|
Hi Parkway People!
This last Sunday – VBS Sunday – I woke up to a flat tire. I've been jumping in the car instead of my normal walk to work because it's already way too hot – but now I had to make a plan. Not just for Sunday – but for the rest of the week. This year our weeklong VBS ran right into The Annual Conference of all the UMC churches in this area. My plan had been to drive back-and-forth to meetings in Houston each this week.
These last few days I've found myself timing when to call an uber based on Houston traffic, climbing into those Ubers, with clergy robe and stole to wear to an ordination service (makes for interested conversations), and asking if there's an extra seat in cars.
And it's all worked out. But I've had to adjust my thinking – change the rhythms I'm used to – and be intentional about how I'm planning to get between point A and point B.
I've found the same is true in the ways I plug in and engage with my faith.
I am used to the rhythms I've built into my life – what goes into a day or week – how I can get from point A to point B. It doesn't feel like I can add more too it. I don't like when I have to make a new plan.
But when I break out of those rhythms, I'm reminded that familiarity and efficiency can also limit new possibilities.
This summer, Parkway is investing resources in finding new ways to keep us connected to each other and enable us to grow in our faith through study, service, and building community.
I know people are heading out of town. I know the busyness never really slows down as much as we'd like. But my hope is that we can continue to discover and develop ways of growing as followers of Jesus in a busy world where we often feel limited by the rhythms of life.
Take a look below – both at what's happened and the places ahead where you can plug into study, service, and building community.
Celebrating VBS
I hope you were here to celebrate VBS this past Sunday! Our kids led up front and showed us what they learned. We saw a great video recap that you can see here! And we finished things out with lunch, waterslides, and a chance to continue building community.
A huge thanks to everyone who helped us set up, clean up, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and directed traffic on the water slide! We cannot do this work of inviting people to our ministry without many hands and the desire to make room for a few more people.
One last note – Becky was able to send me the numbers from this past week. There was an average of 265 kids here each day during VBS week. Add that to over 70 volunteers each day, and it's no wonder our halls were crowded, loud, and joyful!
2 New Ways to Study and Grow
| 
