Shelby County Today

October 26, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We had a good rain in Joaquin Friday, and Saturday morning was nice and cool. My two dog companions, Gunter and Sam, along with our grand-dog Stella, went to the park with me Saturday morning. They had such a good time running and chasing each other. The cool morning air also put an extra step into my walking.

Paxton Methodist Church is meeting each Sunday wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Shelby County has had a big increase in Covid cases just as the nation as a whole has seen a huge spike in cases and deaths. Our music is only on piano and CD—no singing to spread germs. Mrs. Hilda played a lively special, “Sweetest Name I Know.” Our Hymn of Joy was “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” the Methodist anthem.

In the month of October we collected peanut butter and jelly for Community Christian Services. Next month we will collect rice and beans. Community Christian Services has had several extra-large food giveaways recently, with long lines of vehicles coming for food boxes. This has really helped out during a very difficult time. The volunteers are such hard-working people doing good works! The pandemic has caused eight million more people to fall under the poverty line. Texas has the highest number of uninsured people in the United States, which has added to the burden of providing medical care to those in need. So CCS is definitely meeting an important demand.

Our Sunday School Lesson for Sunday was based on Luke 22: 14-20. The lesson talked about communion and how it became so important in the universal church over the centuries. Communion was very important in John Wesley’s theology because he saw the very act as a means of grace from God. Our author said that communion brings together the past, the present, and the future. This lesson was a good preparation for next Sunday, which is All Saints Day.

The Gospel lesson for Sunday was Matthew 22: 34-40, the most concise statement of what a follower of Jesus should believe, feel, and do. When asked by a group of Sadducees and Pharisees to name the most important commandment in the Torah, Jesus said it was to love God and then to love one’s fellow human beings. As theologian Marcus Borg would say, “This, the greatest commandment, strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Christian.”

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.

October 18, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We had some beautiful fall days this past week! I am starting my article on Saturday, when it is 45 degrees at morning dog-walking time. The house felt cold to me when I got up, but I am not ready to turn the heater on. I bundled up for the walk, and the dogs really seemed to have fun running and chasing each other at the park.

Paxton Methodist Church is meeting each Sunday wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Shelby County has had a big increase in Covid cases just as the nation as a whole has seen a huge spike in cases and deaths. Our music is just on piano and CD—no singing to spread germs. Mrs. Hilda played a sprightly version of “When the Roll Is Called up Yonder,” and our Hymn of Joy was “What a Beautiful World,” sung by Louie Armstrong. This week I came across a poem about autumn that I incorporated into the Prayers of the Church.

In the month of October we are collecting peanut butter and jelly for Community Christian Services. We had a church meeting this morning to hear the charge conference reports and the church budget for 2021. It was budgeted to give First Baptist Church Joaquin $200 to help with Community Christian Services Children’s Christmas gift program. We also pledged the Gideons $400: We agreed to mail this check since the pandemic makes it impossible to have a Gideon speaker this fall. After hearing the reports and discussion, the church folks approved the budget and all the reports.

We had a most excellent Sunday School Lesson based on Nehemiah 8: 1-12. Mrs. Fannie reminded us that the idea of today’s lesson was to help us form the church into a community. In the scripture reading, we saw how the people were reclaiming their identity as a group and as followers of the Torah and God. This idea of community is what my sermon was also about, from the Epistle Lesson 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10. These are the oldest verses in the New Testament, as Paul sent this letter in 52 CE. It is obvious that Paul cared greatly for the friends he met on his travels. And we see how important community was to the early Christians. Jesus spoke of such community as the Kingdom of God. I titled my sermon “My Glory Was I Had Such Friends,” a chapter title in the latest Irish Country Doctor series that I’m currently reading.

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.

October 15, 2020 - Once upon a time, I thought I might like to take up the game of golf. I played a little for a few years, and then realized, golf was not my game. The men I played with (my grandfather and some of his friends) were guys that believed strongly in the Mulligan. Truth be told, none of them was ever going to join the PGA. Now, to those unacquainted with the finer technical points of the game of golf, let’s define what a mulligan is: “You are allowed a second drive, or a do-over on your drive off the first tee if your first drive is not good enough or not to your liking or satisfaction.” That means that “first shot” doesn’t count. You get a “do-over.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we could take a mulligan in life? Wouldn’t it be great if God gave us a do-over? 

Well, when we get to Isaiah’s prophecy, we find that our God is the “God of the Mulligan.” The faith and hope of God’s people were at a low point during this period. They needed constant assurance that things would turn around. Isaiah repeats these assurances over and over. When you turn to Isaiah 43:18, you find a beautiful statement. “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” When we come to God with a penitent heart, when we obey God’s will, when we begin to live God’s kind of life, God gives us a do-over. A mulligan!

It’s something to think about . . . tbp

Center Church of Christ
110 Hurst Street
Center, Texas
www.centerchurchofchrist.com

October 13, 2020 - Tomorrow morning, October 14, 2020, there will be another shipment of food boxes delivered to Community Christian Services (CCS) in Joaquin. CCS is located behind First Baptist Church of Haslam, next door to Brookshire Brothers. This is the 2nd truckload received through the Farmers Feeding Families Program.

No paperwork is required, one box per vehicle. CCS asks everyone to respect the volunteers and be patient as boxes are unloaded and distributed accordingly. There will be a line formed starting at 9am until 11am.