The Lighthouse - June 22, 2015

Good Job!

Skeeter and six of its closest friends

Vacation Bible School starts in a mere few days! I am going to take a wild guess and say that I am probably not the only one working like crazy to finish all the last-minute preparations before we hold our kickoff party on Saturday and decorate the school on Sunday. This week found me making dozens of small mosquitoes and one large bug we've dubbed "Skeeter" from pipe cleaners as a part of our mission project display (more information to come about this next week). Needless to say, it was a time-consuming and tedious task.

Fortunately, I had help from a rather insistent toddler at our house. Dozens of mosquitos sat on our table completely finished except for needing to have googly eyes glued on to them. All of it was too much for him to keep his hands out of, so we worked together on it. I would put a dot of glue on each of the two spots where the eyes would go, and Seth would hand me the eyes one by one from the bag. Needless to say, my pace was a bit too slow for his level of patience, and he was ready to hand the next one saying incessantly, "Here! Here! Take it!" When I finished the one I was working on and finally took the one he had in his hand, he looked at me excitedly and said, "Good job!" He even clapped a couple of times for the job I had done. 

It made me think about all of the times that we thank folks for the work they are doing for God's ministries here in our church and community. We often make note of the big things - the large programs that need overseeing and the events in which we participate. But there are so many little, thankless jobs that need to be done week in and week out to keep the ministries going. Like little eyes that need to be glued on to make a small display, there are countless unseen and unnoticed little tasks that go into making something like our VBS a success year after year.  Whether it is a short prayer for the kids and the leaders, five dollars in the offering plate for VBS, time spent making decorations or preparing to lead a class, or vacuuming the gym after it's all said and done - whatever it may be that you have done or will do for VBS and our other ministries - it is  an important part of what we do in the name of Jesus Christ. So I want to take this moment to join with Seth in saying "Good job!" for all the little things you do to bring God's work in our community to life.

Good job, thank you, and blessings on the journey, Jim

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Imagine!

News like that which we heard from Charleston last week reminds us that this world is far from perfect. Lives are lost to senseless violence, children die from cruel yet preventable diseases, the poor go hungry, and hope is so easily lost. This is the world in which we live, and yet it is not the world that as God intends. God dreams of a world of justice, grace, and love.  Join us this Sunday in worship as we imagine the world that God dreams of and works toward.

VBS Kicks Off This Saturday!

Vacation Bible School kicks off this Saturday with our Safari Party starting at 5:00 pm. Our party will include food, African drumming and crafts for all ages, and door prizes! VBS will then run Monday, June 29 - Friday, July 3 from 6:00 to 8:30 with dinner beginning at 5:15. Register now for an exciting journey into God's word!

Living in Community

• Thank you for your prayers for our Annual Conference this past weekend.
• Thank you to Dinah and our youth group for leading worship this past Sunday. We give thanks to God for your service and your witness.
• Please lift up Vacation Bible School, all our volunteers, and all the children who will participate.

Upcoming Events

June 27 - 5 pm - VBS Kickoff Safari Party
June 29 to July 3 - Vacation Bible School 2015
July 5 - VBS Celebration in Worship

Mark Your Calendar

No Administrative Council Meeting in July