Hey Church!

I hope all is well with you and your families. I pray you’ve found some rest. The talking heads are saying that this is the busiest summer we’ve had in three years. All the things we couldn’t do or were too cautious to do have come around this summer.

Remember: Sabbath is a command. Find a day to rest and just be. We are human beings not human doings.

That said, I’ll try to follow my own advice. I’ll be out for two Sundays. On July 17^th, you’ll have former moderator Julie Gilliland talking on her recent Civil Rights Pilgrimage she took with the Living Water’s Association. On July 24^th, you’ll have Ryan Collins talking about becoming a WISE Church and why mental health awareness is needed. I’m really excited for y’all to hear and experience these worship services and the wisdom from these kind souls.

This summer we’ve had two concurrent searches. The search for the Associate Pastor of Youth and Mission as well as our Music Director both seem to be in the end stages. The search teams will report when they can, but I think you’ll be really excited about these two candidates. These candidates bring a lot of energy and new ideas. I believe they are both an investment in the future of this church and will make us better together.

We also had two new groups start up. We had the Accessible to All (A2A) and the aforementioned WISE teams start up. The A2A team is led by Hannah Magrum and consists of Jen Cockrell, Emily Fargo, Cheri Ingraham, and Ryan Routh. The WISE team is led by Ann Nagy and consists of Ryan Collins, Nicole Davis, Barb Michal, Kevin Swantek, and Stephanie Young. They are doing important work to make sure our church is as welcoming, loving, and serving as possible. Please add these souls to your prayers.

Our Council and teams have been hard at work this summer as well. We’ve had some great memorials, served the Great Race and won best lunch location. We have worshipped, fellowshipped, and have been the church. I have a lot of hope and feel that our future is bright thanks to your commitment to being the hands and feet of Christ here in Medina and beyond.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Luke