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Greetings!
A few weeks ago, we sent a letter to each of you which began with a quote from Helen Keller. Maybe you remember the quote and perhaps you do not? Let’s read Keller’s quote again… “The bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.” Helen Keller Remember the bend in the road is not the end of the road unless….unless….unless…. Unless what? Unless we fail to make the turn! Unless we fail to adapt! Unless we fail to overcome! Unless we fail to change! One key element we all need to embrace these changes is hope! I awoke this morning with the following scripture on my heart: NIV Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Now we must know that hope is not something we are uncertain about but quite the opposite! The writer of the book of Hebrews speaks to all of us about what holds our soul, namely hope. Friends, God is a god of hope! Our Savior gives us hope! Our Lord blesses us with hope! This hope is a confidence that God is with you and me! This hope is a certainty of nothing being able to separate us from the love of Jesus! Why is this important, to have hope? It is important to know our God will be facing these changes, the unknown, the uncertainty with you and me! We must know we are walking into the future with God by our side. None of these events have surprised God and none of them caught our Lord off guard! Jesus is still ruling on the throne of heaven, and He, Jesus is still the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! This is why we have hope and confidence in our God! As we consider the future and what it will be like; we know things will be different. There are many issues and much to be decided in planning to gather together for public worship again. Remember the hope which anchors our soul! Remember God is with us during this time! Remember we have hope in Christ our King! As we move toward relaunching public worship the leadership of Gibsonburg UMC and worship committee would like to invite you to join us for a Drive-In Worship service this Sunday, June 21st. This may be unconventional and different, however, with the hope from God anchoring our souls I believe we will be blessed! Come, join us and be blessed by the Almighty God this Sunday. Details are following and if you should have additional questions contact the church office @ 419-637-2159 or via email [email protected]. See you this Sunday! Pastor Max Drive-In Worship – Information When? Sunday, June 21st @ 1030 am Where? Parking Lot of Gibsonburg UMC Why? Because Jesus is worthy of our praise **We will be practicing social distancing* **Masks are recommended but not required** What should I bring? A lawn chair or you can choose to sit in your car. When you arrive parking attendants will provide instructions concerning parking. Song sheets are included and will be posted on the website and should be brought to worship. Restrooms or church will not be available at this time. Please use your discretion as you plan to join us. We are asking you to stay home if you are not feeling well. We will continue to stream our service on Facebook Live and post to YouTube. If you should have any further questions please contact the church office @ 419-637-2159. See you this Sunday! Greetings!
A few weeks ago, I mentioned a quote attributed to Helen Keller while videoing a daily check in through Facebook. Keller stated: “The bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.” Helen Keller Friends, we find ourselves at a bend in the road. CoVid-19 entered our lives and brought change to us. This was not any one person’s doing. This was not the choice of any person. CoVid-19 has brought change and change is the bend in our road. This change has disrupted our normal routines. It has disrupted our corporate worship. It has disrupted our gatherings, travel, work and the list could go on and on. The great disruption which we call CoVid-19 has given us a bend in our road! A disruption to the way things used to be! This Sunday will be the 12th week since we last gathered for corporate worship. It has been 3 months and much has happened in our nation and world. As things in our state begin to resume with some regularity the leadership of Gibsonburg United Methodist Church has begun the conversation of relaunching corporate worship. The Bishop of the West Ohio Conference, Bishop Palmer, has issued guidelines concerning worship services during this time. These guidelines can be found on the website of Gibsonburg UMC at www.gibsonburgumc.org. The leaders of Gibsonburg UMC will continue to prayerfully consider the many aspects of what relaunching corporate worship includes while striving to create a safe environment for everyone. With the health and safety of all we are considering all options and opportunities available to us. Please keep us in prayer as we navigate this bend in the road. Friends, how do we, Gibsonburg United Methodist Church, make the turn? I believe we must be united! I want you to hear that…. we, you and me, Gibsonburg UMC must be united! WE MUST STAND TOGETHER! We cannot allow our own thoughts, views and opinions of CoVid-19, what has happened nor what we believe should be done divide us. We are at a crucial time in the life of our church and we must do what the Apostle Paul said to different congregations: Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Philippians 2:2 Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. To be like-minded we must think the same! The scriptures tell us that as a person thinks so they will be. This means we must think about the same items of importance. The most important thing for a church is the mission. Our mission at Gibsonburg UMC is to Love God, Grow in God and Go for God! We do this best by sharing God’s love and the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with this world. The mission must consume our thoughts. We must love God and people; we must grow in our faith and we must Go for God on mission of sharing His love! Being of the same mind means:
Let’s be like-minded with one another in the days ahead! As we move toward relaunching corporate worship services, we ask that you stand united with us in 3 ways. First, pray for us! Pray for Gibsonburg UMC! Pray for the leadership of Gibsonburg UMC! Pray for our government! Pray for guidance and direction! Second, stand with us by being the voice of life! Speak words that are life giving and encouraging to one another! Share uplifting thoughts with those from our congregation who are in need while not allowing your speech to disintegrate into unmerited criticism! Speak life! Thirdly, as you are comfortable lean into being part of the solution. You can do this by getting involved at your level of comfort. Lean into being a part of the music moments! Lean into being part of the micro-communities! Lean into connecting with one another by phone, card, text or email! Lean into doing your part so when the time is right, we will be ready to gather in person. Friends, we will continue to keep you informed in various ways, via email, USPS, website and by phone. We ask you stand with us, UNITED TOGETHER! We ask you pray, speak words of life and begin to lean into being involved as you are comfortable! Prayers of blessings to each of you! Pastor Max News at a Glance: For more information on these and other ministries please call the church office at 419-637-2159 Micro-Communities A Discovery Group Experience on zoom. Zoom is video conferencing technology which utilizes the internet to bring people together. We laugh, share, study God’s word and all are invited to participate! Music Moments A moment of music to lift the spirits of those isolated during this pandemic. As we social distance we gather at the residence of those requesting a music moment and sing, pray and listen to scripture. If you would like to schedule a music moment please contact the church office. Prayer and Fasting We are calling all who are able to a time of prayer and fasting. We are asking you keep in prayer our world, nation, leaders and all affected by CoVid-19. Please choose any day of the week and any amount of time and join us as we stand united in praying and fasting. Prayer Ministry If you are in need of prayer please contact the church office to place your request on the prayer chain. Thank you! Thank you for your continued support of prayer and financial gifts. We covet your prayers as we navigate this uncertain time. Until we are able to gather again, we echo the words of the apostle Paul; “We thank our God in all our remembrance of each of you!” Facebook Live Worship - 1030 AM each Sunday Click here to worship with us! A micro-community is a group experience open to all who wish to participate. We pray, laugh, share and study God's Word! To get connected with a group contact the church office at 419-637-2159 or via email at [email protected] Click here to make reservations or to request more information! Need Prayer? Email us your prayer request. [email protected] A music moment is a moment of encouragement and hope delivered to those in need. We will be safely sharing a music moment while social distancing. Our hope and prayer is that we would bless those in need during these difficult days! Click here for more information on how you can be a part of this ministry! Thank you to all who currently support the ministries of Gibsonburg UMC! We appreciate your generous support which allows us to continually share God's Love! You can support the ministries of Gibsonburg United Methodist Church by:
Click here for more information about these and other events at Gibsonburg United Methodist Church |
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