"Coming Home"

Pastor’s Ponderings

September 2025

“Coming Home”

The Bible is rife with homecoming images. God tells Abraham to go west to a new home that God will show him. The entire wilderness narrative is a quest to return to that home. The Prophets and many of the Psalms speak of a longing to return to that home after the trauma of being exiled to Babylon. And Jesus in the Gospel of John promises to prepare the disciples—and us—a new home in the life to come.

With this biblical theme of homecoming in mind, we have designated Sunday, September 7th as a Homecoming Sunday in the life of our church.  On this Sunday we will:

·      Welcome home church members and friends who were traveling over the summer months.

·      Welcome back friends and members we may not have seen for a while. 

·      Bless backpacks for students of all ages who have begun a new school year.

·      Welcome back our Sanctuary Choir.

·      Begin a new sermon series for the Fall—Moving Forward: Picking up where we left off and trusting God’s guidance for the road ahead.

·      Begin Year 4 of the Narrative Lectionary, which will focus on Old Testament passages in the fall and the Gospel of John in the winter and spring. 

·      And finally---following worship, we will enjoy a mouth-watering and scrumptious Barbecue Lunch and Blue Grass music courtesy of the “The Goat Hill Girls” and “Sidesaddle & Co.”

I’m looking forward to seeing you on September 7 and on all the other Sundays!

Grace and Peace, 

Pastor Jack