July 1st, 2010

Dear IPCers,

Since the office will be closed on Friday in observance of the 4th of July, this will arrive a bit early. And since last week’s email did not get out due to some technical problems, I will share my thoughts of the previous week.

Last week I called on a family who had visited IPC a few times earlier this summer. They commented on how disappointed they were to have hit all the stoplights red on their way to church two weeks ago. “We really enjoy your greeting time and we’re sorry that we missed it.”

What a wonderful thing to say about our church and our people. It serves as a great reminder of how important it is to greet a person whom you do not know on Sunday mornings. It is really a fairly small thing, but it means so much to our visitors. While our greeting made this couple feel good about IPC, their comment made me feel good.

Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July Celebration!!

Now for the News:

• On this Sunday of Independence Day we have two texts that seem rather unrelated to our national celebrations: Luke 2: 1-11 & 16-20 and 2 Kings 5:1-14. The title of the sermon is “Small and Mighty.” We will sing some great hymns so check out the bulletin on our webpage at www.irvpresby.org and join us for worship.
• Last Sunday the Anchors raised $450 in their cookout for Habitat for Humanity which will support the all-Presbyterian Build taking place the first week of September. Thanks to the Anchors for a delicious meal and increasing our gift to Habitat.
• We welcome back all of our Scotland and Ireland travelers and wait to see if they picked up an accent.
• There is a new quilt in the library portion of the Welcome Center. We would encourage you to spend some time tying knots and praying for John and Francis DeWitte.
• Next Sunday we begin a new Slice of Life class that will meet in the Parlor. Pizza will be ordered and an offering taken, as we look at how our faith interacts with some of the issues of our society. Child care and a meal for children will be provided.
• This Saturday our General Assembly gathers in the 219th General Assembly that meets in Minneapolis. Please remember all of our delegates and commissioners in your prayers. Updates can be found at http://www.pcusa.org/ga219/.
• Because of the holiday, the church office will be closed on Friday as well as on Monday.
• To give people time to enjoy their Independence Day celebrations, there will be no evening service on the 4th.
• Please remember the following people in prayer: Thelma and Larry Apel, Dr. Armendariz, Fay Clifford, Dorothy Hayes, David Hume, Albert Stroud, Paul Lauer, John Luedeman, Janet McLaren, Tom Means, Avery Paauwe, Bill Voiles, Janet Voiles, and Margaret Watkins.

Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July.

See you in church,

Galen