Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

 Well, they did it to me again.  Someone used my position to text and ask for a favor. Then they wanted you to respond to and purchase an Apple Gift Card.  Instead of meeting you , they would ask you to just give them the code on the back.  THIS IS A SCAM.  DON”T DO IT. It seems they are using my position as the pastor to ask a random group of people in church for help.  They are using a different number so I am not being hacked. The police have been called and they know that this has happened to me twice.  They tell me there is nothing for me to do.  Changing my number will not help because they are not using it.  They are only sending it to a select group at church.  How they got the names and phone numbers, I do not know.  Please do not respond to this text.  I may text some asking for a favor, BUT I will never ask you for money.  I am truly sorry about this, but I don’t really know what to do or why this started in the last month or so.

On a happy note, if you haven’t seen the office area, come in and take  a look.  Monica has done a great job of painting not only Eloide’s office but mine also.  I have no idea when the last time this was done.  Both rooms needed it.  Eloide’s office is the first room that people enter during the weekdays.  It should look warm and inviting.  Monica made it look this way.  She also softened my office and added new chairs.  The old ones looked a little ratty. Thank you Monica.

How was the outdoor service?  What a beautiful day.  The temperature was great. Most things worked very well.  Thank you to all those who participated. 

The garden is producing.  The herbs are growing and can be collected.  We have plenty of onions to go around. There are a ton of raspberries to pick.  Some green peppers and jalapeno peppers also.  You’re going to have to wait for the tomatoes.  We planted green beans (twice) but something munched them all down.  They did the same to the zucchini.  Don’t forget that it is also a quiet place to pray.  The prayer board is up and ready to go.

Thank you Dave for preaching for me last weekend.  He gave all of us a task to do.  Dave asked us to reach out to our “bunch” (3-4 members) and try to connect with them. The main point is to reach out to them and build relationships.  I looked through the directory and there were so many names I did not know. I am looking forward to reaching out to my “bunch” in the next couple of weeks.

My wife came across this prayer and shared it with me. I am now sharing it with you.

Prayer:  O Prince of peace, in a world torn asunder by wars and in a nation polarized by differences, we know there is a better way. May we, as your disciples, be examples to the world and our neighbors of that better way. As we strive to be at peace with one another, may others see in us a way to live peacefully and productively despite our differences. May we be instruments of your peace and channels of your love. Amen.  (Moravian Devotional)

Let’s continue to show grace to one another.  How about if we believe that most of us are just trying to do the best we can.

Scatter seed!

Don’t ever forget who you are and whose you are. You are, yes, you are a child of God.  Alleluia !

Pastor Tom

815-223-1144

[email protected]