We left off in chapter 9 with the people of Jerusalem putting a binding agreement in writing. And chapter 10 opens with a list of leaders who are sealing the agreement. After that, the rest of the people join the nobles and bind themselves to the agreement as well.
They agreed to not intermarry, to respect the Sabbath day and Sabbath year, to bring the offerings in to the Temple, including the firstfruits and firstborn sons. And the chapter ends with the declaration, "We will not neglect the house of our God."
I love that phrase. It kinda reminds me of what we are doing this year at PR. We take good care of our property and try to use our physical assets and blessings responsibly. But there comes a time when things just need to be torn down and rebuilt...cleaned up and refreshed...new energy poured into them.It's a lot of work. Nowadays, we usually pay people to do those jobs for us. And certainly that is what we are doing with the professional work that needs to be done in our renovation. But there is still lots of other work that we can do!
Mark the date, August 5, on your calendars for our very own Curb Appeal Day. We will be working to clean, organize, paint, and just generally give a good facelift to the areas of our building that are not affected by the construction. You are invited to bring a sack lunch and then join the work right after second service. There are jobs to do on the grounds, in the parking lots, on the playgrounds, and in the classrooms and hallways. There are tables, kitchens and bathrooms to be cleaned too.
We will also have a crew headed over to Lansdowne to attend to some areas of their campus that need some love and care.
You can view all of the volunteer opportunities and sign up by clicking HERE. And more information will be given out on July 8 during Sunday services.
Let us also proclaim, "We will not neglect the house of our God."
- Holly Barrett
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