Scripture Lessons for July 12th

"Sloth" from "The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" by Hieronymus Bosch

This week we'll be learning about the sin of Sloth.  Our scritpure lessons will be Ecclesiastes 1:1-9 (here is the Message version of this passage) and John 5:1-9a.

"Damascene teaches that spiritual apathy is a kind of oppresive sorrow that so depresses a man that he wants to do nothing. Thus things are acid are also cold. Spiritual apathy implies then a certain weariness about work. We know this from a gloss on the words of the psalm and finding all food repugnant, as well as from what others say, namely, that it is a topor of mind that cannot face getting down to work."

- Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologie, vol. XXXV, pp.189-91. 2a2e. Q 35

This week at Stevi UMC

Summer church office hours: Tuesday - Thursday, 9 am - 2 pm

Monday:

7:00 pm, Living Clean (upstairs)

Wednesday:

8:00 am, WIC

10:00 am, Wired Word study 

7:00 pm, Stewardship/finance

Friday:

Noon, UMW picnic @ Bonita Z.'S

Saturday:

8:00 am, Men's breakfast @ Frontier Cafe`

Sunday:

9:00 am, Church school for all ages

10:15 am, Praise singing

10:30 am, Worship

11:30 am, Fellowship time

First Sunday in July

Paul gets us started with praise singing

Lindsey, Skye, and Julie share the offertory

We love to fellowship 

Sundaes on Sunday

What a blessing we had on this first Sunday in July!  Numerous guests shared this holiday weekend with us and what a beautiful day it was.  The weather was certainly cooler than it has been for several weeks which contributed to the wonderful energy present throughout the congregation.

Our worship service was enhanced this morning with music offered by Skye Steele (violin), Lindsey Stormo (vocals), and Julie Ludington (piano).  We are so fortunate to have members and friends share their musical gifts during the summer months (and throughout the year).

Our fellowship time today was a sweet deal as we celebrated the July birthdays.  To make the gathering even more fun we enjoyed a sundae bar with all the fixings!

Prayers asked for Butte churches

Please lift up in your prayers the congregations of Mountain View UMC and Trinity UMC (both in Butte, MT) who are closing their church buildings this morning. 

Please also be in prayer for the Rev. David Anderson and the congregation of Aldersgate UMC (also in Butte) as they welcome and minister to their brothers and sisters during this time of grief and transition.

Prayer for Independence Day

Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

---

from the Book of Common Prayer, September 1979, p. 242

Independence Day weekend

As you go about your Independence Day weekend, please make sure to include the worshipping of God a part of your plans. 

Church school 9 am - praise music, 10:15 am - worship, 10 am - fellowship time (with cake and sundaes), 11:30 am.

The UMC in Cuba

+ This blog post is our 1,300th)

(from the YAC mission coordinator)

For more than 130 years, the Methodist Church in Cuba has experienced peaks and valleys that make it an enduring, determined—and, today, vibrant and growing—member of the Latin American Methodist family.

Today, the Methodist Church in Cuba has more than 42,000 members and a worshiping community of 65,000—a remarkably large number for a Protestant denomination in a country with a Roman Catholic culture (by tradition) and a Communist government. Many churches that were damaged or destroyed during the revolution have been restored, often with the assistance of mission volunteers from other countries. These volunteers were also instrumental in building a church camp and restoring a theological seminary for pastoral training in Havana. 

Now, the Cuban Methodist church is partnering with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) in building more than 200 houses for people whose homes were destroyed during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. At this point UMCOR has constructed 100 houses, supported 450 families, and reconstructed 26 churches.   

Read more about the United Methodist Church in Cuba.