Good Thursday morning High Places,
Due to the number and frequency of guests we're having lately and the rain predicted on Sunday, we will again meet at the Grove for our main meeting this Sunday. I had hoped to return to Briarcliff Park, and perhaps we will as the weather cools a little in the coming months. We've had an outstanding few weeks in late June / July. Your attendance and continued support has been inspiring. We will plan to meet in the small auditorium again this week as it seems much easier to hear your singing in there. :)
Summer Camp begins Monday and we move in on Sunday afternoon. We would love to have a few extra volunteers moving camp food to Big Ridge on Sunday, as well as helping to inspect the grounds for poison ivy, wasp nets, etc. If you can assist us on this day, we typically load up what we need around 2:00 from the Grove (the food goes up separately), and try to be at the park by 3:00 PM.
Please be in prayer for our campers, counselors, and staff this week. Camp is traditionally a powerful week of spiritual growth and connection for all who are involved. Pray that God would move and speak as only he can, and that lives will be forever changed by His love.
On Thursday, July 15th all High Places members are invited to come to Big Ridge, located at 1015 Big Ridge Park Rd, Maynardville, TN. The group camp is located in the very back, past the grist mill on the side of the lake opposite the swimming area (a left hand turn will get you there). If you can come visit, please bring a side dish and if you are so inclined, a singing voice. It will be parent night, so feel free to mingle and meet some new faces also. Baptism typically follows dinner, weather permitting.
We are extremely grateful to Chad and all our volunteers for this week they are giving to our students.
"The Oak Ridge 85" is the name for the first 85 black students in the southeast to integrate into public schools and it happened right here in our own town, before even "Brown vs. the Board of Education" was settled and integration became federal law. Only 30 of these original 85 students are still living, and many of them are friends of High Places.
Organizers for the Oak Ridge 85 celebration reached out to our church this week to ask for support in paying for a bus to bring in a marching band from Nashville as part of the September festivities. High Places will be making a contribution and it if you would like to contribute to this as a show of support, please let me know by Sunday. It was honor to be one of the few asked to support, and I believe, representative of the many ways our church reaches into all places of the Oak Ridge Community. If you want to assist, please let me know.
You can learn more about the Oak Ridge 85 here (and it is an excellent read when it comes to learning about our history!) https://www.wbir.com/article/news/history/the-secret-in-scarboro-the-oak-ridge-85/51-2a202693-2ac8-4318-b162-10ef5e43972c
There is quite a bit happening and upcoming. Chili Dog Days of Summer is July 31st and is a community wide invitation to just come enjoy good food, good music, and good company. Any donations that come in for this event will go toward upkeep on the theater. It would wonderful to have our entire church out for this event, just meeting and greeting new people. The energy around High Places right now is high, and the spirit growing contagious. Let's ride the wave of togetherness and enjoy each other in these summer months.
Periodic Tables (formerly People's Supper) is set for a huge re-opening post-pandemic at the Secret City Festival. Momentum from all over Oak Ridge is behind this, and as I have mentioned, I would really love for our church to be behind this as well. Most people in Oak Ridge know this began with us, and that we've been the silent voice behind it.
Our purpose for this round of suppers is to gather and share our stories from the pandemic. We will hear from nurses, front line medical staff, teachers, first responders, as well as people who lost family members to CoVid. We will also share together ways the shutdown affected our families -- some of whom lost their businesses, jobs, and income last year. Then the suppers will move to openly share our sources of strength and moments of need.
Look for a slate of articles to begin appearing in the Oak Ridger tomorrow in the Faith Column. Support for this round of suppers has been good, but we are still looking for continued assistance. If you would like to help us bring the community together around good food and good conversation, we will need prayer above all, volunteers at every level, as well as financial support. Thank you for the GREAT work you do, for your support, and we thank God for the spiritual fruit that flows from this church into the larger community on a week by week basis.
May we stay strong and focused in our joy. And may we find grace as we draw close to one another in love and fellowship.
David
“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin