Middletown United Methodist Church

Dear members and friends,

Now that Memorial Day has passed and summer has begun we would do well to remember a few things.  One has to do with our attendance at worship.  Of course the summer weather and the end of school for most necessarily means a change of family schedules.  The church schedule also changes.  Beginning with June 27, we will go from two services to one service that will be held at 10:00 a.m.  As we did last year we will be alternating traditional worship and praise services, beginning with praise on the 27^th. Sunday School will be held during the summer with the children being dismissed from worship at about 10:15 to go to what we think will be a fun and nurturing program for them. Celia Cummins will lead Summer Sunday School using a curriculum called The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss by Rev. James W. Kemp. Celia writes:

Come one, Come all,

We're going to have a ball!

Reading the stories of Dr. Seuss to please us,

And learning the lessons of Our Savior Jesus.

We'll read, talk, laugh, and have fun,

Being with our friends and following The Son!

It will all happen in the Double Classroom in the education wing. Everyone welcome K-6^th grade.

The Christian’s need to worship God and to have Christian education doesn't take time off during the summer.  Obviously our schedules have an impact on what we do and where we are but it is important that we give priority to our commitments to God.  For the person of faith these ought not to be optional, to be tended to if and when it is convenient.  Bearing the cross of Christ is not a matter of convenience but of obedience.  Beyond that, we need the ongoing fellowship of being with our church family.

Dear Members and friends,

Some of the men have just come back to Middletown from our weekend away at the Keswick Retreat Center. We had a rewarding time of fellowship and fruitful discussions and devotions around the theme of “Connections.” To give a framework for our time, we first watched the film “A River Runs Through It.” The storyline suggested several sub-themes: Identifying ourselves with each other and God; forgiveness; and patience and waiting for God’s timing. These were all tied to how we are connected to God and one another as people of faith in a nurturing community.

As I have been thinking about it since, I have turned back to a book titled “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations,” by Robert Schnase. In the book, the writer lists radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity as the hallmarks of healthy and dynamic congregations. In the section on Passionate Worship, Schnase writes:

“Vibrant, fruitful, growing churches offer Passionate Worship that connects people to God and to one another. Lives shaped by God’s Spirit become the nucleus for congregations with extraordinary warmth, graciousness, and belonging.” I can’t help but be reminded that worship, at its best, is relational; it connects us. I’ve long known that this is the case but it is good to have it reaffirmed now and again.

What do we do when we come together for worship? The Worship Team and the Praise Band work with me to try to create opportunities for this touch to take place in every service. What I’d like all of us to consider is how we participate in the worship as congregants. Each person has a part to play in the service. Do we come ready to worship? Are we focused on God, putting aside other concerns for the time being that we might open ourselves to the presence and work of the Spirit? If not, we’ll have a less than rewarding experience. A vessel cannot be filled that is already full of something else and if we come with our own agendas to worship there will be no room in our hearts and minds for God.