 The moment is NOW!Steven has been on vacation this past week and will also be gone this coming week. The following week I will be on vacation with my family, so the month of July hasn’t and won’t be very fruitful for planning ministries that involve the “Team Effort” approach. However, Steven and I do plan to spend a lot of time in August getting prepared for the upcoming Fall, Christmas, Lenten and Spring seasons. Allow me to give you a sneak preview of some of the exciting events we are working on. You have all, no doubt, seen our fabulous new playground. It is really cool! On Sunday, August 17th, we are going to have, during and after morning worship, a big celebration and dedication service. Included will be as many of the Simpson Academy children as possible and their families. That morning you will witness the joy of these little ones as they sing and share the many songs we have learned together this summer, and then following worship, we will all gather outside by the playground for ice cream! It promises to be a GREAT TIME! Sunday, September 7th, is Rally Day. Preparations have just gotten underway, but one thing we know for sure is we will be having a professional Dixieland Band help lead us in worship and entertain us following worship. It is our desire to have some sort of meal and fellowship time after worship, (perhaps Port-a-Pit chicken?) so if any Sunday School Class or other group would like to help us prepare for such an event, please step forward ASAP. Let’s kick off the fall programming with a big PARTY! Many special worship presentations are planned for the fall including an Old-Time Gospel Music Festival on Sunday, August 24th; a return performance by Lee, Larry & Bill on Sunday, September 28th; Women’s Recognition Sunday, October 19th; Choir Festival Sunday, November 16th, VOP Christmas Musical, Sunday, December 7th; and Children’s Christmas Program, Sunday, December 14th. Look for more information about each of these services in future Sheafs. New Ministries are always being born at Simpson Church. Dare-to-Care was but a vision just a few short months ago, and now it is truly one of the most life-changing ministries in which this church has ever been involved. My prayer for us, the congregation of Simpson Church, is that we will become filled with the excitement of the moment, and the moment is NOW. It’s fine to celebrate the Simpson of the past, but it is not fine to dwell on the Simpson of the past. Every Monday morning I rejoice that there were over 225 people in church on Sunday. What kind of difference could 225 people make in this neighborhood, this community, this city if we all took seriously the importance of the moment -- the moment is NOW. Join with Steve and Tamara and me this fall as we, together as the congregation of Simpson UMC, grasp the opportunities God has placed before us for life-changing ministries. The moment is NOW! James
COMING THIS FALL
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