Summer Time!

Summer is here! OK, not officially, but schools are either out or about to be out, and people are planning vacations to get out of the heat (It’s coming!). As a kid, I loved summer. I loved running through the sprinklers (pools were a rarity in my so-cal neighborhood), playing games with friends. The greatest thing about summer was hanging out with friends. I still love hanging out with friends. Darius mentioned this in his message this last weekend. We need to take the opportunity to focus on relationships this summer. I can’t think of anything better than to focus on my relationships with those I serve with.

On a similar note, who are you building relationships with this summer? Another of my hopes is to get to know more people with cultural and ethnic backgrounds different from my own. I grew up in a very white neighborhood. In fact, I didn’t even know anyone with another cultural or ethnic background until I was an adult. I also hope that we can add some cultural diversity to our team. We live in a diverse area, with people with heritage from all over the world. We need to embrace that, and reach out to those who look different than us. We also need to make sure that when people of various backgrounds come to the Fresh Start Table, they will see that we are diverse as well. That has huge welcoming impact! This isn’t a political thing; it’s a Biblical/cultural thing. Jesus told us to go to “all the world”. The phrase he used actually means to “all the ethnics”. In other words, it means to go to every people group and every culture. We have many cultures and ethnic groups represented here at Palm Valley Church. Let’s start here.