June 1, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the Day of Pentecost, which marks 50 days since Easter. In the early church, Pentecost was considered the second most important day next to Easter. Ancient Jewish people also revered Pentecost, which for them marked fifty days from Passover.
I think people worldwide are having Covid 19 fatigue. Sue and I are retired, so we haven’t had to face furloughs or layoffs. Our hearts go out to the forty million Americans who have lost their jobs. In our country’s desire to get back to work and to normal, it seems as if some have forgotten coronavirus. But rest assured, the virus hasn’t forgotten us. This week we saw the death toll reach 100,000. We need to proceed with caution, intelligence, and greater compassion for our fellow human beings.
This was our first time back at Paxton Methodist Church in a long time. It was so good seeing everyone—at least through face masks! We practiced social distancing (not so difficult when you have a small congregation), adapted our singing, and will change up Communion for these pandemic times. It’s still worship, and we still take heart in observing it together.
We were in double digits, with all our regulars there. We had two songs: On CD “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” which is considered the Methodist anthem, and a beautiful hymn Mrs. Hilda played on the piano. As part of the “Prayers of the Church,” I read selections from the Memorial Day Prayer found in the United Methodist Book of Worship. We visited from a distance before and after church. The church house had been thoroughly cleaned, and the church voted to hire the same lady to clean on a regular basis.
Ms. Hilda’s sister Velma is not doing well; we all need to keep her in our prayers. Friday I had a call from Lillie, sounding so good. She is at home in Houston and is able to put 50% of her weight on her foot. She was so ready to leave the hospital and rehab behind. She wanted me to thank everyone for the cards.
The beginning of Acts 2 describes the gale force winds and the spreading of God’s Spirit like wildfire. I used the Bible paraphrase called The Message because I like the images and wording. Pentecost for Christians describes the disciples stepping out and telling the Jesus story. The Jesus followers went into the streets of Jerusalem during the Jewish celebration of Pentecost to share what they learned from hearing and witnessing the actions of Jesus. They spoke of God in the here and now—God, who is Love, the source of life, and the very Ground of Being.
During the month of May we collected cans of fruit. Sue and I will deliver them to Community Christian Services this week. In June we are going to collect toilet paper and paper towels. Our nursing home ministries are on hold.
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.
