August 26, 2019 - Love and peace from our brother, Jesus. Much of our part of East Texas got some needed rain last week. Sue and I were luckier than most, totaling around an inch. The rain cooled things down for awhile, but the sun came out, bringing the heat and humidity! We are supposed to have a more than decent chance of rain and a couple of cool mornings in the coming days. Those cool mornings will be a foretaste of the fall days to come. August sure is zooming by. Most kids had their first full week already, and others are schoolbound now.
Our Sunday school lesson was the last one of the quarter. The material we use is changing its size and format. I guess we will get used to the change, although print keeps getting smaller, doesn’t it? The lesson continued with the idea of the marriage vows being a way of looking at the covenant between people and the Divine. We had a special guest at Sunday school. Reverend Mike Lauxman is filling in for Pastor Sarah at Tenaha and Timpson and came to our class after services at Tenaha. It was so nice to meet him, and we all enjoyed what he had to add to the lesson. Ms. Carolyn is still in Pennsylvania—having a great time I’m sure, we miss her and what she shares with us at Sunday school.
We had a short business meeting to look at the 2019 church budget, discussing what areas we needed to add. Our Sunday literature and utilities cost more, so we are going to increase the budget there. We are not sure if our building insurance will go up, so we will keep that part of the budget open. We haven’t got any word yet about District or Conference Apportionments. Last year we added two yearly budget items—Children’s Christmas by Community Christian Services and the Joaquin Senior Center. We will propose at Charge Conference to add the Tenaha Youth Center and the Methodist Home as yearly budget items. The “Paxton United Against Waste Facility have had several meetings at Paxton Methodist Church. At their last meeting they took up an offering for the church and we certainly didn’t expect it but appreciate their generosity.
The Gospel Lesson came from Luke 13: 10-17, dealing with a question of “work” on the Sabbath. Jesus was criticized for healing a woman on the Sabbath, but he quickly took the Synagogue leaders to task. The Luke story was much more than just about working on the Sabbath. Luke’s Gospel really stressed the importance of women in Jesus’ movement and of course the early church. In today’s story Jesus goes out of his way to heal this woman and shows great compassion. I also think that this lesson makes us more careful to separate the wonderful spiritual teachings from the cultural norms and mores of ancient Israel and its world.
All month we have collected children’s socks and underwear for Community Christian Services. I will deliver those and two checks this week to Haslam Baptist. In September we will be collecting mac & cheese. Our Focused Care ministry will be on Labor Day—Monday September 2nd at 10:00. Hope you can join us there.
Last week, because of the way the month fell, we had programs at both Holiday Nursing Home and Lakeside Assisted Living. Some presenters were at one but not the other; some were at both. I’m going to stir them all together to tell you the goings-on. Hilda was our loyal and spirited piano player. I emceed, keeping the program moving with small anecdotes and lively song choices. Sallie sang a lovely rendition of “How Great Thou Art.” Gene did his favorite hymn, “Blessed Assurance,” and my favorite, “Morning Has Broken.” Nora, after watching the Judy Garland movie of the same name, sang “In the Good Old Summertime.” Fannie read “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and a devotional, both from the same book. Jo shared the moving lyrics of a song called “Follow Me.” Pastor Sarah talked about the importance of sleep (second the motion!). Sue presented There’s a Cow in the Road and a Dr. Seuss story, “The Sneetches.” A special thank-you to Margie, who comes to help us with the congregational singing, and to Maggie, who acts as assistant emcee.
Our worship time is 10:00 AM; we would love to have you come to worship with us. I know how very busy everyone is: Our early meeting time enables you to move on to family get-togethers or jobs afterward. Not to mention naps, which my wife says are best on Sunday afternoon. 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. God’s Speed.
