A Loss in Our Church Family

Curtis Anderson passed in his sleep during Sunday night. Arrangements have not been made, but we will send out an announcement as soon as we know. Our love and prayers are with Linda and all of Curtis’ family. May the Lord remind them that Curtis is feeling great now in the presence of the Lord and all of his family who went before him.

This Coming Sunday

Mary is back and will be preaching for us. Blake will be gone, but Julian Rodriquez will sing for us. Expect some high tenor notes.

Sunday, at church time, it will be 50 degrees under a bright sun.

Good weather for church. And don’t forget breakfast—at 10:30 before worship.

End-of Year Reporting

On Monday, we turned in “the numbers” (our finances and membership statement) to the Conference, as we do every January. We had a successful year. Our people were faithful. All bills were paid.

In the coming year, I would encourage us to continue to be careful with our spending. A church growth expert has said a church needs to hold a third of their yearly budget in reserve. We do not have that much, but we do have some.

And we can depend on the faithfulness of our people. We also depend on the power of the gospel to continue to draw people to our church.

Every few Sundays we see new faces in our midst.

I am excited about 2024.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

God bless—MB

Hello dear church and friends,

We lost Curtis Anderson on Monday morning. He passed peacefully in his sleep. Linda we are praying for you and your family. Linda and Curtis have been members of the United Methodist Church for a long, long time. They even have some original artwork from a Methodist circuit preacher from BEFORE the UMC was united at all. I wonder how all of those circuit riding preachers would feel about the UMC if they could see us now? And the lay ministers who served in between visits from the circuit riders, what would they think of the church today? It was a very conservative time then and a little bit now; but, the UMC is slowly making progress in the areas of affirmation and inclusion. I am proud to say that our congregation moves faster than the majority. I say all that to tell you that I found out that Curtis and Linda Anderson are also trained and certified lay speakers for the UMC. They preached many years ago at Eastside UMC. I know how they feel about the church today. They love Saint Matthew and have become an important part of our history and community. Funeral arrangements are pending. You will receive a special email with the details.

I am back from my vacation to the beach. It was a peaceful and restful time for me. I hope to share some photos with you soon. Mostly, I hope to see you in church on Sunday. Love to all, Mary

Jesus was walking along the shore of the Galilean Sea when he saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, fishing with nets. Jesus called to them: “Come, follow me! I will teach you how to fish for people.”

They dropped everything and followed Jesus. Further along the shore, Jesus saw two brothers, James and John, fishing with their father. He called out to them the same invitation and they left their father to follow Jesus.

The phase “to fish for people” is Jesus’ invitation for us to truly follow him. This is a calling for everyone. When we accept this calling, we are invited to be disciples and to share this message with the world. Everyone is called. We can all be a follower of Jesus; we are all included.

Thanks for being in church with us to learn more about this invitation.

Blessings

What a Good—COLD—Sunday!

Well—I lied—inadvertently—in last week’s newsletter. I said—jokingly–the heat would be working on the cold upcoming Sunday. Of course, it
would. It always has been.

But not last Sunday. It wasn’t working properly. It got up to 55 degrees in the sanctuary. Everybody kept their coats on and we had a great time.

The heat is being fixed this week.

(Fortunately, the rest of the church was warm.)

This Sunday

I always wind my old grandfather clock in my living room every Sunday. I was doing so last Sunday evening and was suddenly fascinated by the thing that provides the power that keeps it running. And I decided what I want to preach on this Sunday. My scripture is the story of Jesus casting out an “unclean spirit” (Luke 4:31-37). My sermon title is “The Source of Power.”

Mary is gone one more Sunday.

Kristi will be back.

The heat WILL be on.

Expect a time of joyful worship.

God bless—MB

Do NOT forget the great breakfast Winston prepares for us every week—10:30 before worship. It has become a great time f fellowship.

See you at breakfast.

Hello from Marsh Harbor!! I pray that you are all warm and safe. I watched you shiver Sunday morning during the service and I am grateful to the many of you who showed up AND stayed for the service. Please, please reach out to me or to Max if you need anything during this inclement weather. We do not want anyone to suffer needlessly if the church can help. I won’t trouble you with the weather details from here. I do not want you to experience the cold and being jealous.

I submitted everything to the Board of Ordained ministry on Saturday about 3pm. I’m sure you heard me shouting with joy. Twelve thousand words, 42 pages, and most of my heart and mind went into that document. I also realized that by answering those 16 questions, I now have the framework for 16 sermons. I will interview in March and have my results very quickly after the interviews. I cannot tell you how very much I appreciate your prayers and support. I would not have completed all of this without you. Love to all, Mary