched the news out of Afghanistan. There are moments when I have hope that the Taliban have changed, moderated, and that they mean what they say when they promise rights for women and that they seek peace and not retribution against their enemies. There are bits of news out of Afghanistan that would support this view yet other news stories out of Afghanistan that do not. Like many of you, I feel great concern for those who worked with our troops and what will happen to them. PBS has a relatively brief timeline of Afghanistan's history you can read here. Join me in praying for the people of Afghanistan, and international leaders there and here, for God’s Spirit to guide all involved towards a path that makes for peace with justice.
Invite friends to join you for worship
this weekend, in person, online
In-person on Sunday mornings at 8 am (Traditional) or 9:30 am (Modern) Masks are encouraged regardless of vaccination status if social distancing cannot be kept.
See you this weekend online or in person,
Blessings to you all,
