Summer is quickly approaching, and the warmer weather means that more people will be going on vacations, camping trips, or to family reunions. Indeed, I will be taking some time this summer to do those very same things. It is good for our bodies, minds and souls to get away at times.
However, as your pastor, let me encourage you NOT to take a vacation from God this summer. As far as it is within your power, I hope that you might keep up your worship attendance with us at CtK. This church just isn’t complete without you, so please come!
If you are out-of-town, though, I invite you to participate in a Summer Photo Challenge. Wherever you might be, visit a nearby church for worship or just to drop in and visit. You can find ELCA churches through the website www.elca.org; but you could also visit a church of a different denomination. While you’re there, take some pictures of the building. Take a picture of their Sanctuary (not during worship, please!). And, finally, ask to take a picture (a selfie!) with the Pastor!
If you’ve got the time, jot down some notes about your experience. You can use these questions to guide you:
- What do you like about the church building / property?
- How does the congregation welcome or interact with visitors?
- Ask one of the members: what brought you to this congregation? What makes you stay?
- Ask the Pastor: what ministry or ministries thrive in this congregation?
You can bring these pictures and responses to me at the church, or send them to me electronically at pastortim@ctkdurango.org. I’m eager to see all of the responses we get!
Finally, let me encourage you to sign up for the Simply Giving program that enables you to have your offering to CtK automatically withdrawn from your checking account on regular intervals. Summer is the hardest time for churches financially because people are gone and forget to make up their offerings later on. Simply Giving helps you by giving you one less thing to try to remember; and it helps the church by giving us a more predictable stream of contributions. If you have questions, see me or Beth Stelz for more information.
Peace,
Pastor Tim
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