Pastor’s Pen-October Newsletter

Ah, the joys of Fall, or Autumn to some of you. I love spring. I think you know that. The early morning briskness in the air brings an awakening to the soul that is hard to beat in this old world in which we live. But Fall…I really believe it is my favorite time of the year. The heat of the summer is finally past. There are lots of activities in the two churches to participate in. It’s just a wonderful time of year. I hope that you take advantage of the things going on in both the Homestead Church AND the Dorton Church. Our two churches have a wonderful working relationship. And we can continue to foster that working relationship with a good fellowship, such as participating in one another’s activities.

We’re finally finished with September. It was a whirlwind, wasn’t it? Between the joint picnic fellowship, the Dorton Homecoming, the Homestead Apple Festival preparations, M&Ms trip, and other activities, we’ve had plenty to keep us busy. But we’re not letting up on the gas in October.

Let’s be reminded of some things taking place this coming month. We begin at Homestead with Membership Sunday on the first Sunday, October 6th. If you are not a member of our Homestead Church, but you would like to be, just be ready to jump up when called upon by Pastor Tim. You will be welcomed!

Dorton is sponsoring revival services from Sunday, October 6th through Wednesday October 9th. As you may remember, we Homesteaders made the decision to support Dorton in their revival effort and not have a separate revival here. So, it’s very important that we back up that commitment with our attendance and support for the Dorton revival. The revival begins on Sunday evening at 5:00 with the wonderful Agee Family singing. Everyone loves the sweet Agee Family, and you don’t want to miss them. Monday through Wednesday evening services begin at 6:30 with special speakers and special singers each night. I believe you will enjoy these special services. Please be sure to come Wednesday evening as one of my former third grade students will be the speaker. Rev. Drew Eastes was in my math class some twenty plus years ago. Today, he is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and is the pastor at The Ministry Center, a large church located in Lebanon, Tennessee.

On October 13th, we’ll have another special day. The Summer Singers (although by this time maybe they should be called the Fall Singers) will be singing in both the morning worship services. Two of our sweet Dorton ladies are a part of this group, and we look forward to their program. The Homestead worship service will be followed by our regularly scheduled fellowship meal.

We are hoping toward the end of the month to have an M&Ms trip to the Mennonite community of Muddy Pond scheduled. You don’t want to miss our fun trips with the M&Ms. And just a reminder, you don’t have to be a senior citizen to participate.

The month of October comes to an end with the annual famous Dorton Fish Fry on Sunday evening, the 27th. If you have never been to a Dorton Fish Fry, let me give you a word of advice. DON’T MISS IT! So much food and good fellowship. And the fried fish is absolutely wonderful. And even better, this isn’t store bought fish. It’s fresh caught by some of our very own Dorton fishermen. If you’re not a fried fish fan, there’s always lots of other goodies to eat.

So, there’s lots of opportunities to enjoy good fellowship during this month of October. My prayer is that you will take advantage of these opportunities. Lots of planning and preparation goes into these various activities. Let’s show our support by participating, shall we?