Season of Lent

Christianity celebrates a very special season called All Hallows Eve, or All Saints Day.  This is a time when we remember the spiritual bond that remains between those who have died and those of us who miss them so very much. As United Methodists, we remember and give thanks for the lives of the saints and set aside time to especially remember those who have ascended in the last year.

On Sunday, November 1, 2020 we will be celebrating the lives of these special souls with a very special All Saints’  Day worship at both gatherings. We will lift up the people who loved without condition, who taught with gentleness and compassion and those who served faithfully in the name of God and Country, just to name a few.  We will have the opportunity to light a candle in their honor and dedicate the morning to a life no longer with us but a bond which still remains. We hope you will plan to be with us and there is one thing we would like to have you share on this day.

During the worship, we will be reading the names of some of those in our congregation who have passed in the last year. We invite you to add someone you have lost in the past year to our remembrance list. Please let us know if your loved one served in the military and if so, which branch. We will be reading these names as a group and ask that you only include one for the sake of brevity.  Call (435-627-8638) or email the office (shumcsg@yahoo.com), share that name with us and we will try to include it on our list.

This will be a service of tears and hope, and we know that our hearts will be heavy but we will once again hear the message of eternal life as well. Come and let us remember the saints who have paved the way for our faith and the hope they have left behind so that we may always remember to celebrate each other.

“When our confidence is shaken in beliefs once thought secure
When the spirit in its sickness seeks but cannot find a cure
God is there active in a faith not yet mature.”
— When Our Confidence is Shaken, UMH 505

The United Methodist Hymnal is full of some wonderful, well known songs that lift the spirit and evoke everything from smiles to tears for those who sing them. But there are many hymns we rarely use, Like the one above, that are filled with unusual and sometime obscure ideas that can lead us to the truth of God and shine a light on our human condition. These are challenging days, and I do pray that you are social distancing and isolating as you feel necessary. SHUMC is still, albeit minimally and as safely as possible, still ministering in every way we possibly can. I wanted to share with you some of the ways in which we are still attempting to serve you in Christ’s name.

We are trying our best to keep the online worship filled with songs and spirit. We are following all national guidelines for social distancing and sanitization, so the few people who are gathering to create a worship experience are armed with all the required safety precautions to keep people healthy and virus free. Should the virus numbers increase in the state or if we are asked by our leaders to stay in place, we will do exactly that and the Sunday worship will be simply a sermon and devotion. We hope to do something on livestream every Sunday at 9 am as long as we can, but health will be our priority.

If you need Rev. Michael for an emergency, please call our home phone and leave a message. Anne and I receive a ton of spam/robo calls, so we do screen our calls. If you leave a message, we will get back to you as soon as we possibly can and with social distancing guidelines, help in any way we can.

Office hours, for the sake of exposure, will be shortened for the immediate future. Sandi will be checking phones regularly, so again, leave a message, but if you do need us someone will be available Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Your gifts and offerings are very important at this time. Thank you, thank you thank you to all who are sending in you gifts by mail and through the EFT program! Our intent is to continue paying the staff during this time, and our reserves will last through about June. If you need any guidance on how to get your offerings to us, we will be happy to answer your questions during office hours.

Worship for Easter and Holy week is still “under construction”, but this Sunday we will take communion from home. I will post a video on the social media sites about this and in a few days I will send out an email explaining the experience. Keep some bread and grape juice handy!

We are in a fog of crisis, and not always seeing with eyes of confidence and clarity. I am working as diligently as I can to keep our eyes on the prize of Christ, but along the way many voices find their way into the conversation. We will continue to responsibly and actively bring ministry to you, so please pray for us as we stumble toward the Lord’s Kingdom. Be safe, social distance and catch some joy today as the Lord speaks in a time of trial and reliance.
Keep serving, spend some time in prayer and may our lives draw from the Spirit so that we may live fully into the future that is before us!!

In one peace,
Rev. Michael