One of my favorite movies as a kid – one that I would watch again and again – was Mary Poppins. I deeply enjoyed the ridiculousness of the neighbors’ ship on their roof, the “time cannon” that shook the house like an earthquake at the top of each hour, and the gust of wind that blew all the unsuited nannies down the street. Then, carried by the winds from the East, Julie Andrews drifts in to change the course of lives with love, laughter, and imagination.

This type of wind shift is what comes to mind as I reflect on the new beginning we are in this season. The Spirit is moving and stirring something in us, leading us to shift – to learn something new, to renew our perspective, to revive our connection.

This Sunday we will celebrate the Festival of New Beginnings in a new way. Like in years past, the fall classes will be announced, and you will get to talk with the teachers and get to know the resources. This year, a few things are brand new. You will receive a Festival Passport to explore tables around the church building, not just in one room. This will ensure there is space for everyone, alleviate the noise level, add the fun of getting your passport stamped at each location, and get you upstairs to see the newly refreshed Saint John’s Library. Our library has been curated with new books, a catalog, and even a way to check out books to borrow! A huge thanks to Jaci and Bob Walker and Kay Gooch, our librarians who made this happen.

At the Festival this Sunday during the 10:00 hour and after the second service, you can get information on:

• The three Bible studies we’ll start this fall that can deepen your understanding of scripture and shift how we use scripture to inform our work in the world.
• Book studies, including one that guides our shifts through stages of life, and another that shifts our understanding of God’s grace even in loss.
• An Enneagram workshop to help shift how we understand and balance ourselves.
• A class on environmental justice to shift how we understand our role and our work for the health of creation.
• Small groups that meet on an ongoing basis – like Sunday school classes, the United Women in Faith, senior adult ministries, a women’s storytelling group, knitters, and more. This new school year is a great time to reflect on shifting our patterns and schedules to include connecting in intentional, small groups.

I hope you will join us this Sunday and feel an encouraging and revitalizing shift in the wind because the Spirit is at work in and through us. As Dick Van Dyke sang before Mary Poppins arrived, “Somethin’ is brewin’, and ‘bout to begin.” May it be so.

Grace to you,

Shelley