• First Words
• Ideas for Spiritual Stretching This Summer
• Open Position for Nursery Coordinator
• An Update from Building and Grounds
• Northminster Rummage Sale 2023 (Updated Information)
• Thank You from the Family of Millie Frank
• Thank You from the Recipients of Recent Food Donations
• A Formation Journey

Are you a summer prepper? If so, are you good to go for the summer of 2023? Prepping for summer includes different things for different people. While for some it means simply donning the sunglasses and plopping themselves down in a lawn chair, for others of us, it involves binging out the floppy hat and picking up some spf 70. There can be bigger chores too, like repainting the deck or planning a vacation.

One thing we can all do as we look to the coming three months; we can put together a plan to grow spiritually. The longer days, the different pace often associated with summer, and the changes to plans that come along with warmer weather, opens for us the opportunity to set some spiritual priorities and goals for the summer.

Here are four basic areas you might consider: Worship, Discipleship, Fellowship, and Mission. How might God have you stretch or grow in one or more of these areas? What commitments are you willing to make? Who can you partner with so that you end up sharing the experience with someone else?

The following list is intended to spark even more ideas that better fit your situation.

Worship

• Commit to joining in worship every week, even if it includes participating online.
• Create a worship playlist and use it in the car to sing out your praises to God daily, weekly, or on that big car trip.
• If traveling, attend a church on Sundays wherever you happen to be.
• Work your way through the book of Psalms, using them in your own prayer life as a means of worshipping God.
• Declare every morning that the day belongs to God and that you’re going to live for him throughout the whole of the day.
• Google “top 25 praise songs” and commit to learning them over the summer.

Discipleship

• Read Genesis and Matthew.
• Write out the story of when you became a Christian and the difference it has made in your life.
• Share the story of what God has been doing in your life with at least three people. Ask them what God has been doing in their lives.
• Read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship.
• Make a list of your top five questions about the Christian faith, and ask a Christian friend you trust to help you work through them.
• Read the Gospel of John, picturing yourself as one of the disciples and looking to Jesus as your teacher.

Fellowship

• Invite a few folks from your own church to share together in a summer barbeque.
• Invite a few friends who attend different churches to share together in a summer barbeque.
• Arrive early and plan to stay late on a Sunday at church at least one Sunday each month for the purpose of interacting with others.
• Arrange with someone at church to join with you for brunch when church is over.
• Set up a text group with a few Christian friends across the country and use the platform to share with each other what God is doing in your lives each week.
• Arrange to meet with another Christian each week for an early morning walk and coffee.

Mission

• Volunteer at a food bank.
• Use the summer to get to know the people on your block so that you can better care for them and serve them as needs arise.
• Pray daily for missionaries around the world, especially those who risk their lives daily to follow Christ.
• Read a book like Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret by Frederick Howard Taylor or Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot.
• Take a tour of the Dream Center.
• Read the Gospel of Luke, looking specifically what Jesus says to and about those who are disenfranchised and living on the margins.
• Invite a non-church-goer from work to come with you to church one week and then to go get lunch together.
• Adopt a child through Compassion International (www.compassion.com).

Description:

Recruits, trains, and supervises nursery employees, who lovingly care for infants to 3 year olds while their parents are at worship or other church activities.

Accountability:

Reports to Faith Formation Pastor

Responsibilities:

• Create the monthly schedule for staff nursery on Sunday mornings and other times as needed.
• Recruit, train and supervise enough nursery workers to fully staff the ministry.
• Text weekly reminders to workers that are working that Sunday / or other times.
• On Sundays, ensure workers are present on time to welcome parents and children.  Check in several times throughout the morning and help trouble shoot any problems that may arise. Ready to fill in or help as needed.
• Ensure space is regularly cleaned and sanitized.  If there are concerns about cleanliness, please contact Keith.
• Care for and maintain the look of the nursery rooms and ensure snacks, toys, and cleaning supplies are available and appropriate.
• Serve as the representative of Northminster to nursery families by building relationships and maintaining a culture of welcome and safety.
• Flexible work schedule, expected to work about 5 hours per week.

You’re going to see some work taking place at the church in the coming months.

• The first project will be the repair and sealing of the rubber flat roofs.  These roofs have reached the age that caulking the cracks and doing minor fixes just isn’t enough.  We are having Energy Resource Roofing seal the roofs with a silicone sealer.  Besides stopping leaks, this sealer will also help us reduce our energy consumption through the summer months by keeping these areas cooler than a normal urethane or oil base sealer.
• Secondly, we will be having RH Remelius Concrete replace the stairs to the Trinity wing.  This will include making the steps more uniform in size and each step deeper to increase the safety of the steps.
• And lastly, we have contracted with Bob Lundholm and the crew at Lakeside Builders to replace siding, soffits, and fascia on the garage.  They will also move the entry door to the other side of the garage, making the door visible to our security cameras. 

Please contact me with any questions about these projects.

Keith Petran

Director of Operations