I’m sitting at my desk staring at my calendar in utter disbelief!  How can it possibly be August…the second week of August?!?  On top of time flying by, add in the unusual weather with flooding one week and heat advisories the next and we find ourselves in one of the fastest, craziest summers in awhile!  Somehow in all the craziness, Sundays and our time of worship together each week help ground me.  I so appreciate being with you all each weekend.  As we worship together, learn together, and grow together, I can’t help but be thankful God has called each of us here to be a church family.  This past week in my BIC pastors’ class, I was able to learn and discuss more about our broader church family over the past 240 years as well as look to the future with other pastors and leaders.  I am excited what God is doing both here at HBIC and with our sister churches around the country!

I wanted to spend my time this morning drawing your attention to our special event coming up in just under two weeks.  Our annual Summer Splash is upon us once again but this year it’s going to be even bigger than before.  This year, we have combined our Splash with our annual church picnic to make one GREAT day together.  On Saturday, August 25th, I hope you will plan to join us at noon for a covered dish picnic.  If your last name begins with A-M, we’re asking you to bring a large casserole or entrée to share with everyone.  If your last name begins with N-Z, we’re asking you to bring a salad or fruit dish to share.  The church will be providing our usual ice cream machine to top off the meal with a frozen treat. After we’re all filled up with delectable delights, we will come together in a time of worship at 1:30 pm followed by our giant Slip ’n Slide at 3 pm.

This should be a wonderful day together, especially if the weather is nice!  I would love to see you all there…for one part, two parts, or even (and especially) for all three parts.  I want everyone to feel comfortable to come and go as they need to but would love to spend the whole afternoon with you.  In addition, I’d love to meet your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family.  This is a great opportunity to invite others to join us for the afternoon.  What could be better than an afternoon of fun, food, fellowship, and sliding?

Finally, as you mark your calendars for this fun-filled Saturday, also mark the following Sunday as well.  As odd as it may sound, we are encouraging you to sleep in on Sunday morning!  That’s right, after our time together Saturday, we will not be having our regular worship on Sunday.  Take this as an opportunity to either sleep in or maybe visit a friend’s church to see what our brothers and sisters around Lancaster are doing for Jesus.

I hope you have a great week and I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday as we come almost to the close of our study through Colossians.  This week, we’ll be in the second half Colossians chapter 3 if you’d like to get a head start on your reading!

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Jan