Diving into Fall

This summer seems to have raced by. I hope you have been having some fun, getting some rest and have been enjoying the Olympics. This past week, several of us Coastside Lutherans helped out with the Coastside Annual School Backpack Drive and had a ball stuffing tote bags with supplies and then distributing the supplies and backpacks to local school kids. And of course, the Annual School Backpack Drive is a clear sign that school is about to start and Fall is right around the corner which means activities at CLC are about to heat up!
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To kick off the school year, we will be having a Blessing of the Backpacks on Sunday, August 18 in worship. Students and lifelong learners of all ages are encouraged to bring their backpacks, briefcases, computer bags, etc. to worship to have them blessed and to stand with our children and youth.

Then, right around the corner is Labor Day weekend, and thanks to the initiative of Suzanne Bruce, CLC is bringing back its Book Faire. Book collection is well underway, and we are looking forward to having throngs of bibliophiles descend on our parking lot during Labor Day Weekend. John and I are planning a special worship for that weekend as well. Proceeds from book sales on Saturday and Sunday go into CLC’s general fund and proceeds from Monday will go to a good cause. The Book Faire attracts a lot of people to our campus and is a great way to get the word out about CLC. Please let Suzanne or me know if we can count on your help during Labor Day weekend. We’ll need people to help with muscle-intensive things like moving books and also greeters, cashiers and people to staff the CLC Welcome table.  

The following Sunday, we’ll kick off the program year at CLC with Rally Day, a Lutheran tradition similar to homecoming. We’ll have a BBQ lunch after worship to celebrate the gathering of our church family as people return from vacations and we’ll honor our Book Faire volunteers. CLC will supply the hamburgers and hot dogs; everyone else is asked to bring a side to share. A signup sheet will be on the bulletin board in the west wing in a week or so.  

Other events are being planned for later on in the fall including, but not limited to, our annual Harvest Festival Dinner, a Tree Trimming Party, another joint theatre outing with Holy Family, and the Christmas Sing (which we are hosting this year).
In worship, we’ll be celebrating the Feast of St. Francis with our annual Blessing of the Animals, as well as Reformation Sunday and All Saints’ Sunday. Then before you know it, we’ll be into Advent and preparing to celebrate the birth of our Lord.
I’m looking forward to a praise-filled and fun-packed fall. Make sure you read the weekly email and the monthly newsletters to keep up with the latest goings on and please, invite your friends and family to any of these worship or social events.

Peace,
Pastor Sue