Shelby County Today

May 31, 2022 - Sunday was the last Sunday of the Easter Season. What many see as the birth of the Christian Church, Pentecost, comes next Sunday. Shortly we enter into Ordinary Time, which most people would vote for—just regular, everyday time. But our world was shattered once again by gun violence. This week it happened at an elementary school right here in our beloved Texas. Twenty-one people, nineteen of the them children, were gunned down in their classrooms by an 18-year-old armed with a semi-automatic weapon. There are no thoughts or prayers that can help grieving parents, siblings, and grandparents at this time. We recoil at the idea that our children are not safe when we send them to school. The week before was a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. And before that, a church shooting. What will we do about this madness? Perhaps our leaders will heed the overwhelming call from Americans, put aside their differences, and work together to help heal our country.

Monday is Memorial Day, when our nation unites to remember the men and women who have defended our country, paying with their lives. It is also a good time to remember our active service people and our veterans—all of whom have made sacrifices. In addition, Memorial Day is seen as the unofficial beginning of summer. Students and teachers across Shelby County are out of school until August. We at Paxton hope the young folks, teachers, and school personnel have a good summer—a time to rest and recharge.

As this was the last Sunday of May, we gathered up the offerings of canned fruit for Community Christian Services. In June, we will donate paper towels and toilet paper.
The original collection schedule did not purposely choose for this reason, but it is nice that we usually have one month of heavy items (like cans of fruit) followed by a month of lighter ones (like next month’s paper products). Makes it easier on the “toters.”

We completed another quarter of study and got new Sunday School literature for Summer 2022. Our final lesson was titled “Acts of Generosity.” The reading came from 2 Corinthians: 8-9. Paul is reminding the church in Corinth of its promise of a large donation to the church fathers back in Jerusalem. Paul has good advice on how one should give. Fannie had a really good lesson prepared, and we agreed about the need of generous hearts...but also the difficulty in dealing with people who are not straightforward about their need. There are no easy answers.

We added to our church’s prayers the Family of Frances Fallin as well as the victims of the gun violence in Uvalde. I read a prayer for Memorial Day from the Methodist Book of Worship. I accidentally turned too many pages and was reading a prayer for Independence Day, discovered my mistake, and turned back a page. The Paxton folks will hear the other prayer in July. We sang “America” and “America the Beautiful” to keep in the spirit of Memorial Day. Our bulletin had two quotes this week. From Vince Lombardi: “We will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence.” He might have been referring to football, but this idea certainly carries over into life in general. The other, in a list of Memorial Day quotes, was from former president Clinton: “There is nothing wrong with America that can’t be cured with what is right in America.” Also inspiring.

My sermon mentioned that Christians of an earlier time would have come to church this week to remember the Ascension of Jesus. This Sunday, the Gospel lesson again came from John, detailing Jesus’ final prayer for his friends and other followers of his teachings. My sermons for the two previous weeks were also based on John telling of Jesus’ final talk with his disciples. Jesus said that it was compassion—love—that would mark them as his followers. He also told them that the Holy Spirit—The Friend or The Companion—would be with them in their life’s journey. Today we finished with Jesus final prayer.

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, and Open Minds.” 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 your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.

May 27, 2022 - Join us for Jerusalem Marketplace VBS at Old Home Baptist Church June 6th - 9th from 6:00 - 8:00 PM nightly. Come explore the Marketplace where Jesus walked. You will see how the people lived and worked in Jerusalem as you explore the different stations. Hope to see you there! For more info, call 936-254-4872 or 936-248-2821

May 26, 2022 - Ramah Cemetery will hold our annual meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at the Ramah Baptist Church in Tenaha, TX.  The church gym will be open and families are welcome to bring a covered dish lunch to celebrate and honor our loved ones.

May 23, 2022 - Sunday was the 6th Sunday of Easter. As promised by all the local channels, our part of the world got a nice rain last night. We had almost 2 inches in downtown Joaquin. Sunday morning also saw some cooler temperatures. All the plants in my little gardens and containers appreciate rain, and I appreciate not having to water. It is usually much later in the summer when I have to start watering every day.

Our Sunday School continued with the author’s theme about creation and the need to care for it. We humans may think we are the only important part of creation, but God cares for it all. We have a duty not just to each other and to future generations, but to God. There were two scriptures for our lesson: Joel 2: 18-26 and Romans 8: 19-22. Our author reminded us that we live with misconceptions of the truth. In the reading from Romans, Paul alerts us to the reality that humanity and nature exist in an interconnected relationship with each other. Paul’s words shatter the myth that we humans can act in whatever manner we please when it comes to the environment. The destiny of the earth is also part of our faith.

We had a small group at worship this morning—not that we ever have a large group! I guess it’s all relative. Our Gathering Words were based on Psalm 67, a hymn of praise that has a universal feel to it. We affirmed our faith by saying The Apostles’ Creed. For Christian churches that include affirmations in their worship services, this is the best known one. The bulletin quote from Andrew Murray mirrored the idea of stewardship from the Sunday School lesson: “The world asks, ‘What does a man own?’ Christ asks, ‘How does he use it?’” We can also see how this quote reflects our Christian duty to share compassion to all people, another theme from my sermon today. Our two songs were familiar and joyful ones: “To God Be the Glory” and “Wonderful Words of Life.”

The Gospel lesson today again came from John; John 14: 23-31 is part of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse. The passages making up Jesus’ final words to the disciples are the longest speech by Jesus in the entire New Testament. Jesus promises that God’s Spirit will always be with the disciples (and with us). We used a more modern translation for the Gospel reading that refers to the Holy Spirit as The Companion. We are never really alone. The Companion will accompany us on our life’s journey. Jesus’ final gift to his disciples is peace—shalom. The use of “shalom” indicates more than just peace, meaning fullness and wholeness. Easter Season is about to end: In a few weeks we will celebrate the ascension of Jesus and the birth of the Jesus Movement on Pentecost.

During the announcement part of our service, I shared that I called our dear friend Hilda. I also talked to Mike, who said he, Lillie, and Liz were all doing well. I know that Lillie is happily rooting for the Astros. She is having a lot more fun than I am—as a long-time Cubs fan. Gene gave an update on a CD the church recently took out. May is getting closer to the end. All month we have been collecting cans of fruit for Community Christian Services. In June we will start collecting paper towels and toilet paper.

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, and Open Minds.” 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 your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.