The summer is winding down, but not the activity of our church community! We have been consistently having meaningful Sunday worship together, great Summer Club attendance, youth events, bonfires, book studies, Bible studies, mission engagement and more! And we are planning for some active months ahead too.

I have been spending time working on how to enable our leaders to discover the next steps for our congregation as we lean into the CAT survey results and start to build a vision and mission for who God is calling Plum Creek Presbyterian Church to be in the years to come. Of course our main purpose is to always proclaim the gospel, but how we do that and with what general emphasis that fits who we are, is what we need to discern. But we do not stop being the church WHILE we work through that discernment process. In the Fall, our leaders will be meeting to look at next steps and to listen to the Spirit’s leading. As we nominate new officers to step into leadership, we will be bringing them on board in this process as well. The leadership (Elders and Deacons) of our church will be working as a team to help all of us find where we are to use our gifts, our time and our financial blessings to further the kingdom of God through our congregation, in our community and beyond.

We are praying for the next class of leaders from among our members to step into this exciting time with us. If you would like our nominating team to consider someone for our next class of leaders, please don’t hesitate to complete the form in your Sunday bulletin and place it in the offering plate or drop off in the office.

We are getting ready to embark on a new year of Christian Formation emphasis as well. Someone asked me recently, what is Christian Formation? My response may surprise you…but everything we do intentionally that helps our faith grow in any way, individually, or as a church being the body of Christ together, is Christian Formation. We learn and grow in our faith together by studying, worshipping, singing, serving, caring, praying, reading, listening, being good stewards of resources and much more. We should always be looking for ways that God is asking us to hear something new, engage in a new way, learn something new or to see how God is working in ways we didn’t realize before. I hope you will join me in making it a habit to look for those ways that you can grow in your faith with us in the coming months.

Many of us remember the days when we kicked off the school year with a Rally Day or Sunday School kickoff. We will be celebrating the renewal of our commitment to Faith Formation on Sunday Sept. 8. It will be a big day! More to come on how we will be engaging together this year!

I want to take time to thank all of our church members and friends who have helped out with all of our church ministry areas over these summer months. It is through the community of believers worshipping and praying together, eating together, studying together and enjoying fellowship with one another that the church was a witness to others who came to know Jesus through them. Whether you are a long time member or a friend who has been engaging with us in some way this summer – we are thankful for you and the way God is using you for his kingdom through the ministries of Plum Creek PC. May God continue to show us His way ahead for us together!

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Carolyn

August 2024