Fall has begun!

Fall has begun and things have hit the ground running! There are so many wonderful things happening all over the church!

For example, this weekend during Fall Festival, visit our M.E.S.S. sale outside of Ron Marek's office. Even if you did not donate stuff, stop by and see what you may pick up or say hello to folks.

On Sunday, we have three worship services to check out, Sunday School, Jr. High and High School Youth groups, etc. So much!

Small groups are blooming. Suppers are ready for us to eat. Community is gathering. Life is good. If you have any questions, give me a call at the church.

I love fall. Colors emerge, the air is crisp, God is moving. Let's celebrate together!

Camp Magruder

I get to go to camp! Sunday afternoon I will be leaving for Camp Magruder to be the theologian at Middle School Last Chance Camp and I am excited! I love camp. I love Magruder even more. The coast speaks to my soul and God finds me there.

You also have a chance to go to Magruder over Labor Day weekend. It's not too late! Just sign up at the church and meet me at camp! I would love to see you there...time to play, reflect, meet God, meet other church members and really get to know people on a different deeper level.

Meet me there!
Pastor Court

Summer reading...

Hey all!

I was in this great conversation about books this morning and thought I would start the ball rolling about summer reading. Please add your books that you would suggest over the summer. Summer gives us a chance to breathe usually, take in extra fiction, and feel the imagination get rolling again. Some of the summer books that I would suggest...

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery - a twelve year old and a concierge find beauty

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant - a glimpse into convent life a long time ago but with issues to chew on

Causing a Scene - Improv Everywhere...see an earlier blog

Take this bread, a Radical Conversion by Sarah Miles - Finding God in unusual places

Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor - Finding God in our natural selves

Couch by Benjamin Paryzbok - a local author writing about a magical couch in Portland - just fun. :)

What other recommendations do you have?

Where did you go?

As many of you know, I have been absent the past 10ish days (I returned Saturday). I mentioned the reason why in church yesterday as well and talked about it a bit with the kiddos during children's time. I have been attending the School for Congregation Development in Chicago, IL. I also got to see many friends, hang out in old haunts, and enjoy my urban side of life. The first part of my time was spent dwelling in learning, listening, and worshiping a God that constantly develops and molds us (meaning our individual self as well as our congregations). I learned a great deal which I will continue to share with you over the next days, weeks, months, etc.

In this conference I learned much more about developing, redeveloping and establishing faith communities. I learned more about the denominations Rethink Church campaign, about small groups, and about our own identity. I can't wait to share more but at this point I am planting seeds for you.

What questions do you have out there?
What has perked your interest?
Where do you have visions of our congregation and how we might move to rethinking what church may look like?
What excites you from the inside out?

Vacation Bible School Day 1

Hey all! We are in business to learn about God at Studio Go! Check out some pics from Day 1. We are having a great time!

Some pics from Teen Arts

Dancing anywhere

I have been focusing quite a bit of my energy on reading about Improv theatre, teaching this style of theatre, and pondering what it means to live in the everyday. I love the concept of the ordinary being turned into the extraordinary. I recently read and preached on a book called Causing a Scene by a man who has founded Improv Everywhere. His name is Charlie Todd. You can read more about this stuff and watch more improv videos in the everyday on www.improveverywhere.com.

God does this I think. God takes the ordinary and makes things extraordinary. Over and over again we read stories where Jesus highlights these moments...in miracles, in parables, in day to day life around the table. From there we are called to pick up the improv.

What would happen if we burst into dance in our ordinary lives? What would happen if we worked with God to open doors to miracles?

At Teen Arts this last week, I got to teach Improv for 5 days, an hour a day. I came away completely exhausted but completely delighted each day. This is not the first time that I have taught improv but for the first time I assigned new meanings for what it meant to really preform improv. I watched as these kids took bolder moves, became more expressive and learned how to delight in each other as well as provide entertainment for others. I watched as the group completely bonded.

So tell me...how would your world change if you started some daily improv?