This summer, for me, has involved some concentrated behind-the-scenes planning and preparation for the 2022/2023 church and school year. Rev. Malcolm Smith, my new assistant, arrived with his family from South Africa last July and together we’ve done a fair amount of planning and coordination on pastoral duties and responsibilities. Malcolm is taking the lead in website and social media communication and development as well as oversight on Bryn Athyn Church outreach. I will be teaching 4th grade religion again, Malcolm will be teaching 7th grade religion, and he and I will be on the school chapel and recess rotation.
We’re both looking forward to BACS starting up for a new school year on Tuesday, August 30. I’m looking forward to our Society Semi-Annual meeting on Wednesday, September 28 (save the date) at 7:30 pm, because this will give us a chance to give the congregation an update on some important developments, most notably the new BATS barn and the new school and society building. Every Wednesday night over the summer, the Steering Committee has continued to meet to go over costs, design and material options in coordination with Metcalfe, our architects, and Whiting Turner, our construction company. A huge amount of progress has been made. At the meeting, we hope to be able to show slides of the latest design of these two buildings as we approach the final phase of design development and move toward obtaining permits and the pre-construction phase of the project.
Hopefully, you have heard about the new Community Worship services being offered this year - the first one being Sunday, September 11, 10:00 am at the Cathedral (the others are scheduled for October 23, January 22, February 19, March 19, and May 21). A lot of careful planning and preparation is going into these services. We will keep you updated.
I hope you all had a chance to get a little R&R this summer and I look forward to seeing you in person as we begin a new church and school year. To kick off the new year, Gay and I cordially invite you to our second annual garden party (open house) on Saturday, September, 17, 4:00-6:00 pm. We’d love to have you stop by, especially if you couldn’t make it last year.