Connect, Grow, Serve
We have several great opportunities to connect, grow, and serve this fall at Christ Church. First, our Newcomers’ Gathering will be Sunday from 4:00-5:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. This is an informal gathering for anyone new to Christ Church. We’ll talk about our congregation’s history, vision, and mission, as well as ways to connect and serve. There will be wine, water, cheese, and fruit, and plenty of time to ask questions.
Next Saturday, September 24, there will be an organ dedication and recital from 5:00-6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary, followed by a reception in the Parish Hall. We will formally dedicate the organ to God to be used for his glory, and our organist, Steve Vandenberg, will demonstrate various features of the new organ.
Our annual parish retreat, held at the Pine Rock Retreat Center in Prescott, will begin Friday, October 7, and will go through noon on Sunday, October 9. There will be time for worship, fellowship, and rest as our retreat speaker, Tom Ashbrook, walks us through the Seven Mansions of St. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle. For more information on the retreat, including registration, please contact Megan Comstock. You can also register, as well as purchase copies of Tom Ashbrook’s book, the next two Sundays at church.
Finally, there are two opportunities to work with refugees in October. On October 1, there is a “vision trip” to an apartment complex where many refugees live. While there, you can meet a refugee family and observe a faith-based English class. Also, on Saturday, October 22, there is an opportunity to serve with Welcome to America, an organization that helps refugees get settled in their apartments. For more information on these opportunities, click here. Over and over again in scripture we’re told to show hospitality to strangers, and these new, very vulnerable neighbors give us the opportunity to know and serve the Lord in unique ways (see Matthew 25:35).
I’m excited about the many opportunities we have to go deeper – deeper with God, with one another, and with the world around us – this fall at Christ Church. I hope and pray that we might be on this journey together – there are great things in store for us.
Peace,
Chris