July 22
Beloved families of Good Shepherd,
Peace be with you! In this Sunday’s appointed Gospel reading, Jesus shares a parable about a mustard seed to describe the kingdom of heaven to a crowd of people who were spiritually hungry for God and community: “The kingdom of heaven is like when a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
The birds in this story who made their nests in the mustard tree remind me of a time this past spring when I discovered a robin’s nest under the eave of my roof as I was mowing my lawn. A mother robin had built her nest on top of the bend of the downspout on the side of my house. She was sitting on her eggs when I first noticed her. I enjoyed watching her three baby hatchlings grow and change. I observed the mother robin’s frequent efforts to catch insects and worms to give to her hungry nestlings. One day I noticed her nestlings had dropped out of their nest and were bouncing around my backyard as their mother taught them to hunt and fly. When the last fledgling flew away, I remember feeling thankful that my home and backyard had felt safe enough for the mother robin to build her nest and raise her young there.
I am grateful that Good Shepherd is a safe and welcoming community for families to build a spiritual home base and to raise their children in Jesus’ Way of Love. We seek to cultivate an environment of spiritual depth, community, and love in which children and families feel safe to grow and explore their deepest questions about God and life. As our community of church and day school families grows and we practice living the love ethic of Jesus together, the joyful kingdom of heaven expands all around us and within us! Read more about our children and families ministry offerings HERE. Learn more about our day school HERE. See more details about our Godly Play spiritual formation program for children HERE. Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming formation and outreach offerings this fall!
We hope to see you this Sunday!
Many Blessings,
Patty