This week, as I met with several people to review the preparations in the outdoor chapel for the outdoor worship services that will start this week, I felt a great rush of fresh excitement.  It's always fun to see the  arrival of summer, and I find our outdoor worship gatherings really inspiring.  What a beautiful place our outdoor chapel is!  There is something special about singing by the lake, feeling the breeze and hearing the birds that always lifts the spirits.  Summer offers an opportunity to try new songs, to imagine new ways of sharing, and to start fresh.

If you have not been with a worshipping community for a while, this is a great time to give it a try--it's not formal or stuffy, and it's also not slick or show-biz-like.  You don't have to dress a certain way, or talk a certain way, or share a particular political point of view.  If you say you can best sense God's presence in a sunset--our 7:00 Saturday evening services will be great for you!  If you find early morning a great time to recharge, but find your weekends overloaded with activities--come at 9:30 Sunday morning!  You'll have a great experience, and you'll still have most of the day free to play golf, or fish, or cut the grass.

If you always come to worship, but you would really rather be indoors--this is a special chance to be there for other people, and to show your overriding gratitude for God's blessings.  We don't worship just for ourselves, but for God; and we do it together.  Our goal is to lift up, inspire and help others.  So here's the chance, to worship beyond ourselves!  To do something other people haven't tried.  To take joy in something new!

If you're like me, and you already like to worship with friends in new ways, and you like to be outdoors--this is a time for easy joy!  Happy summer!  (15 Bank St., Sussex, NJ 07461, 7:00 p.m. Sat.; 9:30 a.m. Sun.)