Church in a Nutshell

What a feast we had on Sunday! I cannot begin to tell you the depth and length of the power nap I took Sunday afternoon after eating all of that delicious food! Church potlucks are simply the best. To all who set up, took in, refilled, mixed, carved, heated, decorated, dropped off, ate, went back for seconds, took down, washed up or otherwise participated on Sunday, THANK YOU! As I kept popping in throughout the morning Sunday, I realized finally I was getting in the way of the folks who had volunteered for all these tasks, and it made my heart happy. Because, as you well know, that’s how the church is — we’re all in this together.

A friend of mine who reads this article (HEY BRENNAN) asked why we had a “Thanks(for)Giving” dinner before, you know, giving, and I told him the truth: we have given. We give. We will give. It’s an ongoing thing at Midway Hills. And the amazing part is that we all give because we all play a part in the life of this congregation, we all have a voice in the celebration of grace and the proclamation of the mystery of Christ, we all have a purpose here. And things like a meal where everyone comes together, everyone has enough, and everyone goes full is the church in a nutshell, with an overabundance of dressing to boot. (I’m just kidding — there’s no such thing as too much dressing.) We’ve done that this year — gather, give, and go — bigger than the last, and with your contribution, your participation, your pledge, we go even further next year in proclaiming, sharing and growing the Kingdom of God.

Next week, there will not be a Postcards from the Edge; I will be in Delaware, celebrating Thanksgiving with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew. So I hope this space instead will have the amazing Yes we’ve said to the coming year. I hope we’ll see a WOW! and what we’ve pledged to do give as we go forward. We’ll find out on Sunday — bring your commitment cards with you, though there will be extras — and I can’t wait to see you then. It’s my pleasure to serve at Midway Hills.

Shalom y’all,

Arthur