Summer 2026 Chimes

Dear Friends in Christ,

Summer is a season when growth is easy to see all around us. In the garden, for example, it shows up in obvious ways. Plants growing taller each week. Zucchinis appearing almost overnight. Baskets and bags overflowing with produce. Growth is tangible there. You can hold it in your hands. You can weigh it, carry it, and share it with a neighbor.

But not all growth is so easily visible. Some growth happens in quieter ways. A child begins to feel more at home in worship. A visitor is greeted warmly enough to come back again. A person carrying grief finds, for one hour on a Sunday morning, that they do not have to carry it alone. Someone who has been away for a while finds their way back. A friendship deepens over coffee hour. A volunteer discovers a gift they did not know they had.

This, too, is growth. In Scripture, the growth of God’s kingdom is often described using images from gardens and harvests. Seeds are scattered. Vines bear fruit. Trees give shelter. Harvests come in their own time.

Jesus frequently points to the natural world to remind us that the life of faith is not always instant or dramatic. Sometimes it is slow or hidden. Often it depends on things we cannot control: rain and sun, soil and season, grace and patience.

That is true for the church as well. At St. Paul’s, summer may look a little different from the rest of the year. People travel. Schedules shift. Some programs pause. Sundays may feel a bit more relaxed.

But the life of the church does not stop growing. We keep gathering around Word and Sacrament. We keep praying for one another and for the world. We keep welcoming whoever comes through our doors. We keep serving our neighbors. We keep tending the soil of this community, trusting that God is at work in ways we can see and ways we cannot see yet.

So this summer, whether you are here every week or traveling in and out, whether you are harvesting vegetables, worshiping on a quiet Sunday, helping with a ministry, or simply taking a deep breath in a busy season of life, know this: you are part of something rooted in grace.

And by God’s grace, we are still growing.

In Christ,

Pastor Laura

Read the full Chimes HERE.