Another prayer for National Night Out, August 2nd. A prayer of thanksgiving.
Holy God,
Thank you for your presence with us as we welcomed our neighbors and partnered with the police and fire departments. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for moving through us, your vessels. Thank you for the connections made. Thank you for the courage and curiosity to explore. Continue to nurture these relationships that we may welcome a bit of your kingdom presence here as we aim at getting to know one another and you. You are faithful and we give you thanks. Amen.
I’m so proud of you all and give thanks to God for you and your work. You were a beautiful witness. You, the people of Christ the King, showed up and welcomed our neighbors and emergency workers. Well done, good and faithful servants of God.
Those of you involved, please share your stories and your reflections. I got the opportunity to meet two of our new neighbors from the apartment behind Bryce Apartments. I invited them to use the park and shelter and they expressed interest in our community garden, and I was given an email for further communication. I invited them to worship with us.
I also got a big hug from one of our VBS kids from the neighborhood. It was good to see the family again and the mom took a picture with her boys and me. Mom and one of the boy’s names were drawn for the school supplies and baskets. It was a lot of fun. I got to reminisce about Tanzania with a Congolese family. Winters are hard to get used to when you don’t grow up with them. Some good conversations about the luck of the draw as kids anxiously waited for names to be drawn and hoped for a prize. Some of our youth not only painted nails and faces but trusted our neighborhood youth to paint them as well. Good partnerships were formed and there were works of art walking around. Kari and Paige from CTK Christian Preschool had an obstacle course for the little ones and the duck pond was a huge success. We sent a warm and welcoming message out on 200 popcorn bags. It was a wonderful night out with good music by the request of our friends and neighbors.
Well done. You are being the best neighbors we can be and the light of Christ is shining through you.
Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,
Pastor Connie Spitzack
