A WORD FROM THE PASTOR….. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:9)

Dear Friends in Christ,  

I pray that you are each well on this cold but beautiful March day.  The temperatures here on the hill are still below 20 degrees, but the sky is clear, cloudless blue.  The forecast is for temperatures near 60 degrees later this week!  Of course, that warm weather will introduce mud season and my dirt road will become a sticky, slippery mess, but it’s how the seasons shift and turn the earth over in springtime.  Best of all, even though we might have some more snowstorms, we know that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel!  

Speaking of “lights at the end of tunnels”, I’m wondering if most of us (in the designated groups, at least) have received our Covid-19 vaccination?  I’ve heard that some of us have completed the requirements, some are scheduled but waiting for their appointment, and others are still trying to get into the system.  I’m scheduled to go this week and am hoping for the one-shot option (though I’ll be fine with going back for the second shot if I don’t).  As I talk with friends, family members and with some of you, I sense a shift taking place as people begin to look forward to a release from the isolation and uncertainty we’ve all been experiencing through this long season of the pandemic.  I’m also hearing uncertainty and questions about what this will mean for us.  I know that we all hope to be able to see family and friends, to travel, to eat out and enjoy doing things we did “before”, but we are also hearing that we will need to continue to wear masks and remain socially distanced in public, while staying within small groups when unmasked.  It seems that the experts are concerned about the new strains of the virus that are vaccine resistant and spread easily.  And the fact is that after being so very careful of what we touch, where we go, who we see, and how we cover our faces to protect ourselves and others – it will be a big shift for all of us to return to “normal.”  In reality that “old normal” will probably never return – or will take longer to come back than we thought when we first heard about the vaccines.  We are still adjusting and readjusting to the new normal – as we try to figure out what new thing lies ahead.  There are reports out about new levels of anxiety about this reopening process.   I just read that some people are experiencing panic attacks and social anxiety – even as they can begin to resume some social engagement – because of fear of touching, contamination, new viruses, and other deep worries.  I wonder if we, too, will find that it isn’t as easy for us to relax our vigilance and enjoy some of the social freedoms we have longed for?    

The line of scripture from Joshua (see above) is very early in the biblical account of the entrance to the Promised Land.  After their generations of slavery and oppression in Egypt, and the forty-year sojourn through the desert, at last the people of Israel were in the land of milk and honey!  All that they had been promised and had hoped for was theirs!  Only, if you read this passage or go back to read this part of the Book of Joshua, you will find that things weren’t as easy as they thought they would be.  They had to fight with the people who had been living there as they “reclaimed” the lands that had belonged to their ancestors.  Then, they had to rebuild their lives, make new homes, establish communities, work out family problems, feed and clothe themselves, and on….and on….and on.  Isn’t that just like life?  To promise a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is yours – if you can get it!  And that’s how it was for the Children of Israel – here’s the Promised Land – it’s yours if you can face the challenges and do what it takes to adapt to your new reality.  I think this is how it will be for us as we face the new reality of a post-vaccine, Covid world.  We will still need to reclaim our abandoned activities – in new ways.  We will need to find ways to build community and reconnect with friends and family.  We will have to figure out how we will creatively feed our spirits and our needs for social connections, as we continue to accept the need to take necessary precautions.  

Still, the good news is right in this verse from the scriptures where it clearly says, we are not to be afraid or discouraged.  Why?  Well, aren’t we the people of the resurrection who live daily with the promise that God is always with us – no matter what we are facing? – This is why we have hope that whatever comes our way, we can face it and live through it to the dawn of the new day!  Good news!  Spring is coming.  The clocks are springing ahead (this week)!  Hope is in the air.  God is always with us – what do we have to fear?  

In the meantime, stay safe!  You remain in my prayers….and remember, I love you and I need you to survive!

Peace,

Pastor Betsy

Pastor’s Office hours this week:  Worship Planning at home.  See meeting and other scheduled events below.

Thursday (this week) recording session for Sunday worship.

WEEKLY CALENDAR OF EVENTS  

Monday 3/8 4:30 pm – Food Insecurity Ministry planning meeting (zoom)

Monday 3/8 7:00 pm – Financial forecast meeting (zoom)

Tuesday 3/9  6:00 pm – Trustees (at church/face masks and social distancing required)

Thursday 3/11 – Recording for weekly service/office hours

A WORD FROM THE PASTOR…..As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:1)

Dear Friends in Christ,  

I was pumping gas on Saturday morning and I felt like I might get blown to the next county if I didn’t hold on tight to my car!  Even though it was still February, the March winds were blowing and as I felt them swirling around me, I smiled.  Why?  Well I have to admit, March is one of my favorite months, partly because the windy days are a sure sign that things are “stirring and changing”.   Soon “freshets” will appear in the fields’ a clear sign that the earth beneath is thawing!  Oh, I know it will snow again.  We may have another blizzard – or two – or more, but I know they won’t last long, warmer days are on the way, and those first glimpses of new life will expand even further as the fields and hillsides spring to life, once more.  

It is, however, very difficult to wait.   Especially this year when it seems like we’ve been doing a lot of “waiting” lately as this Covid time of uncertainty and isolation continue.  Many of us are still waiting to see family who live too far away for even a quick “drive by” visit.  We are waiting to see friends and visit neighbors.  Waiting to go to the movies again, or a concert, or out for lunch at a restaurant.  We are waiting for a return to more normal work scheduling and an end to the non-stop zoom meetings that keep us tied to the computer at home.  We wait for postponed weddings to attend, baby showers, birthday and anniversary celebrations, and family reunions that have been put off while we wait for the “all clear”.  We wait to return to church and to attend meetings and fellowship times, face to face.  Many of us are waiting and longing for the warm hugs of friends, especially if there has been no physical contact for us during this long time of Covid “waiting”.  Most of us are still waiting for our vaccinations and all of us are waiting to find out “what’s next?” as we resign ourselves to adapting and adapting, and adapting yet again…..while we are still waiting to find out what the new normal will be.

This week, with the first signs of spring and the continued demand to wait for the change of the long Covid season, I find myself repeating the words of Psalm 42:1.  As the deer pant for water, so my soul (or in some translations, heart) pants for God.  Here on the hill in Franklin, I see the deer making their daily journeys to the Ouleout Creek, which runs on the other side of my road.  They make the trip twice a day, morning and evening, good weather and bad, warm days and cold, easy walking or carefully picking through snow drifts and across icy patches.  They long for water and they need that water to survive.  They need it so badly that they can’t “not” go to the stream, they simply must do it.  I think the Psalmist must have watched deer search for water in the drier regions of Israel or, perhaps, during a dry season and noticed that they “pant for” and “long for” their water.  Without it, they cannot survive.  And then the writer relates that longing of the deer for water to his/her own longing for the spiritual water of God, which nurtures and restores new life to the spirit.  That shepherd (perhaps David) on the hillside – longs for God while waiting through a “dry spell” for renewal and new life.  And so, I am reminded how I, too, long for renewal and the watering of God’s abundant and gracious spirit to restore me during this long Covid “waiting time”.  Perhaps we are all feeling that sense of longing for the renewal we know that God will bring to our lives when things “reopen” and “blossom” again.  For me, there is comfort in remembering that others have felt the way we feel now during this time of waiting and wondering “what’s next?”  From the Psalmist on the hillside and throughout the ages, whenever life was “frozen” before the arrival of “new life at spring”, others have waited and thirsted for God – and God has delivered. So as we wait, we can wait with patience and with the optimism that comes from knowing and believing that God will bring us new life – as the season changes and things are transformed, once again.  We don’t know for sure when it will be or how it will “look” but we can believe that as our hearts/souls pant for a new beginning, God hears and answers – at the perfect time!
In the meantime, Happy March!   On March 14th, the clocks will “spring forward” bringing brighter longer days.  March 20th we mark the first day of Spring and wait and watch as the earth wakes up from its slumber!  Our spirits are waking up, too – thirsty after our long time of “waiting”.  Remember – God is good and new beginnings are on the way!

In the meantime, stay safe!  You remain in my prayers….I love you and I need you to survive!

Peace,

Pastor Betsy

A WORD FROM THE PASTOR…..“For every time there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) & “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  (Luke 5:16)

Dear Companions in Christ, 

Greetings to each of you as begin our Lenten Journey.  May God’s grace support and strengthen you!

This year, as we deepen our faith and strengthen our connections with one another, we are developing our new UM Delhi Care Groups.  Care Groups are designed for intentional nurture and support among members/supporters of the congregation.  We are asking each group to connect by phone or electronic means (zoom, etc.) for about half an hour, weekly.  The group(s) are formed to:

1. Develop new connections and strengthen existing connections within the congregation.  You may find that you already know some people in your group or you may not.  Even if your close friends are not in your group, please make a commitment to try to build a connection with your group members while also maintaining the friendships you already have in place!  In this way, we come to know one another better in the larger congregation.  
2. These groups are forming now to build bonds while we are still socially distanced and as a spiritual focus during Lent – but we hope they remain in place once we can be together again and may meet face to face, remotely or a combination of both.   
3. The point of the groups is for fellowship, building relationships, and spiritual support. During Lent, the pastor will provide a brief weekly devotion for your personal use.  You may discuss the devotion during your Care Group time, or not.  The Care Group can also discuss these questions:  how is your worship life, how is your prayer life, what has God done or what is God doing in your life?, and how are you “listening” for God to speak with you during this time?  The discussions are completely confidential within the group.  
4. Any member of a group may directly contact the pastor at any time with a spiritual need or for any other pastoral reason.  The groups are not expected to take the place of a member’s individual relationship with the pastor. 
5. The pastor may join with a group from time to time – and welcomes invitations to participate with your group, occasionally!
6. Eventually, we hope to have one or two large, congregational and group events during the year.  These might include potluck dinners, fellowship events, hymn sings, etc.  We welcome your ideas and suggestions as your group gets off the ground.

It is my hope that you will commit to participating with your Care Group during Lent.  If, for any reason, you prefer not to participate, please let the pastor know, directly.  If you have concerns about technology or how to connect by conference call, please contact the church office for assistance.   I hope that through the Care Groups we will be stronger and more able to do our work of ministry together once things reopen.  I especially ask for your prayers for this ministry!

May your Lenten Journey bring you closer to the God we love and who we serve.   You remain in my prayers.

Remember I love you and need you to survive!  

Pastor Betsy

Cathy Johnson (Nurture Coordinator) and Chelsea Frisbee (Witness Coordinator)   

  Pastor Ott is presently at half-time hours which means  in the office on average two times a week, usually on days when there are meetings.  Friday is the regular day for recording the Sunday worship service.

Pastor’s Office hours this week: Pastor’s Office hours this week will depend on the winter weather.  (see below)
Friday (recording session for Sunday worship)

WEEKLY CALENDAR OF EVENTS  
Tuesday 2/16 and/or Wednesday 2/17  Office and distribution of ashes for Ash Wednesday

Thursday 2/18 6:30 pm – SPR meeting (zoom)

Friday 2/19 – Worship Service Recording (unless the weather requires a change in the usual schedule)

The Ash Wednesday Service will be available for remote viewing on Ash Wednesday, 2/17. The office is open 9am to 3 pm Monday through Friday, weather permitting.  Please call ahead if you have questions or need assistance. 

We welcome updates on church ministries and timely reports for our weekly update.  This information must be in not later than Friday afternoon or at the start of office hours on Monday to be included on that day. 

A WORD FROM THE PASTOR….. “For every time there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) & “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  (Luke 5:16)

Dear Friends in Christ,  

I hope that you are staying safe and well these days.  February has arrived and brought more snow and cold weather, but in a few days we’ll be half-way through the month!  Then March is around the corner bringing with it more daylight as the time changes, the start of spring, and the promise of better days to come.   

Recently, I found myself thinking about a book I read years ago, Walden: Life in the Woods, by Henry David Thoreau.  I was actually wondering if now would be a good time to reread the narrative of Thoreau’s time on the Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts.  You may remember that Thoreau, finding the advancing civilization of the 1840’s too restrictive, longs for a simpler and quieter life.  So, he heads off to the woods of “wilderness” New England, where he lives alone for two years, recording his experiences and, later, condensing the two years into one and publishing his book.  Thoreau talks about his day to day challenges and how he experiences the natural world around him, but he also talks of his deeper, more personal experiences.  In one section he tells about the long winter and how his isolation begins to wear on him.  I really can’t imagine the challenges of living in a cabin and taking care of the heating and cooking and other daily activities alone.  How difficult it must have been at times as the wind howled outside and snow piled up against the walls of his shelter!  How could he manage being so isolated…with no companion and no support and no help?  Yet, Thoreau writes that when spring arrives, he celebrates the transforming power of the season and finds a deeper appreciation for the cycles and seasons of the earth – and of his own cycles and seasons, as well.  

Some years ago, I learned that without strong gales of wind and storms – the trees would not grow and would die after only a few years.  Why?  Because without the pushing and movement the wind causes as the tree sways in the wind (branches and sometimes the trunk, as well), the bark would remain weak and the tree would not be able to survive or have the strength to grow tall. The wind forces the tree to produce layers of bark that build a “wall of strength” which holds the tree up as it grows!  Though I’m not certain how a tree “feels” about being pushed around by the wind, it’s interesting to know that the wind helps the tree become stronger and to thrive.  

I think Thoreau’s time in the woods probably made him a much stronger “tree” when he returned to civilization.  Perhaps he appreciated things that he once took for granted and had more tolerance for those things that challenged him.  I think Jesus went away from the crowds and his day to day challenges of ministry, to strengthen himself and return ready to begin again with a restored spirit of peace and joy.  I also think that though we don’t like the strong “wind” of COVID and, unlike Thoreau, we didn’t choose to isolate ourselves to get away from civilization, we are being strengthened during this time and will be more appreciative of life, of our freedom to move about safely, and to be with others than we might have been without this time apart.  

In the meantime, unlike Thoreau, we have ways to connect with people  and, even though we may grow weary of phone calls and zooming, these are our best way to keep in touch with friends and loved ones until we can be together face to face.  I hope that will happen soon!  For now, I ask you to support the small group ministry we’re starting during Lent.  I’m asking each group to connect by phone or zoom at least once a week for about half an hour for support and brief devotions, which I will provide.  This isn’t a perfect way for us to stay together, but it is the best way I know for us to stay strong as the winds continue to blow during this long winter of COVID.  Imagine what the spring will be like when this time ends!  

In the meantime, stay safe!  You remain in my prayers….and remember, I love you and I need you to survive!

Peace, Pastor Betsy 

  Pastor Ott is presently at half-time hours which means  in the office on average two times a week, usually on days when there are meetings.  Friday is the regular day for recording the Sunday worship service.

Pastor’s Office hours this week:  Worship Planning at home.  See meeting and other scheduled events below.
Friday (recording session for Sunday worship)

A WORD FROM THE PASTOR….. “They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.  And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common…They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God.  Every day their number grew as God added to those who were saved.”  Acts 2 selected verses

Dear Friends in Christ,
As I write to you on this first day of February I am, once again, watching the snow accumulate outside my window.  This storm is projected to be an old-fashioned hum-dinger with more snow expected in many places along the east coast than at any time in the last decade.  I hope that you are each safe, well and warm as I pray for the safety of all those who are affected.  

When I was a child and we visited my grandparents in Indiana, my grandmother always had two magazines in the house – Reader’s Digest and (surprisingly) Yankee Magazine.  Most of you from around my generation will remember Reader’s Digest and many might be familiar with Yankee.  I was always interested to know why my mid-western grandparents liked Yankee but later I discovered they enjoyed reading about the region and, especially, liked to try to recipes and look for “finds” in junk shops (the word antique came in to use later – as the prices went up!).  I also came to enjoy Yankee, and even though New York State isn’t officially “New England” there are, as you know, a lot of similarities. 

One section that appeared each month became a favorite, especially as I grew older.   Called, “The View from Mary’s Farm”, the author, Edie Clark,  wrote an brief essay of her life on this beautiful farm in New Hampshire, featuring the animals, the gardens, the changing of the seasons, and other reflections on her life there.  Edie, who had been married to a man she wrote, “loved her completely as she needed to be loved” was a young widow when the love of her life died at the age of 39.  She eventually bought this farm and lived alone as she gradually overcame her sense of isolation to cherish her independence and her solitude.  However, that didn’t mean that Edie existed in a bubble.  Many of my favorite articles tell of her gatherings at the farm and the at least monthly potluck dinners she held there for friends and neighbors.  I recall her stories of sledding runs down pasture hills with adults and children all sharing in the fun followed by laughter and food and hot cocoa in the kitchen near a warm fire.  In the summer there were lawn chairs and firefly watching and story-sharing as the sun would set over the rounded hills.  These times filled Edie’s life, and those who shared them with her, with joy.  In all honesty, one of my regrets about this time of Covid is that I had hoped to follow in Edie’s example when I retired and was looking forward to similar times with friends and neighbors here on the hill in Franklin.  I hope that once this pandemic is under better control there will be a chance to do some of those things again.  

Still, as I focus on what we’re all experiencing due to social distancing and remote connections, I think now is the time to reflect on what it really means to be “church”.  From Sunday school on we know that the church is not the building, the church is the people.  However, in some ways it has become easy to think of “church” as merely the worship time we share together on Sunday morning, which allows us to schedule our time together in the same way we schedule other activities, programs and events in our lives.  If we read the above section from the Book of Acts, we are reminded that in the early church, people spent a lot of time together in ways that are closer to Edie Clark’s potluck gatherings than we might expect.  When they gathered daily they worshiped, shared fellowship around the table, told stories, prayed and sang – and very likely also laughed and had fun!  I don’t expect that we will live in exactly the same way as those first Christians, but the way they built their churches as they built relationships is a lesson for us to follow.  That’s one reason we’ll be forming small groups in our congregation, starting during Lent, and hopefully continuing after.  While we are staying distanced we can still build our relationships and connect by phone or other technology.  Later, I pray that we will find other ways to be together with one another for support and for prayer and for fun!  And I hope that others will see our bonds of love and joy – and want to be part of it!

Updates on how this will work will be coming out soon.  I hope you’ll support this ministry with your prayers and by joining the fellowship of your group while enjoying the connections that can be formed, nurtured and strengthened there.  In this way, we will worship, pray, remember God’s care for us, offer thanks to God and “be still” as we wait to see what God does next.  

In the meantime, stay safe!  You remain in my prayers….and remember, I love you and I need you to survive!
Peace,
Pastor Betsy 

Pastor Ott is presently at half-time hours which means  in the office on average two times a week, usually on days when there are meetings.  Friday is the regular day for recording the Sunday worship service.

Pastor’s Office hours this week:  Lenten Worship Planning and working from home, Friday 2/5  (recording session for Sunday worship)

The office is open 9am to 3 pm Monday through Friday, weather permitting.  Please call ahead if you have questions or need assistance. 

We welcome updates on church ministries and timely reports for our weekly update.  This information must be in not later than Friday afternoon or at the start of office hours on Monday to be included on that day. 

A WORD FROM THE PASTOR….. “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”  (Psalm 46:10)

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I write to you this week, the wintry January weather has a grip on the region and there are moments when I feel as though I’m living inside a snow-globe that is continually being shaken.  The season brings quiet and my world seems smaller than ever.  As the pandemic continues, social distancing and remote connections add to the sense of stillness in my life.  Even the pending transition of leadership in Washington, as we prepare for the departure of one President and the Inauguration of the next, often seems very far away from my place here on the hillside near the Ouleout Creek in Franklin.  I’ve found it interesting to read about how the vibrations of the earth have stilled during the pandemic as we humans travel less and some of our activities have been put aside.  In the quiet, animals are coming out of their hiding places and reappearing – often in some surprising places!  (Wolves have been seen for the first time in many, many years in the north of France and in other places animals once thought to be extinct have recently been sighted.) 

I’ve spent more time reflecting on what God’s purpose is in making times for quiet in our lives and in the world.  What does it mean to “Be Still”?  What is “Knowing that I am God” really about?  And I’ve also wondered, what continued effects will this time have on us when we are able to be together with others again?  I find myself asking, what is the purpose of this time for me and for us as Christians?  How is God working in this time in each of our lives?  Perhaps you find yourself with the same questions?  My focus, lately, has been how to experience this “quiet time” as an opportunity to be still and come to know God in a deeper and more meaningful way.  I’ve learned that “Being still”, in the Hebrew understanding, is putting down arms, not fighting, not wrestling, not doing anything at all but sitting still.  If we think of this in our relationship with God, being still means recognizing that there is nothing we can do to change our circumstances and that God is fully and completely in charge.  Being still before God – is accepting that God has this as we place our trust in God to carry us through.  I’ve also learned that “being still” doesn’t actually mean doing nothing.  Surrendering to God, gives us an opportunity to “know God” in a more profound way.  Again, in the Hebrew understanding, to “know” another is to be in a deeply personal and intimate relationship with them.  So, “knowing” God is to be very, very close to the heart of God.  

The question then becomes, how do we come to “know God” by being still? There are five suggestions for deepening our relationship with God that are recommended by a Lisa Appelo, a widow with seven children who is writing about her faith journey on the internet.  Lisa says that there are foundational pieces to “knowing” God that lead us to a much closer relationship.  These key pieces are worship, prayer, remembering, gratitude and watching.  Worship, as it is now with remote services, allows us to be in our own home/space while connecting with God and others through worship.  It means that we can worship at a time that works for us and, also, that our worship isn’t limited to a Sunday morning service.  In fact, this time of social isolation allows us to worship God throughout the day and to find a deeper companionship with God on our own.  Prayer is the real key to deepening our relationship with God and is a natural part of focusing on worship as part of our day to day life.  It is very important, during this time, to remember the times that God has supported us and carried us throughout our lives.  For most of us, this isn’t the first challenge we’ve ever faced or the first time we’ve felt alone.  Remembering how God has been with us in the past leads us, naturally, to gratitude – a true appreciation and thanksgiving for God’s goodness to us in all times and places.  And finally, we come to a new understanding that “being still” is about watchfulness – not on our own – but in the company and with the support of God who is always with us.  Watching with God is at the core of living with joy, hope, peace and love as we wait in “stillness” to see what God has planned for us next! 

In the coming weeks, we will be forming our “connecting” groups among the people of our congregation.  I am asking that these small groups of people find a way to connect at least once a week and to share how they are “being still” and “knowing” God through worship, prayer, remembering, gratitude and watching.  Watch for more details soon!

In the meantime, I hope the best for each of you.  Stay safe and well!  Know that I love you and I need you to survive!

Peace, 

Pastor Betsy 

Pastor Ott is presently at half-time hours which means she will be in the office on average two times a week, usually on days when there are meetings.  Friday is the regular day for recording the Sunday worship service. 

 Pastor’s hours this week:  Tuesday 1/19 and Wednesday 1/20 (remote meeting and class) Thursday 1/21 (as needed or at home) and Friday 1/22 (recording session for Sunday worship)

Next week:  Tuesday 1/26 (as needed or at home, Wednesday 1/27 (remote class), and Friday 1/29 (recording session for Sunday worship)

A WORD FROM THE PASTOR…..“Don’t worry about anything: instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and give thanks for all God has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  God’s peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Dear Friends in Christ,
What a week this has been!  I know that many of us as still reeling as we try to process the events that took place on Wednesday, January 6^th in our nation’s capital.  I know that some of us are have “flashbacks” to other times in our lives, especially relating to our country, as we remember the attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr and Robert Kennedy, the violence that erupted in our country during that time and as part of the anti-Viet Nam War movement, 9/11…and other dramatic events in our nation’s past.  Though we have been blessed with many years of relative peace in our country, this past year has made it clear that violent forces exist within our country today.  I never really saw this as a political issue and still don’t.  As a pastor and a Christian, I want to address this reality from a faith perspective and I know that you and many others do, too.   So, my first response on January 6^th as I heard and watched the news unfold was to pray.  Then, as you know, a prayer was quickly written and sent out to you through our church message system.  That prayer was also shared on our Facebook page and I am overwhelmed as I tell you more than 2,200 people viewed the prayer as of Thursday afternoon, with about 500 shares.  Clearly, people in our community and beyond also long for spiritual help during this time and are looking for guidance in how to face the times we live in. 

As you know, I asked for us to join together in prayer – remotely – at 8 am and/or 8 pm during the early days of this pandemic as we focused on the safety and protection of our community, our nation and our world. Now,  I have again called for 8 am and/or 8 pm prayer as we confront the divisions and violence in our country.  Pastor Jeff Staples of the First Baptist Church saw the Facebook post and contacted our office to let us know that he and his congregation will join us in our prayers for the nation and at our specified prayer times.  This is a wonderful first step to finding a way to meet the challenge as Christians united in our purpose to share the good news of Jesus through the message of peace.  I hope others congregations and individuals will join us, as well. 

Though we may feel anger or despair over our present reality, our answers to these events must come from Christ’s example and that example is one of peace.  So how do we that, we might ask?  Well Paul wrote his letter to the Christians of Philippi from prison, not long before his execution in Rome.  Yet, the book is full of love, hope, joy (lots of joy!) and peace.  How is that possible?  How could this man, suffering in prison find the strength to express the gifts of Christ to his dear friends and fellow believers in Philippi?  I urge you to make time to read this letter and to remember what the world was like when it was written.  Christians were outsiders, struggling to share the gospel and to survive in a hostile world.  There was violence all around them and their lives were at risk, yet Paul proclaims his love for his prison guards and his joy as some of them convert to the faith!  He tells his Christian friends to remain true to the example of Jesus who humbled himself – even taking on the misery of human life ending in the cross – to demonstrate God’s love for the world.  And he reminds them to pray and to give thanks for all they have been given in order to receive the gift of peace to face their challenges (See the passage above).   
 
To me this means that now is the time for us to pray and pray even more as we give thanks for all the God has done, is doing and will do for us.  And I also believe now is the time for each of us to deepen our spiritual practices.  As we are still unable to worship together, it is even more important to worship God at home.  We need to be certain that our faith is strong so we are ready for whatever lies ahead.  Just as we exercise to build muscle, this is the time to exercise and build faith-strength.  Daily prayer, reading the scriptures, a rich devotional life are as essential to our spiritual health as eating nourishing food is for our bodies.  This is not the time to allow ourselves to be spiritually starving!   Strong Christian voices are needed now more than ever.    

I will be working with our Church Council and committee chairs/coordinators to develop a plan to keep us even more closely connected during this pandemic while we are unable to gather at church.  For your daily devotions, I urge you to set a time that works for you – early in the morning or at the end of each day to pray and to read the scriptures (starting with the Letter to Philippians).  Let us join together to become warriors for peace – prayer warriors for Christ so that we too may have the joy, hope, love and peace that passes all our understanding – whatever the new days bring. 
You are in my prayers as I ask for yours.   I love you and I need you to survive.  

Peace,
Pastor Betsy

  Pastor Ott is presently at half-time hours which means she will be in the church for Sunday worship and in the office on average two times a week, usually on days when there are meetings.  Friday is usually sermon preparation day, at home.  

Pastor’s Office hours this week:  Monday 1/11 and Wednesday 1/13.  Friday 1/15 is the scheduled recording session for Sunday worship. 
 
The office is open 9am to 3 pm Monday through Friday, weather permitting.  Please call ahead if you have questions or need assistance. 

We welcome updates on church ministries and timely reports for our weekly update.  This information must be in not later than Friday afternoon or at the start of office hours on Monday to be included on that day. 

A WORD FROM THE PASTOR….. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!”  (NIV translation)

Dear Friends in Christ,

Happy New Year!  I hope that you each had a meaningful Christmas celebration and found joy and hope as we left the year 2020 behind and took our first steps into 2021.  

I, like many of you, have been reading and watching the media and others as they try to give insight into what this New Year will bring.  For example, the very first day of 2021 I began to get diet and exercise tips in my emails.  (I deleted them quickly as I thought they were too much and too soon for this year with a New Year “weekend”!)  Predictions from other sources suggest a quiet year ahead while other sources say we’re in for another bumpy ride.  Early vaccination reports suggested we’d be heading “out of the woods” from the Covid pandemic by March but have now changed to indicate things won’t be better until early fall or even into 2022.  Talk of the economic situation varies, seemingly from hour to hour – with some positive predictions while others indicate we are headed for even more serious personal and national (and even international) financial upsets ahead.  Health reports also vary with some suggesting that this pandemic time has created a new focus on family and self-care while different reports tell a tale of increased stress, anxiety and the resulting emotional, spiritual and health issues.  The truth is – no one actually knows what will happen in 2021.  As many of you have heard me say in my sermons and previous messages, “I didn’t get a crystal ball that forecasts the future when I was ordained so I don’t know what’s going to happen from one day to the next.”  And I’ve come to understand that no one else does, either!  In some ways, the uneasiness of times like this make us long to know what to expect so that we can prepare ourselves.  In ancient times (and even more recent times) people went to seers, soothsayers, fortune tellers, tarot card or tea leaf readers….and hoped for guidance and a longed for peace.  

As Christians, we know that the only one who actually knows the future is God – even Jesus, himself, stated that he didn’t know when the “age” would end when he said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.  But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  (Mark 13: 31-32)  In other words, wasting time on trying to figure out what is to come is a useless and futile objective.  If Jesus and the angels don’t know the future, how can we humans possibly expect to have access to those mysteries?  And, oh, by the way – would we really want to know?  What would we do if we knew the future?  Would it help our lives in anyway?  Wouldn’t we be even more anxious if we knew what was coming in the year ahead and not less?  I know for me, personally, knowing the future would more than likely not be helpful and could lead to a sense of alienation from creation and others, loss of hope, and an even greater sense of despair.  

So what positive message can we gain from the New Year and how are we to stay hope-filled, joy-filled, love-filled and peace-filled with all the challenges of life as we know it?  I think the early Christians had as many or more challenges than we do and dealt with even greater uncertainty in day to day life, yet, they were hope, joy, love and peace filled because they had found the secret to living life in a new, positive way – through Jesus Christ!  Here was the answer to all they longed to have in life – assurance of God’s love, unfailing grace, and plan to care for each of them and all creation in the gift of Jesus – the Savior of the World.  So, at the New Year, Christians through the ages have taken this turning of the calendar as an opportunity reconnect and recommit to the Christian life and faith.  John Wesley, who lived in a time of self-indulgence of every kind (gambling, drugs, alcohol, vast inequity between rich and poort) didn’t celebrate the New Year in the customary ways.  Instead, he set aside the start of the year as a time to fast, pray and recommit himself to God and to serving Christ.  He called on other Christians to join him at “Watch Night” Services held on New Year’s Eve.  Part of that service included a prayer that is often used in worship during the first Sundays of January.  Here is Wesley’s Covenant Prayer which you might want to use in your daily prayer time at home as you reconnect with God and “Covenant” to claim the new life that Christ offers you each and every day!

A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition

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.  

Happy New Year – in Christ!

Peace,

Pastor Betsy 

Pastor Ott is presently at half-time hours which means she will be in the church for Sunday worship and in the office on average two times a week, usually on days when there are meetings.  Friday is usually sermon preparation day, at home.  

 Pastor’s Office hours this week:  Tuesday 1/5 and Thursday 1/7 (recording session for Sunday worship)

Sunday, 1/10/2021 – Annual Meeting (remote),