Originally printed in our monthly CrossCurrents newsletter. Don’t get our newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here.
We are in an exciting season of thoughtful change and hopeful anticipation in 2020! We are excited to welcome Becky Collins as our new minister of music. She brings energy and spirit to our adult choir, new ministries with children’s music to our Early Learning Center, and lots of ideas for continued and expanding ministry to all ages through music.
We also look forward to the coming months as we share with what a church member at Starling Avenue recently dubbed our “family churches”: First Baptist, Starling Avenue Baptist, and Chatham Heights Baptist. We begin with shared pulpits on February 16th, when I will preach at Chatham Heights and Brian Harrington from Starling Avenue will preach here. On March 14th, we will all gather at the ReShape Conference to learn what it means to try to do church in this changing world. We will learn about strategies to re-imagine ministry in our separate and shared contexts. We will then continue the process walking together with our sister churches as we discern next steps and receive coaching to help us implement those next steps (more information coming soon -watch for it in your mailbox and email inbox!).
And finally, we are re-imagining our Wednesday night schedule here at church. We will begin Wednesday evening gatherings with our Ash Wednesday service on February 26th at 6 p.m. in the Chapel. On March 4th, we will begin Wednesday dinner and Midweek Check-in.
This season, we get to try some wonderful catering from Ashley’s Taste of Home restaurant. Dinner will include either a meat or vegetarian entrée, two side vegetables, a homemade bread, and a homemade dessert. The church will provide drinks. The cost is $8.00 per plate, and anyone attending will need to sign up by Monday of the week you intend to join us. If you know you’ll attend regularly, you may prepay for the full term at $7.00 per plate (11 weeks, so that pays for itself and then some if you come every week!), or you may pay a few weeks at a time, or each Wednesday. Dinner will begin at 5:00 p.m., with a study to follow from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Because we are beginning Wednesday nights during the season of Lent, our first study will be a Lenten devotion each week. Look for more information about this study in the coming weeks in your bulletin and Sunday school classes.
I’m looking forward to this season of discovery, discernment, and growth together!