The Prairie Ridge Reformed Dispatch returns this week to all developing stories carried through the summer. August was, by most available measures, the busiest month in Prairie Ridge’s recent institutional memory. The session met four times. The subcommittee met three times. Brandon Keyes sent two newsletter editions. The Dispatch covered all of it. We report the record as it stands. September begins in four days.

THE FELLOWSHIP HALL RENOVATION — STATUS: 18 DAYS TO PHASE 1

Phase 1 of the fellowship hall renovation begins September 15th. The budget has been approved. The contractor has been selected. The scope includes flooring, lighting, and electrical infrastructure. Nathan Briggs’s coffee station is listed as a Phase 1 “kitchen and beverage infrastructure” line item. Nathan considers this a mandate. The subcommittee has not confirmed this characterization. The line item exists. The pour-over station does not yet exist. These two facts are both true simultaneously and Elder Langley has decided to let them coexist until September 16th.

BRANDON’S NEWSLETTER — STATUS: 44 SUBSCRIBERS AND CLIMBING

Soli Deo Gloria reached forty-four subscribers this week. Brandon attributes the growth to content quality, specifically the editorial section of Edition Three, which ran twenty-one paragraphs on the regulative principle and worship space design. Elder Hoffstead attributes the growth to the bulletin insert, the prayer chain email, and what he described to Elder Langley as “a pattern of distribution that merits a policy.” The session policy on bulletin inserts will be formally addressed at the September meeting. Brandon has asked if he may present his newsletter’s mission at that meeting. He has been told the agenda is already full. He submitted a written summary anyway. It is seven paragraphs.

CALEB’S CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT — STATUS: OFFICIALLY RECEIVED

Caleb Mercer’s proposed revision to Article IX of the 1992 constitution has been formally “received” by the session, which is the first step in a process that also includes review, discussion, congregational notice, and a two-thirds vote. Elder Hoffstead confirmed receipt in writing on August 19th. The letter used the word “thorough” once, which Caleb has added to his running tally. The tally now reads: thorough × 3, productive × 1, encouraging × 1. The coffee meeting between Caleb and Elder Hoffstead, rescheduled twice, is now set for September 9th. Caleb has seventeen primary questions and eleven follow-up questions. Elder Hoffstead knows about the seventeen. He does not know about the eleven.

PASTOR WILLIAMS’S FALL SERIES — STATUS: THREE SERIES, THREE TITLES, TWO SUBTITLES

Pastor Williams’s fall sermon schedule is set. Series One, a study in James beginning September 7th, has a title and no subtitle — a restraint Elder Hoffstead noted with what sources describe as quiet appreciation. Series Two, on covenantal providence, has both a title and a subtitle. Series Three, the Advent series, has a title, a subtitle, and what Pastor Williams has described as “a thematic tagline for bulletin and communication purposes.” The tagline is eight words. It has not yet been previewed publicly. The Dispatch will cover its announcement in due course.

TALLOW & THEOLOGY — STATUS: AUTUMN COLLECTION IN PRODUCTION

Haley Novak has confirmed that the Tallow & Theology autumn collection is in production and will launch in mid-September. The collection includes two new products whose names have not been publicly disclosed. Haley confirmed that both names are “theologically appropriate” and “seasonally evocative.” Travis Novak confirmed he has identified additional storage and described the arrangement as “workable.” He said this with the tone of a man who has recalibrated his definition of workable over the course of the year and has made peace with the recalibration.

AT PRESS TIME: Elder Langley was asked to describe August in one word. He said: “momentum.” Elder Hoffstead was asked the same question. He said: “progress.” Pastor Williams was asked the same question. He said: “Actually, I’d need two words —” and was not given them.

DEVELOPING: Prairie Ridge Reformed men’s study group convenes its fall session September 4th. The third topic on the agenda is the anonymous submission: ‘Covenant Headship in the Modern Household.’ Nathan Briggs has confirmed he will attend. He is bringing a document. Susan Briggs has confirmed she is aware of the document. She did not comment further.