It is so hard to believe that we have reached the first day of the month of October. Summer, sadly, is officially over and fall is here whether we’re ready or not. It is also hard to believe that as we enter the fall season, we are also entering the eighth month of this pandemic, which, by all accounts, has changed our lives forever. It has changed how we worship, how we work, and yes, it has even changed how we plan. There was a time when our lives, for the most part, were governed by our calendars that, for many of us, held our lives together. But ever since the arrival of COVID-19, our planning has been scaled back to more of a one day at a time approach.
Even the planning of the major events in the life of Sligo has been scaled back to a large degree. And this is primarily due to the fact that most of what we do as a church is done in community. Although we have continued to stream our services from the sanctuary during this shut down, it simply is not the same. There is one very important ingredient missing and that special ingredient is you, our friends and family.
If you remember, the second Sabbath of each October for the past several years has been designated as Friends and Family Day at Sligo. Because of the pandemic we were considering removing it from the calendar for this year. But then, after much discussion, we decided to move forward with it. Now, I know you must be wondering how can we invite our friends and family if the doors of the church remain shut? Well, we are going to do it the way we have done most of our events since the arrival of COVID and that is virtually. And because we are doing it virtually, it is easier for us to invite our friends and members of our families than ever before. As I have shared with our Sligo family in the past, I became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church not through one of the typical evangelistic tools that we have used over the years as a denomination, but simply because I received an invitation from a friend while in high school to visit their church. That’s it! But as the popular song of the 80’s reminds us, isn’t “that what friends are for,” to share with them those things which mean a great deal to us, and that we feel could be of great benefit to them?
This week you will be receiving an Evite that you can forward to your family and friends as a way to encourage them to join you at Sligo, virtually. The date is Sabbath, October 10 at 11 a.m. Now all you have to do is decide which members of your family, along with your friends, you will choose to invite. Who knows, your invitation might just be the very thing that your friend or family member needs most at this particular time in his or her life.