Living Faith UMC Messenger – July/August 2019 · Living Faith UMC Messenger – July/August 2019...
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Living Faith UMC Messenger – July/August 2019 Page1 A Message From Pastor Bob LIVING FAITH UNITED METHODIST MESSENGER 53 Grove Street -- Putnam, CT 06260 Pastoral Letter – August 2020 “Two Different Responses” In April, I received a book Coronavirus and Christ, written by John Piper. He served Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis (M.N.) as pastor for thirty-three years and is well-known for his evangelical teaching and preaching. I never ordered the book but was curious to read what he had to say about the pandemic from a Christian perspective. It is said that many people who usually did not attend churches went to the worship on Sunday after the terrorist attack of 9/11 because they wanted to make sense of why such a tragedy happened. In the same way, it is natural for us to contemplate how we respond to the pandemic and explain it to our children. And I thought that Piper’s book was timely as we Christians wrestle to contemplate the presence of God while we hear the devastating toll of causalities in the world. At first, I was inspired to read his story of testimony. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2005. As he was waiting in his urologist’s office waiting to hear the result, he says that he heard the voice of God assuring him that his cancer was not punishment. “Live or die, you will be with me.” As inspiring as the beginning of his book was, my excitement changed to disappointment later, as Piper’s argument centered around the tragedy as a way of God’s punishment. He holds, “It is fitting t hat every one of us search our own hear to discern if our suffering is God’s judgment on the way we live.” Then, he names two examples as what elicits God’s wrath: they are non-Christian politicians and homosexuals. Interestingly, Piper does not attribute his cancer to his sins while willing to blame others for the virus. While Piper’s book raises some serious concerns, his response seems to reflect the way many Christians react to their individual and societal crisis. We often try to find the scapegoat to bear our burdens and sins while failing to engage in some serious reflection of how we aggravate the tragedy rather than alleviate it. We blame China for its failure to contain the virus initially, but we did not take it seriously either. We blame the WHO for the delay in declaring the virus as pandemic but did not learn from the cases of other countries until the virus arrived here in the U.S. We blame the medical doctors and CDC guideline for making us wear the masks. We put forth our individual freedom over the safety of our neighbors, especially the elderly and the vulnerable. In Genesis 2, we read the biblical story that after the first human beings disobeyed God, they were confronted by God to answer. Adam blamed Eve for making him eat the forbidden fruit. Eve also blamed the serpent for deceiving her. In times of distress and vulnerability, it is our human nature that we seek those we consider as lower and weaker in power and status and force them to take the blame for our failure to react to crisis timely, constructively, and collectively. And what the pandemic of COVID-19 has revealed for the past months is the deep virus rooted in our politics, economy, and religion that scapegoat the poor, blacks, immigrants, foreign students, and LGBTQ persons for our societal sins and brokenness.
Transcript of Living Faith UMC Messenger – July/August 2019 · Living Faith UMC Messenger – July/August 2019...
Living Faith UMC Messenger – July/August 2019
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A Message From Pastor Bob
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Pastoral Letter – August 2020 “Two Different Responses”
In April, I received a book Coronavirus and Christ, written by John Piper. He served Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis (M.N.) as pastor for thirty-three years and is well-known for his evangelical teaching and preaching. I never ordered the book but was curious to read what he had to say about the pandemic from a Christian perspective. It is said that many people who usually did not attend churches went to the worship on Sunday after the terrorist attack of 9/11 because they wanted to make sense of why such a tragedy happened. In the same way, it is natural for us to contemplate how we respond to the pandemic and explain it to our children. And I thought that Piper’s book was timely as we Christians wrestle to contemplate the presence of God while we hear the devastating toll of causalities in the world. At first, I was inspired to read his story of testimony. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2005. As he was waiting in his urologist’s office waiting to hear the result, he says that he heard the voice of God assuring him that his cancer was not punishment. “Live or die, you will be with me.” As inspiring as the beginning of his book was, my excitement changed to disappointment later, as Piper’s argument centered around the tragedy as a way of God’s punishment. He holds, “It is fitting that every one of us search our own hear to discern if our suffering is God’s judgment on the way we live.” Then, he names two examples as what elicits God’s wrath: they are non-Christian politicians and homosexuals. Interestingly, Piper does not attribute his cancer to his sins while willing to blame others for the virus. While Piper’s book raises some serious concerns, his response seems to reflect the way many Christians react to their individual and societal crisis. We often try to find the scapegoat to bear our burdens and sins while failing to engage in some serious reflection of how we aggravate the tragedy rather than alleviate it. We blame China for its failure to contain the virus initially, but we did not take it seriously either. We blame the WHO for the delay in declaring the virus as pandemic but did not learn from the cases of other countries until the virus arrived here in the U.S. We blame the medical doctors and CDC guideline for making us wear the masks. We put forth our individual freedom over the safety of our neighbors, especially the elderly and the vulnerable.
In Genesis 2, we read the biblical story that after the first human beings disobeyed God, they were confronted by God to answer. Adam blamed Eve for making him eat the forbidden fruit. Eve also blamed the serpent for deceiving her. In times of distress and vulnerability, it is our human nature that we seek those we consider as lower and weaker in power and status and force them to take the blame for our failure to react to crisis timely, constructively, and collectively. And what the pandemic of COVID-19 has revealed for the past months is the deep virus rooted in our politics, economy, and religion that scapegoat the poor, blacks, immigrants, foreign students, and LGBTQ persons for our societal sins and brokenness.
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STAFF Pastor: The Rev. Dr. Bob (Bok Song) Jon Office Manager/Editor: Bev Shaw Treasurer: Ann Kathi Peterson Church Musician: Svetlana Morse Trustee Chair: Doug Taylor Lay Leader: Lorna Wade SPRC Chair: Craig Jones Telephone: 860.928.9705 Email: [email protected] Website: www.livingfaithumc.net
Instead, N. T. Wright, a New Testament scholar, encourages us to look at the response of Jesus in dealing with the misery of people. In God and the Pandemic, he highlights the conversation between Jesus and his disciples upon meeting a man who was born blind. They asked, “Teacher, whose sin was it that causes this man to be born blind? Did he sin, or did his parents?” As they want to find what caused the misery of this blind person, Jesus answers, “He didn’t sin, nor did his parents. It happened so that God’s works could be seen in him” (John 9:3) Wright comments, “Jesus doesn’t look back to a hypothetical cause which would enable the onlookers to feel smug that they had understood some inner osmic moral mechanism, some sin that God had to punish. (Instead) he looks forward to seeing what God is going to do about it.”
I find Wright’s interpretation more biblically faithful, as it focuses more on what God is doing for us and in us through the Holy Spirit. In looking at the crowd that followed him, Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without shepherd. (Matthew 9:36) Jesus forgave them, healed them, fed them, and blessed them. As we Christians follow the way of Christ, we are also called to be the hands and feet of Jesus by having mercy and compassion for all God’s children who are suffering and dying of this virus today. We remember those who go hungry, as many people have lost their jobs and feed them. We pray for those in prison who are stuck in more condensed space. And we advocate our immigrant neighbors who are looked down upon as if they are the virus of our society.
As your pastor, I am grateful to witness what God is doing through our church in this challenging time. I see that several people come to the Daily Bread for help with food as I am writing this letter. I see Shawn and Doug still delivering the furniture to those in need. I see Chris cooking warm meals for the Community Café with much help from volunteers including Debbie, Kathy, and Doug. We have hung the facial masks, made by Rev. Dumas, Bev, Emma, and Peggy, on the tree outside for those who need them. I am especially grateful that our church will be starting Grief Share group led by Monica, Susie, and Dennis in September. We recognize the pain of those who grieve today, pray for them, and walk with them toward healing. In recognizing the pain and challenge of people, our job as Christians is to go where people groan, bear their burdens together, and proclaim the good news of Christ who gives us hope and life. And these are our faithful responses to the pandemic today as called by God whose name is mercy, compassion, love, and peace.
Pastor Bob
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July 2 Wendi & Joe Hopkins July 3 Louise Dumas July 6 Gordon Davis July 7 Judy Gehrig
July 8 Greg King Jay Wade July 9 Kathy King Jon Weaver July 12 Becky Fenner Ryan Peterson July 13 Kayla Tetreault July 14 Joe & Mary Ann Fodor’s Anniversary July 18 Zach Wade July 19 Kira Shepard July 22 Danika Safford July 23 Emma Gilbert July 25 Dean Rukstela July 27 Holly Gilbert Jared Shaw Eridany Flores July 28 Everett Shepard July 30 Joseph Hopkins Riley Shaw July 31 Dolly Larkin August 3 Monica Boudreau August 4 Itamar Silva Flores Mike & Judy Gehrig August 5 Elizabeth King August 6 Kathi Peterson August 9 Joe Fodor August 12 Regina Ackart August 13 Oscar Carcache Craig & Barbara Jones August 14 Tim Sanchez August 17 Daniel Jon Bella Sanchez August 18 Kevin & Linda Shaw Anniversary August 22 Sandra Rainey August 25 Oscar Carcache (Jr.) August 29 Sandy Peterson August 31 Michael Mard
Board Of Trustees Meet September 2ND AT 6pm.
Connectional Table Meets At
7 Pm.
SUNDAY SCHOOL INFORMATION
Dear Parents, I want to take this opportunity to relay information about this year’s Sunday School program. We (Pastor Bob, Jen Foster, Angela Sanchez, Natalie Ionkin and myself) have had a meeting to discuss the program and how it might look. We are still working on specifics, but this is the information I can pass on to you. Sunday School will not begin in September. There are a couple reasons for this. We want our children to get acclimated to the new protocols that the school year might bring. We also want to see what this new protocol looks like and how this may effect our program design. It is most likely that our program will begin in October. Discussions on our church opening and what it will look like still have to happen. We as a Sunday School have to develop a protocol that will keep all of our children safe. We also must have enough adults in place to operate a safe program for our children. Lastly, we must develop a protocol that provides you, the parents with peace of mind when you send your children to us. We will be having further discussions about this in August. If you have questions that you would like us to address or any input you wish to give, feel free to email me at [email protected] or you can phone me at 508-461-9813. I will keep you updated as we move forward. Peace and Enough,
Lorna
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God’s Delays Are Not God’s
Denials
Babies and Baptisms
Cleo Saphyre Dickie was born 07/08/2020. She is the daughter of Paul Dickie and Cierre-Jade Heath. She is the great granddaughter of Betty Heath and
the late Glen Heath.
Betty and Cleo
Kaleb Saint Cole baptism was baptized by Pastor Bob on July 26, 2020 with close family and friends present due to Covid. Kaleb is the son of Spencer Carol Grimes and Michael Robert Cole.
Pastor Bob with Kaleb, his parents and
sponsor.
Do you miss your Upper Room Devotional? If you do, please let the church office know and we will get the September/October issue to you as soon as possible.
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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WOMEN PRAY? After all these weeks and months of quarantine and trying to adapt to all the changes
resulting from COVID-19, everyone seems to be feeling helpless and hopeless. That feeling is what led six women to do something about it.. As I told you in the last newsletter, every Monday evening at 7:00 pm, six women gathered on Zoom for prayer and study. These six Pray-ers are, Monica Boudreau (Leader), Bev Shaw, Angela Sanchez, Lori Brodeur, Susie Porter, and Judy Gehrig.
We finished our study book, What Happens When Women Pray? by Evelyn Christenson, and celebrated with a social distance dinner at Judy Gehrig's home on Friday, July 31,2020, only missing one week. We studied prayer for 13 weeks, for 90 minutes each week, in addition to being in contact with our prayer partners during the week to pray together. We wrote down the prayer concerns of the group and the world. In many instances, we saw the evidence of God answering those prayers in ways that we couldn't even have imagined.
We have seen many changes in our own prayer lives as a result of this study. We each pray for all the group members every day and sometimes we pray collectively (each of us praying for the same thing at the same time, wherever we are) for something that needs addressing right away. We may get a group text for prayer and everyone prays right then. The power in that kind of prayer support is astounding. The recipients of those prayers have told us how at peace they felt, knowing we were praying. The bonds that have formed between the Pray-ers! have deepened old friendships, created new friendships and created a new support group. We have decided to continue the Pray-er! group by getting together twice a month to catch up and pray together.
One of our prayers has been that someone else would take the book and start another group. Imagine what could happen if several people got together as small groups to pray for our country, our state, our town, our church and our loved ones. I will be happy to help you get started.
How wonderful is the feeling after you have spent time in silent prayer with five other people, all praying in accord (on Zoom). We could feel the power of God's love as He listened to His Children praying. Look for the testimonials of other Pray-er! members in this newsletter and the next. Blessings to all,
Monica L. Boudreau
This is what i took away from our bible study from based from the book, What Happens When Women Pray: I liked that we were paired with a prayer partner; it helped us be accountable to putting our theories into practice. Praying in one accord as a group further bonded us as sisters in Christ, as well as strengthening our individual prayer lives. Knowing that others were praying for the same things is reassuring and uplifting. Prayer comes in many forms, and reminds us that we must trust in God's promise to fulfill the prayer of the righteous (something we all work on daily) who come to Him with penitent hearts and most of all that prayer is the most powerful tool we have to help others as well as helping ourselves. This study also taught me how to open myself to God more, to deepen my relationship with Him. It reminded me to not just talk the talk as a Christian, but to walk the walk daily as one, as Jesus modeled for us to do. In closing, a heart felt thank you to Monica Boudreau for initiating this study, as well as to: Judy Gehrig, Beverly Shaw, Angela Sanchez and Lori Brodeur for welcoming me into your church through this study. They did so with open loving arms, and represent what I'm looking for in a church family.
Amen, Susie Porter
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Help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend
GriefShare is a special weekly seminar and support group designed to help you rebuild your life after losing a loved one. Our group is led by caring people who have experienced grief and wwant to help you
through the difficult days ahead.
We know it hurts and we want to help. Thursdays at 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
September 10 through December 10, 2020 Living Faith United Methodist Church
860.576-0801 (Monica Boudreau) or call the church – 860.928.9705 [email protected]
Your leaders:
Since Carol’s passing in August 2019 I have been working to deal with my grief. My daughter in-law's mother whose husband also had passed invited me to a Grief Share at her church. I said yes and it turned out to be the most wonderful and helpful program that really helped me deal with my grief. So when I was asked to be a leader in a Grief Share at the Living Faith United Methodist church I was very interested and said yes. I also love the fact that Grief Share is a God-centered approach to Grief. I have been involved with my church for over 30 years including youth ministry, confirmation, preparing adults for entrance into the church, and the music ministry. I have been on many retreats with many different groups of people over the years.
Hi, my name is Susie Porter. My daughter Kali when home to our Lord Jesus Christ one year ago this past July fourth. Kali was just 20 years old. Kali lived with Rett Syndrome. With her weakened immune system she developed pneumonia. Through hospice we cared for her at home. I joined Grief Share 2 months after Kali’s
GriefShare continued on next page….
Susie Porter
Dennis Deary
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passing. Grief share helped me process my jumbled thoughts, talk out my crazy emotions, connected me with others who understood my grief and helped me in my healing through its Christ centered program. True healing can only happen with Christ. This is why I wanted to be a part of the Grief Share ministry and to bring people in touch with their source of healing…Christ.
In the middle of the night, on July 2, 1993, I learned that my 18 year old daughter, Amy, had been killed by a drunk driver. I wish that GriefShare had been available to me at that time. My grief journey was very long and very painful, but I am here twenty-seven years later to help others go through the journey with the help of GriefShare. I have learned how to live a new "normal" and to find joy in speaking her name and sharing memories. About 20 years ago, a friend suggested that I form a group to help people with their grief, but it just didn't seem to come together until now. This is God's timing, and it's always perfect. I am always in awe of God's timing. I have been a Christian for forty-two years and a member of Living Faith United Methodist Church in Putnam CT just as long. I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Eastern Connecticut State University and have served my church as Youth Group leader, Sunday School teacher, Co- leader for Disciple I Bible Study three times, small group leader for our
elderly at Ella Grasso, and leader for the Pray-ers! prayer group. I know that this ministry is meant to be at this particular time and with the two other faciltators, Dennis Deary Sr. and Susie Porter. I look forward to facilitating thirteen weeks of GriefShare and helping those who are dealing with loss of a loved one to go from Mourning to Joy. Praise God for His Incredible Love!
A THANK YOU…
Such a lovely gift!!! I love the color & size. My legs are always chilly. You are my Family. I miss
you but feel your love.
Sincerely, Kay P. Small
Editor’s note: I pondered over this
thank you for a few seconds before I realized that our dear friend Kay received a beautiful prayer shawl from our one-of-a-kind angel…Holly Ann Gilbert. Holly lovingly and quietly knits
lovely (and cozy) prayer shawls to lots of folks who might be
comforted by them. Thank you, Holly. You make us look good!!!
Monica Boudreau
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