A Service of Death and Resurrection for Joseph E. “Joe” Couture will be held Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary. Jenny and I (John) will officiate.
Flood Buckets Update
It is not easy to find non-cellulose sponges, but we have some on hand here in the church building Jenny and I have found and ordered 100 online. So don’t worry about finding sponges, we’ll provide those (at least for the first sixteen buckets).
“We’re Going to Need a Lot of Flood Buckets”
One of Jenny’s close friends lives down in the Houston area and Jenny has been keeping in touch with her through the hurricane and the flooding. Once when asked how things were going she said “We’re Going to Need a Lot of Flood Buckets.”
The Great Plains Annual Conference is making arrangements for transportation of the Flood Buckets (the technical term is now “cleaning kits). The church does have some five gallon buckets available to get you started. We will be supplying kits to help with the second wave of relief efforts. At this time, no loose or extra items are requested, only complete cleaning kits.
The following is from Great Plains Conference disaster response coordinator, the Rev. Hollie Tapley:
UMCOR Sager Brown Depot Director Amy Fuselier has requested that the Great Plains Conference provide as many Cleaning Kits (Buckets) as possible. Please check umcor.org for a list of items and packing instructions. All kits – ONLY COMPLETED kits, are to be at either the Wichita, Topeka or Lincoln Conference Offices no later than Sept. 13. NO LOOSE items will be accepted, as these kits will be delivered to Texas on Sept. 16. Please make sure the kits are clean and represent the Great Plains Conference in a professional way. The last collection we made, more than 50 buckets had to be thrown away because of mold growing on the inside and dirty buckets. To help to prevent mold from growing inside, make sure the sponges are in a closed wrap or Ziploc bag.
Cleaning Kit Materials
- 5-gallon bucket with resealable lid
- Buckets from fast-food restaurants or bakeries can be used if washed and cleaned
- Do not use buckets that have stored chemicals such as paint or pool cleaner
- Advertisements on the outside are acceptable
- Liquid laundry detergent
- One 50-oz. or two 25-oz. bottle(s) only
- Liquid household cleaner
- 12‐16 oz. liquid cleaner that can be mixed with water
- No spray cleaners
- Dish soap
- 16‐28 oz. bottle any brand
- 1 can air freshener
- Aerosol or pump
- 1 insect repellant spray
- 6‐14 oz. aerosol or spray pump with protective cover
- 1 scrub brush
- Plastic or wooden handle
- 18 cleaning wipes
- Handi Wipes or reusable wipes
- No terry cleaning towels
- Remove from packaging
- 7 sponges
- No cellulose sponges due to mold issues
- Remove from wrapper and place in a ziplock Bag
- 5 scouring pads
- Remove from wrapper
- No stainless steel, Brillo pads, or SOS pads (nothing with soap built in)
- 50 clothespins
- Clothesline
- One 100-ft. or two 50-ft. lines
- Cotton or plastic
- 24-roll heavy-duty trash bags
- 33‐ to 45-gallon sizes
- Remove from the box
- 5 dust masks
- 2 pairs kitchen dishwashing gloves
- Should be durable enough for multiple uses
- Remove from packaging
- 1 pair work gloves
- Cotton with leather palm or all leather
Link: http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Relief-Supplies/Relief-Supply-Kits/Cleaning
UMCOR Response to Hurricane Harvey
This past Sunday we took up a special offering for hurricane Harvey recovery efforts via UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief). If you missed the chance to give, fear not, we’ll have envelopes available again next Sunday, or you can give to UMCOR online at: https://secure3.convio.net/gbgm/site/SPageNavigator/umcor_donate.html?type=1002&project=901670
The Sermon on Shiphrah and Puah
Below the fold is a written version of my (John’s) sermon from Sunday, August 27, 2017 on Exodus 1:8-2:10.
New Members: Ross and Candice Covington
Yesterday we had the pleasure of welcoming Ross and Candice Covington into membership at the 10:30 worship service. If you haven’t already done so, Jenny and I encourage you to take the time to welcome them to First United Methodist Church.
No Children’s Sunday School Next Sunday
A friendly reminder that there will be no Children’s Sunday School next Sunday. Wendy Robinson is taking Maya up to Hamline University in Minnesota (for some unfathomable reason they ask first-year students to show up on a Sunday).
The Conscience of the State
At this moment, this passage seems particularly relevant for American Christianity.
The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. — Martin Luther King, Jr. [1]
[1] Martin Luther King, “A Knock at Midnight,” in A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., ed. Clayborne Carson and Peter Holloran (New York: Intellectual Properties Management in Association with Warner Books, 1998).
Have No Anxiety
In his letter to the Philippians (4:6), Paul writes “Don’t be anxious about anything” (CEB). That phrase has always irritated the heck out of me. I don’t want to be anxious, but I am, and simply telling me not to be anxious has never before helped much. But I’ve been slowly moving toward a better understanding of this passage, and so when I read the following in a daily devotional from Frederick Buechner, it not only made sense but rang true.
He [Paul, writing to the Philippians] does not deny that the worst things will happen finally to all of us, … He does not try to minimize them. He does not try to explain them away as God’s will or God’s judgment or God’s method of testing our spiritual fiber. He simply tells the Philippians that in spite of them—even in the thick of them—they are to keep in constant touch with the One who unimaginably transcends the worst things as he also unimaginably transcends the best.
… He does not promise them that … they will be delivered from the worst things any more than Jesus himself was delivered from them. What he promises them instead is that “the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The worst things will surely happen no matter what—that is to be understood—but beyond all our power to understand, he writes, we will have peace both in heart and in mind. We are as sure to be in trouble as the sparks fly upward, but we will also be “in Christ,” as he puts it. Ultimately not even sorrow, loss, death can get at us there.
That is the sense in which he dares say without risk of occasioning ironic laughter, “Have no anxiety about anything.” — Frederick Buechner [1]
In the end, we all suffer, we all grieve, we all die, but through it all, God is with us. When it comes down to it, that is enough to see us and those we love through life, through death, and into life everlasting.
I’ve cut the devotional down quite a bit in an attempt to avoid copyright infringement. I encourage you to read the whole thing here: https://goo.gl/2uWueW.
[1] Frederick Buechner, “Anxiety,” in Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004), 22-24.
Sermon: Joseph and His Brothers
Below the fold is a written version of Jenny’s sermon from Sunday, August 20, 2017. Her title was “Joseph and His Brothers,” her text was Genesis 45:1-15,
What To Say When You See the Eclipse
Here’s an ancient Jewish prayer offered by a Rabbi at Ministry Matters (a United Methodist Website) as a response to seeing the eclipse:
“Blessed are You, Eternal God, Maker of all the works of creation.”
Link: https://goo.gl/t9WsP5
We Must Always Take Sides
As I mentioned at the time, I couldn’t properly source the quote I shared in my sermon last Sunday. Here’s a similar quote that I can properly source:
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. — Elie Wiesel [1]
[1] Elie Wiesel, “1986 Acceptance Speech,” Nobelprize.org, accessed August 18, 2017, https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1986/wiesel-acceptance_en.html.