Good morning High Places!
With the leaves changing and the temperature dropping, we can definitely see that the fall season has fully settled in. Often, the months of November and December are good opportunities for churches to take personal inventory through the rest, recharge, and celebration of the season. It can be challenging because the holidays do bring stress, but coupled with the hurriedness of the season are moments of quiet.
Our prayer is that these remaining eight weeks of 2014 will be fruitful -- not in the sense of being more busy -- but instead in the sense of just being. Outside of the "Community Thanksgiving Dinner," the High Places holiday will unfold in a fairly low-key fashion. Here's a calendar:
Thursday, November 27 -- Thanksgiving Day. Our facility is hosting a Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Last year, we fed nearly 500 people in our city who were either alone or without the means to have a Thanksgiving. This year, we are working hard to reach even more. Learn more here: http://feedthepeople.us/ Consider how you might plug-in, but in no way shortchange your personal family holiday to do so. There are many ways to help that can still keep your holiday open for family!
Sunday, November 30 -- Tired of Turkey celebration!
Sunday, December 14 -- High Places Christmas Program
Sunday, December 28 -- No formal gathering
Outside of our Christmas parties (children, youth, adult) that's the holiday schedule in a nutshell. It's pretty low-key and that is somewhat on purpose. Savor the holiday! And as you do, think on this quote from E.B. White:
"If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy... if only challenging, that would be no problem. But it is both. So, I arise in the morning torn between the desire to save the world and the desire to savor it. It makes it difficult to plan the day."
As you meditate, consider the possiblity that savoring is saving. That in nearly every instance of salvation we see in Scripture, there is celebration.
Apologies for the lengthy, esoteric email.
This Sunday -- 9:23AM I am pleased to welcome Kathy Strunk of the Clinch River Raptor association. A long time lover of birds of prey, she will share with us the important work of rescuing hawks, owls, and more & teach us about the beauty of birds. She is bringing with her live rescue owls! This is a great one for both the young and the young at heart!
See you all there!
Much love,
David