LIVING
and LOVING IN LODI Sunday, November 15, 2020
From Pastor Pam:
Love
Letters in November
Often we think of love letters or sweet valentines coming to us in February.
But I believe that God sends us love letters, often in the form of heart
-opening surprises, every day of our lives. Often these gifts of grace come
just when we need them most. Psalm 23 reminds us so beautifully that our
Shepherd guides us to what is good and healing for our souls. Despite the
challenges of last week— church moving to on-line worship only, the schools
closing, concerns of those in our church family and nation, God’s “notes”
of love and encouragement follow us all the days of our lives and we can dwell
in the house of the Lord forever.
Last week the way the sun shone through the red and gold
leaves on the trees in the parsonage yard recalled for me Moses and the burning
bush- the love note saying you ARE on holy ground. As I drove into Cleveland, a
huge flock of white birds flew across the city skyline, that I knew
so well, spoke to my spirit of the loving reassurance Jesus gave us that
his very Spirit would be with us always. And finally as I walked
into the Lodi post office I met up with Elva Dunham. The very fact that I was
there at the moment was the result of several “God- quirks.” How often
God speaks of his love for us through the dear people placed on our path. We
can rejoice in the Lord, always!
My prayer for all of us is that we delight
in the little and great gifts of love God sends us each day to remind
us we are His beloved children in whom he is well pleased !
Look and listen for the letters of love!
Weekly Scripture: Matthew 25:
14-30 The Parable of the
Talents
14 “For
it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his
property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents,[a] to another two, to
another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The
one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them,
and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the
one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But
the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground
and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time
the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then
the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more
talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made
five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him,
‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few
things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your
master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also
came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have
made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him,
‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few
things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your
master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one
talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man,
reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter
seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your
talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But
his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap
where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then
you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would
have received what was my own with interest. 28 So
take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For
to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but
from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As
for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Hymns: #2172 "We
Are Called"
#568 "Christ for the World We Sing" (verses 1 & 3)
#578 "God of Love and God of Power"
Noteworthy News and Needs Do
you have News or Needs or Prayer Concerns? Please share them
with Dottie or Pastor Pam so we can include them in the weekly e-mail.
$5 Challenge – are you up for it?
Our $5 challenge this year will be to share the warmth of Christ’s love by
helping others, who are struggling to pay their utility bills and to help make
sure they have food on their tables. Due to the virus, there are so many things
we cannot do (our dinners, adopting families for Christmas, etc.) HOWEVER
there are still many things we CAN DO!
The $5 challenges you to:
1. Give back your $5 to the grocery/utility fund.
2. Grow your $5 then give to the
grocery/utility fund.
3. Challenge others to join you in sharing the warmth of
Christ’s love by group donating to the grocery/utility fund. (The
grocery gift cards will be for Miller Brothers. Keeping it local!)
The $5 Challenge envelopes will be given out with the Advent booklets
the week of Thanksgiving. (We realize we are not in church, but are
working on a way to get everyone a copy of the booklet and $5 envelope.)
Advent
Study: Join me for a
wonderful Advent bible study! In his most recent book Incarnation:
Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas renowned United
Methodist pastor and author, Adam Hamilton explores biblical names for Jesus:
King, Savior, Emmanuel, and Light in ways that refresh our minds and prepare
our hearts for the coming of our infant savior. As I read through the book, I
am especially impressed by how the author relates each image with issues that
are very contemporary, with historical concepts, and with timeless truths. We
can meet via Zoom or through e -mail conversations. The books are available for
$13.50 or whatever you can pay, for this five week study which will begin the
week of November 29. Please let Pastor Pam know if you would like to be a
part of this study. (216)-704-0307 pamelab23@hotmail.com
~We are SO SORRY that we had to close our Sunday worship
services in the building, yet again, due to the virus. Your safety is very
important to us! However, we are still live on Facebook at 10:00am AND
later, once the service has been uploaded, our private YouTube cannel!!!!
The link will come Sunday afternoon, in an e-mail. You MUST click the link to
be able to watch the service as it is private on YouTube. We are doing
the best we can to keep people connected and worshiping!
~Lodi
Tech Team:
We hope you're finding ways to share in Sunday worship as we, in turn, get
better at filming and uploading. We are averaging 34 people watching
the service via YouTube on a weekly basis. Facebook Live is being viewed
on average more than 70 times per week. Wow! (I think some of those are our own
congregation clicking in and out, but that's Ok.) If you have a chance, check
it out on Facebook. (Lodi United Methodist Church). There are new people
clicking on the page. Engaging them, inviting them to our church, and to our
events is a wonderful way to witness.
So
glad we have these opportunities. In a year that has us distanced, we've found
a way to worship together. Once the Covid-19 numbers go down, we
will be training more people to be a part of our team (Travis and Nicholas
Bloom!). We're also starting to take a look at our website and see if we
can update and make it more available to those searching for a
church. Text Katrina if interested or with ideas. (330-819-6890)
The
Celebrate “100” group is laying the groundwork for celebrating our
church building turning 100 next year. If you have anything you would
like to contribute or help with contact Larry Scott 330-887-5224 or
You
can mail your offerings to: Lodi UMC, PO Box 3, Lodi, OH 44254
(The offering and balances will be updated in next week's e-mail.)
Rev. Pamela Buzalka
(216)-704-0307 pamelab23@hotmail.com
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