At Ascension, the month of September feels more like a month-long homecoming celebration than a kick-off Sunday of fall programming. It occurs to me after some nineteen Rally Day celebrations – planned, prepped, programmed, and celebrated in my ministry — that perhaps the entrance into church in a new way in September is not so much about the kick-off but more about the homecoming. For me personally, the idea is far more in-line with who we are as a people of faith always looking towards home.
I am always glad for the arrival of September. I see faces that have been absent from worship and the life of the community. “Welcome Home!” might be a far more fitting entrance back into the life-giving, overwhelming joy of what it means to be in worship and engaging in ministry in news ways in your own life. After all, you do not return to a pattern of BLAST, JOLT, CRASH, small groups, musical ensembles, GriefShare, and everything else without bringing along the stories of summer days divided in multiple directions.
I wonder: Are you hungry when you return to the normal patterns of fall and school year? Even those of us without children under our roofs recognize that our lives are shaped by the unfolding of a school calendar, season upon season. Are you hungry to be in worship regularly? Are you hungry to learn something new about your relationship with God? Are you hungry for a new understanding after a summer of events that may or may not have gone exactly as you expected? I wonder.
In the midst of September welcomes and reconnections, there are some incredible moments for us, as a faith community, to celebrate and anticipate. September 15 will call us to celebrate our 70th anniversary as a congregation. A mix of old and new will greet us that Sunday along with the gift of fellowship. (Watch Pastor Chris’ sermon from the 70th Anniversary here.)
On September 22, we will invite you to consider answering the question, “What happens when God doesn’t fix it?” If you have never known a situation in your life where it felt as if God left you hanging out to dry – then maybe this question and the studies to come are not for you. I suspect there are few, if any, within our midst who believe God has always come through our storms with dazzling displays of answers – exactly as we had hoped.
Even in our wandering, as we find our way home, we have much to celebrate this September. We will slowly enter into the journey of the Call Process this month. Our Spanish worship ministry celebrates its first anniversary on September 8! We give thanks for not only one seminarian beginning his fourth year of seminary but a second seminarian beginning year one! Your support of the ministries inside and outside Ascension have been generous providing a strong foundation for the days ahead. New landscaping in the front of the building and updated landscaping in the Memorial Gardens will greet you when you arrive. Two weddings in September in the Memorial Gardens will celebrate the miracle of life and love that God continues to reflect into the world. And baptisms – baptisms everywhere. A wonderful continuation of the story of God’s masterful artistry of creation in the midst of this life we live.
Come my friends! Come and see what God is doing in us and through us here at Ascension. And, just so you know, you are welcome here. Most welcome here! And when you enter into the doors of the church this September – look for a friendly face – my hope, our hope, God’s hope is that every face is friendly. And every person is reminded that they are welcome in this place. So dear ones – welcome home!
See you in church.
Pastor Chris
(Reprinted from the Sept. 2019 newsletter.)
