Pray for our military and honor those who sacrificed their lives for our country as we prepare for Memorial Day on Monday. Pray for a peace that will bring our brave men and women home.

 

Pray for the thousands of families impacted by the tornado damage throughout much of the United States…. May we pray for them and continue looking for ways to do our part.

 

Today – 91 Churches throughout the Lynchburg District will announcing a goal of sending 1000 Disaster Relief Buckets worth over $50,000 as our way of helping

  • List of Materials needed for Disaster Relief Buckets below
  • Bring materials to your church or to Timberlake
  • Sam’s Club collection – Today from 1:00 to 6:00 and Friday from 4:00 to Closing
  • Checks can go to any UMC church or Lynchburg District marked Tornado Relief
  • Assembly of Disaster Relief Buckets will be Saturday June 11 at Timberlake

 

Bishop Schnase with the Missouri conference wrote of what happened in Joplin:

I give God thanks for every one of you for your many kind emails, voice messages, phone calls, and expressions of concern following the devastating tornado that destroyed much of Joplin, MO.  Among those killed were several United Methodists, and every United Methodist Church in the area has members who have lost their homes.  All our pastors and church staff are safe.  We lost two church buildings, including St. Paul United Methodist Churc2h (a large, strong, vibrant congregation with an average attendance of close to 1000), and we lost the District Superintendent’s Office.  Several other churches and parsonages received more limited damage. The hospital and five of the seven schools in Joplin were nearly completely destroyed.

 

The city of Joplin was named after Rev. Harris Joplin, an early Methodist preacher who settled there in 1839.   For years, he hosted people in his home and led them in worship, prayer, and singing.  His ministry was one of hospitality in the truest sense, and he used his own humble dwelling as a tool for ministry.  As far as I know, the building he used no longer exists, but the church community he founded provided the seeds from which dozens of area congregations have sprouted.  All of us who are Missouri United Methodists are to some degree the fruit of his ministry.

 

Tornadoes and hurricanes and floods and fires can take away our beloved and sacred places in a moment’s time, but the love of God that binds us to another is not nearly so vulnerable.  God’s persistent and persevering love causes us to reach out to help a neighbor and to embrace strangers and to assist one another in the rebuilding of lives. 

 

The church is not the pile of lumber and bricks left after the destroying winds and rains; the church is the gathering of people standing above the rubble unified by the spirit of Christ to love and serve others.  The church is the people counseling one another through unfathomable grief and loss.  The church is people risking lives for their neighbors and opening their homes to strangers.  The church is people across the state and nation and world praying and giving and preparing to offer their best and highest in service to help rebuild lives. The church is alive and vigorous and redeeming.  It is grace in every gesture and love in every action. The church is the body of Christ doing the things Jesus did in Jesus’ name today.

                                       Excerpt from letter by Bishop Schnase

 

The writer of Ecclesiastes is said to have written while observing the destruction of Jerusalem. In many ways what the writer saw seems to compare with what has happened in the wake of hundreds of tornados striking throughout the US.

 

 

The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

 

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.

 

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

(Ecclesiastes 3:19-24)

  

Here is what I learned:

  1. The pain and the loss suffered is very real. We should never forget.
  2. Yet, I still dare to hope. The faithful love of the Lord never ends.
  3. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

 

 That is our  mission challenge.  This Sunday is a time to remember, a time to pray and a call to action.

 I think John Wesley himself provides the best guide with his Covenant Prayer.

 

 

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

 

 

We have accepted our own Covenant as we work together to help others throughout the United States who desperately need us. With the enthusiasm of our many faithful churches and the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we can and should expect miracles.

Disaster Relief Cleaning Bucket – Value: $ 55.00

  • liquid laundry detergent – two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle
  • liquid household cleaner – 12‐16 oz. liquid cleaner
  • dish soap – 16‐28 oz bottle any brand
  • 1 can air freshener – aerosol or pump
  • 1 insect repellant spray – 6‐14 oz. aerosol or spray pump
  • 1 scrub brush – plastic or wooden handle
  • 18 cleaning wipes – handi wipes or reusable wipes
  • 7 sponges
  • 5 scouring pads
  • 50 clothespins
  • clothes line – two 50 ft. or one 100 ft., cotton or plastic.
  • 24 roll heavy duty trash bags
  • 5 dust masks
  • 2 pair disposable waterproof gloves – rubber or latex
  • 1 pair work gloves – cotton or leather