What a cold, cold ending to January! Reba and I have missed being with all of you in worship at Claybanks UMC. I pray that you have stayed safe and warm.
We did OK on that first Sunday that we did not have worship at Claybanks United Methodist Church (January 18th) staying off the snow covered and icy roads. But last Sunday, January 25 when we cancelled worship service for Claybanks, missing worship and knowing that the Methodist Church in Pentwater was only a couple of miles from our home, we crept out onto our slippery Longbridge Road taking us into the village where the roads were much better even though it was still cold. We attended and enjoyed the service at the Pentwater United Methodist Centenary UMC. Pastor Vaughn was on a weeks’ Sabbath time off so the Reverend Dave Kersten (Dave and his wife Sandi were with us at Claybanks UMC a little more than a year ago on World Communion Sunday) brought us a message from Matthew 6: 5-18 on the Lord’s Prayer, noting for us that The Lord’s Prayer may use trespasses, debts and sinners.
The Lord’s Prayer, as translated into English from Greek, can mean different things to us depending on the words chosen. Matthew’s Gospel had been originally written in Aramaic and depending on how those who translated from the original Aramaic, we get three different words: trespasses, sins, and debts each speaking to us in diverse ways. Each of the three translations is very appropriate for the world we live in today. As Dave began his message, the sun began to shine through the stained-glass windows of the church and Dave noted that the day is a APRISATIDY Day (Meaning a warm sun on a frigid day).
Later, Reba and I were talking about how we at Claybanks UMC have an opening welcome song: You Are Welcomed Here
In this place, among these people
God is worship, God is praised.
We have seen the signs and wonders; the lost are found here, the dead are raised.
We are living the gospel story;
lives are changed, and mountains moved.
Won’t you come and work among us? You are welcomed, you are loved.
The Pentwater United Methodist Church has a sending out song at the end of worship: As We Go
O Lord, now let your servants depart in peace, according to your gracious word.
Our eyes have seen the glory of salvation prepared for all the people of the world.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you;
and may God lift his countenance upon you and give you blessed peace for now and evermore.
Our faith, our hearts, and our lives should be as the words of these songs speak to us both “come and be welcome, inviting the world to be with us and to go out and share God’s love with the world.”
So much power in these words for us as followers of Jesus Christ.
One other little thing to add, following worship at Centenary United Methodist Church, we were invited to the coffee hour which is on a lower level from the sanctuary. While sitting around the table that I was seated at, there were a number of discussions not only about the weather, but what it was like for a number of those sitting at the table who had grown up in a rural setting. They talked about what it was like to live on farms with cows and all that goes with caring for the cows. The table talk was not unlike the table talk that we experience at and around Claybanks United Methodist Church and it brought back to me the warm feelings of love, acceptance and how we have so much in common with our brothers, sisters, and the world around us.
Gary and Reba
Claybanks United Methodist Church 