Soon we will be counting down the days before the beginning of school, including the schools for the city of Auburn and Auburn University. We will watch as the days of summer become the rush back to class. Everyone will be going back to school, but we must remember that going back also means moving forward.
Watching the days of summer come to an end means we have a great deal to look forward to during the school year. There will be opportunities as we go back, which will carry us forward. We will discover these opportunities in the routine of each week as well as in special opportunities.
Before the summer is over, we will have special opportunities to hear from each other. On Thursday, August 11, our children and youth, who went to Passport, will put their experience into words for us. On Thursday, August 18, the Brazil Mission Team will share its stories and pictures, giving us a glimpse into their experience.
On Thursday, August 25, we will also welcome a special guest, James Blay. James is a graduate of the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer Univeristy, and he has several connections to our church because he has worked at Passport for many years. James is from Liberia, having worked at the Ricks Institute, a boarding school, which provides needed education for students. Ricks was started by Baptists, but it was partially destroyed during the Civil War in Liberia. James was a part of its new beginning, and now, he returns to Liberia to help carry on its mission. We look forward to hearing James’ story and to learn more about the Ricks Institute.
We also look forward to Promotion Sunday on August 14, where we will give Bibles to our first graders, trees to our sixth graders, and then bless the backpacks of everyone returning to school. As we bless those within our congregation, we also remember those outside our congregation. Through the Benevolence Fund, we have purchased school supplies for students living in the Auburn Housing Authority neighborhoods. We hope every student can begin the school year with excitement.
As we go back to school, we look forward. We look forward to these opportunities and others, as they the journey of faith.
-Tripp