Thrills and Turns

Pastor’s Epistle—September, A.D. 2015 B

We often compare life to a rollercoaster. If so, I’d have to imagine that summertime is our long, leisurely ride up the steep incline, while September is the moment when we reach the peak and get our first good look at the plunge ahead. Now the fun begins.

It all kicks off on Rally Sunday (September 13), which celebrates the start of St. Peter’s academic year. Just as our kids return to school, so we welcome the return of Sunday School, St. Peter’s Youth, Confirmation Class, Adult Education, and Pub Theology. Come enjoy food, games, and our “Bingo for the Basement” fundraiser to pay off the last of the debt incurred by our basement remodel. Families with a student in Confirmation should have received a letter regarding our annual parents’ meeting at 6:00 that evening. And check out the SPY activity we’ve got planned for the end of the month!

By coincidence—or perhaps Providence—Rally Day happens to coincide with both Rosh Hashanah, the Old Testament New Year, and also Holy Cross Day, the first major festival of the Eastern Church year. This seems apropos; September stands as a fresh start and new year for us all.

Two other upcoming September holidays are Harvest Home, when day and night are of equal length, and the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, or Michaelmas. Both are times when we welcome autumn and celebrate the change of the natural seasons. We pay special attention to the holy angels with our annual Michaelmas Vespers, which will be held on Wednesday, September 30, at Black’s Grove Park just west of Wadena. I’ll arrive early to get the fire going; we’ll enjoy a potluck dinner at 6:00 p.m. and candlelight evening prayer at 7:00 p.m. This event has been near and dear to my heart for years, and we’ve always had a good time. Bring the family, a flashlight, and a hot dog to roast.

I realize that some of us are surely lamenting the close of the summer. But for as much as I’ve enjoyed the warmer months, autumn has always been the most exciting time of the year. Now is when we celebrate unseen angels and the saints who have gone before us; now is the beginning of the harvest season, the hunting season. Now is when the world seems to grow pregnant with magic and wonder, as crisp red leaves dance whimsically down the street. The greatest of our holidays lie just over the horizon, and we can start to scent them in the wood smoke upon the brisk evening breeze.

September is the peak, my friends. We’ve reached the top of the rollercoaster. Let go of the bar and put your hands in the air—for it’s thrills and turns from here on down.