Coming September 13 – It’s Welcome Back Sunday

Summer has its own rhythm. Vacations, weekends away, and family visits can take us in different directions. But as fall begins, it’s a wonderful time to come back together.

That’s what Welcome Back Sunday on September 13 is all about.

We’ll begin with one combined worship service at 10:00 AM, bringing the whole SUM community together as we move into a new season of worship, fellowship and ministry.

And then — cake and ice cream!

This one-service schedule is just for Welcome Back Sunday. Beginning September 20, we’ll return to our regular fall worship schedule with three services: 8:00 AM Contemplative Service, 9:00 AM Come As You Are Service, and 10:30 AM Traditional Service.

While you enjoy some hospitality and catch up with friends, you’ll also have a chance to hear about the many ways to connect at SUM this fall through small groups and other opportunities. Some will be familiar favorites, and there are some new ways to connect as well. Whether you’re looking to reconnect with people you already know or meet some new ones, we hope there will be something that catches your interest.

But don’t head home as soon as the last scoop of ice cream is gone!

We’ll continue our morning with the Understanding SUM Together Congregational Workshop, the next step in the process we began this summer.

Over the past few months, we’ve listened to members of the congregation, identified themes from those conversations, and invited the wider congregation to weigh in through a survey. On September 13, we’ll bring all of that work together.

This won’t be a meeting where someone stands at the front and tells us what SUM should do next. Instead, we’ll look together at what we’ve heard and learned. We’ll talk about where there seems to be strong agreement, where there may be different perspectives, and what the whole picture tells us about SUM as it is today. From there, we’ll begin identifying some possible priorities for future consideration.

The idea behind Understanding SUM Together has been simple from the beginning:

Before we can decide where we’re going, we need to understand where we are.

September 13 gives us an opportunity to do that together — and to begin the fall not only by returning to worship, but by reconnecting with one another and participating in the life and future of SUM.

So come for worship. Stay for cake and ice cream. Find a new way to connect. And then give us 90 worthwhile minutes — pull up a chair, add your voice to the conversation, and help us better understand SUM together.

We hope to see you there!