As we move towards gathering with one another for worship, I look forward to being in the same
space with you all. Worship will still not be “normal”, but it will be our new normal, at least for now. As the
world begins to open back up, we will continue to cautiously proceed with our gatherings and continue to
care for one another and our community.
With that said, I would like to share a recent request received from a youth director from Arlington
Heights United Methodist Church in the Fort Worth area. Their youth group was looking forward to coming
to Austin this summer for their annual mission trip, however, they needed a host church in which to sleep, eat,
and worship within. After several conversations with Christine; their youth director, myself, Pastor Layne and
the Executive Officers of the Administrative Council, we agreed that this was a great opportunity for CCC to
partner with them. CCC will be their home base for the week of June 27th– July 2nd. There will be 40 people
(youth and adults) sharing our building as their launch pad for all the good works they have planned to do
while they are in Austin. All the details are still being hammered out, but we know that there will be a wide
variety of ways for our CCC community to serve their team throughout their stay in Austin.
As a former youth leader, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve on the other side of a mission
trip. Over the years, our church youth and leaders have been so very blessed by various churches, schools and
other organizations who willingly opened their facilities to host teams of youth and adults for a week while
we slept on their floors on airbeds, used their kitchens to make three meals a day for a slew of hungry youth
and adults and who worshipped in their space. I recall many a church and school volunteers from those
different host facilities who were so involved throughout our stays that they left a beautiful impression of
what true hospitality looked like to a bunch of rambunctious youth and often times their weary youth leaders.
I look forward to working alongside each of you as we welcome these youth and their youth leaders.
May they find a place of rest on our floors, fill their bellies with hearty meals to do good works, and may their
souls be filled by the Spirit. And may we extend the love and welcoming hospitality to them just as it has
been done for our youth and leaders in years gone by.
Blessings,
Pastor Heidi