Bible Study – 8:15 a.m.
Worship – 9:30 a.m.
Childcare is available for infants through preschool age, downstairs in Rooms 4 and 5 for morning and evening services
Fellowship Time – after worship
All-Church Indoor Picnic – after worship
From the Pastor/Head of Staff
Perfectly timed wisdom from the Gospel reading on Sunday. Jesus said to the disciples after they had returned from their first mission, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” A few years ago, the Boston Globe ran a story on a study that was done on 32 households in Los Angeles who opened their homes and lives to scholarly observation. The study was entitled, “Life at Home in the 21st Century.” Two observations stood out to me. Frist, “Even families who invested in outdoor décor and improvements were too busy to go outside and enjoy their new decks.” Too busy to enjoy what they had built to enjoy. Second, “Most families rely heavily on convenience foods even though all those frozen stir-fries and pot stickers saved them only about 11 minutes per meal.” Too busy to eat well. Ideally, summer is the season of the year when we make time to rest and relax. Arthur Boer has written, ““I grow increasingly convinced that our emerging fascination (with spirituality) is intrinsically related to our frenetic lifestyles. People feel distracted, disoriented, dissipated, and despairing. They sense that there is something more, and their deep yearning is a response to the mad pace of their lives.” Even more than those first disciples, we do well to embrace the invitation Jesus offered, “Come away…and rest a while.” The good news is that we don’t have to travel all that far to do this. Every Sunday, we are welcome to step away from the busyness and rest in the presence of God. Sunday liturgy is intended to be one of those restful places for us. So join us on Sunday for morning worship. Turn away from the busyness, from the crazy, unrelenting news cycle, and rest in the peaceful presence of God.
Blessings,
David
“Path from Mas Jolie,” by Paul Cezanne, at the Beyeler Foundation, Riehen, Switzerland.