Children of God,
I hope you had a nice long weekend. I hope there was plenty of family or friends around. Memorial Day is a special day where we remember all those who have fought and died in the many wars we have fought over the centuries, decades and currently today. It is a good day to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of giving their life for us, so we can live the way we do today.
I probably already mentioned this but as a teacher, I used to love when we had Mondays off. To be able to not think about school for a while was a blessing. As a pastor, it is nice also but Saturday and Sunday come regardless. Not complaining. Just comparing the two professions I know.
The end of school has to be coming close. Maybe another week? I know the children love the end of school but let’s not forget the teachers. I know we have a number of teachers in our congregation. You might see a big smile on their faces. Like most teachers, they love what they do. However, they love the time off also. If you never have taught, you may not know how important it is to have this time off. To be recharged. To be able to focus demands on their family instead of grading or lesson planning in the stands. To maybe even read a book for pleasure. I know some think the teaching profession has it easy. Your pastor knows differently.
Well, we sort of got rained out for our first Sunday outdoors. With all the electrical equipment, we don’t want to take a risk of ruining it. It was also pretty cold. What a great thing it is to be able to switch gears and head in doors. Thank you Altar Guild for switching things, especially communion indoors. Probably most of you didn’t notice anything different. That is a good thing. It was because of the Altar Guild. Thank you Lois and Lori.
While I am on the subject of outdoor service, we will have them on the last Sunday of the month, hopefully in June, July and August. I understand for some, it is not your favorite worship service. That is one of the good things about offering a Saturday service. For one day, you are able to switch over and join us on that day. Or maybe watch us online. What I wouldn’t like is you skipping worship for that weekend because you don’t like the service. Worshipping God is not a menu where you pick and choose what you like and don’t like. We may be outside for 3-4 Sundays a year. I want you to worship somewhere. If not with us, go check out Dave or Jeff and Lori. I’m sure they would love to see you.
Pentecost is coming in two weeks. There is a tradition to wear red this weekend. It would be nice to see a sea of red in the church.
Yesterday, two Pistol Shrimp players came to the parsonage to stay with us for the summer. This is the 3rd year that our church is hosting players from the team. I wish I could say that there is a lot of just hanging out, but some weeks we don’t even see them. First of all, their schedules are so much different than ours. However, probably the biggest reason is that they are very busy. They are almost always playing a game somewhere. Even if they are at home, they are still super busy. The very next day, after picking up their uniforms, they go on an overnight trip to Iowa. Sometimes it is hard to keep track.
My wife is pretty funny. She was not brought up playing or even interested in baseball. Now, she is looking online to see if they won the day before. I am teaching her how to read a scorecard. This would never happen if we didn’t host the players.
For those who are working on listening to God speak in our prayers, we are at 4 minutes. God speaks to us in so many different ways. Not talking and simply listening is another way to give God an opportunity to speak and also an opportunity to listen.
Blessing to all,
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for the Seventh Weekend of Easter – May 31 and June 1
Acts 16:16-34 Psalm 97 Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 John 17:20-26
Reading the Bible in a Year- Monday, May 26 to Sunday June 1
Day Isaiah Psalms Proverbs Ephesians
Monday Ch 55-Ch 57:13 110 Ch 2
Tuesday Ch 57:14-Ch 59 111 Ch 3
Wednesday Ch 60-Ch 62 23:19-28 Ch 4:1-16
Thursday Ch 63-Ch 65:16 112 Ch 4:17-Ch 5:7
Friday Ch 65:17-Ch 66 113 Ch 5:8-33
Nahum
Saturday Ch 1-Ch 3 114 23:10-18 Ch 6
Zephaniah Philippians
Sunday Ch 1-Ch 3 23:29-35 Ch 1:1-26