United Church of God

Letter From Dan Preston - September 30, 2022

Letter From Dan Preston

September 30, 2022

Greeting and Happy Sabbath!  I hope this note finds you safe and dry.  We've heard from many members in Hurricane Ian's path and all seem to be doing well.  All in our region seem to be faring well thus far.

At the moment, it appears most of the rain will be gone tomorrow, so at the time of the writing of this letter, in-person services will be held in the Charlotte, Columbia and Hickory congregations tomorrow morning at 10:30 as planned.  This is of course subject to things like power being on, roads flooding, etc.  Please keep an eye out for e-mails or texts in case of a change of plans.  If you are not comfortable traveling to services, feel free to stay home and tune into the webcast or use the call in number.

That time of year

As this ginormous storm has made us all aware, it is indeed hurricane season.  Here in the Carolinas, we are fortunate enough to usually only have to deal with a few every year.  And for the most part, by the time they reach us, it's just rainy and windy with the biggest threat being perhaps losing power for a bit.

Of course even so, it's wise to be prepared.  It may be useful to check out this hurricane preparedness checklist https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/before.html especially if you are newer to the region.

An old tune

I've always been a bit of a 'Parrot Head.'  For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it refers to fans of singer and musician Jimmy Buffett.  Much of his music has an upbeat, 'summertime-fun', tropical music.  But every year at this time, I'm remind of one of his more somber and reflective tunes, "Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season."

In it is the line, "And now I must confess, I could use some rest, I can't run at this pace very long."  The line (as I take it) refers to the fact that since hurricanes have a way of making us stay inside and do nothing, it's sort of a forced rest, requiring us to take a break from life's busy pace.

Ready to Rest

We too are getting ready to enter a period of 'forced rest.'  Perhaps the better word there would be 'commanded.'  I'm referring of course to the upcoming Holy Day Season.  As was mentioned in Mr. Paz's sermon on Trumpets, there are eight Sabbaths in the Hebrew month of Tishrei.  Four regular Sabbaths, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, The First Day of the Feast of Tabernacles and The Eighth Day.

And while these Holy Days are a busy time in one sense of the word, they are intended to be a rest for us.  Spiritually and emotionally speaking, we can take a rest from our normal cares and labors of the world, and focus on our relationship with God, our brethren and the coming of the Kingdom of this Earth.  And while there is a lot to see and do at the Feast, make sure to take time to physically rest as well!

This will be the last Pastoral letter until after the Feast of Tabernacles.  Have a wonderful Sabbath, very meaningful Day of Atonement, and inspiring Feast of Tabernacles and Eight Day.  Safe journeys on all your travels, and may God be with you until we meet again!