Greeting Union Church Family!
Pastor Billy will be focusing on the “Radical” call of the Gospel this week in worship. Radical is one of those words in our English language with a broad range of meaning. A favorite nuance of mine is the notion of rooted – connected to the source or original of a word, a number, or the like. A radical faith is a connected faith – a faith that is rooted in the source. Jesus reminds us in John 15, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” This is a faithful way to summarize the goal of the Christian life, abiding with increasing maturity in Jesus Christ. Our worship life as the family of God at Union serves this end, abiding in Christ. We hope that you will join us in worship this Sunday an let our acts of praise, our attentiveness to the word, our coming in faith to the Lord’s Table help to connect you to Jesus Christ that you might abide in him.
In addition to the usual flow of worship, we will also take a moment on Sunday to celebrate our High School and University graduates. You may find a short video tribute to our graduates on at our YouTube channel. This video will also play at the start and conclusion of worship. Then, after worship, plan on staying around for outdoor fellowship. The weather forecast looks very inviting for us to take some time to connect with one another in ways that have been so rare recently.
The changes that we have made to our worship guidelines are only one signal that our shared ministry is opening up with the decrease of COVID-19 infections and proliferation of vaccines. As we enter the month of June we look forward to a host of ministry events and opportunities that were strangely absent in 2020. A full week of VBS takes place at the end of the month (please note some recent changes to the schedule in the announcement portion of MyChurch app). We have almost reached our maximum number of 60 children for the week! Then, July and August will bring a Jr. High trip to Surf City and a Sr. High trip to Alaska for a week of service. We are also excited to introduce Maria Hanni to the Union Church Family. Maria, a junior Biblical and Ministry Studies major at Waynesburg University, will serve as a summer intern with our DiscipleSHIP and Youth Ministries. We look forward to seeing how Maria’s gifts will bless our community as we get back into the rhythms of ministry to children and youth! Please keep all of these ministries in prayer in the months ahead.
Looking forward to abiding with Christ, together with you! See you on Sunday!
Peace,
Tom