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Dear friends: October 14

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Dear friends,

For me, the month of October is one of the most inspiring months of the year. During October, our entire community of faith spends time in prayerful reflection about God’s grace in our lives and how we express our gratitude through the commitment of our time and resources for ministry. This year we are reflecting on Living and Loving Generously through the lens of I Timothy 6.18,19:

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

What inspires me so much in October is hearing the stories from within our community of how we, day in and day out, “do good” are “rich in good works, generous” and how we are “ready to share.”  I am using the Stewardship publication Living and Loving Generously as my daily prayer guide. Meditating on the pictures of our community in action and celebrating the impact of our mission and ministry through the inspiring infographics have enriched my prayer life so much this month.

As you continue prayerful reflection on your Christian discipleship as gratitude for God’s grace, I invite you to use the publication you received at home to inspire your own prayer life in these next weeks. If you would like to access the publication digitally, you may use this link.

With gratitude for you and your faithfulness,
Michael Waschevski
Senior Associate Pastor

Posted by Michael Waschevski with
in Dear friends

Dear friends: September 30

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Dear friends,

We began the school year the way any respectable congregation should: at a roller-skating rink! Somewhere between 80 and 90 children, youth, and parents packed Rollerland West for our Back-to-School Party in late August. There was skating, laughter, pizza, and only a few reminders that we are not all as young as we think we are. Then, after the party, 60 of us boarded two buses, headed back to First Pres (with a stop at Curly’s on the way) for our Youth Lock-In Overnight. It was loud, exhausting, great fun, and a wonderful way to begin another year together! (Plus, after 21 years at First Pres, I have grown a little weary of making t-shirts for every special event. So, for this year’s Lock-In, we changed things up and had plaid pajama pants made, complete with an embroidered First Pres Youth logo. The youth loved them, and they also served as a helpful reminder that, despite all evidence to the contrary, sleep is actually required at our Lock-In!)

Our Sunday evening Youth Group theme this fall is “Teachable.” That seems appropriate at the beginning of a school year, though we are not talking about grades, homework, or remembering your Chromebook charger. To be teachable is to admit that we do not have it all figured out. It means asking good questions, learning from unexpected people and even our mistakes, and being willing to admit that maybe we do not know as much as we think we do. That can be difficult, especially for those of us who are quite certain we are always right.

Which brings us to Jonah. This fall, our congregation is exploring “The God of Jonah” in worship. Jonah is wonderfully certain about God. He knows where God should go, who God should love, and what God should do about people Jonah does not particularly like. God, it turns out, has other ideas. Jonah has a lot to learn about God, about other people, and about himself. So do we.

Following Jesus does not mean having all the answers. It means trusting that God still has something to teach us…through Scripture, through people we never expected, and (every now and then) through discovering that we were wrong. Sometimes faith means being willing to let God change our minds. We are off to a great start in practicing all this together, and I cannot wait to see what God still has to teach us this year. Stay teachable, friends!

Keep on keepin’ on,
Rev. Dr. Josh Stewart
Associate Pastor – Youth

Posted by Josh Stewart with

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