Overflow
Water draws many people to the Puget Sound every summer. Water both delights us in sport and beauty and can be terrifying in its depth and infiniteness. And God chose the water of baptism as a salvation image. We have experienced an overflow of water in every way here at Chapel Hill—in the beauty of the physical water that surrounds us and in the powerful salvation that is ours in Christ symbolized in this water. We will be celebrating these gifts from God to us in a weekend called Overflow August 16-17, and all are invited!
August 16, 5-9pm, Sehmel Park
Overflow begins with a weekend of joyful gathering and song at the Sehmel Park amphitheater. Harbor Christian Center, Fox Island Alliance, Thrive, and Chapel Hill are providing the leadership for song, and we hope you will come and lend your voices! Bring a picnic dinner, friends and neighbors, and a spirit of playfulness to celebrate the overflow of God’s Spirit in song. Fox Island Alliance will be sharing with us an opportunity to help provide clean water to the rest of the globe in partnership with charity: water in what we hope will be an overflow of generosity.
August 17, 1:30-3pm, Eddon Boat Park/Mussel Beach
Overflow continues with what will be our second annual baptism in the Harbor. We are excited to share this opportunity to hear the Good News and respond in baptism with Fox Island Alliance, Thrive and Young Life. Here infants, children, teens, and adults come to be baptized, to be reminded that they belong to Jesus because of His work of salvation- the work of putting sin to death, cleansing us, and raising us to new life. Do you know the salvation of Jesus? Come to the water and be baptized. If you or your family members have not been baptized and/or you would like to remember your baptism by being baptized in the Harbor, please contact Carole Hughes until August 11th to meet with Pastor Megan or Pastor Larry. We need 10 people to help set up and 10 to help clean up. Please also contact Carole Hughes if you would like to join the celebration team!
Jesus commanded us to be baptized. In going under the water we are reminded of the death of Jesus because in Jesus’ death our sins find their end. To have water dripping off us is to be reminded of the cleansing power that Jesus’ salvation has in our lives. And to be raised out of the water is to be reminded that in Jesus, we are promised that we, too, will be raised from the dead. We cannot do the burying, cleansing, and raising; this is the work of God in our lives. And this is what we are reminded of in the waters of baptism.
God’s blessings, his love, his goodness, his mercy—all are an overflow to us by the work of His Holy Spirit in our lives. I look forward to celebrating with you August 16th and 17th.
Pastor Megan
Nate Maxwell with Pastor Mark and Elder Gregg Colbo at the Harbor baptism last year.