Weekly update...

Greetings in Christ! 

 

Announcements

• Welcome Hudson David Crigler, Billy and Bridgette's grandson and Ilene's grandson! He was born early Monday morning, at 10 pounds, 2 ounces, and 21 inches long. Congrats to the whole Crigler family, and welcome to the world, Hudson!
  
  
• The Pastor is working remotely this week. He's available by cellphone and email.
  
  
• Attached you'll find a sign up form for Operation Inasmuch, a day of service for churches across Radford, on Sunday, September 26th. Please sign up and return the forms to me. This is also going to be our day of service connected with the ELCA's "God's Work, Our Hands" Sunday. Join us in making a positive impact and developing deeper relationships with our community!
  
  
• If you're interested in serving on the Property Task Force, which was given the mission of finding appropriate new homes and locations for the pews, altar, and baptismal font, please let Pastor Andrew or one of your council members know. Council will appoint this group at our August meeting.
  
  
• On August 12th, from 7-8pm, we're hosting a Pub Theology event at the River Company along with St. Michael's. While this is targeted at young adults, all are welcome. The idea is to develop a new small group (or small groups) that will meet regularly to discuss theology around hearty beverages, a regular practice of Martin Luther! If you know someone not connected with church who might find this kind of event intriguing, please invite them. This is another way for us to reach out and develop relationships with our community.
  
  

 

Devotional

Last Sunday’s sermon explored how the Holy Spirit comes to make us storytellers, to make each of us witnesses that tell others about God’s work in our lives and in the world. If you missed it or want to hear that again, it’s available on our website.

 

Isaiah received a similar commission in a vision. So overcome with the gravity of this call, he cried out, “Mourn for me; I'm ruined! I'm a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips. Yet I've seen the king, the LORD Almighty!” In the midst of his dream, an angel, one of God’s messengers, came to him and touched his lips with a burning coal. Yikes!

This burning coal reflects images of purification. Much like the process of separating precious metals from rock requires massive amounts of heat, so the process of preparing us to tell God’s story requires preparation and purification. Of course, we also remember that on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came in tongues of fire upon the entire church. Soon after, they spoke languages of the world as they shared the story of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

 

When the Holy Spirit dwells within us, when that tongue of fire takes up residence in our bodies, a constant burning coal remains at work preparing and purifying us for the work of sharing the Gospel. Though we must take this call seriously, we need not fear our uncleanliness, for God chose each of us for this task. God gave us each stories to tell, and more so, prepared us through the Holy Spirit to share those stories faithfully.

 

This week, share a God story, one of those stories where God is an actor, where you must name God as an active part of your daily life. Share that story with someone you care about, who might need to hear it, who God might bless through that story.