September 22 is my favorite day of the whole year. First, it is my wife, Reesa’s, birthday. She grows more beautiful every year, and my love grows deeper. But I must confess that September 22 was my favorite day long before I ever met Reesa, because that is the first full day of autumn. Fall is my favorite time of year. It has been ever since I was about six years old. Fall meant the mountains of Virginia would explode in a palette of color so rich that all one could do is praise God for such beauty. The big maple tree in our front yard would turn bright red, and then the leaves would fall. One chore I loved doing was raking those leaves into big piles and jumping into them. As dusk settled, after we were finished having fun, Daddy would set the leaves on fire, and we would bask in the warmth of beauty and family.

Fall also meant that school started back, and I always loved beginning a new school year. It meant seeing classmates that I had not seen all summer, as well as meeting anyone new who had moved into our small town. Starting back to school meant getting new clothes, new note books, new pencils with new erasers.

Fall meant harvest, and that means my favorite holiday - Thanksgiving. I love Christmas and Easter and all the others, but Thanksgiving is so special to me because it is the least commercialized. I feel closer to God at Thanksgiving - and in the fall of the year.

Fall also meant new beginnings. Even as creation around me seemed to die with the colors of autumn, I felt more alive with the crisp bite of the autumn mountain breeze. I appreciated the new opportunities of the new school year, as well as the sense of renewal that came with the splash of color. I love autumn.

Matthew tells us that “...Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:35-38).

I am also excited about the arrival of fall at Trinity. It means that Wonderful Wednesday is back, along with Disciple Bible Study and Alpha. The Fall Festival is just around the corner, as well as preparations for the Holiday Season. This year brings our new worship service that we have been praying for and planning for over a year. Our church family continues to grow because the harvest is plentiful.   But we are running out of barns to put the harvest - or space to put everybody on Sunday morning. That means we need to build a larger barn - bigger worship space - or offer new worship opportunities. Since the number one time that the unchurched in our community prefer to attend church is on Sunday morning between 10:30 and 11:30, we are offering that opportunity at 11:00 am in Murrow Hall - again because the harvest is plentiful.

Another new gift to Trinity this fall will be our first ever (that we know of) Church Picnic on Saturday, October 1, sponsored by our United Methodist Men. You will be hearing more about that in the weeks to come, but I am excited because it means a second Thanksgiving a month early. Good food, good folks, and good fun.

The harvest in Brunswick County is indeed plentiful, but I hope and pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into the harvest. That means that we must not only pray for Trinity to have laborers for the harvest, but for all the other churches in our communities to have laborers as well. I don’t think there are enough churches in Brunswick County to hold all of the harvest with which God wants to bless us. Our church family continues to grow, and we give all thanks and praise to the Lord of the harvest as we strive to be obedient laborers in every way that we can to bring His harvest in. I’ll see you at the Trinity barn next Sunday. I love you.

                                                                               Jeff