Pastor Ponderings
“Fall is Here”
Fall is my favorite season. Among the reasons for this are: 1) The weather finally starts cooling down. Though we have not had a scorching summer this year, it was still very hot at times. 2) My favorite sport, football, resumes. I am not the fan I was years ago, but I still love watching a game or two when I have time. 3) School begins and routines are established. We get the kids up, (though I am an empty-nester) have breakfast, get them to school, then get to work. 4) Vacations are over and church attendance picks up. I am grateful for a good summer. We had our second-best attended service, behind only Easter, in July. Continue to pray for Calvary. Our Wednesday youth services have begun. We have renamed our student ministries to “On Track.” Our children are “The Express” and our teens are “The Crossing.” I am thankful for so many adults who are so willing to help this vital ministry. This month we begin a new ministry for our widows and widowers. We also want to include any of our saints who are single. We launch with a luncheon at 11:30am on Saturday, September 14. Our goal is to bless these church members by providing help around the house with repairs, light cleaning, mowing a lawn, changing light bulbs, and other practical help we can provide. We will work in conjunction with our men’s & ladies’ ministries as we pair those with a need to those who can meet that need. We have sign-up sheets in the auditorium if you want to list an area where you can help. ******************** A Christian website recently asked pastors about any strange and funny things they were asked to do. Here are some of the best ones. “A church member asked me to put his mother’s funeral on my calendar. She wasn’t dead.” “A church member asked me to do an imitation of a character from The Princess Bride during the wedding ceremony.” “I officiated a funeral where the family did the wave and hit beach balls during the service.” “A church member called, telling me her neighbors sheep were out in the road. Of course, I was supposed to help since I was her shepherd.” “I was asked to baptize a body at a funeral.” “A lady brought a chirping bird into a worship service and asked me to ignore it.” “I was visiting a member of our church in the hospital. He insisted I hold his kidney stone. I was young, so I did.” ******************** Sunday, September 8, we begin a series: “A New You in 8 Weeks.” We will look at eight vital habits we need to establish to be the best Christians we can be. Don’t miss it! ******************** This year the City of Cleburne will sponsor “Autumn on the Square”, a fall festival with local non-profits providing the activities. Calvary will have a photo booth. The city allows us to place any church information (tracts, etc.) on our table for the community to take. The date is October 19 from 10am to 3pm. We will have a sign-up sheet out soon for those willing to participate. Because of the Cleburne festival, we will scale back on Calvary’s Fall Festival this year. We will still have it, but it will be a little different than in past years. ******************** I want to wish a late happy birthday to my wife. I first met her about 40 years ago. She has been such a blessing to me, and I will always be grateful she said, “I do!” ******************** I have asked from the beginning for you to pray for me and my family in five areas. Thank you for doing so, and please continue to plead with God that I would have: 1) Courage 2) Wisdom 3) Strength 4) Victory 5) Vision