New Community E Note 8-11-2023

I hope you will join us in person or online for this Sunday’s worship service. Our scriptures will be Romans 10: 5-15 and Matthew 14:22-33. Our gospel lesson is the familiar story of Jesus “walking on the water.”

This Week’s Psalm

Psalm 85: 8-13

8Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

9Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

10Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

11Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.

12The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

13Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.

Psalm 85 is a prayer for help from a hurting community. After 7 verses of distress, verse 8 begins the confident response that God will surely respond favorably to rescue and restore the community to wellness. Over time, the community has learned that they can trust God to respond.

This Week in the Café

The cafe is going great. We’ve come to notice many of our friends could really use a bike to help them get around town to appointments, jobs, and other resources so we’ve begun collecting used bikes from the community that only need minor repairs. We’re replacing tires and inner tubes as needed and placing them in the hands of those who need them most. Our town has really responded to the call and we expect to have at least 10 bicycles by this time next week.

New Security System

We are happy with the system—and service-- Turner Security has provided in sanctuary building the last several months. We have now asked them to install a system in the large building that will cover the office, classroom, fellowship hall and thrift store spaces. They will have it up and working in the next couple of days. If you have a key to any of these spaces and use your key to access the building, please give us a call and ask us for the new security code.

A little bit of History

In the United Methodist tradition, bishops are not "ordained" as bishops, but are clergy elected and consecrated to the office of bishop. Bishops give general oversight to the worldly and spiritual interests of the church. Bishops also have the responsibility to see that the rules and regulations developed by General Conference are carried out. In each annual conference, United Methodist bishops serve for four year terms, and may serve up to three terms before either retirement or appointment to a new annual conference

A Prayer from the Saints

O Lord,

open my eyes that I might see the needs of others;

open my ears that I might hear their cries;

open my heart so that they need not be without succor;

let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong,

nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.

Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,

and use me to bring them to those places.

And so open my eyes and my ears

that I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee. Amen.

Alan Patton, South Africa, 20th century

As always, thanks so much for all you do with your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. You are making a difference in the lives of many families and individuals in this community.

Pastor Jim

NCUMC E-Note 7/21/2023

I hope you will join us in person or online for our Sunday Worship Service. Our gospel text this week is Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. It is another one of the 7 parables in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel and we are again fortunate that Jesus explains the parable to the disciples. Our second reading is from Romans 8:12-25.

This Week’s Psalm

Psalm 88:11-17

11Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.

12I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

13For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14O God, the insolent rise up against me; a band of ruffians seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.

15But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of your serving girl.

17Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be put M shame, because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Over and over again the writer of this Psalm petitions God in very personal ways while referring to himself as “your servant.” He expects the Lord to answer and is confident that the reply will be positive. He understands and believes that there is an inherent kindness in God’s works—"But you, O Lord, are merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Midweek Prayer Requests

Sandy Edmondson asks for prayers for her son Greg who is having a heart procedure on Monday. She also asks prayers for her sister Sharon and brother in law Richard as Richard begins his hospice care.

Please add Dawn Horder to your prayer list. Dawn fell at work on Monday and tore a muscle. She will be laid up for a while and then probably has some physical therapy in her future.

Kathy asks for prayers that she will be successful in finding a place to live.

News From the Cafe

This week at the New Community Cafe we are celebrating Ben Hensley - our first homeless friend to find housing. By supporting Ben in connecting with his social workers, he was able to get a new copy of his state ID and Social Security card, both of which had been lost over the course of his last 7 years of homelessness. We have also provided Ben with food and clothing over the last several months, along with a cool place to rest, access to Wi-Fi, and electricity to charge his devices. This Thursday, Ben moved to Madera to live in an apartment with some roommates while waiting for a few weeks to be placed in his own single bedroom home with his emotional support dog Pandora.

The help wasn’t all one sided though. Ben did a significant amount for us during the same period of time. Without any request or requirement from us, Ben served dozens of hours in service. He sorted, hung, and stocked clothing, moved furniture, and organized tools in the thrift store. He delivered Wednesday meals. He staffed the cafe with Chris regularly and encouraged many of his friends and acquaintances to visit and use our services. Ben helped clean the cafe at closing time. He made sure everyone had food and water - even all of the dogs that came in with their unhoused owners.

We will miss seeing Ben around the New Community Cafe, and he promises to stay in touch. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered and helped make the cafe a safe and welcoming place for dozens of Oakhurst residents like Ben. (Chris can always use help in the café and would love to answer any questions you have.)

A little bit of history

In 1735 John Wesley boarded a ship with 80 English colonists and 26 Moravian christians headed for Georgia. He was searching for a deeper faith and an opportunity to preach the gospel in the colonies. The Georgia colony was only 2 years old and Wesley planned to minister to a small English settlement and serve as a missionary to the neighboring native tribes.

One night a violent storm came up while the Moravians were having their evening hymn sing. As water poured over the decks and the mainsail broke, John couldn’t help notice that as the English passengers were screaming in panic, the Moravians simply continued on with their hymn singing. Wesley confessed to himself that there was a much deeper faith to which he still unfamiliar. He noted in his diary that he was journeying to the new world to save souls but wasn’t sure he knew how to save himself.

A Prayer from the Saints:

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, Yours are the eyes through which to look out Christ’s compassion to the world Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good; Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.”

--Teresa of Avila

As always, thanks for all you do.

With love and appreciation,

Pastor Jim

New Community E Note 7/14/2023

I hope you will join us in person or online for this Sunday’s worship service. Our scriptures this week are Romans 8:1-11 and Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. The Gospel lesson is often referred to as the parable of the sower and reminds us that not all seed sprouts in ways that can be harvested. Yet, much of the seed does and failure is almost always a part of our success. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves if we are willing to fail while striving for success? Do we find it much easier to cautiously avoid failure in ways that minimize both failure and success? What are we willing to risk when attempting to live into God’s work in the world? This Week’s Psalm Psalm 65 1Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed, 2O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come. 3When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions. 4Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. 5By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. 6By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might. 7You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. 8Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.] 9You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. 10You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 12The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. It is quite possible that the author of this Psalm has been through a very difficult period in their life and found resolution and peace. Giving God the credit for this transformation, the writer keeps the vows he made when crying out to God for help. “By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” The writer is clear the it is God who chooses us and brings us near—not our own actions and decisions. Having been brought near, we discover the awesome power and generosity of God and live in the abundance that God has provided. The Psalm celebrates the joy –and thanksgiving—of a people living in the love of God. A Day in the New Community Cafe Wonder what happens in the cafe? In just four hours this Friday, we provided food and cold water for eight of our local homeless friends, fed a couple of dogs, welcomed a new volunteer, offered free cell phones to four people with low income, provided technical assistance to a church member accessing our Facebook page, gave away baby clothes to a mom in need, and shared treats donated by a local bakery with everyone. In just two months, our new cafe has become everything we hoped it would be and more. Thanks to everyone for your support. If you’d like to help, we would love more volunteers. We are open Wednesday through Saturday from 1 - 5 pm. Talk to Chris Allen-Rowe if you are interested. A little bit of history John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, is often quoted as having said on more than one occasion in the eighteenth century that “The world is my parish.” The statement has been used by many evangelists as motivation to go into the “whole” world and preach the gospel. Wesley’s original intent might have been much different. John Wesley spent his life traveling from village to village and preaching six or seven times a week. Because he didn’t have a “parish” –a regular church appointment— and his methods were a bit unusual, he was mostly unwelcome to preach in village churches. He spent a lot of time preaching in fields, town squares and other outdoor settings and generally drew large crowds. When criticized that he wasn’t a parish priest and therefore not a real cleric, he responded by remarking that “the world was his parish.” Many thanks to Scott and Stella for repairing the fence around the trash bin again. We are hoping with work starting on the project behind the church that we will have less folks coming across the field to cut the fence. It is going to be hot this weekend! We plan to grill the hamburger patties early Saturday morning and hold them in the roasters until we put them on the buns at lunchtime. Hope to see you Sunday. With love and appreciation, Pastor Jim