Summertime and Rest

"Observe the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you." Deut. 5:12

Does the word "summertime" produce different feelings and expectations in you than it used to? It does for me. I used to look forward to June, July, and August with an expectation that things would slow down, both personally and professionally. Now it feels different.

For one thing, it seems like summer has been compressed. I asked a Vancouver school district teacher from our congregation—she is now retired—why the school year runs nearly to July. She answered with a wry smile, "Because we're getting you ready for year-round school."

However, this is only part of the "newer" reality. When our sons were younger, we weren't chasing as many baseball tournaments, soccer matches, and golf games across the county and the state—all in the name of "positive parent involvement." Maybe you know the feeling too.

As the world has become more of a global village and farming more mechanized, the agrarian cycle from which summer break was derived is going away. Maybe it is time to lean towards year-round school. We have become a 24-7-365 world and
certainly the ministry of Christ's ... certainly the ministry of church has always been a four- Christ's church has always been a four-
season enterprise. season enterprise..

I now tell newcomers to Messiah who ask about summertime ministries that they do not slow down, the opportunities just change. This summer is no exception. It is packed with a long list of interesting events and ministry opportunities.

As I write, the staff, internship team, and congregation are anticipating the arrival of two college interns. This week will be the Advanced Commitments Dinner for Messiah's Renew, Reach Out, Rejoice – Building On Our Foundation capital stewardship campaign. A few weeks after will be an all-church banquet and commitment Sunday relating to the same ministry initiative. Once the campaign commitments are in, there will undoubtedly be a flurry of activity to discern the path on which God is taking us to insure the relevance, attractiveness and functionality of Messiah's current site.

Seven new ministry teams are in the process of making plans for the launch of Messiah's second worship site at the Ridgefield junction on Sunday, September 12. An interview team is busy assessing candidates to serve as Mission Worship Leader.

VBS and Day Camp planning is in full swing and the Backsliders are swinging their softball bats in the Vancouver City League. Two mission trips are planned; one for middle school students and the other for high school students, and a new group for college students is being formed.

The Wallowa backpacking trip is nearly full and participants are gearing up for this high adventure ministry opportunity. The Leaping Lutherans, Messiah's Hood to Coast team, are busy getting into condition for the long run. Messiah is launching a new website and the learning curve associated with its management will be work intensive.

Plans are taking shape for a nationwide ELCA conference called Churches Planting Churches being held at Messiah in October. A lot is going on, and a lot of ministry is happening even though it is summertime.

In the midst of all this, Kathy and I will take a couple of weeks of vacation. It will be time to sleep in, read the paper, make some trips without concern of schedules or organized games, and otherwise do nothing but rest.

The fact is God created us for both work and rest. The point of the commandment to rest on the Sabbath day was not only to encourage God's people to attend worship, but an order to rest. No work was to be done. God knew that we would not choose to rest on our own and so he commanded it.

us spiritually. The question becomes, "Do we use our days of rest for amusement or for recreation?" MacDonald argues that many of us keep on working or working at our play instead of resting and finding recreation. He reminds us that God gave the command about the Sabbath to invite us to rest and find renewal, to be recharged with spiritual energy that helps us live out authentic lives, that puts us on course to fulfill our God-given calling to serve others.

God clearly wants us to rest our bodies and at the same time rest our hearts by engaging in every-week worship. The Sabbath is meant for both. I encourage you to carve out days of recreation, renewal and rest this summer and throughout the year. Rest your bodies and rest your hearts by always attending worship and receiving God's never-changing Word for you! Having done so, you will most certainly be equipped to enjoy recreation.