“Giver of Life, we praise You! Bestower of all gifts, we give You thanks, for your steadfast love endures forever! Who can tell of your generosity in all generations, the rich variety of the living cosmos? Blessed are they who recognize the Gift, and who follow the precepts of your Word each day.”
Psalm 106 – Praying the Psalms by Nan Merrill
Greetings, Fremont Family:
Thank you for a wonderful Blessing of the Animals worship service last Sunday. Meeting your beloved animals, albeit by video, still felt like intimate welcome into your homes and into your families. I loved it! Thank you, also, for letting our family share our dog, Milton, with you.
In the month of October, we will continue to ground ourselves in the wisdom of St. Francis who embodied a way of humility and harmony by encouraging Christian believers to embrace the interconnectedness of all Creation. For the next two weeks, our Contemplative Invocation that begins each worship service will be an invitation to praise that comes from the Philippines entitled, Come, Let us Praise the Lord. The music, as is our pattern, will be accompanied by photographs of creation that I have taken from around the neighborhood on my early morning walks. I am always struck by the spectacular beauty of the flowers, the trees, the flowering trees! It’s like creation is bragging (just look at the Dahlia pictured above). If you are in the habit of taking walks and noticing the beauty of creation around you, please feel free to capture the beauty in photographs and send the images to me via text at 541-653-7638 or email at [email protected]. I would love to include your photographs in our worship services. You may have also noticed that I am drawn to expressions of community, racial justice, and human unity as well. Please feel free to send photographs of the encouraging “signs” in your neighborhoods also.
Finally, October and November mark the drawing to a close of the liturgical year. Our gospel lessons will come from the final chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, just before Jesus’ crucifixion, therefore, you will notice an increased tension and hostility in the parables and teachings. Jesus is in Jerusalem, and he is being openly confronted by the religious leadership there. They are challenging his authority, his identity, his purpose. This challenge will, ultimately, lead to Jesus’ death. Given the hostility and the tension of our days, we would do well to listen into these encounters and inquire of God’s wisdom for us.
I look forward to our time together in worship with you on Sundays, and I continue to love meeting each of you in a 1:1 setting as well. If you haven’t yet, you can still sign up! Just click the red button below. Also, we are posting more and more information about our life together at Fremont on Fremont UMC’s Facebook page. If you haven’t yet, be sure to “Like” us on Facebook and learn more about community news and upcoming activities. Have a great week!
Grace and peace, Pastor Erin