Fallow Months
Hi COTC Family!
Last week's Pentecost service was rich and full. It was a joy to celebrate the good gift of the Holy Spirit with you all.
We've experienced much growth and life together over these past few months at COTC. There have been great joys and real challenges.
It's been our custom at COTC to let things "lie fallow" each July. During that month, we pare back formal church events and seek to slow our pace. This year, in light of the fullness of the past seasons, and in anticipation of the move to two services this coming August, we are extending this fallow season to include both June and July. During this time, you can expect to see a few less announcements than normal, and we'll settle into a rhythm of Sunday worship with less happening midweek.
The intention of this is two-fold. First, we want to give staff and leadership a time of rest. Many people will be taking vacation and/or traveling during these weeks. With a few less things on the calendar, there will be an opportunity for restoration. Second, this gives space for increased preparation for the coming season. This involves "behind-the-scenes" work related to switching to two services and the operations required for our corporate life more broadly.
As we let things lie fallow for these months, I have a couple of encouragements for us all.
Pray for the church. This bit of extra time and space these summer months creates room for intentional prayer and time with the Lord. In addition to your regular spiritual practices, please pray for the life of COTC, for us to be a fruitful community for God's glory, for God's guidance of us, and for one another to be built up in the likeness of Christ. In keeping with this, we'll have two opportunities, one in June and one in July, to pray together for the church. The first of these will be a casual evening prayer service on Thursday, June 28th at the church.
Participate in worship. Worship in Word and Sacrament is the primary corporate action of our shared life at all times. If anything, the importance of worship together is heightened this summer as we have less midweek points of connection. There will be a few other gatherings, but Sunday mornings will be particularly paramount.
Cultivate community. Invite one another out to lunch. Introduce yourself to people you don't know. Have each other over for dinner. Meet up with a clergy person for coffee. These weeks are a great opportunity to get to know others at COTC better.
Complete this survey. As we prepare for two services and what God has for us in the months ahead, we've created this short congregational survey. Please take a few minutes to complete it. This information will be a help as we pray and plan for the Fall and next year.
I recently heard someone say "rest is spiritual warfare." That is, it is a way of resisting those destructive forces (the world, the flesh, and the devil) that would lead us away from God and His good purposes. My prayer is that these next "fallow" weeks would be times of such life-giving resistance for us.
Resting in Christ with you,
Peter+
Ps. This went out in the previous email earlier today, but here is some information from Mother Kimberly about ways to support and serve asylum-seekers related to the ending of Title 42 and new organization here in Austin.