You too can be a preacher! This coming Sunday, October 14 at 10:00 am we’re inviting the worshiping congregation to help interpret the Scripture for the morning. We’re going to be looking at the story told in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel of Abigail who proved to be a wily and fearless peacemaker, touching the life of King-of-Israel-to-be David.

To prepare, click on the image below and review the discussion information sheet that contains the Bible passage, background and some questions for reflection. As Presbyterians, we believe we best understand God’s will for us as we hear it interpreted in the greatest number of voices. Let yours be one of them this coming Sunday!

Lots of things happening at Laurel in October! Check them out in the full-color October newsletter by clicking on the image below…

On Sunday, September 30, the Laurel congregation invited our community to worship with us out on the lawn in front of the church. It was a great morning of song, praise, thanksgiving, hearing God’s Word and fellowship! A special treat was listening to the Celtic tones of bagpiper Jordan Taylor, who had once been active with the youth group at Laurel. Afterward, we enjoyed a delicious lunch in the Fellowship Hall. Thanks so much to our Session ministry teams and to our music director David Clatterbuck for creating a seamless transition to worship outdoors and offering a lovely luncheon! This special worship service was part of our “5th Sunday” worship emphasis where we try to do something out of the ordinary on each of the fifth Sundays during the year. Stay tuned for December 30th!

Join us for worship “al fresco” this coming Sunday, September 30 at 10:00 am on the lawn in front of the sanctuary. As part of our “5th Sunday” project to experiment with different forms of worship on the fifth Sundays of months during the year, we will be worshipping in the great outdoors! And we’ve had some practice in doing this with our Easter Sunrise Service of the last two years.

The Laurel Choir will be there with David in force, and Pastor Mark will try to preach a sermon without projecting images on a screen! We’re hoping that some of our neighbors might see our banner and join us. After worship, everyone is invited to a luncheon in the Fellowship Hall. It will be much like the picture on this page… minus the jackets and adding a lot of leaves… and sunshine!

That’s right, once again this coming Sunday, September 9, YOU get a crack of being the preacher. Pastor Mark will lead those in worship in a discussion of “The Kingdom of God.” We pray each Sunday, “Thy Kingdom come…” but what really are our expectations when God’s Kingdom is realized among us: how will things be different? who will be in… or out? Attached us a study sheet containings verses from the Gospel of Matthew about the Kingdom of Heaven and some question to get those exegetical juice flowing. See you in worship on Sunday!

Notes-20180909 Kingdom of God

Join us at Bruster’s Ice Cream, 9101 Staples Mill Road, Glen Allen (two blocks south of the church campus) on Wednesday, August 1 at 7:00 pm for a time of informal fellowship, devotion, and, of course, ice cream! Take a 45-minute break in your evening to catch up with friends at Laurel Church… and maybe even make some new ones.

Join us for our seven-week series called “Animate.”  Each week we view a short video appearance by leaders in contemporary faith such as Brian McLaren (pictured below), Lillian Daniel, Nadia Bolz-Weber and others. Each commentary presents an engaging and sometimes new way of looking at such basics as faith, the Bible and evangelism. Paired with relevant portions of the Bible, the video segments become starting places for sometimes provocative, dare we say, “animated” discussion. Join us Sundays, June 17 – July 29 in the Fellowship Hall at 8:45 am.  All are invited!

Brian McLaren, speaker on the “Animate” video series