A Word from Our Interim Minister

It’s HOT!!! Almost unbearable for a couple of mountain folks who complain about any temperatures over 83 – so you can imagine that we are melting right now.
 
So, we’re leaving!
 
Well, hope you haven’t stopped reading yet: Renae and l will be home from July 1 until July 11, returning that afternoon. Barton College Chaplain Alysun Skinner will bring the message on July 6, so don’t play hooky that Sunday! The Elders will be carrying out pastoral duties while we’re gone, so contact them about any needs you may have. They will contact me if anything super-serious happens.
 
During the summer, things tend to slow down a little at churches, especially in eastern NC, it seems. I learned a long time ago not to complain about this: everyone needs a break, and the 1950s are long gone (those of you old enough to remember might recall that because we had larger churches back then, the “outflux” of people heading to the beach or rivers during the summer didn’t impact us quite as much, although there was still an impact!).
 
Church goes on. Every Sunday. Every Monday through Saturday. Every day. From a ministry standpoint, we never quit. Needs in the congregation, in the community, and in the world continue whether we’re gathered together or not. Which means the church never stops.
 
Faith never ends, either. We practice it in different ways on different days of the week and in different situations, perhaps, but if we don’t practice it when we’re not at church, there’s not much at church that is going to make a difference in our faith. Maya Angelou observed, “While Sunday may be the Sabbath day, it takes the other six days of the week to make it holy.” 
 
While we’re out vacationing, relaxing, trying to find a little peace in the world, let’s commit to remembering that every day is God’s day, and God is in our lives every moment. I remember someone told me once, “I can worship God anywhere; I don’t have to be in church!” I think it was a teenager. My response was simple: “Then do it! Wherever you are!”
 
  - jamie
 

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