The Prairie Ridge Reformed Dispatch returns this week to all developing stories carried through the fall. September was a month of beginnings — the renovation began, the sermon series extended, the newsletter expanded. The committees have not adjourned. We report the record as it stands. October begins in six days.

THE FELLOWSHIP HALL RENOVATION — STATUS: PHASE 1 IN PROGRESS

Construction is active. The flooring is partially installed on the east half of the fellowship hall. The electrical work is underway. The painter’s tape marking Nathan Briggs’s proposed coffee station location remains on the floor and has not been disturbed. The contractor has developed what sources describe as a working relationship with the tape. Nathan’s fourteen-point specification document has been formally submitted as a construction document. The contractor called Elder Langley about it. Elder Langley is described as “processing the specifications.” Phase 1 is on schedule for a November completion.

THE SERMON SERIES — STATUS: THREE PARTS, RUNNING THROUGH JANUARY

Part 1 of “Steadfast: Walking Through the Psalms” is in its third week. It is going well by all reports, including Elder Hoffstead’s, who described the most recent sermon as “substantive.” This is the second most positive word Elder Hoffstead has applied to a Pastor Williams sermon in this reporter’s tenure. The most positive was “excellent,” used in February 2024 and not repeated since. Part 2 begins in October. Part 3 runs through January. The calendar is set. Elder Hoffstead has the insert in his Bible.

BRANDON’S NEWSLETTER — STATUS: 52 SUBSCRIBERS, SEMI-OFFICIAL STATUS DEBATED

Soli Deo Gloria is at fifty-two subscribers and has, over the past four editions, covered the renovation timeline, the sermon series extension, the coffee station specifications, and a three-part series on the regulative principle that Brandon describes as “a practical guide for worship committee members.” Three members of the worship committee subscribe. One asked to be removed after Part 2. The session discussed at this week’s meeting whether Brandon’s newsletter had functionally become an unofficial church communication channel. Elder Hoffstead said it had not. Elder Langley said he was not sure. Brandon was not present for this discussion. He published a summary of it in his newsletter the following morning.

CALEB’S CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT — STATUS: RECEIVED, TIMELINE UNCONFIRMED

The constitutional amendment proposal sits formally received and awaiting a session timeline. Caleb, following his coffee meeting with Elder Hoffstead, submitted a revised proposal addressing six of the twenty-eight questions from the meeting. He also submitted a formal request that the session establish a timeline for the amendment discussion. Elder Hoffstead acknowledged the request. He confirmed a timeline would be established “in keeping with good order and appropriate deliberation.” Caleb has added this phrase to his notebook. He has looked up three of the words.

This week, Caleb asked Elder Hoffstead whether the constitutional amendment vote — if and when it occurs — might be scheduled to coincide with the fellowship hall renovation completion celebration. Elder Hoffstead noted that no completion celebration had been planned. Caleb suggested that one should be planned. He offered to draft a proposal. Elder Hoffstead said he would take the suggestion under advisement. Caleb is drafting the proposal anyway.

AT PRESS TIME: October begins in six days. Reformation Month. Pastor Williams has prepared a special Reformation Sunday announcement for October 4th that he describes as “an exciting development.” He has not elaborated. Elder Hoffstead has been informed. He has not elaborated either. The Dispatch will be there.

DEVELOPING: A new character has entered the Prairie Ridge orbit. The Dispatch has learned that Cornerstone Reformed, a congregation sixty miles north, has established a sister-church relationship with Prairie Ridge. The first joint event — a men’s study gathering — is scheduled for October. Nathan Briggs has already asked whether he can bring coffee samples. He has not been told no.