August 17, 2019
Dear Rockford Reformed Church Family and Friends,
Summer is or is nearly over for many of us. Some of our students are already at school and some of us are taking advantage of these last days to sit by a lake or explore some new area. Our softball team just completed their end-of-the-season tournament today (they came in third). Ruth and I are grateful for our ten days away exploring the Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies. God screams with his glory in this little sliver of his staggering creation.
It’s also good to be back with anticipation and preparation for the fall. Mark your calendars for our
SeptemberFest on September 8. This will be similar to last year with outdoor worship, lunch, and games for the kids. AND, this is a special opportunity to
invite family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to join us. Our own worship team will be leading
Praise in the Park next week Sunday. This is a great occasion for worship, making some connections with each other, and perhaps with someone who is not connected to Jesus or a church.
Tomorrow morning’s worship will be special as we baptize little Isabella Lapp, and Daniel and Dylan McDonough will profess their faith and be baptized. The sermon will focus on how we can be radically different in the way that we serve like Jesus.
Summer can sometimes be a discouraging season for the church because we look out across the sanctuary on Sunday mornings and wonder, “Where is everybody?!” But, this summer has often been encouraging with many tanned and new faces. I have also been encouraged as our guests have noted how they have been warmly received.
As we work to make better connections with each other and our guests, we are sometimes unsure of what to do. And so I want to share this blog article,
“How to Greet Visitors to Your Church On Sunday” as I think it can be helpful for all us.
I look forward to seeing many of you for glorious worship together tomorrow. We give praise to God for working in and through us and we look forward with hope for what he will do in the fall.
Pastor Tim
