July 2, 2018 - Sunday was the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was certainly an ordinary hot and humid Sunday morning in East Texas! I don’t like the cold of winter, but I really can’t take the summer heat anymore. When we were kids we spent many summer days out playing and trying to stay out of our mothers’ hair. It wasn’t until I was in Junior High School that our schools were air conditioned. Last Sunday our air conditioning went out at home; we closed the drapes and turned on all the ceiling fans. It got up to the mid 80s but wasn’t terrible. Luckily the repairman came Monday afternoon, discovered the problem, and fixed it. Later in the week the electric company came by to say that our electricity would be off for a few hours as they are in the process of changing out poles. It turned out to be four hours; this time we didn’t have the benefit of our ceiling fans, but again it wasn’t so bad.
Many years ago Sue and I accompanied my parents to England, where we spent two weeks in London. My dad always made sure that wherever he stayed there was AC. One of our guides said she thought air conditioning was quite unhealthy. We replied that living in Texas during the summer without air conditioning was indeed unhealthy!
On Sunday worshipped with my friends at Tenaha Methodist. I missed seeing Maggie and Gene and hope they are doing OK. Pastor Matt had a fine sermon, and I was able to celebrate Holy Communion with my Tenaha friends. I got to Sunday school late, but Mrs. Fannie gave me an excused tardy! It was so nice to see Vera and Keith. They’ve been under the weather for awhile, and we sure miss them. Fannie’s lesson was based on Matthew 18: 21-35, dealing with forgiveness and how many times we should forgive our fellow humans. Jesus’ answer to forgive often is very hard for us, but we must try and try again.
The Gospel Lesson for this Sunday was Mark 5: 21-43. This lesson is two stories of healing woven into one. Jairus, of the local synagogue, and the unnamed woman who had been sick for twelve years had both despairingly reached their breaking points. Jairus’ daughter was extremely ill, and the woman had been sick for so long she was almost without hope. These two people from two very different walks of life had a chance encounter with the power of love and compassion who was Jesus. Joe and Hilda led us in patriotic songs: “America,” “America the Beautiful,” and “God Bless America.”
We celebrated Holy Communion today and were excited to be in double digits! Sue took a car full of Paxton Methodist’s toilet paper and paper towel donations to Community Christian Services this week. She reported that, as usual, CCS had everything well organized, with lots of customers but also lots of volunteers. This month we are collecting cans of spaghetti and ravioli.
Last week was our monthly program at Lakeside Assisted Living. Minnie played for us, letting Hilda enjoy the singing part of the program. Congregational singing included patriotic songs as well as hymns from Heavenly Highways. Gene and Minnie did “Morning Has Broken” and “The Church in the Wildwood.” Nora had a song she hadn’t known until recently, “Soon and Very Soon,” but a lot of those gathered knew it. Fannie read a piece about our country in view of the upcoming Fourth of July, and Sue had some biographical information about Peggy Lee, accompanied by selected verses from her song, “I’m a Woman.” Pastor Matt began the program, talking about changes—his own, now that he’s through seminary, and Biblical ones. He also finished out the program with a benediction and our usual “God Be with You.”
“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. Godspeed.
