reaching out, but looking in

​Hey Friends!
What a wonderful couple of months we’ve had at Solomon’s! I hope your summer has been filled with loves ones and rejuvenation. I hope you have seen God’s glory in the flourishing life around us, and I hope you’ve experienced God’s presence with you.
 
God has certainly been at work at Solomon’s. It is a tremendous honor to get to participate in that work! With God’s help, we launched our new kid’s ministry program, Weekends of Wonder. We shared food from our garden with those in need. We planted some more native shrubs on our church grounds. We tried some new spiritual practices and considered God’s call for us to care for our common home. We made big plans for the fall!
 
I am so excited for all that we’re doing and for the presence we have in our community. Together and with God’s continued blessing, we can do and be more! Susie, Joyce, and I set up a table of garden produce at the Chambersburg YMCA in August, and it was so moving to see the impact our garden (and our members’ gardens!) is already having. As a church, we stepped out boldly in faith to obey God’s call and now we are seeing the fruit – literal and figurative! – of that obedience. We are having an impact. We are blessing and feeding others. We are making a difference in our community. Thank you for all your support! Let’s keep this mission going!
 
As we look toward the fall, we’re taking time to consider our own needs a bit. We’ll be doing a rummage sale fundraiser to help the financial wellbeing of our church. I know money is a taboo subject at church, but the truth is we need funds to keep going. Jesus, Paul, and their disciples lived off the generosity of others. The church today must do the same. Please know that Solomon’s UCC stewards its finances well! You can be confident that all funds entrusted to Solomon’s are carefully, responsibly, and prayerfully managed.
 
We’re also considering our need for internal community. As we reach out to others, we must also care for ourselves. That can look like taking time to check in with one another and to invest in our relationships with one another. Let’s do that over coffee, tea, and snacks before worship. On September 10 at 9:15, coffee hour returns! I will miss the first one, but I’m looking forward to having that time with you all on subsequent Sundays!
 
This newsletter is filled with new things, and old things. Look all the way through to see what God has us up to! May everything we do be in line with God’s call and will for us. May our efforts be pleasing to God and may they glorify God. May we keep God at the center of our story. See you at church!
– Pastor Julia