October 15, 2018 - Sunday was the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. What a great surprise I had when I made it to Sunday School and saw Carolyn! She’s back from an extended stay with her sister in Pennsylvania. She and grandson Guy attended church last Sunday while Sue and I were in Dallas. Guy had flown to Pennsylvania so he and grandmother could fly home together. It is great to see Guy up and about after his terrible accident.
I sure appreciate Larry, our expert local historian, filling in last Sunday. Sue and I visited our kids, brother, and sister-in-law and had a great time. The main reason for our trip to Dallas was so I could attend two talks by Quaker minister, Philip Gulley, one of my favorite writers of both fiction and nonfiction. He preached at a church near my daughter’s house and that afternoon read the first chapter of his newest book, answering questions and signing books. My son went with me to both, and my brother and sister-in-law joined us for the afternoon session. My wife says she fell in love on the trip—with Central Market, an offshoot of HEB. There are some advantages to life in the Big City!
Our Sunday School lesson focused on the genealogy found in Genesis. The author’s purpose wasn’t to trip us up with all those hard names but to show how God is working through the generations. Creation is still going on, and we need to remember that we are to be its crowning achievement.
The Gospel story for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time was from Mark 10: 17-22.
The tale features the rich young man or ruler (depending on what translation you are reading) coming to ask Jesus about achieving eternal life. I always enjoyed this story and hoped that the young man, as he grew older and hopefully wiser, understood what Jesus was offering. Of course growing up, the idea that stuck concerned the camel going through the eye of the needle. But the truly important part says “Jesus looked at the young man and loved him.” God’s love is overflowing and absolute, something that is too often overlooked.
Paxton Methodist was so excited to have Larry and Theresa join our little congregation! We have really enjoyed having them these past many weeks. We look forward to moving ahead as a community with Theresa and Larry as active members!
Last week we went to Focused Care and had a really nice program. Pastor Matt led the singing and shared insights on the story of Jonah. Fannie told a story, and Sally and Nora sang specials. Hilda played and sang, keeping us going. Tuesday we will head to Holiday. This month, which is already half over, we are collecting peanut butter and jelly for Community Christian Services. We’re already looking forward to Christmas—Sue shared information for Joaquin First Baptist’s Christmas ministry to children, also part of Community Christian Services, asking us to think about our role in this program.
“Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here.” Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist you can send me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
Randy & Sue Smith
Paxton Methodist Church
