November 26, 2024
God is Love! God is Light! These two simple statements from 1 John reminds us of the character of God that most define the Advent and Christmas season. “For God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son Jesus.” This gift has made all the difference in the world to those who will receive him into their hearts. God’s light allows us to see and understand this gift. Receiving this gift means we are forgiven and receive newness of life. One of the most wonderful aspects of this gift is we get to share it. Usually when we share something we have, there’s less for us. However, when we share the gift of God’s love, the gift grows bigger. It's only when we try to keep it to ourselves that love doesn’t grow.
Advent is a time of preparation. The word Advent was first used to describe the coming of a king. If the king was coming to or through a community, the community would spring into action. They would clean the streets and decorate to honor and show respect to the king. It was exciting to see the king enter the city on a great white horse! Especially if the king was returning from a victory in battle. It was a celebration!
We celebrate Advent as a time to prepare our hearts for the King. Our King didn’t show up on a big white horse. He came as a baby who grew to be the one who would win the victory over sin and death. His life was the “light for all people. The light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish it.”
Let us prepare for the coming of the King by allowing God to clean our hearts and by decorating our lives with love and care.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
Advent is a time of preparation. The word Advent was first used to describe the coming of a king. If the king was coming to or through a community, the community would spring into action. They would clean the streets and decorate to honor and show respect to the king. It was exciting to see the king enter the city on a great white horse! Especially if the king was returning from a victory in battle. It was a celebration!
We celebrate Advent as a time to prepare our hearts for the King. Our King didn’t show up on a big white horse. He came as a baby who grew to be the one who would win the victory over sin and death. His life was the “light for all people. The light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish it.”
Let us prepare for the coming of the King by allowing God to clean our hearts and by decorating our lives with love and care.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
October 30, 2024
This past week, handing out candy for “Trick or Treat,” I heard that question that parents and grandparents have been asking for decades… “Now what do you say?” This question comes when someone gives their children something good or useful. The response from children is sometimes a quick “Thank you.” Other children will give that look that children can give that says “ Why are you making me do this?”, then they reluctantly say “Thank you.” Why is saying “Thank you” so hard – even as adults? Do we deserve whatever was given? Are we in a hurry? Are we not grateful? Or did we just forget to say it?
In November, we have a few weeks to prepare for Thanksgiving Day….a day we have to celebrate the goodness we have received. Hopefully, each of us has time to gather with family or friends to share and be thankful. Is one day enough to celebrate the good we have received since last year? Probably not! Don’t get me wrong, I would hate to miss a good Thanksgiving dinner. However, I think it might be better to be thankful every day. We could pay attention to all the gifts we receive each day, especially the love that God gives us and say “Thank you!” In other words, we stay caught up on saying “Thank you”.
Let us be Thanksgiving People all throughout the year! “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Blessings,
Mary Lou
In November, we have a few weeks to prepare for Thanksgiving Day….a day we have to celebrate the goodness we have received. Hopefully, each of us has time to gather with family or friends to share and be thankful. Is one day enough to celebrate the good we have received since last year? Probably not! Don’t get me wrong, I would hate to miss a good Thanksgiving dinner. However, I think it might be better to be thankful every day. We could pay attention to all the gifts we receive each day, especially the love that God gives us and say “Thank you!” In other words, we stay caught up on saying “Thank you”.
Let us be Thanksgiving People all throughout the year! “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Blessings,
Mary Lou
September 19, 2024
Two surgeries in less than a week and a half was something I didn’t expect! I am so thankful for a medical team that caught a problem before it became something that was life threatening. I am so thankful for your prayers and cards. I am also thankful for those that brought food for me. Wow! I haven’t been able to do much for myself, so the prayers, cards, and food kept me going. I am grateful for our new District Superintendent Rev Adrienne D Ewell, Rev Mark Struckhoff of the Missouri Foundation, Carol Shoemaker, and the Rowdy Wranglers for filling in for me while I was out. I know I left you in very good hands! I’m not currently at 100%, but with your continued prayers I’ll get there.
In October, we will begin the Congregations in Action Grant process. It will begin with a sermon series on the Good Samaritan. We also will be participating in evaluations, working with some experts, and other activities. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
In October, we will begin the Congregations in Action Grant process. It will begin with a sermon series on the Good Samaritan. We also will be participating in evaluations, working with some experts, and other activities. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
July 31, 2024
It’s not long before school starts. We are looking for people who will be willing to work with a student once a week for forty-five minutes to one hour a week as a part of the Oasis Program. This program is designed to help students learn to read. Helping a student learn to read is one of the greatest gifts we can give a person. Being able to read is a skill that affects the rest of their life. It helps them achieve success. The materials are provided so what we need is your time. Please consider volunteering to help a child. Please let the office or let me know if you’re willing. Coleman School is looking for men who would be willing to spend time with students during lunch, at recess, or being around at the beginning or end of the school day. Students need good male role models. Men, you would be able to pick the frequency by which you attend. You can be that person who can change students’ lives. There would be little or no preparation…just your time and your smile and words of encouragement. Please let us know if you will help with this.
The Backpack Program will be up and running again. Thank you, Pat and Morgie, for the leadership and everyone from the Gray Summit UMC who has and will continue to feed our children who really need it. Pacific UMC will be giving an assist this year. I look forward to the great teamwork that will help so many.
Working with students is rewarding. It helps us become more like Jesus. When the popular thought at the time was to shield children from Jesus, Jesus said, "Bring the children to me!" It will make a difference in children and their families.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
The Backpack Program will be up and running again. Thank you, Pat and Morgie, for the leadership and everyone from the Gray Summit UMC who has and will continue to feed our children who really need it. Pacific UMC will be giving an assist this year. I look forward to the great teamwork that will help so many.
Working with students is rewarding. It helps us become more like Jesus. When the popular thought at the time was to shield children from Jesus, Jesus said, "Bring the children to me!" It will make a difference in children and their families.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
June 24, 2024
Summer is heating up in more ways than one. Many of us are taking vacations and participating in summer sports. I hope none of us take a vacation with Jesus. It’s easy to do, but we need Jesus every moment of every day. With him all things are possible and without him we don’t amount to much.
Please be praying for our church, for our Healthy Child Initiative, and for our willingness to do what God has called each of us to do. Would you consider being involved next school year in the Oasis program, helping a child learn to read? If you would be willing to help, please let us know. Coleman would like to have some men to be mentors for their students. If you are interested, the job would include eating lunch and or being on the playground during recess, and or talking with students in the hallways and or teaching them to fish. It just requires those who participate by interacting with students, If you would consider this, please let us know.
We begin the process to receive the Congregations in Action Grant in October. Please be praying that this grant will help us to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. I am very excited to see the great things God will do through us to Christ.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
Please be praying for our church, for our Healthy Child Initiative, and for our willingness to do what God has called each of us to do. Would you consider being involved next school year in the Oasis program, helping a child learn to read? If you would be willing to help, please let us know. Coleman would like to have some men to be mentors for their students. If you are interested, the job would include eating lunch and or being on the playground during recess, and or talking with students in the hallways and or teaching them to fish. It just requires those who participate by interacting with students, If you would consider this, please let us know.
We begin the process to receive the Congregations in Action Grant in October. Please be praying that this grant will help us to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. I am very excited to see the great things God will do through us to Christ.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
April 29, 2024
I have been happy with the progression of our visioning time with our group meetings. Through prayer and discussion, we decided our focus would be “Healthy Child Initiative”. At this point, it is mostly a direction. A part of this Initiative is to partner with our neighboring schools. I have begun talking with the Principals at PI and Coleman. We want to find out what they need and how we can help. We will continue to have group meetings to pray and discuss to flesh this direction out.
One need the school system has already told us is that they need people to help children learn to read through the Oasis program. In that program, each person is assigned one student. They meet every week with the student for 45 minutes to an hour. There is training that is provided prior to meeting with the student. There are already a few of our members involved with the program and I have participated in the program in another school system. I found it to be very rewarding. Please let me know if you are interested. I can get you more information. We need more volunteers.
If we had any question we were on the track, God blessed us with a miracle. We received a grant for $10,000 to be used in our charge (Pacific UMC and Gray Summit UMC) for a project. I had been told by our DS Robin Bell that she had nominated us for the grant several months ago. She also told me that the likelihood we would receive it would be slim. I had forgotten about it. It was a wonderful surprise when I received an email the other day telling us we were being awarded the grant. This is something to celebrate!! This is God’s way of saying we are on the right track and here’s some help to get you going! We will be finding out more about the grant as we move forward. Please continue to pray for God’s direction for The Healthy Child Initiative and how each of us will be involved.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
One need the school system has already told us is that they need people to help children learn to read through the Oasis program. In that program, each person is assigned one student. They meet every week with the student for 45 minutes to an hour. There is training that is provided prior to meeting with the student. There are already a few of our members involved with the program and I have participated in the program in another school system. I found it to be very rewarding. Please let me know if you are interested. I can get you more information. We need more volunteers.
If we had any question we were on the track, God blessed us with a miracle. We received a grant for $10,000 to be used in our charge (Pacific UMC and Gray Summit UMC) for a project. I had been told by our DS Robin Bell that she had nominated us for the grant several months ago. She also told me that the likelihood we would receive it would be slim. I had forgotten about it. It was a wonderful surprise when I received an email the other day telling us we were being awarded the grant. This is something to celebrate!! This is God’s way of saying we are on the right track and here’s some help to get you going! We will be finding out more about the grant as we move forward. Please continue to pray for God’s direction for The Healthy Child Initiative and how each of us will be involved.
Blessings,
Mary Lou
April 9, 2024
Yesterday, there were many people outside looking up…I was one of them. We were all looking at one of God’s creations…an eclipse. In an arch stretching across the states, there was a complete eclipse where the moon completely aligned with the sun and covered the sun. What we saw here was a little less than that. However, it was amazing to watch; provided one had the special glasses.
This was a reminder of a passage we find in the book of John: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome[a] it… Jesus is “9 the true light that gives light to everyone.” Here, there was always a band of light visible to all who were watching. Even in the places that had a “total eclipse”, there was a halo of light that still continued to shine. One other thing to remember, the eclipse did not last that long. It did not have staying power!
Jesus is the LIGHT of the world. He brings light and life to everyone. If we walk in the light we will be able to see the pathway ahead of us so that we can follow Jesus more closely. That is the path that leads to life everlasting. There will be times that the darkness will try to overcome us. It will be difficult to deal with and will make it tough to make progress. However, just remember to look for the light of Jesus--it always will be shining to show us the way. By the way, we don’t need “special glasses” to look at Jesus. We just need a bit of faith!
Blessings,
Mary Lou
This was a reminder of a passage we find in the book of John: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome[a] it… Jesus is “9 the true light that gives light to everyone.” Here, there was always a band of light visible to all who were watching. Even in the places that had a “total eclipse”, there was a halo of light that still continued to shine. One other thing to remember, the eclipse did not last that long. It did not have staying power!
Jesus is the LIGHT of the world. He brings light and life to everyone. If we walk in the light we will be able to see the pathway ahead of us so that we can follow Jesus more closely. That is the path that leads to life everlasting. There will be times that the darkness will try to overcome us. It will be difficult to deal with and will make it tough to make progress. However, just remember to look for the light of Jesus--it always will be shining to show us the way. By the way, we don’t need “special glasses” to look at Jesus. We just need a bit of faith!
Blessings,
Mary Lou
February 26, 2024
We have entered the season of Lent, which is a time of introspection. I hope we all have had some time to spend building our relationship with Jesus through prayer and searching the scripture. (If you need a Bible reading guide, there are copies at church). Have we allowed the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and willingly let the Spirit make the changes in us that God desires?
During our worship and Bible study, we have been studying the book of Luke. In this book we find stories and parables that show us that Jesus spent time with and ministered to the people that most people thought were unworthy, treated as “less than”, or were ignored. The people Jesus ministered to became followers of Jesus and some even traveled with Jesus as He preached the gospel and provided support so Jesus could continue His work. I hope as we have been reading through the book of Luke, we have found ourselves in some of the stories. Maybe we have found ourselves following Jesus and doing what Jesus did! That is something to celebrate!! However, we may have found ourselves doing something that Jesus points out that is opposed to his teaching. This calls us to make a choice. Do we continue doing things we know are wrong or do we repent and ask God to help us do better. I am grateful God forgives us and make us new again if we ask!
Blessings,
Mary Lou
During our worship and Bible study, we have been studying the book of Luke. In this book we find stories and parables that show us that Jesus spent time with and ministered to the people that most people thought were unworthy, treated as “less than”, or were ignored. The people Jesus ministered to became followers of Jesus and some even traveled with Jesus as He preached the gospel and provided support so Jesus could continue His work. I hope as we have been reading through the book of Luke, we have found ourselves in some of the stories. Maybe we have found ourselves following Jesus and doing what Jesus did! That is something to celebrate!! However, we may have found ourselves doing something that Jesus points out that is opposed to his teaching. This calls us to make a choice. Do we continue doing things we know are wrong or do we repent and ask God to help us do better. I am grateful God forgives us and make us new again if we ask!
Blessings,
Mary Lou
GRAY SUMMIT
United Methodist Church
204 Ford Street - PO Box 97
Gray Summit MO 63039
636.742.4336
OFFICE HOURS: Mon/Wed/Thurs 9am-2pm
United Methodist Church
204 Ford Street - PO Box 97
Gray Summit MO 63039
636.742.4336
OFFICE HOURS: Mon/Wed/Thurs 9am-2pm