Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Summer’s almost over. It’s true . . . it’s almost done. School starts in scarcely a month, and with it will come Wednesday night suppers and all the things that makes us Covenant. The drought has finally been quenched, at least a little bit—as I type this, it looks like we’re going to be whomped by our second thunderstorm of the day. The wind is starting to freshen, the air has that heavy feeling, and I just heard the first rumble of thunder. When I was home for lunch, Mike told me that our dog Sophie, an Oregon animal not used to thunderstorms, spent the morning cowering in a dark corner. Our other dog—an Alabama native—barely woke up.

With the new year comes change. I’m sad to say that youth director Brandon Miles will be leaving us for greener pastures (well actually, Austin Presbyterian Seminary) at the end of July. Brandon has been a steady presence in our church for lo these past four years; in particular I will miss his leadership within the program. He has a unique rapport with young people, and is able to relate to them on their level, and still be a pastoral presence in their lives. I know that his being here has touched lives in ways that most of us will never know. He has been in ministry not just to the youth, but to all of us. Brandon, you will be missed.

Though I’m sad to tell of Brandon’s leaving, I am happy to say that at Sunday’s session meeting, we approved the hiring of Stefanie Chapman as our new youth director. She is from Decatur and is a member of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church there. She has extensive experience in a youth-group leadership role, and in fact, even as I write this, she’s at Montreat with the youth group from St. Andrew. She is a student at U of A, majoring in Anthropology, and she is active in Westminster Fellowship as well as the Anthropology Club, Alpha Gamma Delta International Fraternity and the Blount Undergraduate Initiative. I believe—as do all who have met her—that she is called by God to be in our church at this time. As she settles into her new position over the next few weeks, I know you will want to meet her and get to know her.