April 20, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother, Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the 2nd Sunday of Easter. Weatherwise, this has been a typical East Texas week. We had some cooler than usual temperatures, which really isn’t that uncommon for Eastertime in East Texas. We also had temperatures flirting with the eighties—not to mention rain this weekend. I hope that everyone is being safe and staying home as much as possible. Working in my gardens and yard has helped me keep my sanity. My gardens in the front and back are so pretty right now. But they are ready for some rain! I hope we don’t have a repeat of the strong storms of last weekend. My dogs and I just got back from our morning walk. We usually walk at the park, but these are not usual times—so the park is closed. We walked by the Joaquin Methodist Church and found Gayle busy cleaning brush and burning it. We had a nice, safe-distance talk.
Paxton Methodist is not having services right now, determined to stay safe. We are a small congregation of senior citizens and don’t want to take any chances. Being so small, though, we are able to keep in touch with each other. I am still preparing a weekly sermon that I send out along with the weekly newsletter and newspaper article. During May we are collecting toothpaste and toothbrushes for Community Christian Services. I will go up to church at the end of the month and collect what people have brought, delivering them to CCS. We have suspended our nursing home ministries until we get the “all clear” from them. We miss our friends at the various nursing homes and hope they remain safe and healthy.
The Gospel story Sunday is about doubting Thomas. I like Thomas because his doubting is such a real reaction to the events that occurred the previous week. But despite Thomas’ uncertainty, we see hope reborn in him. We all know that trying to live in Kingdom moments will not magically vanquish our fears or take away our doubts. But by hoping, leaning on others, and trusting our own experiences, we are able to touch that which our soul longs for—the Divine—in moments of suffering.
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.” Normally Sunday School starts at 9:30 and Worship begins at 10:00. But during the Pandemic our usually “open doors” are closed. 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.
Randy & Sue Smith/Paxton United Methodist Church
