September 2020 [on-Line edition]

really struck me. A woman called Duffan wrote, “I hate him and

am stubbornly sticking by it. But everyone and everything

needs someone like you, who still hopes for their wellbeing.

Even for the most vile. #goodonya”

What struck me about Duffan’s post was that I could hear her

struggle between what she knew was the right thing, to find

compassion for someone with whom she was extremely angry,

and her visceral reaction of hatred towards him. I am sure we

can all relate to Duffan. Its hard to find compassion and

understanding for someone who has hurt

us deeply or even threatens us. But as

followers of Jesus Christ our mandate is

clear in Matthew 5 Jesus says “You’re

familiar with the old written law, ‘Love

your friend,’ and its unwritten companion,

‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that.

I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let

them bring out the best in you, not the

worst. When someone gives you a hard

time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are

working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is

what God does.” Whenever I read this scripture my first thought

is always, “Seriously Jesus, this is easier said than done!” But I

also know that if we are going to have any peace in life we must

find a way to follow Jesus’ teachings in this.

In this difficult time when there is so much polarization and

anger we need to engage our spiritual selves before we engage

our political selves. If we do that we can be more hopeful,

compassionate and loving, even towards those with whom we

adamantly disagree. I am not saying this is easy. We don’t call

them spiritual disciplines for nothing! But Jesus made it clear

this is how we create peace. This is how we bring about the Kin-dom

of God. (Continued on page 3)

Dear ELUMC Friends and Family,

Here’s a little insight into my social media presence. On

Instagram I am PK Mitchell and it is where I post fun pics

of what’s going on in my life. OK I will be honest. I mostly

post pics of my dog. I can’t help it! He is wonderful! On

Facebook I am also PK Mitchell. I post fun pics, stay

connected with my community of friends, family and

colleagues. I also will post things that raise up issues

which are important to me and I want to raise awareness

about them. As I said in my first sermon, I will always

accept your friend request but I do not

request parishioners because not

everyone wants to be friends with their

pastor on social media. I don’t want folks

to feel awkward. On twitter I am

@pastorkatherine. You are more than

welcome to follow me but should know

that I am more explicitly political and

theological on Twitter. You are more

than welcome to follow me if you want to. Again, I will not

follow you unless you follow me first.

I am telling you all this as a way to share a story of

something that recently happened to me on Twitter. In

the beginning of August someone I follow tweeted a

question asking people who identified as Christian about

the President’s behavior. I responded, that as an elder in

the UMC, while I often find his behavior inconsistent with

Jesus’ teaching, I pray for the child in him. Well let me

tell you the reaction to my tweet was fast and furious.

Most people appreciated what I wrote. Some asked

questions about my faith and Methodism. But others

reacted with vehement anger and offense that I showed

compassion for the president. Then there was one that

The Methodist Messenger

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Prayer requests: Lesley Hampton, Hank & Bev Kalloch, Little Ford, Jessie & Colleen Grabowski, Louise House, Barbara Nero, Gail McGrath & Olivia Ryan.

Dot Buzzelle - Redstone

Joan Kearns - Wells Country Village, Vernon CT

Paul Willer - Reeds Landing

Joyce D’Angelo - 10 Riverside Dr. Hampden, MA 01036

Louise House - 750 Granville Rd. Westfield, MA 01085-3909

The Finance Committee reminds you that if your pledge commitment has fallen behind this summer, please try and catch up as soon as possible.

September 7 Carol & Bill Johnston 10 Amy Baron-Burke & John Burke 16 Rick & Ellen Marcil

17 Cindy & John Arnold

Thank you to Steve Wood who

will be taking over the mowing of the church lawns. We thank him for volunteering his time to maintain the church grounds.

Greater Springfield CROP Hunger Walk

Sunday, October 18th

Contact the Church office if you want to walk

Location: Virtual, MA We'll post more details once they are received.

Worship Planning Retreat

October 23-25, 2020 Prindle Pond

Conference Center in Charlton, MA

Who should come? ANY and all people interested in planning worship for the coming year and Worship Team members (past, present, future).

Prindle Pond Conference Center is considered Nature’s Classroom and their motto is to Think Outside the Books. The cost is $125 per person and includes a two night stay and three meals.

Please contact Kelly Greene for additional details.

CRAFTY APPLE FAIR Saturday, November 14

CANCELLED

After much discussion by our re-entry team and the Town of East Longmeadow, we unfortunately must cancel the fair for this year

Dear Friends,

Grace and peace to you in the

name of Jesus, in this time of high anxiety and fear. We see how hard you are working to adapt to this new reality, and we are grateful for your gift of $60 to support the One Church Fund. We will use your gift to connect churches in the Commonwealth with the resources they need to weath-er the storm and continue to serve their communities. Please keep us in prayer as we pray for the churches of Massachusetts–that all my be one.

In hope, Rev. Laura Everett Executive Director

(Continued from front page)

There is little doubt that in the next few months the political

tension in this country is going to get even higher than it al-

ready is. No matter where we stand politically, we need to

prepare ourselves spiritually. We need to ground ourselves in

our faith through worship, prayer, spiritual practice (in what-

ever form that comes), small groups and study. We need to do

this as the church and we need to do it as individual Disciples of

Christ so that we can be a source of God’s grace in the world.

As Jesus followers we are called to model what it means to

stand up for the cause of justice in a way that is grounded in

love and compassion for a world that is desperately needs to see

it. I know this is true because of tweets like this one from

someone called Salt-Fueled Crusade Machine who responded

to my tweet by writing, “Preach! Yours is a voice I can hear

and I feel it. Thanks for that!” And this one from Erika Ann,

“Katherine, you’re an inspiration in reminding me how to pray

for and love even those that we know are not good human

beings or have hurt us. It’s harder but it’s what we need to

do and it feels better than the anger and resentment.”

This is our work Church! Let us prepare for what is bound to

be some tumultuous days ahead by getting ourselves spiritually

grounded for the work of love and justice in our world.

Be Blessed, Be a Blessing,

PK

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Dear Church Family,

The Re-entry team continues to meet on a bi-weekly basis. At our most recent meeting, we started reviewing the results of the survey that was sent out. There were a few key take-aways:

1. There were 32 responses.

2. Almost all of those who responded were able to access the online worship service.

3. When asked if online worship met spiritual needs, 72% responded with always or usually, 22% responded with sometimes, 6% responded with rarely.

4. 74% of respondents indicated that they would attend an outdoor worship with 6 foot distancing, masks mandatory, no singing, no physical contact with people outside the family unit, and no communion.

We will continue to collect responses and report to you if these numbers change significantly.

Recognizing that the town offices and schools are open remotely, the team recommends continuing with only providing online worship and promoting small group meetings for the foreseeable future.

However, there are social distanced small group check-ins on Friday evenings (virtual) and Sunday evenings (outside, in-person at the church). Pastor Katherine will also hold Wisdom Wednesdays at the church at 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm following social distanced guidelines. Additionally, we will move forward with a "Fellowship Check-In" across the church. Please see the separate article on page 5 about this fun fellowship event.

Finally, the team continues to develop a protocol to follow when the time is right for us to gather in-person again. The trustees have ordered sanitizer and cleaning supplies, including a sanitizing "misting" machine. The team is committed to creating a protocol that is warm and welcoming while maintaining everyone's safety. Your comments from the survey are helping us understand what that would look like.

We can't thank our church family enough for all of the kind words of support and gratitude that were shared in the survey. Our church is strong. Our church is together, even when we are apart.

Blessings, Andrew Samuelson

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, said that the act of studying God and the scriptures is a means of grace. What he meant was that in order for us to experience the love, hope and contentment of a deep relationship with God we need to take the time to

reflect on that relationship and make ourselves available to the love of God that surrounds us. One of the best ways to do that is to gather together grow in relationship with one another and to seek God's wisdom through exploration of scripture and other sources of divine learning.

To that end Pastor Katherine will be hosting “Wisdom Wednesdays”. She will lead two small groups one at 1:00 pm and the other at 6:30 pm every Wednesday. We are beginning with the book Help Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott. These will be ongoing gatherings so watch for what’s coming next!

If you are interested please contact the church office at 413-525-7416 or info@elumc.org

The Methodist Messenger

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From the Music Director

Hi everyone,

Life continues to be uncertain – we lost power on August 5 for 13 hours! Luckily, we bought two battery-powered fans a few years ago!

The Re-entry team, of which I am a member, continues to explore ways that we will return to whatever normal looks like. Meanwhile, please keep watch-ing the Zoom/Facebook services.

Please keep faith in the Lord and your various councils and committees and all will be well.

Hang in there!

Grace and Peace, Rick

Loaves and Fishes Meal Preparation

Our Loaves and Fishes crew helps to feed per-sons downtown--the need and the numbers are up and the number of churches willing

to help is down. Because the need is so great the ELUMC Loaves & Fishes crew are now meeting twice a month on the third Wednesday and the fourth Thursday of each month.

At 9:00 a.m. a group gathers in our kitchen to cook up whatever recipe is planned for that day. WE NEED YOU to help us provide that meal.

Let Denise Forgue know of your interest and she’ll get you started. Contact Denise at (413-733-5644) or mems5luvs@gmail.com)

If you don’t have time on one Wednesday or Thursday morning a month, how about buying pasta for the meal? Name brand "tube" pasta is preferred rather than generic brands that don’t hold up to baking. Pasta donations can be placed in the labeled bin by the mailboxes or on the counter in the kitchen upstairs. You can also call Brian Kingsley at 860-794-0847 or Vance Gagnon at 413-209-4522 and they will arrange to pick-up of your pasta dona-tion.

Or you can help with a donation toward the food. Put Loaves & Fishes on your giving envelope or on the memo line of check.

Bill and Katie Fisk renewed their wedding vows at their

formal wedding ceremony. It was held on July 31st at Topsail Beach,

North Carolina. Proud parents are Beth and Ted Fisk.

Mission Shares Update-Your Help Is Needed

Although many events in our lives have been cancelled or postponed this year due to the pandemic, outreach programs, many of which our church supports through our mission share apportionments, are in greater need than ever. By paying our Mission Shares, we are supporting local, national and international outreach programs.

ELUMC’s missions shares apportionment for 2020 is $31,000. Through August we have paid $10,000 toward our mission shares commitment, leaving a balance of $21,000.

Although this amount seems unattainable, keep in mind that we have paid 100% of our mission shares responsibility for nine of the past 10 years. We are a strong, committed and compassionate congregation, one that has always been mission oriented. Let’s not lose our commitment to outreach just because we’re not worshiping together in person. Let’s continue to stand strong (even if it’s at a distance) and support the people who need our help the most.

Here’s how you can help:

1 If you’ve fallen behind on your pledge commitment and are able to catch up, please do so as soon as possible.

2. If you are able to make a gift to our mission shares commitment, please write a check to ELUMC with mission shares on the

memo line or online, go to paypal.me/elumc and make your gift. Please indicate that it should be directed to mission shares.

Let’s remember what 2020 has taught us…slow down, refocus, and most importantly, be there for each other as best as we can.

The Methodist Messenger

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Registration is now open for The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection’s Leadership Institute 2020, which will be held online

Sept. 24-25. The online format is packed with relevant and actionable leadership development content through a live-streamed event, plus on-demand bonus material spanning across all ministry areas. Whether you’re in your home office on your couch or gathered with a group from your church, we invite you to:

Invest in your growth. Invest in the growth of your team.

Early Bird price of $49 is available through Sept. 1.

$69 after Sept. 1. For more information and to register please contact the

church office at 413-525-7416 or info@elumc.org

If financial aid is needed please contact Rev. Katherine Mitchell at

pastorkatherinem@gmail.com

DO YOU SHOP ON

AMAZON.com?

How about taking advantage

of Amazon’s great deals AND

support the church at the

SAME TIME. ELUMC has linked up with AmazonSmile to

invite supporters to order through smile.amazon.com.

The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase

price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the

church.

On your first visit to AmazonSmile smile.amazon.com,

you need to select ELUMC from the list of charitable

organizations. Amazon will remember your selection, and

then every eligible purchase you make at

smile.amazon.com will result in a donation. You can still

log in as usual, pay as usual, but you are now sup-

porting the church.

Let's come together while staying apart for a brief check-in and prayer with the help of ZOOM. You can use the link below on your computer or phone to show us your face or simply call in to listen in.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/288833724? pwd=MmI2N0NGeVBmaUY1RWQxeGNjTkpnUT09

Password: 5257416 One-tap mobile (audio only):

+19292056099,,288833724#,,#,5257416#

Manual dialing instructions: Phone number: (929) 205-6099

Meeting ID: 288 833 724 Password: 5257416

Don’t You Just Love Hearing From Someone Unexpectedly?

What a way to know that someone is thinking about you and has taken the time to check-in on you!

During this unique time in our history, now is the time to shift out of our

comfort zone to reach out to each other in a way that is heart-warming and real during a time where everything is “virtual”. Would you be willing to be a part of this fun fellowship activity?

We are looking for 15-20 (or more) people to reach out to those on our membership list. Don't worry. You won't be on your own. For those who are interested, we will have a zoom meeting to get organized. You just need to let Andrew Samuelson know that you're interested.

You can email Andrew at asamuelson055@gmail.com or text him at 860 534 0556. Calling works too!

So let's do this! Let's spread some joy! Let's share some hope while being in fellowship with each other!

PLEASE UPDATE your INFO

New phone number? New address? Please let the office know your current contact info. And if possible,

we'd love to have your emergency contact info for family members also.

SAFE SANCTUARIES

This church is committed to providing a safe place for our children.

Address Service Requested

East Longmeadow United Methodist Church 215 Somers Road, STE 2

East Longmeadow, MA 01028-2998

413-525-7416 • a reconciling congregation www.elumc.org

THE SUNDAY EXPERIENCE in September 10:00 a.m. – Livestream Worship

The Methodist Messenger is a journal of the ministry of The East Longmeadow United Methodist Church. Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.

Because the Church is still officially closed due to the Covid-19 virus, food donations for the East Longmeadow Food Pantry have been difficult for church members to drop off .

The need is still great.

The Outreach Team is suggesting monetary donations be made in lieu of food donations for the month of September.

The East Longmeadow Food Pantry serves between 150-200 families a month. They also deliver food to 15-20 homebound people.

Please make checks payable to ELUMC with East Longmeadow Food Pantry in the memo line.

OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY

For the on-line church calendar follow this link:

http://57650311.view-events.com/