April 5, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother, Jesus, Amen. Sue and I continue to stay at home. Paxton United Methodist Church has canceled Sunday School and Worship Services through April and will reevaluate once again at the end of the month. The coronavirus appears to be getting worse, and we are told it will continue to spread for quite awhile. Sue has been busy cleaning out closets, clearing out files, and cleaning out her desk. She has also been cooking up a storm. The Senior Center, where Sue volunteers, is not only closed, but the Community Building is also off-limits to renters. We always enjoyed eating out, but that is no longer an option—takeout, if that, is the new normal. I have been doing yard work and working in my garden, very therapeutic for me. I still walk the dogs twice a day but not at the city park, which has been closed.
I took the cans of chili that Paxton Methodist Church collected in March and dropped them off at Community Christian Services. Those wonderful volunteers have always worked so hard getting food to those who often run short at the end of the month. But now their efforts are really herculean, as more and more people find themselves in food danger; in addition, working with the public brings extra very real dangers. Those at CCS are true heroes during this time of crisis.
I read on Shelby County Today last night that the number of coronavirus-infected people in Shelby County has doubled. Rural areas around the United States have not been affected like our nation’s large urban areas, but that is going to change. Unfortunately, rural areas have fewer medical options as there are fewer doctors and hospitals. In Shelby County we don’t even have a hospital, although we have an excellent ER. The best thing we are told that we can do is to stay home and avoid contact with others. It is time we all listen to the medical experts and scientists and do as they say to stay safe and flatten the curve of new infections.
Our nursing home ministries are on hold as nursing homes and assisted living facilities are in lockdown. We certainly miss seeing our friends there; my mother-in-law is one of those people in assisted-living lockdown. Each day, the nursing and medical staffs at these places are continuing their work to help our seniors face a deadly enemy. Once this present crisis has waned, we Texans need to look at how we can aid the medical and nursing staffs at our state nursing homes and how we can improve the care we provide our seniors. There are things we can do as a state to help improve elder care in Texas.
I have continued to email out a weekly Paxton Methodist Church newsletter that includes this article and a weekly sermon. For those members who don’t have or use the Internet, I have been copying parts of the newsletter and mailing it to them. Our little congregation has been really good about keeping in touch with each other through texts, emails, and phone calls.
Sunday was Passion/Palm Sunday. In the ancient church, believers came to church each day during Holy Week to remember and to celebrate the passion of the Christ. On this particular Sunday, palms were waved as Christians celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of that fateful week. I have almost always used the readings of Palm Sunday as the scripture for my sermon. But during these difficult times, I found that the Old Testament Lesson, Isaiah 50: 4-9, really spoke to our current predicament. The short reading is part of the Third Song of the Suffering Servant. Isaiah never identifies who this servant is—whether it is a person or the nation of Israel. But from early on in the faith, Christians have come to see Jesus as the suffering servant. In the reading, Isaiah speaks of God as comforter and companion in our life’s journey. For me, the most comforting words in the lesson are, “The LORD God will help me.” We can be assured during these difficult and trying times that these words are as true today as they were in the time of Isaiah. Remember them as you work on staying safe and healthy.
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.
