Service by Diane Johnson Assistant Certified Lay Leader
Thanks to Diane Johnson for filling in for me yesterday. Don Olsen and I went to the Annual Conference last week and it was a great help to me to have Diane lead the service so I could concentrate on getting ready for the conference and a few other things around the office.
As I’ve said in the past: “Aren’t you glad you got dressed and came to church today?” Yesterday was a perfect example. We had a surprise visitor who used to attend every summer and help us out. I looked up yesterday morning as we were rehearsing and spotted Deborah Shanks who many of you may remember as our summertime accompanist while Peter Mercer took the summer off. Deborah was great to have around as she sang, played the guitar and the piano. I didn’t give her a chance to say no as I immediately enlisted her to sing with our Spirit Singers who were down a couple of members, and to play one of my extra guitars I keep just for such occasions. She jumped right in just like she had been doing it all along. She really added to our service yesterday. Sadly, she is not staying and was only up for a brief visit. I’m hoping it was special to her too and that she might pop in unexpectedly sometime in the future.
While I was at the Annual Conference Don and I ran into Rev. Mark Williams. For those who have been around for a couple of decades, you’ll remember Mark as one of your former pastors. Initially he recognized Don as when Don and Judy lived on the east side of the mountains they attended a church that was led by Mark. Small world. Mark asked about many of the folks he remembered and shared some warm and “entertaining” stories about his time at Community. He was glad to hear that we were doing as well as we are.
“Lukuleles” While Don and I were attending the conference we were entertained with a church choir that was made up of ukulele players who played and sang a song to the tune of Blessed Assurance. I was favorably impressed and decided it was an idea worth appropriating as I too have and play a ukulele. I floated the idea of starting a ukulele group at the church and was surprised at how well it was received and how many people who told me they already had a ukulele. That being said, I would like to open the idea up to the whole church and see if we could come up with a ukulele choir just like we have a bell choir. We could get together and work on some very simple tunes and maybe play on Sunday mornings a couple of times a year. What fun and just think how cool your grandkids would think you are that you are learning a ukulele and playing in a group. Oh yeah, the name is a nod to the Apostle Luke.
Kai Kares. Our youngest and newest disciple of Jesus Christ is doing an amazing job on Sunday mornings as she assists with the taking up of the offering. Another idea I took from another church. I’ve given Kai a little red bucket for her to collect loose change as the men pass the collection plates. She really has taken to it and yesterday was her third Sunday and she exceeded her previous Sundays collecting $33.93 in change and small bills. I take what Kai collects and add it to whatever I might have in the Jesus Cup and we deposit it into the General Store fund so we can use it to buy food for our food pantry. So now, each week I go to the Dollar Tree and buy food in an equal amount to what she collects, which at the Dollar Tree goes a very long way. This is Kai’s ministry as she doesn’t want anyone to go hungry in the Tri-Area. It just goes to show that you are never too young or too old to be involved in missions, even if all you have in your pocket is eleven cents.
I’m sorry there is no sermon text to share with you but thanks to our IT team we do have a Facebook Live stream to share with you.