Good morning church,
Today is the big graduation day of Mr. Carl K. He is graduating from 50 years of working oil truck routes for various area companies. Now he can go to the school of retirement, and boy – does he deserve it! Anyone who knows Carl is familiar with a man who possesses a relentless work ethic. Several attributes come to mind, but they all point in the same direction: loyal, steady, reliable, faithful, calm, that’s Carl. I have often placed the communion waver in his hands, a hand that was still a little bit grimy from the work he did all week long. And I always felt a special honor in doing so, because it was God’s work he did, keeping people’s homes warm. Carl is one of those people who don’t draw attention to themselves, but chances are you have seen him because he is tall, has a beard that could rival any orthodox Rabbi’s beard, and he has ushered in just about 10,000 church services, no exaggeration! So, the big question all of us are asking is this: What in the world is Carl going to do now? No more truck deliveries… No church bells to ring right now… No bulletins to distribute right now… His children’s homes are done… Can you picture him in a beach chair??? (I can’t.) Whatever he decides to do, he deserves it. God bless you, Carl!
We are busy preparing another edition of Steeple Views for you. It will be a thicker edition than what I would have expected, containing various picture pages from our special services (Mother’s Day; Graduation Sunday, etc.), the re-opening document and several other updates from church ministries. It will fly out some time next week. We hope you will enjoy it. Lisa has been working hard in the office and at home and we have all benefited from her passion and creativity in putting all these things together. Thank you, Lisa! This coming Sunday we will celebrate our graduation students. We have invited a number of them to join us for the church service recording on Saturday. And you will see a graduation picture show at the beginning of the service. It’s not as long as the virtual school graduation services (thank God!) but we have well over 25 pictures.
Diana S. shared good news about Monday’s blood drive: We had a very successful “COVID-19” blood drive. ”We had 97% of the people show up for the appointments, great job! We also hit 120% of our quota! So that means that we saved 90 people’s lives with our donations all while keeping everyone safe & healthy. Please know that these donations stay local to our area. Our next drive is later this summer Monday – August 17th – from 2 PM to 7 PM. So please keep us in mind!” (Diana)
We will continue to record services over the summer even as we plan to open the church for small in-person church services by July 5. If you have technical expertise or video skills, please let us know. We are looking to expand our tech team so we won’t have to rely on the same wonderful people all the time!
Finally, I am also attaching the eulogies for Bill L. Kane Jr. (service earlier this week) and Charlene’s mom Doris Moyer (two weeks ago). I always find it interesting to learn about the lives of not so famous, yet interesting people in our midst. Enjoy, and please keep all those who have recently lost a loved one in your prayers, including Susan D. who lost her husband Dave Greger less than two weeks ago, the Kane family and Charlene B. Thank you!
Be blessed and be safe!
Pastor Andreas Wagner