Shelby County Today

October 30, 2017 - Sunday was the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Sunday morning was cold but promised to be a beautiful day. Fannie turned the heaters on early, and the church felt so good.  We had a small group this morning, but we had an excellent Sunday school lesson. The scripture was from Nehemiah 9 & 10 and dealt with the covenant God made with the returning exiles. The purpose of the lesson was to admit our faults and then pledge ourselves to a life that honors our relationship with God. 

During October we have been collecting peanut butter and jelly for Community Christian Services. We collected quite a bit, which I will deliver this week, along with a check. In November we will collect rice and beans. The church voted to send a check to Community Christian Services to buy Christmas presents for children. Some members will also select a family to support. Sue will deliver the church check to First Baptist Joaquin, which heads up this effort. We received a nice thank-you note from our friend Linda. It will be a long process to overcome Hurricane Harvey!

The Gospel Lesson for this Sunday was Matthew 22:34-40. Once again the religious elites at the Temple are trying to trip Jesus up. In today’s lesson a legal scholar asked Jesus what is the most important commandment in the Torah. Jesus quoted from the Shema, saying we must love God with our heart, mind, and soul. Then he added that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. For me that strikes at the very heart of Christianity. Loving God and loving our neighbor are the way to live full Kingdom lives. 

Last week was our program at Lakeside Assisted Living, with lots of singing and laughing. Maggie and Sue shared the emcee job, and Minnie tinkled the ivories (freeing Mrs. Hilda up to help lead the singing). Gene sang “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” with the group joining him on the chorus. Nora sang a cute song, “Pop Goes the Weasel,” as well as a goose-bump-inducing one, “Thank You for Giving to the Lord,” which she will sing for Thanksgiving at Old Home Baptist.  Her sister Jo no only helped with the congregational singing, but also sang part of a song herself. Sue read the Texas Halloween book that’s a mirror image of Polar Express. Besides the regular congregational singing, we had several requests—all lovely choices. 

“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. Godspeed.

October 26, 2017 - Mt. Zion invites everyone to our Missionary Program on Sunday, October 29th at 3pm. Special guest speaker will be Minister Sandra Hill of the New Creations Nation Christian Center, Nacogdoches, TX; and speakers Rev. Elgena Weaver, Pastor; and Sis. Joyce Johnson, Missionary President.

October 25, 2017 - The First United Methodist Church in Center invites the community to its first ever "Evening With The Bells," a hand bell concert of both sacred and popular music. The concert will be held at the FUMC Fellowship Hall on Sunday night October 29 at 6pm.

"A hand bell choir is unique thing," long-time ringer Alice Sue Howard said. "Each player is responsible for one note in the song -- kind of like having a bunch of piano players, each one playing one note in a piece designed for ten fingers. It's challenging to play and it's as much fun to watch as it is to listen to."

The FUMC Hand Bell Choir will present an eclectic set of selections. "Highland Cathedral," a traditional high-church piece and "Just a Wayfaring Stranger." In addition, the choir will perform a Southern spiritual, a theme from a children's show, a #1 hit from the band Coldplay, a military march, and the national anthem.

"And we wouldn't want to forget the most iconic and famous of all hand bell pieces, 'Carol of the Bells," adds director Chris Watlington.  "Before the night is over, we will preview the Christmas season with that piece of music. Besides, you can't have a hand bell concert without 'Carol of the Bells!'"

The Bells are excited to present their special guest David Mathis, the First Baptist Church's music director. He will perform a hand bell solo, something that even the FUMC bells have never seen.

"I am excited to see someone ring a song all by themselves," FUMC ring Becky Parfait said. "I work so hard on my individual part, it's hard to imagine someone ringing all the bells with just his two hands!"

Again, "Evening With The Bells" is set for Sunday October 29 at 6:00 pm at the FUMC Fellowship Hall. Light refreshments will be served and the concert is free to the public.

October 23, 2017 - Sunday was the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was a rainy Sunday morning, but no one was complaining. We needed rain as drought conditions have really set in during September and October. We had a great surprise when Hilda’s sister Linda came in with her—so nice to see Linda again.

The Epistle Lesson for this Sunday was 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10. My sermon was based on the Gospel Lesson—Matthew 22:15-22, but I wanted to pay homage to Paul’s letter. According to what I read, this was the first letter we have from Paul, making it the oldest surviving Christian writing. I imagine that Paul would be flabbergasted to know that two thousands years after he wrote the letter, people around the world are still reading it. It was a very upbeat letter: Paul was full of thanks for the Jesus Community that he and Silas had founded.

The Gospel Lesson is one of my favorites. The Pharisees and Herodians teamed up together to try to trip Jesus up. They asked whether they should pay the hated tax to Caesar. Jesus famously said to give Caesar what is his and God what is his. When Jesus asked for a coin, a Pharisee gave him a Roman coin with the emperor’s image on it. Since they were on sacred Temple ground, the Pharisee violated both the first and second commandments by producing an image of a pagan god. Remember the emperor was thought to be a god or the son of a god.

The Sunday school lesson looked at that unique covenant God had with David. It is obvious that God has a great love for David despite David’s shortcomings. I guess we can all say that. Among the various things discussed was when David decided to build a temple to God. God let it be known that it wasn’t David’s decision to make—and that he was not to build the temple. David had so many successes that maybe David was just a little too full of himself and his importance.

Our ministry to Holiday Nursing Home was last week, with Hilda, Fannie, Jo, Nora, and Sue bringing the program to them. Hilda played piano for the congregational singing, including some requests. Nora found an old songbook and chose “Pop Goes the Weasel” from it, followed by a recitation and singing of two hymns. Fannie told a sweet story and read some of the “45” list that I excerpted for my sermon and recorded in their entirety in the church newsletter—a newspaper column that Sue’s cousin passed on to us. In my absence, Sue emceed and also read a Halloween book that was loosely based on the Polar Express one. Jo sang a little solo of a children’s song that her mom had sung to them. The program this coming week will be at Lakeside Assisted Living.

“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. Godspeed.