Senior Pastor's Page 7/2/08
Launching into the Future…
at both God’s House and Ours
This week, construction begins in our Fellowship Hall as the first of many projects to upgrade our church building to better serve us in ministry. Foundation work to address the floor cracks is the first step. They will be cutting out several sections of the floor where the old and new foundations have been corrupted by “rebounding” … which is the opposite of settling. The old foundation has shifted upward and the work we are doing will address that problem and correct it for the future. It will take about three weeks for the concrete to cure and then we will be able to install the new flooring. New lighting and ceiling tiles are also to be installed and fresh painting will finish the project by the end of August. It will mean some adjusting for our coffee time on Sunday mornings as the work goes on. This Sunday, July 6, we won’t be able to accommodate the coffee time. It will resume next week, although it may be in the main foyer.
At our house, we are getting ready for Kim’s launch to Mali in West Africa on Monday, July 7. It’s an exciting time, but it’s also filled with some level of anxiety and adjustments for us. Packing for a 27 month adventure isn’t so simple. The separation and communication challenges during her Peace Corp experience are in many ways beyond us. There is going to be a lot of learning, praying, and waiting for letter’s, pictures or phone calls between us. Sending Kim “Care Packages” is already on my mind, even as we shop for those last minute items before her leaving.
Andrew Young told this story of himself as his daughter was leaving for Uganda to serve as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity:
“I was pleased when she became active in her local church. With each deepening level of her involvement, my heart rejoiced! But one day she announced that she was going to join the ministry of Habitat to build homes for the poor in Uganda. ‘I tried to talk her out of it. I mean, I wanted her to go to church, to find a nice Christian man to marry, to develop a relationship with God and settle down. I didn’t have anything like this in mind. I didn’t intend for her to go so far away. I mean, Uganda! But she said she felt called. What could I say?”
Kim has grown up in the church, listened to her dad preach about living your life as a disciple of Jesus, living large, living with compassion and faithfulness to make God’s love real in helping to meet the needs of others. She has noticed Sherry’s care and concern and attention given to her elementary age students over the years. Youth work trips, the Plumbline Tour, marches for peace and volunteering at the Harbor have helped to shape the person she is and has led her to this place of service. And we are proud of her. We’re also just as astonished as Andrew Young was …Mali!... good golly!
We ask you to be in prayer with us for Kim and for our church as we launch into the future. God’s future. These are exciting times of faith and adventure…for all of us!
See you in worship,
Jamie Geiger