E-News Friends,
This week’s picture is for all my seed-sowing, plant-watering, crop-harvesting friends out there whose idea of a good time is watching their corn grow on a hot Friday evening…ok, that’s pushing it a bit! Yet it is pretty satisfying when the literal fruits of your labor begin to pay off. The zucchini that I’m holding in the photo is my first one of the season and there will be plenty more where that came from over the next few weeks. And if you’re like me, and you grow a garden, you probably have more vegetables than you can handle during the growing season, especially zucchini. They seem to multiply like rabbits. So guess what? Starting this week and continuing for the next month or so, we are opening up “The McLane Market”, a small tent adjacent to the main worship tent where you can bring your veggies and bless others in the church through a simple act of generosity. Look for the “McLane Market” sign.
The second thing about this weekend: Saturday evening is our “McLane Movie Night”. Be there or be square. It starts with a great time of worship at 6:00PM, followed by a great meal at 7:00PM, followed by the movie “Up” under the “Big Top” beginning at 8:00PM. And speaking of the movie, we’ll be viewing it on a special large screen via an outstanding audio-visual system. AND GET THIS. Some volunteers are planning and providing some fun activities (you’ll have to wait until Saturday to find out) and great food for the kids including funnel cakes, cotton candy, flavored ice and popcorn in the tent during the movie. You’ll love it, moms and dads. The kids will be bouncing off the walls by bed time!
The most significant part of this coming weekend, however is not popcorn, produce or a movie. It’s “Baptism 2.0”, the second attempt at finishing what we started a few weeks ago with our annual baptism service. In talking with Daryl and Andy, our site pastors from Union City and Church in a Bar, we’ve decided to conduct the baptisms this time at three different locations, one for each congregation. Many of you have asked why we made this decision. The simple reason is that we felt this would make the experience more personal and connected to the specific congregation that played the primary role in the spiritual formation of those getting baptized. As such, the ‘boro will meet at McCoy’s pond this Sunday at 6:00 PM. Union City will meet at Olczak’s pond this Sunday at 6:00 PM and Church in a Bar will meet at Presque Isle next Wednesday, July 28th at 7:00 PM. I hope you can attend one of these. It powerfully reminds us why we do what we do.
On a final note, if you’re looking for a simple, but really helpful summer serve opportunity, I could really use some servants who would love to arrive an hour early before the Saturday service or the 9:00 AM Sunday service to clean, set-up and arrange chairs. If you’d like to strengthen your serve muscles, simply reply to this e-mail and I’ll give you a call with simple next steps to get you plugged in.
Bill
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Jesus words in Matthew 6:19-20 )
