I have such vivid memories from my childhood of the end of summer and preparing to go back to school. New school clothes, new shoes (just one pair—imagine that!), new school supplies, new classroom, new teacher, sometimes even a new school. I remember being so excited for that first day of school that I would lay out my new outfit to wear the night before. Beginnings are exciting. While my daughters were school-aged, I continued to experience the excitement of starting a new school year and all the activity that went along with it. I was excited for them and, if I’m honest, excited for me and the fact that ironically, there is a strange freedom in returning to routine.

I always thought that once my nest was empty that the back-to-school phenomenon would lose some of its appeal. I believed that the end of summer would feel like any other time of the year. But it really doesn’t, does it? Even those of us who did not have to run around in the last few weeks buying new school clothes, new school shoes or new school supplies still feel the shift. It feels like a new beginning for us too. Perhaps it is a subtler shift for those of us without school-aged children, but it is still there—a yearning to begin something new somewhere in our lives.

What if this fall we all make a commitment to dig a little deeper in our faith? How can you commit to praying more or in a new way? Or maybe your new beginning is to study the Bible with a new small group? How can you make new friends so you can tell the story of what God is doing in your life? How might you might serve in a new way so that you can give yourself away generously?

If you are looking for ways to start something new this fall, I hope you will join us next Sunday, September 16, for the Get Connected Fair in the Hines Baker Room. All morning long and then again before the Fall Gathering in the evening, we will have information on the many, many ways you can begin something new at
St. Luke’s this fall.

Let’s not let the kids have all the fun of new beginnings!