I am excited that Rally Day is just around the corner! It is fun to see the children and families return to worship after a summer of church camp, vacations and play. We have a few changes this year, a few new ideas, as well as some same old good stuff.

Brittney Spencer will be our new ―go to person for Children’s and Adult Sunday School. Brittney is our new program/volunteer coordinator, and she is full of ideas and enthusiasm. Britt has lined up a great group of teachers! Ruby Hernandez, Tiffany Mendoza and Lola O’Steen will teach the preschool class. Mary Stewart, Kathy Perez, and Judy Cope will teach the K through second grade class. Barb Brooks, Linda Woodruff, and Kristine Harmon will teach the third through fifth grade class. There will still be Slushie Sundays, and we’ll still be using the Live Big curriculum for children’s Sunday school. Britt may be inviting some of you to take a turn to bring snacks on a Sunday morning. Barb Brooks began a great tradition of supplying a basket of snacks on the stair landing for children to grab on their way down the stairs after Sunday school. Our children look forward each week to seeing what’s in the basket!

This year we will be separating middle school and high school for Sunday school and youth group. Our middle school youth (sixth through eighth grade) will be studying Claim the Life: Journey this fall. This lessons in this study each revolve around a single key word or phrase from Scripture, such as worship, praying, image of God, commitment, follow, temple, forgiving, kindness, and servant. These words are significant to more fully claiming life as a Christian. The lessons will use both the Old and New Testaments. This study will be taught by Nancy Stewart and Gene Summers. Our high school youth will begin the program year with Adam Hamilton's study on Christianity's Family Tree: What Other Christians Believe and Why. Hamilton presents a generous, inspiring vision of eight Christian denominations and faith traditions. Comparing the Christian family to own extended families, he contends that each denomination has a unique, valuable perspective to offer on the Christian faith. Our youth will be looking at Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Baptists, Pentecostalism, and Methodism. Hamilton gives a brief history, outlines major beliefs, and describes some things we can learn from each tradition to strengthen our own Christian faith. This class will be taught by Richard Jones, Cheryl O'Brien, and Tommy Lew. Both youth groups will meet at 4 o’clock Sunday afternoons.

There will be a new adult Sunday school class in Mary Dawson Hall beginning on Rally Day. Richard Jones and Gene Hochhalter will be teaching Adam Hamilton’s new book, When Christians Get It Wrong. Hamilton has a heart for reaching people for Christ, and the fact that so many of our young people seem to be falling through the cracks and are avoiding church and Christianity altogether grieves him. That’s what gave birth to this book. When Christians Get It Wrong deals with some of the things young adults have said are problems they have with Christians and Christianity. Those perceptions include the idea that too many Christians judge others, reject science, condemn people of other religions, bring politics into faith and are anti-gay. It promises to be a lively discussion!

There are other exciting things being planned for a little later in the month and in the fall. We will begin a new worship experience for young adults in the Parlor at 6:30 Sunday evenings on the last Sunday in September. This worship will include lots of praise music, discussion, scripture, and prayer. Britt is already making plans for children’s pageants this year. She is also digging through puppets and skits for children to work on to present for children’s stories this fall. The rehearsal times will be during the Praise and Rejoice Service.

More than anything else, I am looking forward to praising God through worship with all of you again! Everything we do at Trinity evolves from our Christ centered worship. Come and praise God on September 12, as we give thanks to God for the summer that is past, and as we dedicate teachers and students and musicians for the year before us. I give thanks to God for each of you, and for this journey of faith that we have been called on together—come, now is the time to worship!