We also will be continuing our sermon series, Where We Came From: Old Stories for a New Day. This series draws on materials from theologian Brian McLaren, as well as others. This week, we explore the old story of temptation and consider how we still face temptations today!

With each week in this series, you will also find Engage prompts in the bulletin to help you to think about the theme of the sermon throughout your week, including one item that is especially geared towards families with children. We hope you will take advantage of these invitations to engage your heart and minds, and perhaps share with others in rich discussion around these prompts.

Sunday, September 5 Sermon Title: The Drama of Desire ; Scripture: Genesis 3:1-13 and Psalm 32:1-5, 10

Sunday, Sept 12, we will pause the current sermon series as we hear a good word from Rev. Dean Phelps. Rev. Dean is serving as our Associate Regional Minister while Rev Carolyn Reed is on sabbatical, which includes working with our Search Committee.

To watch past services, you may go to Youtube by clicking HERE.
To see just the scripture and sermons from each week, click HERE.

Partnering with Our Community

The Epiphany Action Team has been exploring the possibility of partnering with one of Muncie’s public elementary schools to help meet the needs of students, teachers, and families. So far, we have learned MCS is allowing volunteers into the school buildings under these conditions:

• volunteers are fully vaccinated,
• wear a mask, and
• have cleared an annual background check – which is easy to complete online at no charge.

There is a possibility for volunteer opportunities both during the day and in the evenings. This is an exciting new area of ministry for our congregation, and we will let you know as we know more about definite opportunities.

Community Outreach Opportunity on the Hazelwood Campus

Our next door neighbors at Parlour, in the mansion, are organizing a community-wide event open to the public, on September 25th, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. And we are excited to be partnering with them to provide some live music in the afternoon, as well as some family-friendly activities for all ages on our lawn throughout the event. If you are willing to be part of the music group, please contact Marianna, and if you are willing to help with the family-friendly activities, please contact Rev. Pamela. Additional happenings, arranged through Parlour, will be outdoor yoga and/or Pilates classes, other types of music, and vendor booths, including some food vendors.

This is a great chance for us to connect with our neighbors and wider community, so we hope you will come out and help support this event with your presence. And we’d love to have you volunteer to enable us to offer more activities, if you are able to do so.

You’re Invited!

Tony and Marianna Gill will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this year, and they would like to invite you all to celebrate with them. There will be an Open House celebration at their home on Sunday, September 19th from 2-5 p.m. The couple would like you to know that your presence is all the presents they need.

If you would like to attend, please R.S.V.P. by September 10th to Barb Gill at 321-313-3680 or barbgill@cfl.rr.com.

Calling All Choir Members!

Are you eager to help lead worship through song again? Just because Sally, our beloved choir director, has been called to another position, doesn’t mean there are not still possibilities awaiting you! We know different people have different comfort levels with participating in this way due to the Delta variant, but the church has invested in special singing masks which make it easier to sing while remaining masked, so we hope you will take a moment to consider this.

Marianna and Lori, our awesome worship coordinator and organist/pianist, have agreed to work together to provide opportunities for you to help in leading congregational songs and/or sing in ensembles, quartets, etc., for special music in October through December. But they need to know WHO is interested in doing so!!! If you are interested, please email the church office by clicking HERE and your email will be forwarded to Marianna and Lori. Lori will arrange to meet with the singers to practice in advance, and this is not a weekly commitment, so email today with your interest and availability!

Old Washington Street Festival: Looking for Volunteers

The Old Washington Street Festival is held each year near downtown Muncie. This year the festival will be held on September 18 & 19, and there are many different ways people can help make this free event for the community happen. From setting up on Friday to helping take tickets or keeping the streets clean, there is something for everyone at different levels of involvement. You can sign up on their website HERE. You pick the day, time, and how you would like to volunteer. Thank you for your consideration and helping to spread the word!

Climate & Migration Learning Opportunity

Lexington Theological Seminary offers a great opportunity for lay people to get a chance to study with seminary professors in online learning sessions. The first offering is with a professor Rev. Pamela knows, and she is sure you will learn a lot and enjoy it in the process! The topic is Climate Migration, exploring justice practices at the intersection of climate change and migration, and will take place across three Saturdays on September 11, 18, & 25. To read more about this learning opportunity, click HERE.

Indiana Disciples News

To learn more about Women’s Pray and Share Event via Zoom on September 18, click HERE.

To learn about being part of a 6-week Regional Bible Study, which begins in October, via Zoom, click HERE.

Hazelwood Fall Festival & Bazaar

Saturday, November 13

We are in search of vendors for the 2021 Fall Festival & Bazaar! If you are interested, or would like more information, contact Julie Thomas by clicking HERE.

Preschool Calendar

September 7:  2021-2022 School Year Begins

– Psalm 46:1-3
Did you notice that little word Selah, at the end of these verses? Selah is a word we find over 74 times in the First Testament, and 71 of those are in Psalms. Some Bible translations replace it with a word of praise. Most Bible scholars today believe it to be a musical direction, meaning pause or silence, as many of the psalms were intended to be sung. Interestingly, in the first translation of the Hebrew scripture into the Greek language, which is known as the Septuagint, Selah is translated as “intermission.”

The coronavirus has brought its own kind of intermission, disrupting our normal routines and making us re-think the way we do things, for the safety and well-being of not only ourselves but of others, as well. And perhaps we need a spiritual intermission, too. A time to just stop for a moment and be reminded that whatever the future holds, God is with us. And for that we can be grateful.

As a congregation, we also need to put a pause on our thinking that “everything is going to go back to the way it was.” Before we call a new minister, it would be best for us to:

• Reflect on all of our practices and re-think how we do things beyond what affects physical safety.
• Ask ourselves, “What changes do we need to make for the long-term well-being of this congregation and its ministry to both those in the congregation and those beyond it?”
• Be listening for how God is calling us to live into our stated mission of Sharing Christ with our community through service and relationships – TODAY and in the future, not in the past, and not necessarily “how we have always done it.”

In my first sermon with you, I mentioned that this time of change, between your settled pastors, is also a time of transition. (Remember, the transition is how we respond to change.) We are not the congregation we once were. And doing something simply because “that’s the way we have always done it” may often not be the best stewardship of our time and resources, nor may it be best practices for a healthy church. This can certainly be a hard thing to accept and to adjust our expectations around. As one who has undergone MUCH change and transition in the last 10 years, I empathize with all you who find it difficult!

I encourage each of you to take time for Selah every day. Time to just stop, shut out the world, and meditate on the faithfulness and goodness of God for a few moments. And time to remember all the things for which you have to be grateful, as you rest in the knowledge that God is with you! God is with us as a congregation in this time of change and transition, as well.

– Shalom, Rev Pamela

There is much we still may learn from these ancient scriptures passed down to us from our Jewish forebears. Sometimes it is wisdom about how we should conduct ourselves to more fully live into God’s call and vision for humanity. And sometimes these texts are cautionary in reminding us how we should NOT conduct ourselves. Often, we find that the ancient people struggled with temptations and sins we still see in our modern day.

With each week in this series, you will also find Engage prompts in the bulletin to help you to think about the theme of the sermon throughout your week, including one item that is especially geared towards families with children. We hope you will take advantage of these invitations to engage your heart and minds, and perhaps share with others in rich discussion around these prompts.

Sunday, August 29 Sermon Title: A World of Meaning; Scripture: Proverbs 8

To watch past services, you may go to Youtube by clicking HERE.
To see just the scripture and sermons from each week, click HERE.