and while the program begins at 9:00, you can come anytime from 8:30 on for a continental breakfast. Lunch will be provided at no cost; the meeting will be over by 12:30. You can RSVP to Carolyn Metting, cmetting@consolidated.net; please let her know if you have special dietary needs or need childcare.
And finally, I plan to attend Alive! Being the Church Today, an event coordinated by the conference on Saturday, September 30, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Bakerstown UMC. I would love to see you there! You can also participate online, if that works better for you. It’s a day about exciting new ministries in our region, and will be great for ideas and for planning. Adults are $20 and children and youth are free—and everybody gets coffee and refreshments and lunch. Registration is at www.wpaumc.org/alive; please register by Monday, September 18.
God is moving in our church, both here and elsewhere, and these are all good opportunities to listen and to love. I look forward to seeing you, whether at one of these events, or at church—
Becky
Prayer
Holy God, as we stand on the edge of summer and fall, help us to savor the gifts you have given us, in faith, in community, and in possibilities. Those of us who have been limited by one circumstance or another have special reason to be thankful for blessings that we have had in the past and for those we continue to have now, as we face the difficult realities that make blessedness so clear in contrast. As we remember our blessings, we also pray that we can be of service to you and to the world around us. Let each of us—let me—stand and work today, in trust and in openness,
for whatever is true and just and good;
for the advancement of science and education and true learning;
for the redemption of daily business from self-seeking;
for the rights of the weak and the oppressed;
for social cooperation and mutual help;
for an appreciation of the rich traditions of the past;
for the recognition of new workings of your Spirit;
for the hope of yet more glorious days to come. Amen.