Greetings, dear friends!

I want you to know how deeply grateful I am for each of you. Your kind words and warm hugs after the service uplift me and give me the boost I need to get through the week. I’m looking forward to the day when I can serve full-time at the church and be more involved in the weekly life of our community.

A lot is happening at St. Matthew! We host a monthly St. Matthew Women United luncheon and presentation on the second Thursday of each month. The next gathering is scheduled for July 10, so please keep an eye on the bulletin board for more details as the date approaches.

We also offer yoga classes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00 AM. These classes are open to all ages and fitness levels, and there’s a chair yoga option available as well. And don’t forget our Saturday morning breakfast at 7:30 AM, lovingly prepared by Doug Kelsey. It’s a great way to start the weekend with good food and good company.

I’m currently exploring the idea of launching a grief support group led by an outside facilitator. We’ve all experienced loss in different ways—especially in recent years—and many of us are carrying grief for loved ones, for the world, or the changes happening around us. If you’re interested in helping with the planning (not leading), please let me know.

I’ll be preaching again this Sunday. Max is feeling better and reports improved mobility—thanks be to God! I’ll be sharing part two of our new series, “Words Matter: The Ways We Talk to Ourselves.” I can’t wait to be with you again.

May you experience peace, love, and the joy of God’s presence in every moment.

With love,

Mary

Peace and love to all from the first Annual Conference of the Horizon Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Many things are happening in our conference, and I am thrilled to be in the service of God at this exact time in history.

Before I get to the business of this meeting, I want to ask for prayers for our beloved Max and Jackie. Max took a tumble yesterday, scraping up his hands and arms, hitting his head, and falling hard on his right knee. He was admitted to the hospital for observation and to help decrease the swelling in his knee. The scan of Max’s head was normal, and for that we thank God. His knee is very swollen, and surgery is one option to assist with decreasing the swelling. He will keep us updated about the plan. Your prayers are vitally important to his recovery.

Please refrain from calling him at this time. Max can be emailed at [email protected] or cards sent to his home address. Please email me at [email protected] if you need his address. Or call the church, and Veta can help you. Finally, you can send cards to the church:

2414 Hitson Lane
Fort Worth, TX 76112.

Now, back to the work of the annual conference. This has been a learning experience for me and another lesson in humility. I am learning more and more about the operations of this conference, called “holy conferencing.” Holy conferencing is supposed to be covered in the Holy Spirit and fueled by our commitment to God, to each other, and to our neighbors. Holy conferencing invites us to put aside our egos and our personal opinions. It invites us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in the work of the gospel.

There are still some passionate conversations about how we should do the work. And by passionate, I mean sometimes contentious. In the midst of these difficult decisions, someone always stands and reminds us to breathe and to refocus on our commitment to each other.

I am humbled by the work being done by so many for the honor and glory of God. I am humbled to be a part of these ministries and to serve as God intends. I am humbled and blessed to be able to take time away from my nursing job to be here.

I will close for now. Sunday I will have a report of some very important decisions made here.

My love to all,

Mary

Last Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost—a special day when something amazing happened to Jesus’ friends.

After Jesus had gone back to heaven, the disciples were all together in one place. They were probably wondering what to do next. Suddenly, there was a sound like a rushing wind, and something like flames appeared above their heads—not hot or scary, but bright and full of power. They were filled with the Holy Spirit—God’s presence with them!

Then something even more incredible happened: they started speaking in different languages. People from all over the world heard them speaking in their native tongues, and they were amazed. “What is going on?” they asked. Peter stood up and explained that this was the power Jesus had promised. The Holy Spirit had come to help them share God’s love with the whole world.

And that’s exactly what they did.

🕊️ What We Learned

✔ The Holy Spirit is a gift from God that gives us strength and courage.
✔ God wants us to share His love with everyone, no matter where they’re from.
✔ Pentecost is like the birthday of the Church, when everything began to grow.

We missed many of our kids last Sunday—we know some of you are off on family adventures now that school’s out! Whether near or far, know that we are always thinking of you and cheering you on as you grow in faith. We hope to see you soon for our next lesson!

Blessings and joy from your Sunday School family.

Let me clarify something.
Our livestream revamp is fully covered by an inheritance we received from two beloved members and good friends of mine, Fred Stearns and Eileen Engleson Stearns. We could never have done this work without their gift, nor would we have even thought of doing it.

However, I would like to raise $5,000 to $6,000 and keep more of their gift in our “rainy-day fund.” It’s not essential to raise the money. I just feel it would be good to do so.

Listen—for most of my years at St. Matthew, we had a hard struggle financially. We always made it. I know that God has been with us all the way. But I like to keep things on the safe side.

I plan to give some to the project. I will also do a special concert to help raise funds. If you want to give something, wonderful.
If not, you know that’s fine too.

The project will be completed soon, and I consider it very important. Our livestream represents us to the world beyond our walls. And we want people to see us and know us as we are. In the future, this may be our main source of new members.

Fred and Eileen have allowed us to take on a big project. It includes completely rewiring our sound and video systems, building a new video booth, and installing new cameras.

I am deeply grateful to Fred and Eileen that we can do this work. They looked hard for a church like St. Matthew after they moved to Oklahoma. They never found one. Fortunately, they could still watch our services by livestream every Sunday.

They lived far away, but this was still their church.
We thank God for them and their love for St. Matthew.

PENTECOST!!!

This is a great Sunday.

Put on something red and let’s celebrate the “Birthday of the Church.”

My sermon: The Big Bang of Pentecost
Look forward to some great special music.

And—yes—we WILL sing Pentecostal—
And—yes—we WILL hold those long notes until someone in the congregation passes out.

We won’t have our usual Pentecost meal after church, because the folks who work the kitchen have had to do it too often lately. They need a rest.
But we will have one great day in the name of our Lord.

(By the way—it was good to have Mary back last week. She’ll preach on the 15th—a week from this Sunday.)

Discovering God Class

Listen! I promise you—there was no class in any church in the Metroplex, and perhaps in all of Texas, that had a better discussion than we had last week. What a great bunch of folks we have in this class!

This week, our long journey brings us to the cross.
Amazingly, our study of religious experience has brought us here.

Class begins at 9:45, followed by breakfast.

Breakfast This Sunday

It’s a “We-Bring” Sunday.
If we don’t bring—no breakfast.
Breakfast starts at 10:30.

Come early and eat.
This fellowship time is lovely.

⸻

The sermon this Sunday will remind us that God knows what is needed when it is needed. That was true at Pentecost—and it’s true in our lives.

Come. Rejoice with us.
Come. Let us learn of the Lord together.
Come. This Sunday.

God Bless,
—MB