September 2, 2013 (Monday)
Today is Labor Day. It honors the working man/woman. In the heyday of the Labor unions, it brought a heavy emphasis upon organized labor.
For many, Labor Day marks the end of summer, which, according to the same reasoning, began with Memorial Day. The schedules for the schools, however, have moved those informal dates to the period between “school’s out” and “classes are starting again.” Actually, the true dates for summer are the astronomical features of the equinoxes, spring and autumn, which would be June 21 and September 21. For some people, “summer” is when the weather is hot, which, in Rockport, is a substantial part of the year. I remember a Christmas party at our house when the weather was so warm the air conditioner could not cool the house filled with people.
Well, school has started and Labor Day will soon be history, so, for all practical purposes, vacation time is over and it’s time to settle down to renewed routines. Texas churches for many years celebrated “Round Up Time” in the fall, when people were encouraged to get back to Sunday School and church attendance, getting excited about all the new things taking place.
For me, as I mentioned in my Friday blog, it means beginning a new “job” as interim pastor. I put “job” in quotation marks because it is a privilege, not “work.” At my age, to be asked to take on such responsibility is an opportunity not shared by many. I got started yesterday and I think we all had a good time studying and worshiping together. Please pray for us. And please pray that the Lord will open doors for the Bethel Baptist Church of Ingleside to find a new pastor quickly, so that they may continue to grow and reach new people.