Dear Friends,
When I was a little girl, I was never a big fan of the beginning of the school year. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like school, but rather that I just never wanted the wild and free days of summer, those grimy, adventurous times of summer camp to come to an end. I loved practical jokes and climbing trees, water balloons, toasted marshmallows, fireflies and even mosquito bites, skinned knees, and picking sticks out of my hair. I loved the feeling that there was always something new and exciting awaiting me in the wooded hills of the Kettle Moraine. In spite of all of the charms that summer held for me, there was one thing I always loved about the beginning of school: shopping for school supplies. To this day, there are still moments when I long to fill a cart with empty notebooks and folders, brand new pens and pencils, and of course, crayons and markers, choosing each notebook cover, each pen with care, for it would be my companion and a part of my image in the year to come.
School supplies do not only remind us of our childhood, but can also point to the future with all kinds of possibilities. Each time I open a fresh notebook, I feel a small tinge of excitement, considering what might be scrawled upon those pages. What new learnings, what new thoughts and ideas would find shape? What new creation may find its root in this notebook? You see, in many ways, the beginning of a new school year is like much like January 1^st because it marks a time of new beginnings and new possibilities. It’s a time of change and transition for many: whether entering a new school or having a new teacher or even just the moving from our summer schedules back into our “normal” routines. We adjust; we adapt; we find flexibility in making the necessary changes.
This Fall at Delafield Presbyterian Church, we find the same call to change and new possibilities. We will likely adjust our Sunday morning schedules, and we will find that there are new opportunities for learning. Sunday September 10 is Rally Day. This is a day for us to celebrate the fact that we have reconvened from all of our varied summer destinations, for all of us to enjoy being together once again. And it’s a time to kick off all of our programs that took a rest during the summer: Back to Sunday school and the choirs, back to Little Dresses for Africa. It’s also a time for new things: a new Sunday School emphasis on creating inter-generational friendships within our church community and including our children in every aspect of our church life, a new monthly teen discussion group, and greater Adult Education opportunities await us in the coming year!
And so, let us come together with our metaphorical blank notebooks in hand to learn about God, and to explore all the ways in which our faith can shape our daily lives. These learning opportunities are not just one more thing on our schedules and to-do lists, but are a way in which we can grow in our relationship with God and as a community of faith. This school year, let us learn our faith together!

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nikki