I know the plans I have for you, says our God, plans for welfare and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope.
— Jeremiah 29:11

A future and a hope. What an amazing gift to receive from God’s creating Spirit as we move together into the month of September. We still have a lot of work ahead of us—to keep one another safe and healthy, to lean into becoming a church that is more and more both in-person and online, to give generously wherever people are in need, especially now through our partnership with the church in Haiti.

We have a lot of work to do, and it’s going to take our best thinking, extravagant generosity, and compassion towards one another, especially when we differ. It’s going to require of us flexibility and resilience. This work of creating a new church together and of repairing the brokenness of the world will ask of us creativity and perseverance.

The good news is that God “has our back,” as the expression goes. God is the ground under our feet and the expanse of the heavens. God is the bread of our bodies and spirits. God is the breath of life and the wind of change.

God has plans for us—plans for welfare and not for harm, giving us a future and a hope. In this season let’s inhabit those holy plans, giving thanks always to God, caring always for one another, staying open always to God’s vision, power and peace.