Rain, wonderful rain has soaked Middle Tennessee and made our once brown lawns think about turning green again. It encouraged some of us to stay in bed a little longer on Labor Day Monday and then held us inside to do generally whatever we felt like doing. It was kind of like a snow day. I took my two year old grandson, Leyton, out on the front porch last night to show him the rain and to talk about all the sounds it makes in the trees. He then refused to let me return indoors. I do respect whatever captures the attention of a two year old child.
Pastor Ken and Robin Jewett provided the lunch for college students on Sunday, hosting forty-five people. Are you interested in assisting in this monthly venture? Volunteer with Ken at ken.jewett@gmail.com.
The Labor Day Cookout turned into an Eat-in because of the rain. Wayne McNeese plowed through his own physical ailments to lead Kenny McNeese, Ricky McNeese, Ken Koon, Paul Stonecipher, and Phil Stinson in grilling the hamburgers and hotdogs. Lisa Anderson, Pam McNeese, and Kylee Koon prepared the sliced tomatoes, onions, and condiments. The Set-up and Clean-up Crew came from the Faith Builders Sunday School Class and included Jim and Brenda Agee, Jeanette Flatt, Myrna Sisco, Mary Alice Butler, Wendell and JoAnn Poole. Thanks to everyone who produced the side dishes, salads, desserts, and drinks.
The Grounded in Hope Benefit Concert with Paul Vann takes place this Saturday, September 10, 2011, at 7:00 PM in The HCN Center. Tickets cost $25 for general admission and $50 for reserved seating. All proceeds support the cost of sending the Mission Africa Team to Kenya in June 2012. A Silent Auction is also available in The Center Lobby. I made a quick list of some of the products and services included: photo sessions with Valerie Marsh; floral arrangements by Keli Green; coffee products from Dan Scott; photos by Reed McCoy; Babysitting by Anna Waller; computer tech services by Philip Lutz; tutoring sessions for grades 1-5 by Beverly Mitchell; pies, cakes, cookies, banana puddings by excellent HCN bakers; Titans tickets; St. Louis Cardinals tickets; Titan hats; Dale Earnhardt Photo/Frame; Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Photo/Frame; Predators Tickets; Windtree Golf Course twosome; Riverside Golf Course twosome; Grand Ole Opry tickets; Ipod products; car details; massage; A New Day Salon cut/style; Stylemaster’s haircut/style; Tangles Salon Gift Card; Two Roads Band CD; Campbell Hausfield power wash; Walk-in bathtub; crocheted products (hat, scarves, purse, bride/groom); Wildhorse gift package; Needham’s Nursery; car wash kit; homemade jellies; paintings; fleece throws; smoke detectors; Gibson hoodies and hats; Goodyear gift card; Scenty candles basket; Christmas scrapbook; large tote bags; Avon gift baskets; gift cards from Longhorn, Shagor, Fulin’s, El OK Corral, Courtney’s Restaurant and Catering, La Hacienda’s, El Chico’s, Chili’s, The Corner Pub, Outback. Please do not be mad with me if I did not include something you donated. The omission was not purposeful. I took fifty tickets to sell. I need help.
Graham Scott, Andy McCormick, Anna-Laura Green, and Christi Fite regularly contribute to The Center Worship Band and Vocal Praise Team on Sunday mornings. They are college students. Hunter Steinmetz, Ben Mabry, Sophie Green, Grant McCoy, and Reed McCoy sing in the Vocal Praise Team. They are Senior High Students. I watch them and listen to them and think about how proud I am to know them and how gifted they are. It requires a great deal of courage and faithfulness to stand up in front of the church week after week. Thanks.
Senior Adults and Friends gathered for our monthly pot luck luncheon last Friday. The variety of foods was incredible and the company was just as good. Our meetings conclude with spiritual conversation. I ask a specific question and everyone shares their own personal answer. On Friday I asked for people to share a memory of the season of fall. The stories were remarkable. When we were finished, one of the ladies told me that her mother would call her when she got home and ask what we had to eat and what was the question this month and what did people say. I was moved by the power of a simple lunch to take on life that fed the spirit of another. I told another lady what was just spoken to me. And she told me when she got to her parent’s home that afternoon, they would ask her the same questions. I forget how rich my life is. Do you?
The tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001, is this Sunday. That seems appropriate to me. Ten years after terrorists flew airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in NYC, into an open field in Pennsylvania, into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, our country and our world remain forever changed. God, on the other hand, is the same. Psalm 27:1 says: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” As we recognize this tenth anniversary this Sunday, may we exalt the Lord who is the source of our strength and security.
In Christ Jesus,
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