I come from a very crafty family. Seriously, from yarn work to quilting, woodworking to painting, baking to Lego building, I can point you to someone in my family who has taken up the hobby. This means that when it is the time to exchange gifts for one celebration or another, often the gifts will be handmade with love. Upon reading the text for January 5th, I found myself digging in my seamer trunk for a quilt my mom made for Matthew and my wedding a few months ago. In the text from Jeremiah, he proclaims the coming together of the remnant of Isreal into a beautiful society where all are cared for. I couldn't help but think of fabric scraps coming together into a beautiful quilt that also provides care in the form of warmth, comfort, and love. 

This month, we are embracing this idea of the remnant coming together to form a community in our Join in January series. The beautiful part of being in a community is the coming together of our different interests, ideas, creativity, and talents to care for each other and the world around us. To get us started, we have a Join in January interest survey! This survey will be available at church or online. This is not a contract you are signing; it is simply to tell me or Jenny or whoever is leading the ministry that you are interested in more information and maybe trying it out for a time. I hope you will take this as an invitation to see what God is calling you to and play a little bit in that space. See you in worship!

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Rita