Good Friday morning Church Requel!
Each Friday morning I write you a letter telling you how great this weekend is going to be. And this Friday is no different. Just skip down a few paragraphs if you want to read about that first.
However, THIS week I want to give a big shout out to just how over-the-top amazing last weekend was for us! Last weekend was the final Saturday and Sunday of unofficial summer. As such, it was also the weekend of our summer concert. What a special time! The music was great! The food was delicious! The fellowship was fantastic!
But what I will always remember the most - the teamwork was really terrific! What could easily have taken multiple days for one or two people to do was accomplished in just a few short hours. Don and his volunteers had already built the outdoor stage. The rest of the team showed up at noon to begin setting everything up outside. I still can't believe it all went as smoothly as it did.
And it wasn't just the praise band. Bryon and his team set up the grill and cooked up loads of hot dogs and cheeseburgers. I saw folks walk back to the grill during the concert for seconds... and seconds on their seconds! Ha!
Then after the concert - I was a little in dread of the tear down. But many hands made the work go quickly. In about 75 minutes everything was set back up inside for the Sunday morning service. Wow!
Thank you one and all for making last weekend such a special time together. Not only for us - but for invited family and friends as well as for our neighborhood. Many came and just sat down and listened. We'll probably never know on this side of the divide what eternal differences we made last weekend.
Thank you also for your donations! As of last weekend we had raised between $600 and $700 for St. Luke's. We will leave the special fund open through Labor Day weekend and then we will cut the check to Paul Lintern. Once more your generosity speaks volumes for who you are inside! For those who still wish to make a donation, you can go to give.ChurchRequel.com and click on the designation, "Point of Grace."
John Vetter speaks this Sunday! I hope you all will join us Sunday morning for something really special. I've invited John Vetter to preach for us. It will be our first time to hear John bring the Word of God, but it will not be his first time. He was invited already by another church earlier this summer.
As many of you know, John graduated from high school this year. Within the next two weeks, John will be joining the Marine Corps! He has many long term goals, but one of them involves becoming a pastor or a chaplain.
It was one year ago that we had the privilege of baptizing John. Who could forget John showing up for his baptism in a three-piece suit!?
Let's continue to support him and give him a grand send-off by going this weekend and hearing him preach for the first time at Church Requel. Let's also continue to support him by writing to him in the future when he will be in the Marine Corps and looking forward to hearing from home! As soon as we know his future address, we will share it with you.
A Little Grandpa News... As I wrap up this week's newsletter, allow me to share a little personal story. This was the week for many of our children to return to school. I don't know how this could be possible already, but my oldest grandson - Grayden - headed off to college (DePaul) in Chicago this week. While at the same time, two other grandsons headed off to Kindergarten and 2nd Grade (Matthias and Titus). These are wonderful times and it is worthwhile to stop and celebrate.
Love you much, Pastor Mark
