editor’s note
As I write this letter my hands are still holding tightly to the last days of summer. I
refuse to accept that school will start in just a couple weeks. Scanning past every
ad about stocking up on supplies, I roll the windows down so the sweet breeze can
drown out the inevitable. The weather is too beautiful, the lake too warm for this sea-
son to draw to a close.
Yet as it always does, fall is coming. And with it comes a shift back to the rhythms
and routines that define many of the cooler days on our calendar. As much as I love
summer and the wild abandon with which we in West Michigan run after ice cream
and pool days, weeks at camp and nights around a bonfire, I sense that my soul
could use some routine. And so I send the call out to you as well, are you ready to
circle back? Is your rested self ready to dig in once more?
On August 15, our staff is inviting the congregation to an open house. Our hope is
to give you a Taste of Calvary, a reminder of the community God has invited you into
through this church. We are gathering to check in with you, to ask you how your
summer was and to help you consider what to engage with at Calvary Church in this
new ministry year. Summer sends us in all directions and this is a night to be back in
the same spot and reconnect.
There is an intense amount of activity that fills this place - both through our building
on the Beltline and through the people of Calvary as they take their faith out into the
world. As we’ve walked the journey of Grace Beyond together these past few years,
God has breathed new life into us. We are not the same people we have always been,
and I think this issue of the Calvary Life gives you great insight into the many new
ways He is leading us to minister.
My hope is that as you peruse the pages to follow, you’ll be energized to see the Spirit
of God calling, shaping and equipping His people. What God does and will do through
His church is unlike anything else. As a new season unfolds, may you truly engage
with Christ’s church in this place. And as you do, may you find God faithfully meeting
you around every corner. May you align yourself with the rhythm of His grace, no
matter what season you’re in, knowing that He is the true refresher of your soul.
By Jackie Rice
Director of Communications
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