A Different Year…. Summer Is Here!

Having put the ‘lost year’ of 2020 behind us, we are entering the Summer of 2021 in a much more positive mood. The weather is warming, the pandemic is ebbing (or so it appears) and life is returning to some semblance of what it was before COVID.

Being able to be with church friends ‘live & in-person’ …starts my week off (for some it is viewed as the end of the week) the way I prefer it. I hope that more people will begin returning to in-person church services providing a chance for us all to again share fellowship together.

Have you seen the Glimpses of Vibrancy that appear each week in these “First Notes’? Our church is staying active and our teams and groups continue to work to shape our future. The sanctuary may have a different look (thank you Chancel Visioning Team), our Mission work continues (thank you Mission Team), a Congregational Survey is in the near future (thank you Assoc. Pastor Nominating Committee) and what it means to be a Matthew 25 church is becoming clearer (thank you Matthew 25 Team).

It seems obvious to most that if a congregation wants to thrive it must remain active and attuned to the world in which it operates and exists. Being a Christian has never been easy. Being part of a mainline protestant denomination like the Presbyterian Church USA is too often seen as being a part of ‘yesterday’ and not a part of ‘today’. Our congregation and all we are we are doing belies that image. First Presbyterian Valpo is filled with people who care about each other and about those elsewhere who need some sort of help or assistance. I personally love that we are not just about ourselves and that fact needs to be communicated to others who may find our actions and our efforts to be something they may want to be a part of.

Let the summer begin; and may we each make a point of getting back to worship in-person during these coming months. A family that worships together, stays together. See you soon.

Jim Hubbard