The heat is on! Scientists have estimated that it was the hottest June ever recorded on the planet. While we have had our fair share of that heat here in central New Jersey, as a church things have been heating up as well. Since spiritual heat is hotter than physical heat, it seems that we have completed the installation of our new fire alarm system just in time! After all, this summer we have turned up the heat on our ministries and outreach and have plans for continuing to stoke that fire as we head into the fall.
What a summer! It was difficult to bid farewell to Natalie Gibson as she moved down to Tucson, Arizona at the beginning of the summer, but it was a joy to have her with us while she was here and to celebrate her ministry during a special service on June 6. We have also been blessed to welcome Lis Malcolm, a teacher at the New School for Music Study and an accomplished pianist, into our congregation as our new music director. Already Lis has shared her wonderful gift of music with us and we are thrilled to have her as a part of our church family. Music at Kingston UMC is heating up.
Outreach is reaching out! For the past few summers, Aileen Mroz, has been the sole member of our congregation to accompany the district mission team to help rebuild homes in places around the country. This year, Aileen returned with the team to Iowa to continue to help the people there recover from devastating regional floods two years ago. The good news is that this year she was not alone. Wendy Mohler and Ruth Valosin joined the team this year (along with Aileen’s niece and Wendy’s parents) and they all worked very hard to bring hope to a people very much in need of their help. We thank God for their outreach and pray continued blessings on all of those with whom they came in contact. Outreach at Kingston UMC is heating up.
A time to get away! This year we had a youth of our church take up the bishop’s challenge to take a pilgrimage to Taizé, France. The Taizé community is a group of brothers who have made it their mission to bring youth from around the world together to experience a week of prayer, simplicity, and communion with one another. Shannon Dean has just returned from that trip and will be sharing with us this fall many of the fruits of that pilgrimage. Personal formation at Kingston UMC is heating up.
Looking toward the future! Many of you know that we spent several months this spring making decisions about who we are as a congregation and who God is calling us to be. We are happy to report that out of that discussion came a new mission statement for our congregation. It is a simple reminder of who we are called to be and what we are called to do. It will be announced to the congregation during our Homecoming Sunday celebration on September 26. On that day we will have an ice cream social following the service to commemorate the event. Our mission at Kingston UMC is heating up.
Tend the fire! As the physical heat of the summer will soon pass into the cool breezes of the fall, we will have to be diligent about keeping the spiritual heat flowing. Fortunately, we have much happening in the life of the congregation and lots of energy for the year ahead. Let us pray that as we move into this new season we will continue to listen for God’s call in our lives together and continue to feel the heat and the power of the Holy Spirit in our work together.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen