February 28, 2017 - Sunday was Transfiguration Sunday. In the ancient church and in many denominations today, Transfiguration Sunday is one of the most important holy days in the Christian faith. In the ancient world, the earth was flat and above the sky was the realm of God (or gods). So when Moses was called by God to receive the Torah, he was called to the mountain. Moses was enveloped in a cloud, and the people saw what appeared to be a raging fire on the mountain. In our Gospel Lesson Jesus along with Peter, James and John ascend the Holy Mountain: The three disciples see Jesus transfigured and standing with Moses and Elijah. They hear from within the cloud a voice which says, “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.” With this holy day, the Season of the Epiphany ends. Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the forty days of Lent.
I went to Tenaha Methodist this morning to hear Pastor Matt preach. It was so nice to see so many friends and to listen to Matt’s thoughtful message. I was late for Sunday School, but Fannie gave me an excused tardy. This was the last lesson in the quarter; accordingly, we received new material and will have a new author. We have been in double digits at Paxton every Sunday this year! We all hope that Susan, Vera, and Keith are on the mend. Sue has also been sick, so I took her place to start our worship service with readings.
This past week we headed to both Holiday and Lakeside for our monthly ministry. Both ministries were well attended—we had so many volunteers who read, sang, and visited with the residents. Larry Terry came to both ministries to play his fiddle. At Holiday Fannie told some little-known facts about the Presidents in honor of Presidents’ Day. Nora read a book and sang a song. At Lakeside Joyce Hughes and Emily Taylor brought their harps and played several selections. Joyce also played the piano and sang. Nora and sister Jo put their voices together to sing a song. Laura read three poems. We all had a good time and enjoy visiting our friends at the various nursing centers.
“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!
