October 21, 2021

Hi EPC Friends and Members!
Here's my "3-2-1" for this week... 

3 EPC Happenings 

1. Trunk or Treat -- THIS Sunday! Come one, come all! Invite the children in your life to drop by for some candy and friendship. (See the flier below) 
2. Live-Streaming -- Our service is live at 10:30 on Sunday Mornings on our YouTube channel. Please join us, even if you're not able to be present in the sanctuary!
3. Stewardship -- This week we begin talking about what it means to live into our calling as a church. Our theme for this year is A Future With Hope. I'm very excited about the future of EPC and am looking forward to talking about what it means to have hope about it. 

2 Interesting Links

1. A movie worth watching. I loved the movie Minari. Official movie description: A Korean-American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. Amidst the challenges of this new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they find the undeniable resilience of family and what makes a home. It's not streaming for free on any of the services, but you can purchase it through any of the major streaming services, including Amazon. I don't think you'll be disappointed in this one. 
2. The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like the Brooklyn Public Library  -- See HERE. Lots of gems in this one, including this: "In my mind, chaos is never far from creativity and must, therefore, belong to God. We are told that God subdues chaos—with the word, no less—to create the world, but that same God plants the seeds of chaos right back in the garden. And the whole world, as we know and love it, grows from its fruit."  and also this, "There are those who seek to padlock the Bible, to secure the meaning they have found inside, but Jesus never did this. What a risk: to release your stories into the world, to allow anyone and everyone to interpret them by their own lights. To scatter seed widely and only hope that it will grow. What wondrous love is this?"

1 Thought
"I have been thinking a great deal about growth — what it means, what it asks of us, how it feels when unforced but organic. I have been thinking about growth and decay, the interplay between the two, the way all growth requires regeneration, which in turn requires a shedding, a composting, a reconstituting of old material. We don’t always know what needs to be shed, or what the optimal direction of growth is. This is where the “blind optimism” of a tree is helpful — there is consolation in trusting the quiet workings of chemistry and the primal instinct for orienting to the light." -- Maria Popova (from THIS article) 
 

There you have it! Our 3-2-1 for the week. See you on Sunday.

It's not the same without you there, 
Pastor Traci

On October 19, the session approved revised COVID-19 protocols for EPC. Please be sure to review them before attending worship on Sunday.

Click here for the revised COVID-19 Protocols

EPC is raising funds to benefit an Afghan family of 11 who must leave Afghanistan due to exceptional risk. Your donation will go toward visa application, legal, and transportation fees. Please consider making a contribution by giving online, text to give, or placing a donation in the offering plate noting “Afghan Family Support.”

Make a Donation to Afghan Family Support

Sunday School is HYBRID! Join us either in-person or on Zoom. If you are tuning in online, be sure to watch the Live Stream to know when we leave the sanctuary to come meet us. Click the links below to access the materials!

Click Here for the 10/24 Sunday School Materials

Click Here for the Sunday School Zoom Link

Our new Youth-led mission, Community Kids is collecting items throughout the month of October to create bags for people who live outside. They are looking for the following items: warm socks, hand sanitizer, hand/foot warmers, small water bottle, chapstick, juice with clear bottom, soft granola bars, candy bars, shelf stable snacks, $5 McDonalds Gift Card.

10:30 Sunday Worship Livestream - Click Here!

Give to Elmhurst Presbyterian Church