A MESSAGE FROM THE REV. J.C. AUSTIN: BE A PART OF THIS SUNDAY
A lot is happening this Sunday! I want to take a moment to break down everything that is shifting for us, starting on Sunday, and to invite you to make a point of being part of it.
First, we are beginning our shift to a Summer Worship Service 
starting this Sunday; instead of our normal schedule of two services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., there will be one service at 10 a.m. in the Sanctuary (in person and livestreamed on Facebook and on our website). This service will be a bit more informal than Traditional Service (e.g., no robes for the pastors, you’re encouraged to dress comfortably for the season, etc.), contain elements of both the Holy Ground Contemporary Service and the Traditional Worship Service, with music typical of both services, an embodied Prayer of Confession from the Holy Ground Service, and an Affirmation of Faith from the 11 a.m. service.
The Sermon Response time that is a hallmark of the 9 a.m. service will be offered in the Narthex immediately following worship starting next week, May 26, when we also begin Lemonade on the Lawn, our summer fellowship time after worship.
This first week, though, we will not have those after worship activities for the same reason that we are making the shift this Sunday rather than next (we typically start this change on Memorial Day Weekend). We have been looking for an opportunity to catch up with the Afghan refugee family that we have been sponsoring for the past few years, and this Sunday works out best for that in terms of both scheduling and the opportunity to do some special celebrating with them. More on that when you come!
But we will gather for a pizza party after worship to spend some time together celebrating them. If you can bring a side dish like a salad, that would be most welcome; we are set on pizza and desserts! Please just make sure your side dish does not contain meat or gelatin for dietary restriction reasons.
And finally, this Sunday is a special day of celebration in itself, because it is the holiday of Pentecost on the Christian calendar, when we remember and celebrate the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the disciples, sending them out into the world as the apostles to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. It is the only Sunday of the year in which the official liturgical color is red, symbolizing the presence of the Spirit on the apostles which Scripture tells us appeared like tongues of fire. So we encourage you to wear red in some form or fashion as you come to worship, and don’t be afraid to have some fun with it!
Lastly, we will be beginning a new sermon series this Sunday on “The Great Ends of the Church.” The Presbyterian Church has historically affirmed six main “ends” for the church, six overarching purposes or reasons for being that any faithful congregation should be pursuing in its mission and ministry together. The language reflects that they were written in a different time, so over the next six Sundays, we will be unpacking what those ends are, why they are important, and how we might be inspired by them in our current life together.
This Sunday, fittingly for Pentecost, we will be exploring the first Great End: “The Proclamation of the Gospel for the Salvation of Humankind.” This is one that I think we all think we know what it means, but we will be digging a bit deeper to uncover both the complexity and possibility of it!
Grace and Peace,
J.C.