I love to travel – to visit friends and family, to explore new places and meet new people, to see different parts of the world and experience life beyond what is comfortable and familiar to me here in Yorktown.
But I also love coming home. After returning from various trips and adventures in Montreat and Chicago, college visits, and vacation in Canada, I breathed a sigh of relief as I drove into our neigh- borhood and up the driveway. “It’s good to be home,” I thought, “to pet the cats, make my own coffee, sleep in my own bed, maybe even get back into the regular routines of family, school and work.” I feel the same way about church. It’s good to be back, to see familiar faces, to get back into the routines of worship, study, fellowship and service.
One other thing I’ve noticed about coming home – I often return from wherever my travels have taken me with renewed energy and new ideas for rearranging and improving my home, for creating a place that truly can be home for me and my family.
As the summer draws to a close and we are returning from wherever our adventures have taken us, it’s good to be back in our spiritual home too. Plans and preparations are underway for the kick-off of our program year – Sunday school and youth groups, adult Bible studies and fellowship groups, choirs and committee meetings. Please read through the Disciple to take note of important dates and upcoming events and to discern how you can plug into the vibrant ministry and mission of our church.
One other thing I’ve noticed about coming home – I often return from wherever my travels have taken me with not only some souvenirs, but with renewed energy and new ideas for rearrang- ing, decorating and improving my home, for creating a place that truly can be a life-giving space, a firm foundation and a refuge from the ups and down of life.
As we return to church after our summer so- journs, we too are bringing renewed energy and ideas for how to make FPCY a firmer foundation of faith in our world, a refuge from the storms of life, a beacon of hope, a life-giving place not only for our church family, but for our community as well. This fall we embark on a capital campaign that is the culmination of several years of study and discernment about the needs of our ministry and mission, as well as our facility and our hopes and dreams for the future. More information will be coming in the next three months, and we need your prayerful attention and generous support so that we can continue to be the church God is calling us to be, not only in the future, but here and now in the present too.
Whether you’re returning from the far reaches of Alaska, Europe or Africa, or just coming back from a long weekend at the beach, welcome home! We can’t wait to see you, to hear about your adventures, to worship and study and serve together as members of God’s family and followers of Jesus Christ.
See you in church,
Tami