•A • Daily visit to the mailbox
• A belated color tour
• Return to learning
• An invitation to remember

We live in a place where a daily visit to the mailbox is still very much a part of our everyday schedule. Sometime in every afternoon, while returning home from wherever I have been, I stop at the mailbox to see what ‘treasures’ have been delivered to our home. I use the term ‘treasures’ advisedly because we all know the most frequent things to find their home in that box by the side of the road are bills and/or flyers from someone who wants Janice or me to do/buy/try something new and wonderful. But they are treasures in their own right, and I make that trip faithfully because I am often surprised, and frequently delighted, by what I find there. I suspect that it is much the same for each one of us reading this. I have also discovered that life often changes things – sometimes by subtraction and sometimes by addition. One of the recent additions has become a daily visit to my ‘inbox’ to see what treasures I can find there. I have the appropriate filters and virus blockers, and I am not always thrilled by everything that still gets through. Still, I enjoy the daily trips and do try to make a habit of it. I hope you have expanded your daily ‘trips’ as well, because this is the last regular newsletter to be sent by regular mail from our office. The costs of postage, the costs in time and energy to prepare, sort, collate and deliver the newsletter to the Post Office, and the costs of materials have all conspired to encourage a change in how we deliver the news on our district. Elsewhere in this newsletter Jennifer will provide you with information about how we will be “keeping you in the loop.” For now I want you to be assured that we want each of you and many more persons to receive and use the information about the district and our shared ministries.

This fall will see another change on our district: a changed date for our District Conference. Many of you reading this will remember that our usual date for this annual event has been in or around February with its attendant gamble on the roads and the weather. This year we are trying something different and we need you to get the word out and encourage attendance at our District Conference event. Because of what we are planning, we would like a representation from every church/charge. This year we are holding the conference in Harrison on Sunday, November 9, 2008 from 3:00-5:00.  Think of it as a belated color tour or an early deer scouting trip if that is more to your liking. However you think of it, do try to attend this very special District Conference. Bishop Keaton will be our preacher of the day and our special event this year will be the forming  of a new hurch/congregation at the Gathering. In all my 35 years of ministry, this will be my first time to be present to charter a new church and I can’t wait. More information will be forthcoming in the days ahead, and I will be bringing the information to each church conference, but it’s not too early to begin planning this fall’s trip to Harrison.

It’s “back to school” time for many of us – students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators. I was one of those, as both student and teacher, who was always excited to get back to school and learn new things. I am still excited by the learning part. I think the day we stop learning things is the day we begin to die. So I am excited that we will be offering some learning opportunities to pastors and interested laity over the next couple of years – chances to grow and be enriched; to pick up some useful new things to benefit our ministries. This fall’s opportunity to return to learning will be on October 30 in Reed City. In cooperation with the Grand Traverse district and the Conference Commission on Communication, we are bringing in Larry Homitsky, a nationally certified trainer for Igniting Ministry. Pastor Larry is coming to us from Pittsburg, PA. He has traveled across the country over the last several years and Bob Mayo and I are excited to bring him here to Northern West Michigan. We recently had a chance to sit in a meeting with Larry as the presenter and we are confident that he will bring you tools and information that can change and re-charge your ministry in wonderful ways. This all-day event will begin at 9:30 and conclude by 3:30 and you will take home ‘free stuff’ and great ideas. I know that your schedules are already filling up, but I do urge you to make this day a priority on your calendar.

Finally, I want to issue an invitation to remember Sabbath keeping as a gift from God for all of us. Elsewhere in this issue you will see that these are very hectic months for this office and for me personally. It is not an overstatement to say that these are the two most intense months of my whole year! I remember that it was ever thus… every charge seemed to ramp up their activities in the fall and, unlike my current schedule, did not let off until after the Christmas holidays. That is how it is and that, I suspect, how we want it! But… please do not forget (or, for that matter, let me forget) the importance of the Sabbath rest. It is intended to be a weekly thing, a holy thing, and a vital part of who we are. We are Sabbath people in a 24 / 7 / 365 world! Keeping Sabbath is an important part of our witness to who we are meant to be: God’s people! It’s not just about rest, though that is of extreme value to each human being. It’s about saying with our time that nothing in this world is more important that the One who made it! Please remember to honor God with rest throughout this busy season and be confident that God will bless you as you do.