Copper Hill Church to hold National Back to Church Sunday events

This picture from our church summer picnic is a happy reminder for all of us of the good times we enjoyed during sunny summer days.   Vacations with family, trips to the mountains, the beach, the fair or the theme park all contribute to wonderful summer memories.  But if you're like me, you welcome the fall days when the evening air is more nippy.  For children,  around Labor Day, the school year begins.   As a pastor, I've noticed that the coming of school brings changes in the schedules of many people, including many who don't have children in their immediate family.  Workplaces end summer schedules. Traffic patterns change to make way for school buses and parents delivering and picking up children.  College towns spring to life.  Travel winds down.    These fall changes have become part of the rhythm of our lives.  As the wise man of Israel said,  "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" (Eccl 3:1 NRSV).

There is so much to do during the busy summer season that it is easy to get out of the habit of attending Sunday worship services.  We are pulled in so many directions.   But the fall schedule provides an ideal time to return to our regular habit of honoring God.   To help, Copper Hill United Methodist Church is joining in the celebration of National Back to Church Sunday on September 16.    Worship service is at 9:30 AM and there is both a children's moment and a Sunday School time for the children.  The theme of the day is , "You Belong Here!"    It reminds us, first of all, that God is seeking us, and desires to welcome us all into his presence as we open our hearts to Jesus.     It reminds us too how essential it is to take time to enrich our spirits, encourage your hearts, and find life-giving direction through God's Holy Word.     We discover when we come what the Psalm writer meant when he said,  "The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth" (Ps 145:18 NIV).

We are also inviting all our friends and neighbors to enjoy  snacks and conversation after the service on the lawn in front of the church.    Usually, we have coffee hour inside once a month after service.  But on September 16, we are planning to have our  coffee hour outside to make it easy for neighbors and friends to stop by and say hi, whether or not they have been to service.