When you hear of the Congregational Care Committee, it’s easy to imagine what their day-to-day looks like: caring for the congregation.
But, during the last year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the care provided by the committee has reached new lengths.
This is the first year of recollection that the committee has been chaired by two members — Barry Christmas and Judy Grubb — and the pair share responsibilities with 16 other church members. Most members serve three years on the committee, but it’s not unusual for a member to stick around for an additional year or two. This is the fourth year for Grubb.
“It is a committee that a lot of people, they’ve heard of, but they don’t really know what the committee does and how far-reaching it is,” Grubb says. “I feel like it’s really important work that is done because we’re trying to maintain communication and to care about church members.
An active, hands-on church committee, Christmas, Grubb and the additional members take a very organized and detailed approach to reaching every member of the church in one way or another.
“I love the work that we do because I know that it is touching people’s lives in a very meaningful way. It means a great deal to a lot of these people,” Christmas says. We get a blessing out of it, too. We are definitely blessed by the work.”
Care Connect Ministry
The first responsibility of the Congregational Care Committee is the Care Connect Ministry. Each member selects their desired number of contacts off the contact list of 62 homebound members and members living in a care facility.
Prior to the pandemic, members were encouraged to visit each contact at least once a month, sending cards and reaching out via phone call on occasion in between each visit. Now, members rely on cards and phone calls to connect with these congregation members, and it’s been encouraged to reach out more than ever before.
“That contact is very important. It’s easy to fall into depression and be despondent and pull away from social interaction,” Christmas says. “As I tell the committee, these people can’t get too much love, so pour the love on.”
And the contact made is not just important to the member. Grubb, who has had the same contacts for the past four years, has begun receiving cards in return and always receives phone calls thanking her for her kind words.
During the shutdown, Grubb has unfortunately lost one of her contacts, but before she died, her daughter passed along how much her mother appreciated the cards. Following her passing, Grubb sent a card to the daughter, and the daughter responded with a note saying the continued connection to the church meant more to her mom than she could have known.
“That really makes you feel like you’re doing something good,” Grubb says.
Advent and Lenten Devotionals
The devotions distributed each Advent and Lenten season are the work of the Congregational Care team, as well. In a typical year, devotions were only printed and distributed at the church, and mailed to congregation members who needed it.
Now, with the help of the Communications team, Advent and Lenten devotions were delivered to members virtually through the Church Street website, email and social media. Anyone who still needed a printed copy could receive one via request.
Barry Christmas shares advent devotions with community members picking up UMW Bake Sale items in November 2020.
Any devotionals mailed during the Advent season were sent by Christmas, and each person on the Care Connect Ministry contact list received a wooden cross and special Christmas letter. Christmas had the help of church staff members Doris Lively and Nancy Keen for the Lenten devotionals, and the pair sent to the Care Connect Ministry contact list a devotional and special Easter letter.
“We’re learning how to do new and different things and calling on new people outside of our committee to help us keep our projects going,” Christmas says. “They’re so meaningful to all of our congregation.”
In addition to a change in distribution, the way in which devotion writers were recruited changed. During Advent, congregation members dedicated time and attention to writing devotions for each day during the season. But, with an early 2021 Lent and Easter season approaching quickly, Church Street clergy suggested the Congregational Care team pull together a “Voices from the Past” for the 2021 Lenten season, reprinting devotions printed as far back as the 1970s from beloved Church Street members and saints.
“I know it’s going to be meaningful, especially to people who have been members of the church for some time,” Christmas says. “They’re going to recognize all those names in that booklet. It’s a blast from the past.”
Crafting with care
Many of the Congregational Care Committee members are crafty, using their skills in crochet, knitting and sewing to impact different congregation members.
During the pandemic, Grubb has shared her work of creating monogrammed blankets for newborn babies in the church community with Betty Craig. Grubb started the project in 2010 and now gathers materials and sews the blanket as far as she can go until she reaches the monogram part, and then she drops off the blanket on Craig’s front door to finish.
Once the full name and birth date has been added and Craig has monogrammed CSUMC, the blankets are given to Children’s Director Katryn Bancroft who assures the gift makes its way to the new parents.
In addition to these blankets, volunteers knit or crochet prayer shawls to be given to members who are experiencing illness, chemotherapy, surgery or other life crisis where they need comfort of knowing prayers are being lifted up to them. 61 prayers shawls were distributed in 2020.
When these shawls were delivered in person, a written prayer would be read over the person, creating a meaningful moment for both the recipient and the giver. Now a printed prayer is included with each shawl.
“I’ve taken shawls to people before, and you could just tell that they were very, very touched by that,” Christmas says.
There are other small projects that the committee works on from time to time, including walker bags to attach to the walkers of older members of the congregation.
New member assimilation
If you’ve joined the church in recent years, you’ve likely come in contact with one of the Congregational Care Committee members. Each month Christmas and Grubb receive a new member report and pass along to the month’s volunteer.
The volunteer for the month will make contact within three weeks with the new member either by email or phone call. After that initial conversation, the volunteer continues contact for an additional six weeks to answer questions and make sure that they have been connected with ministry and mission opportunities.
Supporting military and their families
Another responsibility of the Congregational Care Committee is its dedication to military members and their families.
Grubb remembers when the U.S. entered Iraq in 2003. Her son-in-law was in the Army and in the first surge, and Rev. Bill Fowler created a special support group for members who had family in the military at the time.
Attending with her husband and daughter, she remembers how important the support meetings were, and likens the work Congregational Care does on a regular basis to these meaningful meetings.
Loretta Best has led this work as long as Christmas has been with the committee, and in a typical year, she maintains the military display board in the church with a photograph of all the active duty members and family of members of the church. She has continued to keep the board updated at the church during the pandemic, and in 2021, the Committee is taking one further step by recognizing active duty members in the Messenger each member’s birthday month so that the congregation can lift that military member up in prayer (in 2020, the committee dedicated this space to members in their 90s and older).
In addition to maintaining the board, Best will send cards on occasion to military members, and each Christmas she sends them a care package on behalf of the committee.
Bereavement
Helping members with bereavement has been the most changed aspect of the Congregational Care Committee’s responsibilities.
Care notes, which are small pamphlets that cover a wide variety of issues, are kept on a display rack in the church for public access. While the committee and community has not had access to these care notes, clergy have been encouraged to take advantage of those pamphlets, which are grounded in scripture, when opportunities are presented.
“People have told me in the past that that’s been very meaningful to them and those little pamphlets have really helped them,” Christmas says.
Throughout the month of March, we are telling the stories of the Church Street Connectors, those in the church body who have exemplified “being the church” since the Covid-19 pandemic first hit in March 2020. When the church building closed, their ministries continued in new and thriving ways. Stay tuned for more stories all month and throughout the year.
All are welcome at Church Street! We believe every person is of sacred worth and created in God’s image. We welcome and celebrate the gifts God has given to all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, status, economic condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious affiliation. We respect diversity of opinion and expressions of Christian faith. We believe God loves everyone unconditionally! As God loves us, so let us love and serve in the name of Christ.
Evening Prayer – March 4
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
March 4, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
What gift can we bring: What present or token?
What words can convey it- the joy of this day?
When grateful we come, remembering rejoicing,
What song can we offer in in honor and praise?
(Hymn by Jane Marshall)
In these hours past you spoke not a word, but the day was saturated with your sacred presence. Holy silence sang through tiny buds on nubby branches and happy tufts of green grass, washed clean by recent showers, sunned themselves on the lawn. Both the delicate blossoms of Lenten roses and the stems of the old yew fluttered when you passed by. Even now crystal stars are clustering above, a sparkling choir to sing your serenade of rest. In this ordinary day, you have come to us in extraordinary ways. Indeed, what song can we offer in honor in praise?
We remain humbled by the endless ways you express your love for us and offer our gratitude for these personal ways you have appeared to us this day . . . . . . . . . . Yet despite your presence and guidance, we feel the sting of the instances when we let you down . . . . . . . . . Sprinkle us with fresh water from your stream of forgiveness, we pray, and remind us that tomorrow is another day, teeming with opportunities to honorably serve the Author of all our Days.
And now, Caring One, we place in your compassionate care these ones whom you love, as they render to you their own thanksgivings and their personal struggles.
Give each a sense of your grace and presence as they face their individual challenges:
Give thanks for tomorrow full of surprises,
For knowing whatever tomorrow may bring,
The Word is our promise always forever.
We rest in God’s keeping and live in God’s love.
Guardian of our Sleep, grant us a peaceful night, and look with kindness upon all whom we love, for we place our trust in you, Our Keeper, and your Blessed Son who invited us to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Welcome, Friend
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Thursday, March 4
By Ann Jourolmon, February 27, 1978
Welcome, Friend
Read: Romans 15:7 (The Living Bible)
“So, warmly welcome each other into the church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified.”
One of the International Sunday School lessons this past fall was based on the above scripture. The key word is welcome. I thought how true it was that as Paul preached the Good News, always he proclaimed that it was for all. Again and again, he stressed that Christianity had a welcome sign out for every person. Someone has said that for Paul, the Gospel had so changed the world, that all the “Keep Out” signs were replaced by “Welcome” signs.
This reminds me of an incident that happened to my father. When he first built his mountain cabin, he put up a sign, “No Trespassing.” Someone did not like this. He found his sign torn down several times. Finally, he posted a sign: “Private Property – BUT – Welcome, Friend.”
Paul was positive that all the “Keep Out” signs were replaced by “Welcome” when Jesus Christ came to this world. As God welcomes every person through His Son, so we who are His followers must welcome all into the Christian fellowship.
We are told that the word “welcome” is an Old English word, originally spelled “wilcoma.” I suppose that it means well come – it is well that you have come. God says to us, “It is well that you have come to Me, through Christ, your Saviour.” And, in turn, we must say to all who would be a part of the Christian fellowship, “It is well that you have come -WELCOME.”
Prayer
Our Father, may we realize that Thy Son is an inclusive Saviour and that His church must be inclusive, too. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Evening Prayer – March 3
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
March 3, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long. . . .
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.
I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
(Psalm 32:3-5)
Loving Parent, the poet spoke of the need to see ourselves as others see us. But more than that, we long to know how you, Holy One, see us. As we reflect in evening shadows, we admit we sometimes think too highly of ourselves and act accordingly – lording it over others, pretending we have the solution to every situation. On the other hand, at times we feel we are inept, inadequate, completely unaware of any personal gifts worthy of notice. Surely in your eyes neither of these states is accurate. Forgive us for both our grandiosity and our wallowing in self-pity. Grant us, Lord, a glimpse of your own perception of us, that we might acknowledge our sin and open ourselves more widely to the Spirit’s working in us and through us.
Enduring Truth, whatever is true in us causes us to see a world that is so in need of healing. Your love is omniscient, but there are places where your love is invisible. We know that whole populations are being killed, scattered and enslaved, while few take notice. Greed has seeped into our relationships with other nations and we step on the backs of the poor to satisfy our personal desires. Thank you for those who have taken on the brave beauty of your holy work, who tear down the wall between the haves and the have-nots, who labor for those who dream of life outside the ghettos. May we ever see with the eyes of truth, and pray you would give courage to our convictions, that we might also use our individual gifts to join those who travel your road of justice. Our steps may be small and sometimes wobbly, but you will show us how to run and not be weary, how to walk and not faint.
By you great mercy, bind our hearts, Lord, with all those who are hurting everywhere. Freedom is meant to be shared, so let us spend the time you give us to break the bonds that shackle troubled souls. Receive these prayers of thanksgiving for the personal ways you have upheld us . . . . . . . . . . and accept these praises and pleas that are offered by the people of Church Street:
We make a pallet beside your own bed this night, Lord, knowing that your deep peace will carry us safely upon the sea of merciful sleep. We will arise with joyful hearts, ready to meet you on the other side of daybreak to continue our service in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Faith With Works
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Wednesday, March 3
By Dr. Felix Line, March 12, 1980
Faith With Works
Read: James 2:26
“…Faith without works is dead.”
The Christian religion makes many demands upon one who accepts it. The first step in becoming a Christian is to have faith. This concept emphasized by Paul is discussed at length in his various letters which make up a large portion of the New Testament.
There is a small book of only four chapters which I believe strikes a balance between faith and works. I am referring to the book of James about which there has been and still is controversy. Martin Luther wished to exclude the book from the canon because of the appearance of an apparent contradiction of Paul’s teaching on justification by faith.
It seems to me that James is expressing the same concept that Paul is saying, namely, that when one is a Christian and attempting to do the will of God the natural and normal sequence of that faith is “good works.”
Over the centuries Christianity has been talked about, argued, debated and has been encrusted with observances, confessions, rituals and prayers. The writer of James gets down to the essentials by stating that the Christian faith makes a difference in the way a person lives regardless of the rituals and observances in which he participates.
Prayer
Help us to live by what the writer of James says:
“Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” 1:22
“What does it profit my brethren if a man says he has faith but has not works?” 2:14
“Show me your faith apart from works and I by my works will show you my faith.” 2:18
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
March Info
YouthIn-Person NightLife is happening!!!!!! Mark your calendars for Sunday night, April 11 at 5:00. More details to come!!!!
In-Person Worship
Did you see the news?! Church Street is opening back up for in-person worship! Glory be and hallelujah. There will be services beginning March 14 at 8:30 and 11:00. Online worship will still be available on YouTube, as well. Sunday school and NightLife are not far behind! Please click at the link below to register for worship.
Register for Worship
Lent Study
During Lent this year, we will do a study during NightLife called “Seven Words: Listening to Christ from the Cross.” We will take a look at the final statements Jesus made at the end of his life. This study offers a hopeful and reflective look at the cross during Lent, and we are so looking forward to working through it together. We are looking at participating in Lent through three categories: giving something up, taking something on, and being mission minded. Join us at 5:00 on Sundays to learn more about the work of Christ on the Cross.
In-Person Pick-Up
Youth Website Update
We’re excited to share that we have a fresh page dedicated to Youth Ministry on the Church Street website. Our old website (churchstreetyouth.com) will still be up, but our info and blog posts will be shared on this new page. Click below to check it out!
Youth Page
Senior Info
Graduating Seniors, it is so hard to believe you are in the home stretch of your high school careers. You should have already received an email from me about with everything you need to know about Senior Sunday, scholarships, and senior info we need from you. If not, please let me know and I will forward it to you. Click below to access our Senior Info form and our scholarship application.
Senior Info
Scholarship Application
Dates:
March 7 – Regular NightLife, Lent Session 3
March 14 – No NightLife, Knox County Spring Break
March 17 – Youth Parking Lot Hang Out
March 21 – Regular NightLife, Lent Session 4
March 28 – Drive-by NightLife – Holy Week Pick-Up, Palm Sunday
NightLife Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86994229398
Confirmation Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85193587558
Evening Prayer – March 2
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
March 2, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Everybody’s talking at me; I can’t hear a word they’re saying,
only the echoes of my mind.
People stopping staring, I can’t see their faces,
only the shadows of their eyes…
(Harry Nilsson)
There was confusion in our day today, as in most days; many shrewd and shrill voices competed for our attention. Only you, O Lord, can bring order out commotion and clarity out of our confusion. Settle us down this evening you have bequeathed us, as we enter your certainty and find our rest in you. Realign the ear of our hearts that we might attend to your words alone. Reconfigure our dreams, that we would desire nothing apart from your will.
O Master of Life, we promised to bow before no ruler but you, yet we now confess that we have sought applause from those who do not know your name. We even tolerate companions who dismiss you altogether. We have once again slipped into the lure of earthly acclaim, attending to voices promising happiness, but leading to insignificance. We wonder how many, in searching for Jesus, witnessed our own worldly example and sadly turned away. Loving God, forgive the ways in which we have dishonored you. Here in silence and meekness, let us wait for that one true voice in the crowd, the voice of our Savior who knows our sins and bids us start anew . . . . . . . . . .
We tend to think of the Lenten Season as solely a spartan existence in the wilderness, much as Jesus’ own desert sojourn. And as we search the refuse within our own souls, we find it can be a melancholy trek. But we thank you, Sacred Friend, that in your gentle mercy, you have surprised us with a flood of gifts along the way: a multitude of gorgeous days and warm temperatures, resolutions to throbbing challenges, a curing vaccine you helped create, restoration and healing for friends and family, new babies born, and the opportunity for in-person worship. By your sustaining largesse, we are humbled, and also remember these personal favors you have presented in recent days . . . . . . . . . . . .
Knowing your mercy is not reserved for a few, but touches every life, we bring you these thanksgivings and also the needs expressed by members of your Church Street family:
Keeper of the Night, we close our day with calmer hearts and take our rest in thanksgiving for your renewing love. And in the dark hours, should you have a word for us, may our hearts be open enough to bid you welcome, saying, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Giving extra care during COVID-19
connectors, Featured, MissionsWhen you hear of the Congregational Care Committee, it’s easy to imagine what their day-to-day looks like: caring for the congregation.
But, during the last year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the care provided by the committee has reached new lengths.
This is the first year of recollection that the committee has been chaired by two members — Barry Christmas and Judy Grubb — and the pair share responsibilities with 16 other church members. Most members serve three years on the committee, but it’s not unusual for a member to stick around for an additional year or two. This is the fourth year for Grubb.
“It is a committee that a lot of people, they’ve heard of, but they don’t really know what the committee does and how far-reaching it is,” Grubb says. “I feel like it’s really important work that is done because we’re trying to maintain communication and to care about church members.
An active, hands-on church committee, Christmas, Grubb and the additional members take a very organized and detailed approach to reaching every member of the church in one way or another.
“I love the work that we do because I know that it is touching people’s lives in a very meaningful way. It means a great deal to a lot of these people,” Christmas says. We get a blessing out of it, too. We are definitely blessed by the work.”
Care Connect Ministry
The first responsibility of the Congregational Care Committee is the Care Connect Ministry. Each member selects their desired number of contacts off the contact list of 62 homebound members and members living in a care facility.
Prior to the pandemic, members were encouraged to visit each contact at least once a month, sending cards and reaching out via phone call on occasion in between each visit. Now, members rely on cards and phone calls to connect with these congregation members, and it’s been encouraged to reach out more than ever before.
“That contact is very important. It’s easy to fall into depression and be despondent and pull away from social interaction,” Christmas says. “As I tell the committee, these people can’t get too much love, so pour the love on.”
And the contact made is not just important to the member. Grubb, who has had the same contacts for the past four years, has begun receiving cards in return and always receives phone calls thanking her for her kind words.
During the shutdown, Grubb has unfortunately lost one of her contacts, but before she died, her daughter passed along how much her mother appreciated the cards. Following her passing, Grubb sent a card to the daughter, and the daughter responded with a note saying the continued connection to the church meant more to her mom than she could have known.
“That really makes you feel like you’re doing something good,” Grubb says.
Advent and Lenten Devotionals
The devotions distributed each Advent and Lenten season are the work of the Congregational Care team, as well. In a typical year, devotions were only printed and distributed at the church, and mailed to congregation members who needed it.
Now, with the help of the Communications team, Advent and Lenten devotions were delivered to members virtually through the Church Street website, email and social media. Anyone who still needed a printed copy could receive one via request.
Barry Christmas shares advent devotions with community members picking up UMW Bake Sale items in November 2020.
Any devotionals mailed during the Advent season were sent by Christmas, and each person on the Care Connect Ministry contact list received a wooden cross and special Christmas letter. Christmas had the help of church staff members Doris Lively and Nancy Keen for the Lenten devotionals, and the pair sent to the Care Connect Ministry contact list a devotional and special Easter letter.
“We’re learning how to do new and different things and calling on new people outside of our committee to help us keep our projects going,” Christmas says. “They’re so meaningful to all of our congregation.”
In addition to a change in distribution, the way in which devotion writers were recruited changed. During Advent, congregation members dedicated time and attention to writing devotions for each day during the season. But, with an early 2021 Lent and Easter season approaching quickly, Church Street clergy suggested the Congregational Care team pull together a “Voices from the Past” for the 2021 Lenten season, reprinting devotions printed as far back as the 1970s from beloved Church Street members and saints.
“I know it’s going to be meaningful, especially to people who have been members of the church for some time,” Christmas says. “They’re going to recognize all those names in that booklet. It’s a blast from the past.”
Crafting with care
Many of the Congregational Care Committee members are crafty, using their skills in crochet, knitting and sewing to impact different congregation members.
During the pandemic, Grubb has shared her work of creating monogrammed blankets for newborn babies in the church community with Betty Craig. Grubb started the project in 2010 and now gathers materials and sews the blanket as far as she can go until she reaches the monogram part, and then she drops off the blanket on Craig’s front door to finish.
Once the full name and birth date has been added and Craig has monogrammed CSUMC, the blankets are given to Children’s Director Katryn Bancroft who assures the gift makes its way to the new parents.
In addition to these blankets, volunteers knit or crochet prayer shawls to be given to members who are experiencing illness, chemotherapy, surgery or other life crisis where they need comfort of knowing prayers are being lifted up to them. 61 prayers shawls were distributed in 2020.
When these shawls were delivered in person, a written prayer would be read over the person, creating a meaningful moment for both the recipient and the giver. Now a printed prayer is included with each shawl.
“I’ve taken shawls to people before, and you could just tell that they were very, very touched by that,” Christmas says.
There are other small projects that the committee works on from time to time, including walker bags to attach to the walkers of older members of the congregation.
New member assimilation
If you’ve joined the church in recent years, you’ve likely come in contact with one of the Congregational Care Committee members. Each month Christmas and Grubb receive a new member report and pass along to the month’s volunteer.
The volunteer for the month will make contact within three weeks with the new member either by email or phone call. After that initial conversation, the volunteer continues contact for an additional six weeks to answer questions and make sure that they have been connected with ministry and mission opportunities.
Supporting military and their families
Another responsibility of the Congregational Care Committee is its dedication to military members and their families.
Grubb remembers when the U.S. entered Iraq in 2003. Her son-in-law was in the Army and in the first surge, and Rev. Bill Fowler created a special support group for members who had family in the military at the time.
Attending with her husband and daughter, she remembers how important the support meetings were, and likens the work Congregational Care does on a regular basis to these meaningful meetings.
Loretta Best has led this work as long as Christmas has been with the committee, and in a typical year, she maintains the military display board in the church with a photograph of all the active duty members and family of members of the church. She has continued to keep the board updated at the church during the pandemic, and in 2021, the Committee is taking one further step by recognizing active duty members in the Messenger each member’s birthday month so that the congregation can lift that military member up in prayer (in 2020, the committee dedicated this space to members in their 90s and older).
In addition to maintaining the board, Best will send cards on occasion to military members, and each Christmas she sends them a care package on behalf of the committee.
Bereavement
Helping members with bereavement has been the most changed aspect of the Congregational Care Committee’s responsibilities.
Care notes, which are small pamphlets that cover a wide variety of issues, are kept on a display rack in the church for public access. While the committee and community has not had access to these care notes, clergy have been encouraged to take advantage of those pamphlets, which are grounded in scripture, when opportunities are presented.
“People have told me in the past that that’s been very meaningful to them and those little pamphlets have really helped them,” Christmas says.
Throughout the month of March, we are telling the stories of the Church Street Connectors, those in the church body who have exemplified “being the church” since the Covid-19 pandemic first hit in March 2020. When the church building closed, their ministries continued in new and thriving ways. Stay tuned for more stories all month and throughout the year.
The Call Worth Answering
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Tuesday, March 2
By Rev. William H. Balch, March 15, 1979
The Call Worth Answering
Read: Luke 14:16-24
The teachings of our Lord are very real in our present day. I would like to share a parable that is written in response to the one found in Luke’s writings.
The telephone rings and John answers. Could he come for dinner, the caller asks, and John started to think. No, he could not come tonight since he was thinking about a new visitation program for the church. After hanging up the phone, he returned to the details.
The telephone rings, Tom answers. Dinner, tonight, — no I’ve just bought a new home and we’ve got a good deal to work on around the house.
Another call, Jean answers. She really cannot make the dinner since they are having company. When she hangs up, she calls The Browns to invite them to play bridge.
The calls continue but they all seem to be busy, happy, good people who just cannot make the dinner.
But what do you do with a meal you’ve prepared for those you care about? You call others – the man who lives in one room of a downtown rooming house; the girl whose life has been crowded with wild dreams from her drug use days; the woman with three fatherless children; the student who feels hopeless . . . other persons we all can name. And the dinner was a great celebration of life, for someone cared.
God invites all, but few of us respond. We may be about the good works of the world and fail to hear Him.
Prayer
Help us, O God, to listen for your call. Strengthen us to respond and to join in the celebration you bring to all of life. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Evening Prayer – March 1
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
March 1, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
O Fountain of Life, the sky above is gunmetal gray, matching the grayness of our outlook. But in evening’s sinking light, we can still make out the gnarled bark of the barren trees glistening in the falling rain. Like giant sponges they drink in every drop pouring down. In their ancient wisdom they seem to understand they will need all the sustenance you send for drier days to come. You know there will be barren times in the days ahead when our faith will tend to wither, so shower your prudence upon our thirsty souls, too, Lord, that we may also drink fully of what you have to teach us this season. Drench us, we pray, that by springtime, we will have become as strong and as resilient as the luminous oaks.
A wise one once taught that our days are what we make of them. Forgiving One, we confess that we allow mere trivialities shape our attitudes. We all have days when the car won’t start, when the roof springs a leak, when the dog has to be rushed to the vet, when the computer is sluggish. Help us rise above these everyday nuisances as we bring to mind those impoverished ones who must walk the streets of despair each and every day: the disabled mentally and physically, the grief-stricken and the lonely, the voiceless and the powerless whom no one notices. Help us set aside those petty irritants that color our days and use our energy to pray for and to serve those whom the world has forgotten. Even Jesus’ own words remind us how close the downtrodden are to your own heart: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”
All praise to you, God of Goodness, for the way you paint our path with renewal. Our gratitude for this interval of Lent, these days of introspection that give us space to shift our priorities, to realign our attitudes, to become closer to our Master. The Christian life always asks something of us, an in return we have the honor of serving our Ever-Renewing Savior.
As we close out this day you have granted us, our spirits are lifted by the particular mercies you have imparted, especially . . . . . . . . . . Certain of your sheltering ways, we now commit to your continued care each of these petitions offered by our Church Street family:
May we welcome the darkness that covers us and listen as your mercy falls as gently as the rain upon us. Wrap us, and all whom we love, in your protection and grant us a peaceful night. And should dreams unfold in the hours of rest, may they reveal the deep love of the Caring Christ, who taught us to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Prayer
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Monday, March 1
By Mrs. Gladys Phillips, March 12, 1978
Prayer
Read Matthew 6:9-13; 6:7-8, Mark 1:35, Luke 18:1; 6:12, Matthew 7:7-8; 7:11; 6:6
Dr. Frank Laubach called prayer “The mightiest force in the world,” yet it is said to be the most neglected practice among Christians. One has but to study the life of Jesus to learn what importance He placed on prayer. It was a constant practice in His life, and He commanded His followers to pray. He taught His disciples that prayer was to be the means by which they were to release the resources and energies of God. Pentecost was an awesome example of prayer power.
Bishop Cushman asks, “What does all this mean if not that Jesus taught, and Pentecost illuminated, His message that prayer is and has always been the greatest need of the church and of the world?”
The framers of our Constitution solved a serious problem after pausing to ask God’s direction. In World War II massive prayer brought a miracle from God that saved the troops at Dunkirk.
All of us have had prayers answered individually, and recently God sent a miracle of healing in my own life in response to a small prayer group uniting in earnest intercession for me and prayers of others.
Prayer is not only a need for us each day, it is also a means of service available to everyone – the well, the sick, the lonely, the shut-ins, the elderly, the younger. One of our church vows is to pray for our church. It is a duty and a privilege for every member.
With prayer so great a need, why do people neglect to pray?
Prayer
Gracious Lord, Thank you for the privilege of prayer. Help Christians everywhere not to neglect it. Amen.
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