November 16, 2018

Since next week is Thanksgiving, many will be leaving town, it will be a short week for almost everyone, and I thought I would remind you of a few things.

First, this Sunday we will be focusing on one of the greatest gifts God has given to us… the gift of gratitude. As a part of that experience, it will be Staff Recognition Sunday. Each year, we take time out on a Sunday morning to recognize those members of our staff who have been with us in increments of 5 years. This year, we will be recognizing eight members of our staff. One of the members of our staff has been with us for 35 years. I will let you guess which one until Sunday morning.

Because we are finishing up construction on our sanctuary, this year we will not have our Thanksgiving Breakfast and Service on Thanksgiving morning. While we will all miss the opportunity to be together as a community that morning, one of the ups is that our staff, particularly our Food Service Staff, will have the opportunity to be at home with their families. I know you join me in wishing each of them a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Sunday, November 25th will be our last Sunday in the Fellowship Hall. For those used to worshipping in the Traditional Service, I’m sure the anticipation of getting back into the Sanctuary is very exciting. At the same time, for those who prefer the Contemporary Service, the Fellowship Hall has been their worship home. It will mean moving into an entirely new space and getting used to new ways of doing worship. Moves like this always come with mixed emotions. However, we are so fortunate to have been able to use the Fellowship Hall as a place of worship, and when we move into the Sanctuary, there will be possibilities that were not previously available to us.

Then finally, on Sunday, December 2nd, we will be moving into the Sanctuary. It is going to be a glorious day. Not perfect. Just as when you move into a brand new home, there is always a punch list that has to be finished, there will still be items that will need to be completed and we hope to do that over the following few weeks. In addition, we will have to learn how to transition from one service to another and the audio visual equipment we have put in the Sanctuary will all be new, so there will be a bit of a learning curve. Once again, I want to ask you to be patient with us in the early weeks.

Related to that, our Family Christmas Concert will be that afternoon and we have decided to hold it in the Fellowship Hall. There are likely to be fewer glitches this way, and those who oversee our Children’s and Music areas assure me they can do a great job in the Fellowship Hall.

During this season of thanksgiving, we have so much for which to be grateful. I hope you will join us this Sunday as we talk more about that, and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Blessings,

Dan