World Communion Day

Dear Starmount Friends,
This coming Sunday, will be a busy and a wonderful day in the life of our church.  First, we will be concluding our sermon series focused on Starmount’s Core Values.  Our focus will be on Christian education and the concept of life-long faith formation.  We have received some good feedback from this series and even input from some of you on how you perceive these important aspects of our identity.  I am delighted that we have this opportunity to reflect more deeply on who we are as a congregation and who God is calling us to be.
This Sunday is also a significant date in the larger church, as it is World Communion Sunday.  It was back in 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that a Presbyterian congregation by the name of Shadyside Presbyterian Church held the first World Communion Sunday.  It was an effort to foster and celebrate unity and connection among those churches who held the Christian faith in common.  It is a tradition that we continue to celebrate today, because it still fulfills the same purpose it did when it began all those years ago.  When we gather around the table for communion, we are reminded that others all over this country and all over this world gather around the same table, confess the same faith in Jesus Christ, and receive the same grace from God.  Celebrating the sacrament on this day reminds us that we as a church are a part of something much bigger than ourselves.
Finally, following the worship service, we will hold a congregational meeting for the purpose of electing new elders for the Class of 2021.  Information on this proposed slate can be found in your weekly bulletin or in this month’s newsletter.
I would like to thank this congregation for the wonderful response to our relief supply drive to benefit those affected by Hurricane Florence.  The donations are beginning to pile up, and so we will be keeping them in the narthex for the next two weeks.  There are two more Sundays to donate, so please keep them coming.  You can find updated needs lists at www.harrelsoncenter.org Here are a few of the new items needed:
Top 10 Supply Requests:
Allergy and Headache Medications
Bug spray
Canned fruit
Canned pasta
Canned protein
Canned sauce
DampRid
Mosquito dunks
Storage boxes-plastic
Shockwave Cleaning product
I hope to see you Sunday for a full but fantastic day!
In Christ,
Charlie Lee