As I write this article, it’s 16 days until Labor Day, Sept. 1st. It’s 103 days until Thanksgiving, Nov. 27; 106 days before the First Sunday of Advent; 131 days until Christmas; 138 days before New Year’s Day 2026; 186 days before Ash Wednesday; Feb. 18, 232 days before Easter, April 5; 282 days before Memorial Day, May 25, 2026. Well, that takes care of the calendar for the rest of 2025 into 2026.
Fortunately, that’s not all that is ahead of us. As we prepare for the events, holidays, and celebrations of the coming months, we know that there is a lot more in store for us than just a bunch of dates to make note of for the days, weeks, and months ahead of us. We look forward to times of worship, times of working side by side to advance the mission of our church and our faith. We will have opportunities for book studies, fellowship times, and we’ll sigh and grumble as winter winds and snow buffet us and potentially force postponements of events. There will be tasks to challenge us and perhaps even push us to our limits. No doubt we will also experience times of joy, laughter and occasionally tears as we participate in the ebb and flow of our lives as a Christian community together.
The beauty of being part of the Christian community at First Baptist is being able to rest secure in the knowledge that we can depend on one another through thick and thin, through trials and tribulations as well as uncertain days in the world around us. We are united by faith, which is solid, unchanging, and eternal. Come what may we know someone always “has our back,” there are others we can turn to for advice, support, and sincere empathy.
The dog days of summer are drawing to a close, let’s bring on the autumn with all things pumpkin spice, the start of a new church season, the tag sale and whatever else is ahead. It’s more than a string of dates in the future; it’s our life together. And it starts now!
Faithfully,
Pastor Sharon