Soon we will be on the brink of the summer months. May is kind of a Gateway Month to summer. School is winding down, young people are moving on to the next grade level and plans are being made for summer vacations. Prom season and graduations are upon us too. These milestone moments come but once a year or once in a lifetime but the Spirit of the Lord is actively working day in and day out with magnificent power, guidance, comfort and inspiration! Are you witnessing the power of the Spirit moving through Plum Creek Presbyterian Church? I am!

We had a tremendous Lenten season and Holy Week! We had an amazing Lenten Bible study, some wonderfully interactive and intergenerational services of worship and the sanctuary just glowed for Easter with people, flowers, light, music and more! Our confirmation class is actively engaging in worship, study and service as they look toward what it means to be claim discipleship for themselves. Our Evangelism and Fellowship Team is gearing up for a busy season of events where we can encourage our family, friends and neighbors to join us for “new to you” treasures and strawberries! Our Deacons continue to care for our members in special ways and we just had 70 percent of our members complete the CAT survey that will help us take steps to follow where God is leading! This is all by the movement of the Holy Spirit!

On May 19, Pentecost Sunday, we will be celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit to those first followers so long ago! We encourage you to wear red (the liturgical color for Pentecost) or orange or yellow to church that day, as the confirmation class has a special way for us to remember the symbols of Pentecost, fire, wind and dove! We will also be celebrating a baptism that day too! Let’s celebrate together how the Spirit has been and will be guiding us!

On May 28th, the elders and deacons of the church will be meeting with me and Rev. Brian Wallace to review the results of the CAT survey. Brian is a certified interpreter of the CAT results and will guide us in understanding what we might take away from the results. In the weeks to follow that meeting, I will be setting up Focus Group times for members to meet with me, an Elder and a Deacon, to give you an opportunity to hear the results and reflect on them together. Watch for sign ups for the various times that will be offered in June. We want everyone to have an opportunity to see and hear what the Spirit is telling us.

Galatians 5:22 reminds us of what the Spirit produces not just in each one of us but in the church community together as well.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self control. There is no law against things like this.

As we look forward to the results of our survey and to where God will lead us let us be individuals and a church filled with the Spirit so that we might bear fruit!

 The fruit of love for God and love of our neighbors of all walks of life.

The fruit of joy in the work that we are called to do and joy in working together to accomplish it.

The fruit of peace that others may see the unique way that our love of God is lived out in a community of differences.

The fruit of patience as we come into step with the Spirit who guides us in God’s timing to accomplish what God would have us do. And patience with one another when frustrations may come.

The fruit of kindness as we reach out to those that have needs that we can meet.

The fruit of goodness so that we are constantly working to represent by though, word and deed, the goodness of Jesus and his love to others.

The fruit of faithfulness as we continue to support our church by worshiping together, studying together, serving together and giving together all for God’s glory.

The fruit of gentleness as we are gentle with ourselves and others when things don’t go quite the way we plan.

And the fruit of self – control as we refrain from judgement, from complaining and from negativity so that we move forward with positivity!

I look forward to what we will witness together, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the days ahead!

May the peace of Christ be with each of you!

Pastor Carolyn