It’s a rather terse definition:  Stranger (noun):  neither a friend nor an acquaintance.  I assume the dictionary felt it unnecessary to add “or a relative.”  Much less “or yourself.”  Strangers.  I’ve been thinking about how we all are, to 99.999% of the people on earth, strangers.  As I’ve been visiting our homebound members these past few weeks, and heard their stories, I’ve been struck by how I’ve been a ‘stranger’ to places I drove by daily for years.  And me to them.  Skylight…Shiloh UMC…Goshen …these past few weeks all these places became populated by new faces, new stories and new friends.

And we’ve become less of strangers to each other this month,

Come and join us during the month of August as we begin a new sermon series, “The Stranger Among Us”.  We’ll explore through familiar and unfamiliar stories in Scripture how we can come to know those we don’t know in our community, families and church, through God’s eye and heart-opening Spirit.  We’ll begin where all spiritual growth begins, and that’s with ourselves.  It’s not just Billy Joel who asked if you’d ever let another see the stranger in yourselves…it’s God, too.

It may be the hot days of August, but the living water of God’s word quenches many thirsts.  Don’t just come alone…bring family or friends we may not have seen for awhile (or ever).  Here’s the schedule:

August 3rd
 “Oops, Did I Say That Out Loud?”  (the stranger in ourselves)

August 10th
“We Don’t See Each Other Much Since…” (the stranger in our family)

August 17th
 “You’re Sitting in My Pew” (the stranger in our church)

August 24th
“We Haven’t Met, But… (the stranger in our community)

And scissors, and paper and glue and…
This is your chance to return to the aisles of colorful crayons and glue sticks.  This is your chance to make the first day of school for a child a pleasure, not an embarrassment.  This is your chance to support our Hispanic neighbors without struggling through a word of Spanish.

What: ‘adopt’ a child and provide supplies for their first day of school

How: take a tag from our display at church, with the supply list we’ll give you, and make a trip to Target, or Wal-Mart, or some office supply store

How (alternative): take a ‘shopper’ tag at church, give that person the money needed for that child and your personal shopper will do the rest

When: we need the supplies back, in a bag, tagged with the child’s name, by Sunday, August 10th

Why: The rabbis call it the 11th commandment from God:  “You do too know what I mean.”  So, remember that we, too, were strangers in Egypt and we, too, were told by Jesus to care for the hungry, the thirsty, the poor.  And crayons are fun to buy and a happy child is always a good thing.

The Vacation Bible School this year was a great success.  “Beach Party-Surfing Through the Scripture” was our theme and study material.  St. Mark’s Episcopal Church helped by letting us use decorations that they used with their VBS.  This was a marvelous blessing and really good decorations.  Both kids and staff had a great time.  Thanks to everyone who helped.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  So here’s a few thousand words worth.

My small garden banner was just visible over the stacked pots, garden hoses and Lord knows what on the parsonage patio: Bloom Where You’re Planted. That’s simple to say, but surrounded by boxes and change, and new faces (and did I mention change), it’s easy to lose sight of the simple. So as I write this today, I’m reminding myself that God promised daily bread, not a 30 day freezer full, to keep us grounded in one day. “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Ps. 118:24. As my family and I grow roots in the community of God that is Shiloh UMC, we look forward to a time when we will have shared many days together. We thank you all for the ones we have shared so far, as the parsonage was filled with fresh paint, much laughter and more than a few groans as we all reached into corners and crevices. Will now knows how to paint walls and we all feel more ‘planted’ for having done this together.

Beginning on the first Sunday in July, and for the next three Sundays, we will be inviting small groups of our new church family to come over to the parsonage in the late afternoon for supper and dessert, backyard play for the kids and fellowship for the adults. We’ll work out the details in the next few days, and until then, save us a Sunday.

We are all in this church and this community by God’s grace, and I look forward, as you do, to the unfolding of His will in our lives as we bloom where we’re planted for God’s glory.

Pastor Susan