
It’s back to school time. Either the children in your family or neighborhood already have, or they are about to next week. These are important times in the lives of children and youth, teachers and parents. At the church, we value marking important times in your lives and being able to see them through the lens of faith. That’s why this weekend we will be Blessing the Backpacks. If you are in town this weekend, please join us for worship on Sunday and bring your bags with! Bring your backpack or diaper bag, your briefcase or knitting bag, your gym bag or your shopping bag, and come for a blessing on these bags and the activities they represent. Come for a blessing on you as you enter this “back to school” season with fresh eyes of faith and an encouragement to be the presence of the Holy One wherever you go.
I know some of you are squeezing out a last bit of summer this weekend, and who can blame you. I’ll be doing that at the State Fair on Saturday with family, something like 9 of us going together! I love the ability to sample food and pass it on to others in my tribe. And being with my tribe makes the day the biggest blessing of the summer to me. I love spending time with adult children and my mother as we, in child-like joy, ooh and ahh at the wonders of the State Fair. And if there is a tilt-a-whirl, I’m on it!
The same joy of being with my tribe that I experience with the family at the fair, is possible in our family of faith. It’s so fun to see the family return from busy summer schedules to gather as our tribe and grow together in our love of God and our love of God’s people. The oohs and ahhs will come on Promotion Sunday (formerly Rally Sunday) on September 8th and at the first Wednesday Night Live on September 11th. Mark your calendars now so you don’t miss out!
See you at church for all the family fun, all the growing in faith, all the unexpected blessings of being with our tribe!
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink