Beloved in Christ:

I can tell that summer is waning and that a new school and church program year are starting soon, because my calendar is getting filled up and the phone at Calvary is ringing more. I am not ready for summer to be over – I never am – but I AM ready for summer church to be over, for the Motet Choir to be back in the saddle, for Sunday School to start, and for new, exciting ideas that have been “cooking” over the past months to start to take root.

One idea that is actually old, but has been made new again, is that beginning in a couple of weeks, it will be the expectation that all of us who are here on a Sunday morning will wear a name badge. Ellen Youngers and Casey Caldwell brought this project to the vestry a few months ago and they have been working diligently in shepherding their passion for welcoming and hospitality in this name badge project, and their work comes to fruition in the next couple of weeks. The goal was to have name badges for everyone by Holy Cross Sunday, September 15. You can read their article elsewhere in The Visitor, but I encourage everyone to get on board with this. There’s an old (and hopefully no longer true) tradition in The Episcopal Church to not wear name badges at church. I wonder why? Part of Calvary’s core value is to be open and welcoming to all people, no matter where they are from, every time our doors open. If we know a person’s name and they know ours, that simple decision to wear your name on a badge on your clothes is a powerful and easy way to welcome others and feel welcome.

Hospitality and loving welcome are part of our very fabric here – let’s make that welcome even better by wearing a name badge!

In gratitude,
Beth+