Sunday, April 4, 2021 – Easter Sunday

Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise

Read: Luke 24:1-12

Hail the day that sees Him rise
To His throne above the skies.
Christ, awhile to mortals given
Reascends His native Heaven.

There the glorious triumph waits.
Lift your heads, eternal gates.
Christ hath conquered death and sin.
Take the King of glory in.

See! the Heaven its Lord receives,
Yet He loves the Earth He leaves.
Though returning to His throne,
Still He calls the world His own.

See! He lifts His hands above.
See! He shows the prints of love.
Hark! His gracious lips bestow
Blessings on His church below.

Charles Wesley

Saturday, April 3, 2021

A Love Letter to My Church Family

“After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body.” – Ephesians 5:29-30

What a year this has been! We have all been overwhelmed with the disruption to our lives brought on by this horrible pandemic. Will you remember a year of disappointment, inconveniences, fear, political and social unrest, stress, mask wearing and social distancing, hopelessness, or a multitude of other negatives? Or will the year be remembered as one to reflect on what is really important in life, to re-balance our values, to realize how dependent we are on each other, to discover how creative we can be, and to celebrate our faith in the midst of uncertainty. It is a year where I have discovered anew the appreciation I have for this church and my church family. This church has wrapped its loving arms around me at the loss of my beloved Larry and given me sustenance to find a new sense of normalcy in spite of all the disruptions.

Thank you to each of the following:

• those with technical skills who have facilitated our online services and activities
• those who have blessed us with their beautiful voices and instruments
• the inspiring, comforting and reassuring words of our pastor as he prepared excellent sermons
• the wonderful children’s messages that Emily has given which spoke to the adults as well as children
• church members who made caring calls and wrote notes of cheer
• the United Methodist Women’s Cheer Group, the Witness and Caring Group, Stephen Ministry, Prayer Vigil participants, and the Outreach Ministry Group who have quietly continued their ministry to shut-ins, the hurting, those grieving, the fearful, and the lonely
• Charlie van Becelaere who has stepped up to become the Swiss Army knife of services to our congregation from presenting sermons, soliciting and presenting special music, and preparing our annual Lenten devotion booklet
• Joan Richardson who has brightened our days with the “Tuesday Newsletter” and “Coffee Hour”.
• Bob Rossbach whose technical skills have given us our online services, the voices of our choir and special music, and who facilitated the funeral service for Larry Deck in the Memorial Garden which led to outdoor services in the garden
• Fred Van de Putte who has kept all the sound and communications equipment working
• the unnamed who have sustained and supported the ministries of our church
• everyone who shared a kind word and smiled love

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for our church family who reminds us that while the virus is disruptive and inconvenient, it cannot touch our hearts and minds, nor can it keep us from your love and care.

Pat Deck

Friday, April 2, 2021 – Good Friday

The Lord’s Prayer – Together

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
 on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
 as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
 but deliver us from the evil one. - Matthew 6:9-13

I have been participating in the continuous prayer vigil since the beginning. At first every week, but I must admit as the weather got better not nearly as frequently. I was apprehensive at first; 15 minutes seemed like a long time, but later I was easily able to pray for 30 minutes and would often be surprised when my alarm went off. Yes – those that know me know I would be the type to set an alarm. I pray silently.

Early on during the pandemic, when we were virtual, I would say the Lords Prayer out loud when the time came. It felt a little uncomfortable since I am a silent prayer, but I did it. I was happy when we could worship in the Garden and pray together, and during that time when there was a rainy Sunday I would pray out loud at home. Then, finally, we got to go back inside. When it came time to pray the Lord’s Prayer together it was awesome. I’m not sure how many people were in the sanctuary that first Sunday, maybe 60, but the sound of us saying the words together echoing thought the sanctuary... it brought tears to my eyes.

Ever since we have been forced back online, when Mike and I pray our lone voices in our house make me sad. It reminds me that we are meant to be together. Praying together in our beautiful church where our voices blend together and fill the room. So, for the last several weeks I pray silently.

As I write this, I believe I only have one more Sunday before I can pray the prayer Jesus taught us with my eyes closed and my heart full in our sanctuary, hearing all your voices with mine. So if you happen to see a tear on my cheek for the first few Sundays, know it Is a tear of joy.

Prayer: Lord, bless all those that are unable to worship in person during this Lent. May they know they are missed and loved.

Cathy Lorenz

Thursday, April 1, 2021 – Maundy Thursday

Special Delivery

Read: Luke 14:12-14, Proverbs 16:9

I’m sure that everyone has some kind of COVID story to tell. It might be about a chance encounter when walking in the neighborhood, or failing to recognize a long-time friend because of masks (sorry about that), or it might be something even more serendipitous. That’s what I have to share – a story of serendipity.

As you remember, we wanted to celebrate Communion at the Christmas Eve worship service. Of course, we couldn’t be in the Sanctuary together at that time, so what were we to do? Since we had other things to distribute – Advent kits, Luminarias, and Butter Braids – we thought we would distribute the elements at the same time as those things.

That went quite well. We passed out a lot of elements to the folks who were picking up that other stuff. Then we did some home deliveries. A few people took elements to those who couldn’t make it to church to pick them up, and I was one of those deliverers. I handled several drop-offs to people whose homes I knew well, but I was also asked to take some additional cups to a relatively new person – one who wasn’t in the aging directory I keep in my car – as they were going to have more family at home than they had realized.

I checked with a friend to get the address, and it was right on my way to church where I had to drop off some other stuff anyway. I pulled up, masked up, grabbed the correct number of communion cups, and knocked on the door. A young girl answered, and I told her I was from the church and just dropping off the communion elements. She took them, looking a bit confused, thanked me, and closed the door, so I headed to the church and did my stuff there.

While I was finishing up, I got a text telling me that I had gotten the wrong address – I had just delivered the elements to the house across the street from where I was supposed to be. No wonder the girl looked confused! Anyway, I grabbed a few more cups and headed over to the correct address, where a different young girl looked nearly as confused, but thanked me just as sincerely.

I’ll bet there was an interesting conversation in that “wrong” house about just where those communion elements came from! I hope it led to their taking Communion that evening, and that it was one of those nudges from God to all involved, reminding us that even when we think we know what we’re doing, we may just be doing His will.

Prayer: Father, thank you for taking our mistakes and turning them into opportunities for your Love to shine through. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Charlie van Becelaere