Summer sermon series on parts of the Book of Genesis:
Aug. 19 – Genesis 22:1-19 – Abraham called to sacrifice Isaac.
Aug. 26 – Genesis 37:1-12, 18-36 – Joseph part 1.
Sep. 2 – Genesis 45:1-15 – Joseph part 2.
Notices:
Doors Open Banff: This Sunday, August 19th, from 1-4pm our church will be open for the annual Doors Open Banff Event. Many thanks to Margaret for opening the RMUC to visitors!
A Rundle UC Hike: Come with us for a hike to Larch Valley after church on August 26th! Hike into a unique larch forest high above Moraine Lake. Views of the Ten Peaks are breathtaking. It’s a moderate hike and most of us are fit enough for the 4.3km one way and 535m elevation gain. It’s rated as a 3.5-4 hour round trip. There will be scope for walk talk and gawk, as well as ambitious hikers. Must keep to a group of four.
New Book Club Group for Sept-Oct: Join us for a new 8 week discussion group or club. The book to be used is Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighbourhood Church is Transforming the Faith, by Diana Butler-Bass. We’ll gather Thursday nights in the Lonsdale Lounge from 7pm – 8.30pm, beginning September 6. We’ll open and close each gathering with prayer and perhaps sing a song or two. So think of it as a book club with a twist. Copies of the book have already been ordered so please let Rev. Crawford know if you’ll be a part of this group.
Butler-Bass is a well-known and highly regarded religious commentator from the US (Somewhat like Reginald Bibby in Canada) whose speciality is mainline denominational renewal. In this recent book she outlines how congregations of various sizes and denominations are bucking the trend of church decline in Northern America not through institutional change but rather through grassroots congregational imagination and creativity. The aim of our group will be simple – to talk about church – our childhood memories, the glory days, church and culture, the future of spirituality, whatever may be on our minds and hearts, in light of Butler-Bass’s discoveries and observations.
Board Meetings: The next board meeting is to be tentatively held on September 9. Stay tuned for confirmation of the date.
RMUC Ministry: At its most recent meeting the RMUC Board accepted an offer from Rev. Doug Powell to serve as 3/4 time minister (stated supply) between Nov. 1st and Jan. 31st. As many of you know, Doug has been serving at Rundle for two or so years as the Presbytery Rep., and has a fairly solid knowledge of the Bow Valley and issues related to RMUC. He has recently retired from Okotoks United Church. We look forward to Doug’s leadership!