GREETINGS,
At council on Tuesday, I passed around a picture of the group I will be spending time with in Israel at the Tantur Institute. I will be joining four other people from the United States, three from New Zealand and others from Australia, Korea, UK, Canada and Vietnam. A wonderfully diverse group of people. We have already begun to make connections for train or bus travel from Tel Aviv to Israel.
If you would like to get a hold of me while I am in Israel this is how you do it. Download the app, “WhatsApp” on your smartphone and make an account. You can text me using the same number as my cell phone, 319-631-8858. This is a free way to communicate internationally. Another option would be to send a message via Colleen or Kevin. I will be checking my email as well. I hope to share with you my experiences as they unfold. I will be in Israel from July 2 through July 31. I hope to see you at National Night Out on August 2, God willing.
This next week, June 24 -June 30, I will be in Northern Minnesota with my extended family on the beautiful shores of Little Cut Foot Sioux Lake at Williams Narrows. It’s a family tradition for over 50 years and a four-generation event. I give thanks to God for this time of gathering with my family.
Pastor John Meyer and his wife Fran will be with you on Sundays and keeping you posted as well. We are moving ahead with painting the sanctuary and narthex beginning on Monday, June 26. We are rounding up a group to take down the wall hangings in the sanctuary on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. and the large bulletin board. We will also need help to stack and remove chairs in the sanctuary for the painting. This may mean that Sunday worship on July 2 may take place in the Narthex or outside depending on the progress of the painting. We will try to communicate as best we can and you are always welcome to call the office to check or Deb Heath or Kevin Edens.
Thank you for this opportunity to go to Israel for continuing education and a life-long dream of being able to study in the land that Jesus roamed about and has a long and complex history. I am a farm girl and have an attachment to land, playing in the dirt and roaming the pastures. I am hoping to do some of that same kind of roaming of the terrain in Israel while studying with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scholars. Please hold me in prayer as I travel and explore. I too will be holding you in prayer. We are all in good hands, God’s hand and that is the best place of all. God has amazing things for all of us to discover and I am grateful to be with you on this journey.
Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,
Pastor Connie Spitzack
