“Oh, Say Can You See!”
Happy 4th of July everyone. We hope you all have a safe, happy, and full weekend as our country turns 245 years old on Sunday! This week we will meet at the Grove Theater again for the second part of our series, “Sex, Soil, and Showing Up.”
Special thanks to Lloyd and Stacy Jollay for the GREAT time we had at their place last Sunday. The turn-out was wonderful and spirits were sailing, a good time was had by all. The breeze was perfect, and we had enough shade to really enjoy our time together in Genesis chapter one, before eating a fabulous lunch and jumping in the lake!
SUMMER CAMP is two short weeks away and Chad and company are working really hard to bring our tradition back to life after missing it in 2020. We are putting out the all-call for food sign-ups (contact Regina Wilson - reginaplus3@comcast.net) and for any other donations that folks would like to make as we once again create a super-special experience for our Off the Wall teenagers. Chad has a great group of volunteers and is still taking forms, so if you know of a student would enjoy or benefit from our Big Ridge experience, let us know as soon as you can.
CHILI DOG DAYS OF SUMMER. We are also hosting a community concert at the Grove – and by “we,” I mean High Places & Friends of the Grove. So far, we have four solid bands to rock the place out, and I will have a volunteer sign-up sheet this Sunday recruiting helpers. Our goal is to simply open our doors to the community for fellowship and to joyfully represent our church and ministries through our smiles, handshakes, and hugs. It won’t be a “bait and switch” spiritual event, and yet it will be spiritual as we bring the fruits of the Spirit with us into the space. I hope you will consider coming out anytime between 5:00 and 10:00 PM on July 31st to share in this community event that we’re calling “Chili Dog Days of Summer.”
We continue to lurch back to life post-Covid and I have heard from many of you about how life is working for you post-pandemic. Look for an article in next Friday’s Oak Ridger (one week from tomorrow) that I hope to kick off as a series in the Faith Column about coming back to life after such a long time of social distancing. The articles will hopefully reveal the upcoming fall supper series, “Periodic Tables” which is really coming to life in ways that are outpacing even me. Excitement abounds!!
Keep our church, our ministries, camp, and our nation in your prayers this weekend.
Eat a burger for me while you’re at it.
Love and miss you all.
David
"What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not...the guns of our war steamers, or the strength of our gallant and disciplined army...our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms..." ~ Abraham Lincoln