Pentecost 19 – God With Us – October 20, 2019

The wind has become a little brisker over the past week or so, and the nights are cooler. The Emmanuel Day School has recess in the church yard several times each school day, and the sight of the children running and playing in the beautiful glancing Fall sunshine lifts up my heart.

The EDS children painted pumpkins this week, and they are now decorating the school windows into the Library, shining through with their orange glow in a new stained glass design. They have also read Pumpkin Jack, a wonderful story of a jackolantern’s harvest, carving, and then decay into the cooling earth before sending out new life in the spring.

The kids are conducting their own Pumpkin Jack science experiment now in the school. Go see Pumpkin Jack and the two pumpkins that grew from last year’s reenactment of the story!

Fall is a time of harvest, and a time of ingathering. As we come back together, and gather inside as the weather changes, we see how much our community matters. This is a season of the liturgical year, as well as the secular year, that we come inside, gather together, and give thanks to God for our many blessings, especially those we have been given to love, and all those who love us.

We have had wonderful news in EDS. EDS Director Carissa Perkowski and teacher Sarah Evans have just announced new additions to their families, both expected in April of 2020. Carissa plans to work remotely, beginning in late March, ably assisted by Miss Kate and Miss Terri, as well as the EDS School Committee, headed by Debbie Venancio. I will also be available for onsite response to Carissa’s wise guidance.

I am also really looking forward to Dinner with Della+ on Tuesday, October 22! This potluck dinner (signup sheets by the door in the Library!) will be the kickoff for our Foyer Groups, called Firesides in a former incarnation at Emmanuel.

We’re calling it Dinner With Della+, because I hope that it will give me an opportunity to get to know you better – and for you to get to know me. Please come join us for conversation about our community at Emmanuel, Foyer Groups, and how first century Christians worshiped in house churches – each other’s homes.