July 31, 2019

Dear friends and fellow disciples,

It's great to be back! Really, I promise! Our family had a wonderful two weeks away in the mountains, where it was significantly cooler than it is here. I am so grateful to serve a congregation that understands how important it is for its staff to find respite in these busy days. I pray you also have had some good time away with people you love this summer. Being away also makes me all the more grateful for the staff and members who did so much while I was gone - offering pastoral care, continuing to support the building project, chaperoning youth trips, or planning for the fall.

The Fellowship Hall has been released to the construction company and the work will soon get underway.  For safety reasons, NO ONE is permitted in the Fellowship Hall after SUNDAY. Here's the schedule for August:

 

The construction will require us to change our parking and entrance/exit patterns on campus, and we will share information about that with you very soon. In the meantime, for your safety, please do not enter the Fellowship Hall under any circumstances. Thank you for your patience.  Contact : Dana Lange

Come to the church on Saturday, August 3, 8:30am ,  to help pull up the brick pavers from the walkway by the Fellowship Hall so that they can be saved. Wear work clothes and bring your work gloves and any tools that could be helpful. A few extra wheelbarrows would be good to have, too. We’re not quite sure how long this work will take, so if you’re thinking of coming at noon or later, we suggest you call Helen Harrison first (919-768-3595) to make sure folks are still working.  Contact : Helen Harrison

During the month of August, the Sojourners will be discussing "Why? Making Sense of God’s Will,” by Adam Hamilton. This brief series addresses God’s role in life’s stresses. Discussion topics include “Why do the innocent suffer? (August 4); “Why do my prayers go unanswered?” (August 11); “Why can’t I see God’s will for my life?” (August 18); and “Why God’s love prevails” (August 25). Join the conversation on Sundays at 9:00am in Room 205. Contact : Bill Pogue

Westminster provides dinner, dinner hosts, and childcare on Monday and Tuesday nights during our volunteer weeks with  Families Moving Forward . Our next rotation is Monday ,  August 12, and Tuesday, August 13 .   Volunteers are needed to pick up, deliver, and set up dinner; eat with the families and clean up afterward; and play with the kids while parents participate in FMF life and parenting skills programming. We partner with Immaculate Conception and Judea Reform on this important mission. Sign up now . Contact : Rachel Chang

What a time! In the midst of the August heat and a different pace, the work of following Jesus continues. We study and share meals. We serve the hungry and homeless. We care for families. We gather supplies to support families at our local schools. We bear witness, in complicated and conflicted times, to Christ's love that is generous and broad, that reaches towards all, filled with grace. May these days offer you many opportunities to bear witness yourselves, to share with and show to others God's extraordinary love.

Peace be with you all.