Labor Day Weekend - Rector's Rambling for September 4, 2022

     
I hope that everyone is enjoying this holiday weekend, and I am grateful for those who are in town and able to join us for worship.

The programming year begins in earnest this week, with the Daughters of the King gathering for their monthly meeting this Saturday at 10 AM.  Next Sunday we restart the Sunday School during the 10 AM Service, the choir returns at fuller numerical strength, and after the 10 AM Service, we will have a re-dedication of the upgraded carillon at a special coffee hour out in the garden.  This will include a concert on the bells of patriotic and religious hymns.

The following week we have set up and the Trash to Treasure Sale; invite your friends to shop and see the church as well.

The next Alpha Course begins on September 26 and will run for 10 Monday nights.  What is Alpha?  It is a course on the basics of Christianity geared towards those who know little to nothing about it, AND it also is a wonderful refresher course for those who are already members of the Church.

An Alpha Evening begins with dinner at 6:30 PM.  Afterwards we watch a 30 minute video teaching and then have a discussion.  All questions are welcome as we discuss the Faith, who Jesus is, what He has done, and we attempt to answer the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of being a Christian.

The Church is an organization that exists for those who are not members of it yet.  Evangelism is the primary purpose of the Church - to bring people to, and to introduce them to, Jesus Christ.  Alpha is a wonderful way to do this. 

In order for us to begin to become a church of people who are natural evangelists we need to be informed and supported in the faith.  The Alpha Course becomes a perfect way for us to all have a foundation from which to build and grow.  It is my hope that every member of St. John’s will take the Alpha Course between now and next fall so that we all have a common base.

Additionally, inviting people to Alpha is more natural when you can say “I took this course, and I thought it was great” or even “I took this course, and now I am volunteering to help for the next session...you should come and take it—I’d love to see you there!”