Greetings, beloved Church and Church friends,

I wish you peace and love in the name of the risen Christ. I was blessed this week to spend time at a grief summit. Several clergy members and I gathered together on Monday with a grief coach at Keller United Methodist Church. We spent three hours talking about grief. The discussions included the impact of losing church members, the impact of disaffiliations, and the difficulty of allowing space for our own grief while acknowledging the grief of the rest of the world. It was an amazing and uplifting encounter with God on Monday. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been there.

I want to say thanks to everyone who brought Halloween candy for the Trunk or Treat at the elementary school. We got lots of good candy, and hopefully, those kiddos will have a great time next week at their event.

I also want to say a special thank you to Brian McCosky for two reasons. First of all, Brian has pretty much single-handedly managed the issues we are having with our HVAC equipment. This has taken a lot of his time, including his entire birthday back in September. Secondly, I want to thank Brian for bringing brats and hotdogs back from Wisconsin. In the midst of juggling my responsibilities, I failed to set a date with Brian for a church picnic. Thankfully, Brian is part of a veterans’ organization and will be able to use the imported meats for an event with local veterans. I apologize to you all that we will miss out on the high-quality products that Brian brings back from Wisconsin. That said, we still need a church picnic. Apparently, the weather is going to cooperate until at least the middle of November. We will be having a church picnic on November 3, 2024, immediately following the service. The temperature that day is forecasted to be 75° with a minimal chance of rain. I will have a sign-up sheet this Sunday for those who wish to bring food for the picnic. We will invite the neighborhood via our sign out in front of the building and through this newsletter article. Please join us on November 3 for breakfast at 10:30, church at 11, and a picnic on the grounds beginning at 12:30.

Thank you for your continued love and patience with me as I pursue ordination in the United Methodist Church. I have been away from school for a while now, and I’m not sure I remember everything I need to. I have to study extra to remind myself of all the things I’ve forgotten.

My love to you all,
Mary