Re-Engage with Joy!

06 Apr Re-Engage with Joy!

Dear Friends,

Despite the fact that it is cold and rainy and rather miserable outside this morning, I feel the energy, warmth, and “aliveness” of spring.  There are visible signs of it, of course—trees are budding (and so are people’s allergies.)  I encounter more folks along my walks and see and hear more children playing outside.   And baseball’s Opening Day is this week!  It may be a rough year for the Nationals, but I’m “all in” anyway!

There are signs of energy, warmth, and “aliveness” at Calvary, as well.  We have been gearing up for a more “normal” return to activities for a while, but there is still a lot to be done.  First and foremost, we want to be ready to welcome one another and guests into our hearts and into our space.  Lemonade on the Lawn is returning for Easter which means we need some hands to put out cups and beverages by the front door.  Sermon Talk Back will resume on April 24.  And we are going to do a little Spring Cleaning after church this week, clearing away the dust bunnies from under the pews and in the windowsills, for example.  While we work, we’ll have the added bonus of being serenaded by the choir while they rehearse!

These preparations are all about being a welcoming, engaging community of faith.  We had several visitors last Sunday, and it is vitally important that there are Greeters at the doors to welcome new folks who are unfamiliar with the building or how to participate fully in worship.  A full list of Opportunities to Serve is included in the e-letter (and a printed version will be available on Sunday.)  Please consider how you can serve your Calvary brothers and sisters as well as those who walk through our doors seeking a new church home or perhaps, even exploring a new relationship with God.  What we do matters!  What you do matters—in ways you will likely never know and cannot begin to imagine.  

The energy, warmth, and aliveness of Spring will not end with Easter.  In fact, we are just getting started!  In May and June, we will have Bible Sunday for several of our youngsters; a Men’s Ensemble will sing on Mother’s Day and a Women’s group will return the favor on Father’s Day; we will celebrate Pentecost Sunday; and we will have three baptisms!  Looking ahead a bit further, next year Calvary will commemorate our 75^th anniversary on May 2^nd.  By late summer, we will begin assembling an Anniversary Steering Committee to help us prepare for a big blow-out.  We have been extravagantly blessed, and we want to celebrate God’s faithfulness and goodness to us through the decades.  

So, friends, let us re-engage with renewed joy and hope—for our own sakes, for the sake of one another, and for the sake of those whose names we do not yet know but soon will.  

Yours for the Kingdom,

Michelle