August 8, 2020
Dear Prairie Avenue Family,
I am keeping my hopeful confidence and patiently waiting for additional information needed to plan next steps and respond accordingly to our ever-changing COVID-19 life and environment. Unfortunately it seems the news continues to raise anxiety and increase fear and worry. Your due diligence, patience, and faithful commitment to our community in the midst of this time is deeply appreciated, as is your prayers and thoughts. Thank you for your 100% compliance to the mask requirement for in-person worship each Sunday. It is likely that more gatherings will be identified as sources of cases in the coming weeks.
Worship This Weekend
We continue our summer series Family Reunion: Lessons from Genesis. This Saturday at 5 pm worship-online, or Sunday at 9 am we shift from Jacob/Israel to the story of the children of Jacob/Israel and the consequences of favor. Contrary to the marvelous production skills of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Joseph's robe is not a "technicolor dreamcoat." Rather, it is likely a long sleeved, almost royal coat. Many have spoken about Joseph being spoiled, but other than an act of obvious favoritism by his father and a tattle-tale report (interestingly on the handmaids' sons only) on his brothers, Joseph is not guilty of using his parental leverage to his own end. He is guilty of oversharing dreams. Fortunately, when several brothers want death (probably Zilpah's and Bilhah's), the older brothers of Reuben and Judah modify their intents from murder to negotiating with traders. Ironically, it is other outsiders of the family (Ishmael's descendants) who are able to take Joseph to Egypt, where the chosen son will serve as an indentured servant, but rise from captivity to freedom.
Other News This Week
Solar Equipment Update Speaking of patience in these times, I continue to anticipate both permit and weather approval to begin our long-awaited project as the first solar-powered church in Macon County.
Elevator Blues I have not received the proposed bid and estimate from Kone Elevators regarding updating our elevator. Contrary to rumor, the elevator is not broken and inoperable at this time. It occasionally has a programming error, where it does not proceed to the floor requested without pressing the floor request again. It will operate fine 95% of the time.
Adult Discussion Class Continues on Wednesdays: I hope you will join me next Wednesday at 6 pm as we explore and discuss prophets and prophetic books. Many of the biblical writings deal in some way with the future.
It was common in the ancient world to believe that the future could be predicted. Many persons also believed that the future was already determined by external forces, e.g., the Fates. Today, religions still vary in the way they understand the limits of human freedom.
Prophecy existed in other ancient Near Eastern cultures and was similar in many ways to prophecy found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).
It was not always self-evident which prophets were true and which were false, an issue that the biblical writers take up at numerous points and in various ways.
At the end of the class, you will be able to identify "prophet," the marks of true prophets and their message, and list both similarities and differences between biblical and other ancient prophets.
You can attend any or all class sessions. To register, click here.
Daycare Exploratory Committee Representatives from the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County visited our facility this past Wednesday to look at opportunities and potential increased usage of our facilities and space. Following their tour, much discussion on the need for expanded child care services and facilities was shared, with helpful contacts and suggestions to explore the possibility of either serving as an annex for current daycare operators or being a site for a new daycare operation providing rental income for facility usage. With COVID-19 adding further restrictions on current child care availability, and noticing more neighborhood children under 12 who may struggle to find or provide safe space for care and education, I have begun gathering needed preliminary information for feasibility and review. If you would like to be part of the exploratory effort, please e-mail me or call the church office 428-3327.
In some ways, the idea of a daytime neighborhood children's education center is a renewal of the mission and vision which launched the James Van Lear Education Wing construction in 1968.
See you in worship in the sanctuary on Sunday morning at 9 am or Saturday online at 5 pm this weekend!
