Greetings dear church and extended church family,

Blessings to all of you in the name of Jesus from Matthew 25. Blessings upon blessings to you for being who Jesus describes in Matthew 25. Our church is not the picture painted in the comments of Kaitlin Shelter that I read to you on Sunday morning. Our church is an affirming, welcoming, loving congregation that stands with arms wide open to our community. We do many things for our colleagues at Eastside Community Assistance. I do not doubt your engagement or your willingness to be the hands, feet, mouth, and resources of Jesus Christ to the least of these in our neighborhood. And then I stood before you on Sunday morning and asked you to consider doing more. I listed several things that we could do: groceries for folks who cannot buy food; a place to be when the temperatures are dangerously cold and maybe even when they are dangerously hot; a safe space for folks recovering from the trauma of addiction and/or abuse. There is a Title I elementary school just down the street from us. Those kiddos could use a friendly neighbor, I am almost certain. We could make an appointment with the counselor at the school to determine exactly how we can help.

I cannot do this alone, though, and I don’t want to do it without you. School starts in about 30 days. I am tentatively scheduling a meeting for August 4th after church at 12:30. Please plan on bringing a sack lunch with you to church. We will fellowship and discuss some feasible plans.

Blessings to all, Mary

Peace and love to you in the name of the Risen Christ, 

It is so good to be Easter People! During this time of grieving, I am deeply comforted by the knowledge that the grave never wins. I know all of you have experienced the loss of someone who was part of the details of your daily life. Your experience brings me comfort and the love surrounding my family is palpable even when I am not in the church with you. I know also that even though you may not be able to speak each other’s names easily, your hearts are connected in a sacred place. Being loved the way God loves us makes it easy for us to love each other so fiercely. God spared nothing to regain relationship with God’s created and I can feel that kind of commitment in our congregation. We are all moving forward (at various speeds) to fully accepting that we are loved AND forgiven and that God wants nothing more than to be part of our lives. 

It is an election year and with this election, there is more fear and anxiety than I have ever noticed before. Our two candidates for president leave something to be desired and the impact of this election will be devastating for some in our country no matter who wins. In the middle of this drama, I know two things are true. First, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Second, the world needs to WITNESS the love of God from people like us. People who know the truth of the Gospel and live it with their hands and feet. A third thing I know is that we must each VOTE and PRAY for God to create a new heart in this nation. Not a political heart, not a capitalistic heart, not an oppressive, oligarchical heart, but a heart where we all begin to care for our neighbors living next to us and living around the world. Lord hear our prayers!

I found out on Sunday morning that Shannon and Julian will be performing “A Night on Broadway” for our delayed concert series. The program will be at the church, on August 10th. Doors open at 5:30 and the music will begin at 6:00 pm sharp. We will have light snacks afterward and a time of fellowship. There are 3 rules for this concert: 1. Bring a friend(s). 2. Bring a “light snack” for our fellowship afterward. Please sign up on the bulletin board to let everyone know what is being provided. 3. You have to be at church on Sunday morning! A Saturday night concert is not an excuse to skip Sunday church. I am so excited!!! Love to all, Mary

May the peace of Christ dwell within your heart and mind today and may your life match!

Two Sundays away from the church is way too much. I am looking forward to being back with you on July 7^th for our worship and communion services. I listened to church Sunday morning but am missing my hugs and warm smiles. The service was great on Sunday. And there are no adequate words for the beauty of the music we enjoy every week with Kristi, Blake, and Shannon. We are truly blessed to have this much talent in a church our size. God is good to us.

The children of Cris Monrrial did an amazing job putting together the funeral service for their mother. Every single thing was just a Cris wanted it to be. The entire clan was in attendance: 11 children, 30 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren and 7 great-great-grandchildren. Plus neighbors, friends, and other family from everywhere. The church that hosted the service and meal is the same church that the children grew up in, and the church where their mother could be found organizing volunteers to help a family in need or cook a meal for a family who had lost a loved one. Cris worked with 2 other women in the 1970s to found a dance group for the children and teenagers of the congregation. “Ballet Folklorico” is the name of the Mexican dance genre, complete with brightly colored, flowing dresses and the “charro” dance uniform of the male dancer. I am attempting to describe all of this because, after the family meal, the dance troupe performed for the guests. It was breathtakingly beautiful and brought tears of joy to my eyes. 

Our postponed concert on Saturday will be rescheduled soon. Nicholas was unable to attend due to circumstances he could not control. We will have time for some more advertising and preparation. May the Lord be with you. Mary

Our concert this Saturday night, unfortunately, will be postponed. Our performer is ill and unable to attend. Please pray for Nicholas’s quick recovery. Announcements about a future date will be coming soon.

Hello, dear church!

I missed being in church with you Sunday and I will not be with you this coming Sunday either. I will be in Abilene for the funeral. I am not sure I can stand being away from you for this long! I watched the service last week and will do so again this Sunday. Thanks to all of you who have sent cards, phone calls, and texts. And to Veta for the wonderful dinner and dessert! You spoil us and we are so very grateful for you. It is very hard to lose someone you love. I know many of you have experienced this kind of loss more than once in your lives. I take great comfort in knowing that my church has my family in its prayers and holds space for us in this time of grief. You are all a blessing from God.

REMEMBER OUR CONCERT THIS SATURDAY NIGHT: DOOR’S OPEN AT 6:30 pm.  The music starts at 7:00 pm. We will have light refreshments after so that you may visit with each other and with the performers. Nicholas and Cassandra have planned a wonderful performance for us. I promise you will not be disappointed. 

Please pray for Carol Bennett. She is the proud owner of a brand-new knee! Surgery was 6/25 and she will be out for a few weeks.

I received an email today from Marilyn Thomas. Marilyn wants to donate a Yamaha baby grand piano that belonged to her late husband. If you are interested in owning this marvelous instrument, please call me or text me and I will give you Marilyn’s contact information. If I don’t hear from anyone, I will share the information with the Central Texas Conference. We have to find a home for this beautiful piano and honor the memory of Marilyn’s husband.

There are no words for how much I miss you, Mary