LIVING and LOVING in LODI October 4, 2020
from Pastor Pam….
I love this season of gorgeous transformation as the green of
summer gives way for the brilliant red, yellow, orange and scarlet shades of
autumn; every year the trees surrendering their leaves with grace and beauty
inspires me. While I bemoan a broken dish or glass, I know that the process of
breaking can lead to new life - just as the bare trees of late autumn with
their once radiant leaves broken and scattered open the portal to the wonderful
new life that is spring. This Sunday we celebrate World Communion Sunday. On
this day core tenants of our biblical faith are honored. We recall the unity of
all humanity made in the image of our Good God. We rejoice in being one bread
and one Body in Christ even as we enter into the brokenness of the bread. We
renew our commitment to being like Jesus- blessed, broken, and given for the
new life of the world. As the old song tells it, "breaking up is hard
to do," yet it is the way that those of us made in God's image grow
into God's likeness... and what a gorgeous transformation that is to behold!
With love and joy! Broken is
Beautiful!!
Weekly Scripture:
Matthew
25: 31-46
31 “When the Son of
Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the
throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will
put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then
the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I
was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you
welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me
clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited
me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord,
when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you
something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw
you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And
when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And
the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the
least of these who are members of my family,[a] you
did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his
left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was
hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to
drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome
me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not
visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord,
when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or
in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then
he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And
these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life.”
The Word of God for the People of
God. Amen.
Hymns “Let
There Be Peace on Earth” #431 “One Bread, One
Body” #620 (verses 1,2,3)
“You Satisfy the
Hungry Heart” #629 (verses 3,5)
We will share in Communion this Sunday as it is World
Wide Communion Sunday
Communion in the United Methodist Church is open to everyone and everyone is
welcome to receive it.
In
response to Covid, we will partake of the sacrament in a different manner.
Here are some guidelines:
1. Please maintain social distance as you come forth
for the sacrament.
2. Please keep your masks on until you return to your
pew/ chair.
3. On each side of the sanctuary a gloved, masked
server will give you the sacrament with a
tong. The bread
will have been blessed with the juice. Please take the communion
back to your pew
and prayerfully partake. Pastor Pam will have prepared the bread/juice
with gloves, mask, sanitized hands prior to the service.
4. If you do not feel comfortable partaking in the
sacrament due to Covid- concerns
fear not; simply remain seated
and listen to the inspiring music Missy will offer.
5. Pastor Pam will also consecrate take- home
prefilled communion containers; this can be a little tricky to open during
worship. You may take the communion home to partake or to offer to a loved
one who cannot come to worship. A short time of prayer, The Lord's Prayer,
and the words The Body of Christ ( Given for you... the bread of heaven...
etc.) The Blood of Christ ( Shed for you... the cup of salvation
etc.)
Please discuss any
questions with Rev. Pam.
Noteworthy News and Needs
Got News or Needs or Prayer Concerns Please
share them with Dottie or Pastor Pam so we can include them for learning
and loving.
~We are back in the sanctuary, still on
Facebook AND YouTube!!!! The link will come Sunday afternoon (after the
service) in an e-mail. You MUST click the link to be able to watch the service
as it is not “public” on YouTube. We thank the Trustees and Return
Committee for their faith-full service.
~Clothe My Sheep is rapidly approaching.
Yay! This is a ministry is such a help to our community. We’re up to 7
volunteers on Oct. 17. Thank you! A few more warm bodies would help. If you’re
willing, text, call or email Katrina. We need
to be in place by 7:30 (sorry for that!)
Meanwhile please get the word out about the event, and let others
know we still need boys' clothing. Drop off is open this Friday Oct.
2nd. We’ll be sorting from 1-4pm.
Due to Covid-19, we will have to restrict the number of people
in the building at one time…but intend to serve all who come. Hope
to See you then!
~Lodi Tech Team is having their first Meeting
this Friday Oct. 2nd at 4 p.m. We are happy to have Colin, Rev. Donna, and Bob
Wooley who all bring expertise to the table. We have room for more, if you’re
interested!
We will be improving the PowerPoint
(including that pesky font that’s been too small) and finding ways to not only
film our services better but also developing ways to engage our media audience.
Please pray for these new endeavors and our team.
~United Methodist Women - All women are welcome;
second Saturday at 9:30 in Fellowship Hall. Contact: Chris Sparr
~Work on the ramp is moving right along! Thank you to
Frank and his crew!
Advent Booklet: Can you believe
that Christmas is about three months away? With that in mind, we need to get
going on our church Advent devotional booklet. Due to the virus, we
will do sign-ups through e-mail,(lodiumcsec.dottie@gmail.com)
texts (330-887-1471) or phone calls, (330-887-1471) and not a table set up in
fellowship hall. (If we do not get enough people, Dee will still track you
down....hehehehe)
Advent begins Sunday, November 29. Each day has a
theme.
For your devotional article you will
need:
scripture your
article a prayer
Nov. 29 - Dec. 5 - theme is
HOPE Dec. 6 - Dec. 12 - theme is PEACE
Dec. 13 - Dec. 19 - theme is
JOY Dec. 20 - Dec. 26 - theme is LOVE
If you are interested in sharing an article, please e-mail, text
or call me with the date. We have had such thoughtful booklets in the
past - looking forward to doing it again this year!
Birthdays and
Anniversaries: Celebrating Together!
Birthdays: (I guess I
goofed - September 29 is PEGGIE Brown’s birthday, not Charlie’s) (I
asked her for forgiveness – she said that’s strike one…. 😊 ) October 5
Sue Whitfield
Anniversaries: October
6 Johnny & Missy Henderson
You can mail your offerings to: Lodi UMC, PO Box 3, Lodi,
OH 44254
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