As I sit here typing this edition of “The Rock Pile” there is one thing that I can say for sure, fall
has officially arrived and I absolutely love the cool brisk mornings we have at this time of the year. I
know that in a matter of weeks the leaves will have turned and fallen and the bleak cold days of winter
will be upon us, but for now I will bask in the cool mornings. I do love the changing of the leaves and the
magnificent colors that this time of the year offers us. I love to take drives along roads that have
numerous trees and get lost in all the colors. I hope we have one of those falls that the colors of the
trees just take our breath away. I hope that if you desire you can find time for a ride and enjoy the
colors soon for yourself.
I need to give you a couple of updates in this edition before I get caught up sharing about future
events. First I would like to say that we had an unbelievable Charge Conference. I was totally blown
away with the number that we had attend. There were 25 people who attended the conference and
there was good representation from both services. I must say that in my 28 years of ministry I have
never had 25 people attend a Charge Conference. In fact even our D. S. Roger Thompson was impressed
with the attendance. So let me say thank you to those of you who did attend. The second thing that I
need to update you on was our special service on the 15th, National Back to Church Sunday. We were
short on our goal of having 100 in attendance for that Sunday. I was ready to go out and buy me a new
tie but we just fell short. I will say however that we had 16 visitors for the day so that was wonderful.
We just need to follow up with them and if they are not attending church on a regular basis we need to
try to get them to come back and visit. I know that more than 10 of those visitors live within driving
distance of our church so they just might be prospects. All in all it was a good day, maybe next time we
can hit our goal.
While we are still planning to install the new stained glass windows we have not as of yet
decided on the scenes. There are just so many scenes to choose from and certainly I understand how
hard it would be to get down to six. I hope that within the next couple of weeks that the committee we
be able to bring to the trustees some suggestions. When that happens then the trustees will be able to
make a recommendation. Once the scenes are picked it will take a few weeks for the windows to be
completed. I am not sure that we will see the project completed by the end of October at this rate, but
certainly before the season of Advent we should have new stained glass windows and a new paint
scheme in the sanctuary.
With this being the month of October we find ourselves in the final days of our WoW service
being held outside for this year. This has been our best year for a weekly average attendance which is
really exciting for me. It tells me that this service is here to stay. I believe the weekly average was
around 25 this year. While we did not have any real big number days, (Back to Church Sunday was the
highest) to average 25 is a really good sign. In November we will continue with our 8:30 service but
simply move it into the fellowship hall. There will even be some days that while we don’t go down to
the lake property we might go outside under the awning so that we can be outside but just not have to
deal with the cold breeze off the water. I am so thankful that God allowed us to establish this exciting
ministry, to date the only worship service that is entirely on the lake. I truly believe that WoW will
continue to grow in number and Spirit in the years to come. I would like to thank the congregation of
Macedonia UMC, “The Church on the Lake” for having the vision along with me and supporting this
service. I believe it has only strengthened and will continue to strengthen our church.
The first Sunday in October is one of my favorite Sundays in the Christian calendar, it is known
as World Communion Sunday. I love the fact that the Body of Christ all over the world has put aside this
day to share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. To think that our brothers and sisters all over the
world will be breaking the bread and drinking the fruit of the vine and receiving the Spiritual
nourishment for our souls while remembering what was done for us on Calvary is just so moving. I hope
that you will make plans to be in church this Sunday so that you too can celebrate this beautiful
moment. I plan to bring back a message that I shared in 2006 “Baked Fresh Daily” for the sermon. If
you recall the sermon I am attempting to change it a little bit I hope and if you haven’t heard it come
and be with us, you just might enjoy it as well. I can tell that I have about used up my space for this
month so until the next time; continue to Believe, be Blessed and become a Blessing. Shalom