Dear Friends,
I will be out of the office from November 4-11 and absent from worship on November 10. I am grateful to Fr. Shannon Kearns for filling the pulpit that Sunday.
I will be away that week for a training course, hopefully to aid in finding my next calling. One of the oddities about interim pastor work is that if you do it well, you’re out of a job before too long. So, in aid of having work to do myself while this church is getting to know its pastor, I’m trying to prepare myself. Even at its most swift, however, that process won’t happen before Advent arrives. As strange as it may sound, it might be my favorite season of the liturgical year. There is anticipation, there is hope, there is song, and there is preparation. That all kicks in starting on December 1.
Before that, though, there’s Thanksgiving. In the strictest sense, Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday. However, the word itself is inherently a part of Christian living (perhaps more often expressed by the more “churchy” word “gratitude”).
Thanksgiving will be acknowledged twice during the month of November. First comes the church’s annual Thanksgiving lunch after the service on November 10. You should be able to find more information about that elsewhere in this newsletter.
On Sunday, November 24, the service will be centered on the giving of thanks, perhaps with some extra emphasis on the “giving” part as stewardship campaign time approaches. After all, a true attitude of thanksgiving or gratitude inevitably results in some kind of giving, when one is following Jesus. Right?