Welcome Back

 Here at First Lutheran Church we begin our program year the first Sunday after Labor day. We call this special day "Welcome Back Sunday." We have two distinctive seasons here at FLC, September through May is our "Program Year," and June through August is "Summer Time." There is a season for every thing under the sun, so the poet of Ecclesiastes tells us, so, if we pay attention we can feel and see these rhythms in our lives. Welcome Back Sunday will be September 13 this year. Sunday school, Adult Education and other programs will begin on this day.

For us, this season, it will feel different. We are in the process of finding a new staff member to meet our current and future needs. We will be following through with mission and ministry in a way that depends on more volunteers and perhaps changing how we do things. This season is different in obvious ways as well, we are all older! Our children are discovering what its means to be in a new grade, making new friends and trying new things. The world is different as well. Who are we in relation to our neighbors near and far?

A visual change is our new branding. I hope you have had a chance to review the presentation in the Narthex the last couple of Sundays. This new brand helps us be more visually present in our digital community. The logo is a solid representation of our sanctuary, grounded, as we have been since 1886 here in Bothell. The cross is copper in color to give a nod to our Sanctuary front wall. The letters are both set and fluid. This speaks to our solid identity and our reforming spirit. The colors are warm and inviting, and are a reflection to the nature of the Pacific Northwest. The council will vote to adopt this new brand in September and we will slowly transition our presence from the old to the new.

I am in prayer that we all will make a commitment to live into our baptismal promises this Fall. To live among God's faithful people, to attend to the Word of God and the holy supper, to reflect on the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, to read the holy scriptures regularly, to be in prayer, to proclaim Christ in word and deed, care for others and the world God made and work for justice and peace. There is no better time to rededicate ourselves to the Lord.

I give thanks for all of you members of FLC. You are indeed good and faithful people even in the midst of an ever changing world. Let us move forward trusting in God's mercy.