May 16, 2021 - Grace and peace from our friend and brother Jesus. May 16 was the 7th Sunday of Easter, as well as Ascension Sunday. In bygone days Christians would go to their places of worship last Thursday to celebrate the Day of Ascension, when Jesus left his friends behind. Last week I had no article in the paper and no weekly newsletter because my four-legged friend Sam and I went to Dallas right after church. I had a really nice visit with my daughter, son, future daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother.
As is always the case at Paxton Methodist, Fannie had a really good Sunday School lesson for us. Read by Gene, the scripture focus was Luke 9: 28-36 about Peter, John, and James joining Jesus on the mountaintop and witnessing the Transfiguration. This story places Jesus right up there with Moses and Elijah for these Jewish folks. From the cloud they hear God saying that Jesus is the Son of God, the chosen one, and telling Peter, John, and James to listen to him. This was a one-time, spectacular event, but our author encouraged us to look for the holy ourselves in ordinary life. Even our lives today contain these special moments, if we’ll just be attentive to them.
Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. Still no vigorous singing! The songs I meant to share this week were related to each other: “I Saw the Light” by Hank Williams and Jackie DeShannon’s “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” Technology and age don’t always go together, and I couldn’t get them to play on my tablet. Plan B was a good one, though: Sue DeFee had two Elvis CDs, so we heard the King singing “He Touched Me” and “Amazing Grace.” Can’t go wrong with those!
My sermon this week continued with the Easter Season theme of Jesus showing his disciples—and us—how to be caring and compassionate. As John the Elder said, “God is Love.” The Gospel Lesson came from John 17: 6-19. Jesus asks God to protect the disciples as they continue bringing the Good News of God’s love into the world. And remember, WE are his modern-day disciples and are, therefore, charged with that same mission.
We are collecting canned fruit for Community Christian Services. Sue also saw a call on Facebook for diapers and took a variety of sizes by CCS last week. The volunteers at CCS have been working hard throughout the pandemic to help those in need. They still have in place some social distancing procedures, optionally available.
Joaquin Senior Center, closed for over a year because of the pandemic, plans to reopen on Tuesday, July 6. Sue will send out the new procedures, which include showing proof of vaccination, to the Seniors on their list. If you’re not currently a Senior Center participant but would like the details on becoming one, you can call 936/269-3975 and leave a message with your name and address or send it to PO Box 567, Joaquin TX 75954.
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.
