Hello Friends,
Over the last few weeks, the piles of boxes and crates in the garage have slowly been shrinking in size and number. Stacks of books in the office have gradually found homes on shelves. There has been a steady decline in instances where I turn the wrong way to walk toward my office, or toward the church office, or the restrooms. Names are slowly soaking into my memory with the faces, and some of the names are even correct!
Starting out new in a strange community is never simple or easy, but I have been thankful for the grace extended to my family over these first weeks, from the meals shared while we pondered the location of our silverware, plates, and cookware, to the relaxed smiles of people hearing me need their name repeated for the 3rd, 4th, or 10th time, grace has been extended, and gratefully received.
Thank You.
These early weeks of my time at Hoffman are filled with watching and learning. The staff here already know what they are doing, as do our scores of volunteers, so it is up to me to learn about the work they are already doing so I can do my best to equip and empower the ministries of this congregation. The Lunch Bunch, Kids’ Club, Grandma’s Kitchen, as well as meetings and gatherings both formal and informal have been slowly painting a portrait for me as to the work Hoffman UMC accomplishes as we Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.
In the coming weeks there are many events I want to make certain you know about. The Staff Parish Relations representatives and myself are going to be working to schedule various “house meetings” to give congregation members opportunities to meet with me and share some of your hopes, dreams, or even fears as we move forward. We will do our best to offer these gatherings at various times, from weekdays to evenings to Sunday afternoons, so I hope you will be able to attend one at a time convenient for you. We are hoping to schedule these through August and September, and if necessary, we will schedule more to assure everyone who wants to participate has a chance.
In the coming weeks, you can expect our new website to go “live,” and we are excited at the additional opportunities we have to connect not only with the congregation, but also with those in our community who explore it searching for a home church. At this point I really don’t know a great deal about it, but at least I am aware that I don’t know. The pile of information about this congregation and community that I “don’t know what I don’t know” certainly must be vast, but I am committed to learning what I can before making assumptions that could very well be wrong.
I’ve been a pastor since 1997, so while I am experienced in serving Christ’s Church in this capacity, I also know I have much to learn about this new very active mission field I am called to serve here at Hoffman UMC.
Throughout August we have a few community-building activities we hope you can take part in. On August 2nd is our Annual Church Picnic, hosted by Marty and Wendy Black. Swimming begins at 2:30, with the carry-in dinner at 5:30. Please bring lawn chairs with a covered dish. On August 9th we hope to be blessed with a report from our Redbird Mission Team. The August sermon series will focus on Joseph and the School of Hard Knocks he endured. As we have many students and teachers returning to classrooms this month, we thought it would be nice to tie into the difficult lessons we learn in life, some similar to Joseph’s. We intend to have a time set aside to pray for our students and teachers during worship on August 16th. I hope all can attend. While joining you in the journey (and learning names), I am, In Christ’s Service,
Rev. Robbie D. Scott
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