Starting next Sunday, September 18, faith formation hour will begin at 9:30 a.m. and lead into the main service in the sanctuary. We would love for all of you to join us in the Pipe as we learn to be more like Jesus.
The most exciting part about faith formation hour is that our church family will learn together. We are utilizing curriculum called Follow Me: Biblical Practices of Faithful Living (see video above) that has been tailored for children, teens and the older folks. This will offer all of us an incredible opportunity to grow closer to God and to each other.
To give you a sense of what’s ahead, here’s a rundown of the first Biblical practice we will explore: Christian hospitality.
So, I think most of you probably have a good idea of what hospitality is … but what is Christian hospitality?
Well, I’m glad I asked.
At its core, Christian hospitality boils down to four fundamental principles:
- We welcome others as God welcome us.
- We see Christ in all people — friends and enemies alike.
- We must know our gifts of hospitality and encourage others to know (and share) their gifts.
- We must challenge “othering.”
In the next four weeks, we will explore each of the above principles, so that we will have a better understanding of what it means to be welcome all into the community of Christ.
And one last thing: If you’ve been with us at Pipe over the last year, you will recognize many of the themes embedded in this Biblical practice of hospitality. In fact, the very first lesson relies on a theme that we discussed in our studies of the Gospels and the Torah: We, as Christians, believe that all people are created in the image of God.
Because of this fundamental belief, we must offer hospitality to everyone — not just those who look like us or believe like us.
We sing it every Sunday: God welcomes all, strangers and friends.
We are excited to welcome all of you back! See you Sunday!
The Pipe 