A Prayer for the Anniversary of 9/11
O God, our hope and refuge, in our distress we come quickly to you. Shock and horror of that tragic day have subsided, replaced now with an emptiness, a longing for an innocence lost.
We come remembering those who lost their lives in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.
We are mindful of the sacrifice of public servants who demonstrated the greatest love of all by laying down their lives for friends. We commit their souls to your eternal care and celebrate their gifts to a fallen humanity.
We come remembering and we come in hope, not in ourselves, but in you.
As foundations we once thought secure have been shaken, we are reminded of the illusion of security.
In commemorating this tragedy, we give you thanks for your presence in our time of need and we seek to worship you in Spirit and in truth, our guide and our guardian. Amen.
Written by The Rev. Jeremy Pridgeon, District Superintendent of the Pensacola District of the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Zoom meeting for In-Person Worship
For the last two Sundays, I have offered our In-Person worship at 10:00 am through an "audio-only" Zoom meeting. I have broadcast this service with my phone, using my bluetooth microphone. So far, Ken Ries has joined our worship this way. I am offering this Zoom meeting for the benefit of those who do not have internet, and are able to join the service (meeting) using their land-line phone or smartphone.
I am going to try something a bit different on Sunday -- initiate and run the Zoom meeting through my laptop computer, in the same way that I do for the 8:30 YouTube livestream, except for the fact that the meeting will still be audio only. Using this method will enable potential remote worshipers to join either through their computer or smartphone, or through a dial-in call through their landline or smartphone.
Either way, the fact that we are streaming the live service, including hymns, over the internet, will necessitate the purchase of a streaming license. We recently purchased a reprint license fropm onelicense.com for $200 per year, which grants permission for us to reprint words of hymns in our bulletin which are not in the public domain and covered by OneLicense. Possession of that license will allow us to add a streaming to that license for $77 per year. We'll have a chance to discuss this at Council meeting next Tuesday
Sympathy to Pat Herman
We extend our sympathy to Pat Herman on the death of her sister, Gloria Poynter, who died last Friday. Graveside services were held today (Friday) at Greenlawn Memory Gardens, Clyde. You can read the obituary for Gloria here. Keep Pat and Gloria's family in your prayers.
St. John's Preschool Officially in session
St. John's Preschool kicked off its 2020-2021 year with their first day of class on Wednesday. For some, the first day came on Thursday. With each classroom being self-contained, and with fewer children, it is a bit quieter in the hallways, but when they move from their classroom to the playground, they can still be heard. Continued kudos to Linda and the staff for all their hard word and dedication in getting this school year off the ground under very different and difficult circumstances.
First Confirmation Session
We held the first Confirmation session on Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Our entire session was held outside -- we did a "counting" scavenger hunt (e.g. how many parking spaces in the parking lot? How many stained glass windows in the church and chapel? Howl man new Daikin AC condenser units are there around the church? I then had the kids do some chalk drawings on the parking lot near the main entrance to welcome the pre-school kids. Basically, everyone from last year is back, with the exception of Kaden, who was the sole 8th grader last year. We are joined with two new 6th graders, for a net gain of one in the program. Our sessions this year will focus on the Small Catechism, the sections on the Apostles' Creed and the Sacraments.
Bishop Election in NEOS
The Northeastern Ohio Synod is currently holding their Synod Assembly (via Zoom), which includes the election of a new bishop. The current Bishop, Abraham Allende, is not seeking a second term. Here are the results of the second ballot:
74 Karl Biermann
59 Laura Barbins
43 Angela Freeman-Riley
34 Robert Cheyney
32 Bruce Roth
31 Lisa Arledge
10 Sherman Bishop
10 Kevin Maxey
The top 8 advance, due to the tie for 7th. I know Karl -- good guy -- as I have worked with him in several possible interim placements through his position as Assitant to the Bishop. This gives him instant name recognition with Assembly voters, as he has been in many of the synod's congregations. Sherman Bishop was a seminary classmate, and just retired from his long-time call at Prince of Peace Westlake. I'm surprised that he's keeping his name in the running. Long time ago he was Assistant to the Bishop in NEOS and was nominated for bishop when Robert Kelley retired. Apparently the synod was not ready for a "Bishop Bishop." I wonder if they are now. The eight will speak individually to the assembly Saturday morning. Prayers for the Spirit to work and move in this election.
Zoom Meetings
- Synod Transitional Leaders met on Thursday afternoon. We are continuing our discussion of the book Bishop Daniel has recommended us to read - Field Guide for the Missional Congregation.
- Interim MInistry Network Support Group -- this is the group that is comprised of interim pastors of several denominations, and members from coast to coast and also in Germany.
Links for You
- Bishop Daniel's Weekly Email
- New Beginnings - news from Trinity Seminary by Dean Kit Kleinhans
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