This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This week I had the great pleasure of watching my family participate in Spirit Week at their school. They went to school dressed as Adam Sandler, a doughnut, the Phantom of the Opera, and an assortment of other costumes. It was funny and fun. It was also purposeful.

When you dress up with your friends, your homeroom class, or your advisory group you end up joking together, laughing, and smiling at the absurdity and silliness of your actions. Not to mention, not every costume is easy to put together. As you all well know, sometimes dressing up takes work. Work, laughter, cooperation, silliness, and simple fun are ingredients that when mixed together build amazing relationships.

Jesus asks his disciples to participate in both the breaking of the bread and the prayers. Of course there is an Eucharistic element to Jesus's words. Christ is made known to us in the breaking of the bread. There is also, I think, a fellowship component to this. When we break bread together, gathering around a church round table or dining room table, relationships are built and community is strengthened. It's why foyer groups and potlucks are important to the health of our church. It's why kids running on the playground or sitting on the St. Martin's sign drinking their lemonade after church is so amazingly good.

If you've visited Sundays but haven't been a part of a foyer group, I encourage you to consider signing up. If you've been present in worship but haven't joined us for coffee hour, Martineers lunch, or one of our welcome dinners, come, eat, laugh, enjoy. Our faith can be strengthened by the bonds of fellowship that we share.

In Christ,

Mitch