September

Pastor’s Epistle—September, A.D. 2014 A

O Brave New World

Let’s get right to it. September is going to be a very full month indeed!

September 7th marks Rally Sunday, the launch of the Church’s educational year. Both Judaism and Eastern Christianity consider September to be the start of a new religious year, and while that’s not technically true in the West (where we like our Church calendar to begin with Advent) I think it might as well be. Sunday School, St. Peter’s Youth outings, Confirmation Class, and Pub Theology are all back from Summer Break, and they’ve brought along with them a slew of festive holidays. Plus, as you’ll see below, we have big plans for a new approach to Adult Education.

Confirmation kicks off with our annual Family Meeting on the evening of Rally Sunday. That’s 6:00 p.m., September 7th. All youth entering seventh, eighth, ninth, and 10th grades are asked to attend along with a parent or guardian. We’ll be discussing our upcoming schedule, syllabus, and expectations for the 2014-2015 academic year. As of right now we’re planning to hold Confirmation class after worship on the first and third Sundays of each month, as we have in recent years, but we can discuss this further at the Family Meeting.

St. Peter’s Youth will be heading off after worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday, September 21st, to enjoy the Character Challenge ropes courses! We’ll have the opportunity to explore both the high and low ropes, having fun in building community. Regular Confirmation Class lessons will kick off here at St. Peter’s on the first and third Sundays in October.

Something new is brewing. Lately I’ve had a lot of requests to provide both make-up sessions for Confirmation students, and also opportunities for adults in our congregation to experience what our Confirmands learn. Our Confirmation small group leaders in particular seem keen to open up what our youth are learning to a broader audience. So here’s my big idea: we’ll be holding Adult Confirmation in the sanctuary from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m., on the first and third Mondays of each month. These adult-oriented lessons will be ideal both for new members and for lifelong Lutherans (or Methodists or Baptists or what-have-you) seeking to deepen our understanding of the faith.

This Adult Confirmation will serve as Bible Study, Adult Forum, and Confirmation make-up opportunity all in one—three birds with a single stone. Lots of people seem excited about this, and rightly so, since this idea arose from conversations within the congregation. This year we’ll be studying my favorite Confirmation curriculum: the Old Testament! Classes commence in October! Who’s with me?

Pub Theology will also resume on its usual schedule, 6:15 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. The Reformed theologian Karl Barth famously said that Christians should read both the Bible and the newspaper, using the former to interpret the latter. Keeping with this spirit, we’ll try to focus Pub Theology on current events—though of course the direction of the conversation will be shaped by the participants and, we pray, by the Holy Spirit. We’ll see you at Mills Liquors on September 18th!

Our parish is also buzzing with preparation for several weddings and holidays. Sunday, September 14th marks a special observance of Holyrood or Holy Cross Day, and the following Sunday, September 21st,will be our celebration of Harvest Home and the autumnal equinox; that would be a wonderful day to bring donations for our local food shelf, and to bring homemade canned or baked goods to worship for a blessing. (Maybe we’ll even have a bake-swap.)

Finally, mark your calendars for the evening Monday, September 29th, as we return to Black’s Grove for our annual Michaelmas celebration! I’ll be there around 5:00 p.m. to start the fire; potluck supper begins at 6:00; and we conclude with candlelight vespers at 7:00. All are welcome!

As I mentioned, September marks the beginning of the religious calendar for Jews and Eastern Christians alike. While the same cannot quite be said of us, nevertheless September is, for all intents and purposes, a fresh new start: a relaunch of our life in Christ together. And I for one am happy to share it with this congregation and community. Truly it is an exciting time to be the Church.