Loving and Learning in Lodi, for Sunday, August 2, 2020

August is a month where we may think about popsicles, ice cream, lemonade, barbecue, and casual conversations on breezy front porches.  This August, we will be looking at the casual and not- so-casual conversations we have with our Good Lord.  Together we will look at our weekly  scripture lesson in the light of prayer as a way to unite our minds, hearts, and hands with God; as we praise and thank God for answered prayer, we will also reflect on how our prayers transform our  very own spirits- so that we can say with St. Paul: “ It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.”  Galatians 2:20.
             I celebrate the times I have shared with you this July and look forward to joyful seasons of worship, prayer and fellowship- as we learn and love in Lodi!           Pastor Pam                                                                              

Scripture     Matthew 6: 25-34    

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 Hymns “Seek Ye First”                                               #405

             “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart”       TFWS #2036                         

             “Open My Eyes, That I May See”                      #454

Meet and greets with Pastor Pam:   Last week began a series of small group meetings (set up by the SPRC committee – you will be getting a phone call) (if you do not hear from the SPRC committee, please call or text  Joan Anderson 330-421-4860 to be included in a meeting) where we can become acquainted with Pastor Pam.  She would love to hear your cherished memories and hopes for the future!

School My Sheep Update from Katrina:    August 22  8am – noon

Well. here we are a little more than three weeks away from giving out the school supplies for area students. Thank you so much for your generosity, your thoughts and your prayers. We've started advertising and will continue to ramp up the announcements. 

As you know, we upped the number of supply bags this year, knowing the need was high and families were struggling due to Covid-19, job losses, etc.  Last year we gave away 180. This year we took that number to 210, partially due to the sheer volume of supplies received and partially due to the success we had with Facebook Fundraising.  

To be transparent, we're sharing the financials:  We spent $2335.00 to get the bags completed. This included kleenex for every student, headphones for 60 Cloverleaf elementary, 60 wired mouse sets for middle school and high school students, and miscellaneous supplies needed to ensure each supply pack had the same materials. We applied bulk pricing to purchase book bags, too.   Now, we realize the money spent is high, but here's the good news: We received $2135.00!  (Half from our congregation and half from Fundraising and other outside donations.)  Isn't that fantastic?  And...if you do the math, it means we send 210 kids back to school at $11.12/student. That's unheard of! God is good!  

If additional donations are received, we will apply it to book bags. That is the only thing we're short on at this time.   We have 63 bags for elementary and were hoping for 100.  However, if that doesn't happen, we're still good.   We've done everything possible with the resources received.  

The event itself is scheduled for August 22nd 8 a.m. to Noon (or sooner if supplies run out).  In mapping out the logistics, it's been determined that holding it in our parking lot will NOT work.  We run the risk of serious traffic issues and weather. For those reasons, we will distribute from our Fellowship hall.  The number of people allowed inside the building will be limited. There will be one way in and one way out, to keep the flow moving and allow us to follow social-distancing rules.   And yes, we will require masks as mandated by the state of Ohio.  We have 11 volunteers which is perfect!

We will set up Fellowship Hall Friday at 10 a.m.  And could use some volunteers please. (let Katrina know via email or phone call.)  We need to move everything from the third floor, space out stations and figure out the six-foot rule. 

We hope you're as excited as we are as the give-a-way approaches!  This is a great community outreach mission, and we've been able to pull it off despite the numerous obstacles this year.  Regardless of whether you are able to attend personally, EACH of you has a hand in School My Sheep!

Greetings!

Please make sure you are communicating with your congregation and folks who need or wish to attend the District Conference on Saturday August 22.

Currently, we only have 39 people who have registered so that means all of you have not registered yet.  Anyone wishing to attend needs to register by Monday August 3rd so we have time to get packets out to everyone.

Here is the link again for your reference: 

REGISTER VIA LINK:    https://forms.gle/9t2TCh4hNaqcoPQh9  

We know this is a tough and challenging time but please help us to ensure anyone who wishes to or is required to registers for the live district conference and receives the conference packet.  We appreciate all of your hard work and dedication during this unprecedented time.

Thank you!  Many blessings,

Jennifer Kent      Administrative Assistant      Firelands District UMC, East Ohio Conference         (419) 668-6115

Rev. Pamela Buzalka       (216)-704-0307        pamelab23@hotmail.com