Messy Church is Wednesday, September 11, with the doors opening at 5:30pm.

Greetings St. George’s families,

This summer just seemed to fly by and here we are in September already. I had a fabulous summer and I hope you did too. I trust that things are settling into a routine of work, school and activities and I hope that Messy Church will be part of your routine this year. Last year we switched Messy Church back to Wednesdays with the hope that a change in day would make it more accessible for families. The Messy Church team would love to see you.

This first Messy Church will be a bit different. I am having surgery on my knee and won’t be there for September’s Messy Church. The team will be there and, with their usual enthusiasm will lead Messy Church this month. The theme this month is a story of transformation. It is the story of Zacchaeus, aka as Zac the Taxman. Dora Delaat will be presenting the story of Zacchaeus and leading the celebration. We will be having tacos and ice cream bars for dessert. Messy Church is Wednesday, September 11, with the doors opening at 5:30.

In the summer St. George’s usually has 2 services rather than the usual 3. The Contemporary Service at 11:15 has returned. Church School is offered at the 11:15 service. This service is available on the first and third Sundays of the month. The next Contemporary Service will be September 15.

If you are interested in joining the Church School leadership team let me know. You will be expected to lead the children in their faith formation about once every 2 months. The lesson and craft are supplied. You just need to come with your enthusiasm and willingness to journey with the children as they explore their faith.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Nancy

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THE STORY OF ZACCHAEUS (aka Zac the Taxman)

Our story this month at Messy Church is about a man named Zacchaeus. It is a story of the power of God to transform even the worst of us into a true follower of Christ. Like the Grinch, Zacchaeus had a heart that was 2 sizes too small, but his encounter with Jesus was about to change that. Transformation was about to happen to Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was a little man, in many ways. He was short in stature and short on humanity. He was a tax collector for the Romans. To be a tax collector you had to bid for the job. The Romans would tell you how much was required in taxes for your area, but the tax collector could collect whatever he wanted over and above that. The extra paid his hired collectors and provided him with income. It was a pretty lucrative job and most regional tax collectors were rich. Zacchaeus was not exception. Needless to say he was hated and avoided by his community.

Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. He had heard of his popularity, his miracles and his radical teaching and he was curious. He gathered with the community along the road. The crowd would not let him through and, being short, he could not see above everyone else, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and told Zacchaeus to come down. Jesus wanted to stay at his home. Zacchaeus was overjoyed, but the people were upset that Jesus had singled out the greedy, ruthless man. Zacchaeus came down and with there looked Jesus in the did and promised to give half his possessions to the poor and return any money that he had cheated our of people fourfold. Jesus knew that a little man had burst out of the prison of greed that he had built and was growing into the person that God had created him to be.

Jesus meets us where we are and invites us to transform into the person that God created us to be. This happens over and over in our lives and God never gives up on us, no matter how often or badly we mess up!

Transformation is an awesome thing. It begins with God but spreads into the community. God’s joy is contagious!