October 19, 2018

Last Sunday, after I left the Chapel Service, I stopped by a Sunday School class just to say, “hello.” While there, they asked me if I wanted to say a few words. I said, “Sure,” and began to share some of the things that are happening in the Church right now. It occurred to me that you might be interested in what I shared with them.

First of all, tomorrow is The Great Day of Service. Each year, about this time, literally hundreds of members of the Church gather on Saturday morning at 8:00 am for breakfast, a short orientation, and then they disperse at sites located at the Church, across Dunwoody, and even at places in various places in Atlanta. Along with a whole host of other work projects, there will be service projects that include preparing flood buckets for the victims of the hurricanes, packaging meals for Rise Against Hunger, working with our ministry partners such as Wellspring Living and Homestretch, and many more.

Three weeks from now, the Holiday Festival will be upon us. The first time I attended the Holiday Festival I came as a visitor. I had no clue that 9 months later I would become the pastor. I originally had plans to take Carol to the mountains for the day, but Kenny Linton had invited Carol to come and she had said, “Yes.” We agreed we would go for an hour, then leave and go to the mountains. Four hours later, Carol was dragging me from the Holiday Festival. In addition to being a wonderful experience, the money that is raised makes it possible for us to build a Habitat for Humanity house in the Spring. To date, we have built 27 homes. With your help, next Spring we will build our 28th house.

Sometime after that, the renovation of the Sanctuary will be finished and we will be holding our first services in our new home. About once a week I have a conversation with Bob Preston, the Chairperson of the Building Committee. Several more times each week I stop by the sanctuary to see the progress that is being made. It is really beginning to take shape and every time I see it, I get more and more excited.

We are still a bit uncertain as to the exact date we will enter the sanctuary, but we are planning on having a major celebration on December 2nd. We plan to invite the entire community to come and join us in our new space. At both the Contemporary and Traditional Services, plans are underway to make it a special experience. And, later that day, we will have our Family Christmas Concert. It all adds up to a day of joy and celebration.

There is a lot happening in the Church right now. I hope you will make every effort to volunteer and /or attend each of these experiences. You will be glad you did.

Blessings,

Dan