Newsletter — August 9, 2022

Please note: Pastor Rob is still on sabbatical. And he has not changed his phone number. If you receive a suspicious text from someone claiming to be him, please do not respond. Do not answer the text – block it. Someone is sending scam texts claiming to be Pastor Rob.

Join us Sunday mornings for worship at 10:00 am, with the option of in-person or on-line worship. masks optional for all activities in the church building, including worship. All are welcome!

You may also join us online:

Find worship live on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/spiritoflifeav
Join us live on Zoom by clicking https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83600960782
You can stream the service later either on Facebook or on YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC-G31isag0NKhIT0cat91qA

REMINDER: We want to make Sunday, August 21, a special service to mark the end of Pastor Rob’s sabbatical; please get your “hearts and hands” mailed in or turned in to the office THIS WEEK!! Many thanks to those who have already contributed their projects — a lot of creativity is being used in support of Pastor Rob and Lisa! Also, if you would like to participate in the family candle procession to open the service, please bring your candles in on Sunday, August 14. Once the candles are lit to open the service on August 21, they will burn for the duration of the service.

LAST CHANCE TO ORDER YOUR South of the River CROP Hunger Walk t-shirt! Orders, with payment, are due August 14. Order forms are on the table in the back of the sanctuary.

Emergency Pastoral Care Coverage while Pastor Rob is on sabbatical:

July 18-Aug 19 Loretta Hunt

The last “Sabbath” book study class will be Sunday August 14, immediately following worship; we will cover the last section, CONSECRATION, pages 195 – 213.

C & C after C – we’ll be having C & C after C (Coffee and Conversations after Church) again in a few Sundays. Please watch for sign-up sheets to participate in providing cookies coming soon. Please see Ruth Ewule if you have questions.

COFFEE and CONVERSATION will be taking a summer break until Pastor Rob returns.

The session of elders of Spirit of Life is hosting our regular community PICNICS this summer while Rob has sabbatical. We ask those able to bring a side or dessert to share and the session will provide a main course. Final picnic will be August 28th and the time will be approximately 11:15am (immediately after worship) with games in the backyard for kids and food and fellowship for all.

Watch for something new coming from the Justice Works Committee!

Look for a bookshelf in the back of the sanctuary, filled with books on topics related to immigration and racial justice. These books are available for you to borrow, with a sign-out sheet to list your name, contact information, and the book you are borrowing. The purpose of this book-borrowing opportunity is to open up a chance for discussion about sensitive topics. As one of our committee members has stated, “we don’t have these conversations”. All of these books have been read by one or more of the members of our committee, and their names are listed on a card inside each book; use this card as your bookmark, and if you would like to have a conversation about what you are reading, you are encouraged to reach out to one or more of the people who have already read the book. Contact information is in the church directory. IF you would like to be included in future conversations, add your name to the card to potentially be contacted by a future reader; return the book to the borrowing shelf with the card inside. The books range from “easy” reading, including children’s books, all the way to “very challenging”, either because of graphic descriptions of violence, difficult concepts, or academic writing style. Books include fiction as well as non-fiction and cover a wide range of topics. Take a look at the offerings on the borrowing bookshelf! If you have any questions, either Joanne Boyd or Denise Lewis can answer them.

We will be collecting supplies for Highland Elementary on Sunday August 14, August 21, and August 28. There will be a box on the table in the entry at church. Supplies needed are: Expo washable, chisel point dry erase markers – purple, blue, green and black, One dozen of each color. (Only Expo brand because other kinds don’t erase fully.) Fifty folders with pockets in different colors, four dozen glue sticks in packages of 10-12, twenty medium size bottles of white school glue, one dozen boxes of crayons with 24 crayons in a box. Anything you can contribute will be appreciated. We did this last year and the coordinator was so happy we will be helping again this year.

From Community Service: if you have been curious about how the donation vegetable garden is doing, on Monday August 8, we harvested and delivered 75 pounds of produce — lots of tomatoes! Our total for the year, so far, is 272 pounds, with lots of heavy produce still to come! Many thanks to the regular garden helpers: Loretta Hunt, Marge Braden, Karen and Joanne Johnson, Chris Sachs, and Denise Lewis.

“Our Little Free Pantry continues to be of great service to our hungry neighbors. An anonymous note of appreciation was left this week. We would appreciate donations to keep our cupboard full. Preferred items at this time include jars of spaghetti sauce, any pasta, bags of plain white rice, any canned vegetables or fruits, peanut butter, jelly, canned tuna, Spam, dry milk. These items and any other non-perishables can be placed in the driveway pantry or left in the cabinet inside the front door to the church. Members of the Community Service committee will refill items when needed and thank you very much for your support and donations. We can make a difference in preventing hunger in our neighborhood!”

It’s Back! Who remembers the “Change for change” bucket offering? Some are familiar with this; others may have questions. With the help of our children, we will continue collecting change in our metal buckets but going forward we’ll give on a monthly basis. Throughout the month, collect your change and bring it on the third Sunday! This is a great teaching tool to help us show each other and the younger generation how fun it is to give when we hear the change drop in the buckets!

If you have a prayer request you wish to share with our Spirit Care Prayer Team, please email our deacon, Chris Sachs. Word it as you wish it to be submitted, and we will post it for our prayer team.

2022 Per Capita is $36.50