by Kathryn Burling

Common Threads

Our mission is to encourage, to bring hope, to unite our church body by weaving a common thread through our faith community in Christ—with our stories, prayers and praises.

Quilt

“What goes around comes around!”

Hi Everyone!

There’s a change in the air. The long, warm weather days are behind us and cooler breezes and shorter days are upon us. Fall is in full swing and so are our Bible Studies, Church Events, Sunday School Classes, and Youth Group Meetings. Common Threads – our quarterly newsletter has surprisingly – so quickly – also come around to our Fall 2022 Edition.

The name of our newsletter, and the individual squares we open, remind me of my Pennsylvania Dutch grandmother and great aunties who were known for their quilt making. They would patch together scraps from other sewing projects and leftover pieces of material from a shirt, an apron, or a dress. This is like our written quilt carefully “sewn” together with pieces of our lives told through our stories, pastors’ notes, devotions, recipes, ministries, missions and children’s crafts. It is a small picture of our life together here at SLPC.

Thank you one and all for your appreciation of this OUR newsletter. All of us—members and friends, visitors and readers from afar are connected together through this our Common Threads.

Hay Wagon Peppers

Now, let’s take a look at the photo of the wagon of hay reminding us of our fall theme of Harvest. Harvested hay and  straw keep our farm animals warm and fed all through these shorter, cooler, days and nights. The colorful peppers remind us of crops in Delaware and Chester Counties that are harvested around this time of year. Some crops have already been brought to market—apples, pumpkins and all kinds of squash. But brussels sprouts, grapes, peppers, celeriac, radicchio, cranberries and fennel are harvested through November and even into December. Feel free to look up some of the produce that is not as familiar to you!

We thank you LORD for what You give us. We find the harvest food that You give in abundance at this time of year grants us strength and vitality through this season and even beyond.

Psalm 85:12 “Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.”

We, the Common Threads Team, are full of thanksgiving as we give to you—our family and friends—the 2nd Fall edition. This newsletter continues to bring good cheer, courage and love to our congregation with personal stories, inspiring messages, photos, seasonal features and much more—keeping ALL ages connected.

Readers’ Comments:

I love the concept, the way it is organized and how visually inviting it is. It lives up to its mission statement and smartly shares comprehensive information.  Lee Wilson

Thank you, Common Threads! This newsletter is a blessing to me, Since I cannot attend social gatherings due to autoimmune issues, I look forward to each publication. It is a wonderful way to keep me connected. I enjoy a variety of entries highlighting SLPCA church life…inspiring, uplifting, and binding us together as one. Thank you, Kathryn Burling and team, for a job well done! Gratefully yours, Patti

Also, please send your comments to kwburling@gmail.com to bless and encourage our contributors. Tell us what you have gained. We’d love to hear from you.  Thank you!

ct fall 2022