Happy Friday High Places!
May is here and there's plenty of sunshine to go around. I hope your flower beds and your gardens are springing to life, pun intended!! :)
Our scripture this week comes from Matthew 7 where Jesus is talking about the value of prayer, and the difference between inner communing with God, and the outer use of many words. Our staff is teaming up to talk about prayer this week, so if you've ever wondered about prayer, how to pray, or just wondered how other people do it -- this is GREAT week to take a look at through a few different points of view!
I've had a super-stressful week and have felt and appreciated your prayers. Feeling tired, but enthusiastic about all God is doing in and around High Places and beyond. There's so much good energy right now in our clergy association and God is speaking and working among this city's ministers in ways I have not experienced before. It's extremely encouraging and I feel blessed to live in a community where this kind of unity and fellowship among different congregations is taking form.
News and Notes to Mark our Calendars By:
#1 The women's group won't be meeting this Sunday, but will resume and meet the rest of May. Even if you've not participated yet, it's not too late to join in!
#2 The men's group is meeting tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM. Bring a brown bag breakfast and jump into Ephesians with us. Tomorrow we will be reading chapter 5 together and discussing.
#3 Martin still has room for more at the "First Kiss" dinner (see attached flyer). Around 20 people are so will gather on Sunday evening to talk about who and why we are as a High Places family, keeping it simple but informative. It's open to recent members and curious others! We will begin gathering at 5:00 PM @ the Grove.
#4 Kady made an announcement requesting volunteers to help with the Mountain Movers "Mystery and a Movie" night on Monday at the Grove. I know she still needs a few more helpers, so if you are willing, please let her know you can be there. There's a great deal of excitement and movement in our kid's ministries these days, so I hope you'll come check it out!
#5 A lot of folks signed up to help our end of the month craziness! Thank you!! I hope to have the sign-up sheets out again this Sunday, so give them a look and see where you might like to plug in as God leads.
* "Revive the Nights" kicks off on Thursday, May 30th if you are looking for a fun night out with clean comedy and Christian music. Tickets are up on Eventbrite and through Facebook if you want to give that a closer look.
* I am hosting a community wide "Walt Whitman 200th Birthday Bash" on May 31st. You can help me create more momentum around this by clicking on the FB page, and purchasing an early-bird concert ticket if you like folk / Americana. Check out the event page on our Grove Theater website if you have a second... www.thegrovetheater.org/waltwhitman
Tickets are linked up there for the show, as well as Jubal's website if you want to check out their sound. They are very talented and one of the most sought-after bands in East TN and beyond! It's going to be a great night out.
* Flatwater Tales story-telling festival is sure to be a hit again this year. After selling out the Oak Ridge playhouse last year the organizers reached out to us to host as the Grove holds a few hundred more people. We aim to clean up and put on our smiles as we host one of the biggest events in Oak Ridge.
* After hitting a scheduling snafu with the city on the "People's Supper Picnic," I am 99% sure we have it worked out to gather on the front lawn of First Methodist Church for our time together. We'll have a little more shade there, easy access to restrooms, and First had already committed to be the rain-out venue. I will still be recruiting helpers and still working to raise what we need to bring Lennon back to Oak Ridge from California. If you can help cover some of the budget for that, I'd be deeply appreciative. And I hope you will consider coming out and seeing close-up how God is bringing our faith communities together for the purpose of building a better Oak Ridge!
There's a lot more on the calendar and a lot more happening, but I will stop there. If you would, please remember our High Places friend, Annie Cachario and family in prayer. Annie's mother was killed in a traffic accident this week on the west end of town. Annie is the director of Aid to Distressed Families and she has been a friend and encourager to me.
Thanks so much for being awesome.
Love you all,
David