INSIDE EVERGREEN

May 2024

Dear Evergreeners,

Here’s an invitation to several upcoming events in church life:

(1)   Tomorrow night, May 8: our biweekly LifeTogether gathering.

  • As usual, dinner is at 5:30.

  • At 6:30, we move into activities for kids and adults, and in the adults’ time I’ll share some important ideas and ways to pray about the space constraints and possibilities of our building.

(2)   This coming Sunday, May 12: a new series for the adult ed / spiritual formation class.

  • God designed us to flourish with holistic rhythms of labor and rest.

  • Now, after the recent series about work led by Sean Molloy, Siji Adewunmi picks up the theme of sabbath. That’s at 9:25am!

(3)   During the summer we’ll have other activities related to holistic refreshment.

  • Leslie Gagosian will facilitate a group discussion based out of a book that I’ve referenced often in pastoral conversations and periodically in sermons: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. The dates are still tbd.

  • On Wednesday, July 10, we’ll have LifeTogether—Summer Edition. There will be food, drinks, and an all-ages gathering for worship. More details forthcoming.

  • Saturday, July 27, is the annual church picnic. Stay tuned!

  • Wednesday, August 14, will give another opportunity to gather outside for a meal and fellowship. Location: Englewood Park, in the evening.

  • Wednesday, September 4, launches another season of LifeTogether. Thanks to the sabbatical grant that we received, this meal will be catered. After we eat, we’ll gather upstairs to share stories about the sabbatical experience and celebrate God’s faithfulness as we press forward together.

One other thing

When I wrote last month, I asked you to pray for God to open doors for further ministry at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. For so many years, Dee Vaubel and others have loved the women there, in Jesus’ name, and Evergreen now is developing a richer partnership with the ministry. This coming Sunday, after our own worship, I have the privilege of going with Dee to lead a worship service at Coffee Creek. Thanks for your prayers…past and future!

The Lord’s blessings to you all. I look forward to being with you tomorrow night…or whenever the Spirit re-unites us.

Christopher