Greetings Topeka First UMC,

I hope you are having a great week!

You are invited to bring your pet to the church this Saturday from 9:00 am to 11:00 am for the Blessing of the Pets. We'll be on the Harrison Street side of the church in the little garden area. We hope you will bring your dogs, cats and other pets! We will pray over your pets, give you a personalized prayer card for your animal, and we even have some pet treats!

This Sunday, we will continue our Refuge sermon series, as we move into verse four of the twenty-third Psalm. In this verse, we read about walking through the valley. On Sunday we will search the scriptures and look at examples of how and why God walks with us THROUGH the darkest Valleys.

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Thank you to everyone who has attended one of the Listening/ Visioning sessions so far. The dialogue, questions, and discussion have been very good. In case you haven't had the chance to make it to one of the meetings, I wanted you to know what we are discussing as part of the proposal from our Vision Team.

-Possible new Mission Statement: (Who we are)  Topeka First UMC exists to be a Bridge to God, one another and the community.

-Possible new Vision Statement (Our Goal as a Church): To make connections that help ALL grow in God's love and live a meaningful life.

-Continuing the work of the community listening by looking at partnerships and possibilities with new partners

-Changing the governance structure of the church from the current committee system to the Simplified Accountability Structure. This is a stream-lined way of working with the operations of the church.

-Updating the chapel with new lights, sound system, and other possibilities.

If you have thoughts, questions, or comments on any of the above proposals, I  am going to add one additional Listening/ Visioning Session. This meeting will be next Monday September 30, at 6:00 pm. Let us know you'll be attending! There will be further dates and opportunities to discuss all of this at a Town Hall meeting in November.

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On Sunday, October 6, which is World Communion Sunday, we will have the 8:15 am service as usual.  We will not have either the 9:30 or 10:45 service though.  Instead, everyone should plan to join us at Evergy Plaza for a 4-church combined World Communion Sunday service.  Please let Shawna know if you can help pass the communion baskets or be a greeter.  We are responsible for finding 12 volunteers for those areas.

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Many of you know Marty Edwards who has been a member of First Church for many years.  Her 100th birthday is October 21! We would like to show her love through a card shower!  Please bring cards for Marty to the church, we'll have a basket at the Connection desk in the Celebration room, and we'll deliver the cards to her.

Blessings,

Pastor Brad

PS, These are the links to sign up to be a greeter, serve communion, or to read liturgy.