I have a friend who is an observant, Orthodox Jew. Her family strictly keeps their Sabbath – they prepare ahead of time for it, and when it comes, there are rules that come with it. No using electricity, no tv, no social media. Food has to be prepared ahead of the Sabbath, then kept warm in creative ways.

She surprised me with the happy look on her face, as she explained that for her, it’s the holiday that comes once a week, and a day of rest and renewal.

I don’t expect that many of us want that restrictive of a day, and it’s not our religious practice. But ever since she explained it to me, I’ve thought about our Sundays and how we can make them more of a holiday, a time of renewal, and “the holiday that comes once a week.”

One little thing you may be interested in is combining Sunday with other meaningful dates in your life. If you are celebrating an anniversary, a birthday, or a work/school honor, maybe you’d like to bring fresh flowers to the church that Sunday to put on the chancel for the worship service. (Afterwards, you take them back home.) Let me know if you’d like to do that – I’ll make sure it’s mentioned in our order of service.

This Sunday, we have our annual ritual of coming back together as a community, after the travel and vacation of the summer. Bring with you a small bit of water – maybe it’s from that river you visited in Colorado, or just from the backyard faucet where your children played in the sprinkler. (You can also bring water that symbolizes water you were around this past year.) We call this service our Homecoming, but it also honors a broader aspect of community: that we are each on individual journeys, but those journeys merge into one larger adventure that we are all on together.

On September 7, we will tweak our Sunday sabbath, with a new liturgy, and a new schedule. Beginning on that Sunday, Faith Development classes will begin at 9:30, the worship service will be at 11:00, and we’ll have Fellowship Time — coffee and chatting with each other! — at noon.

But this Sunday, we are still on the “old” schedule. Be sure to bring your water, and also an offering for the Fed & Informed potluck that will be held after the service. You can sign up for that here: Potluck.

What might a true Sabbath look like for you? Time to focus on what you most value, a little time for spiritual development, time to be with friends, enjoy good food, laugh, play games? As you think on this, let us know!