Worship May 10, 2020
Welcome
I welcome you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
O God, you are our rock and our fortress.
In you we find strength to go on.
We praise you for the gifts of faith, hope, and love.
We will live out our call to be all
you have created us to be.
Opening Prayer
God of Gods:
We come to worship today to hear your good news,
to hear of faith, hope and love
ringing out from your kingdom.
We know that doubt, fear and hatred
can shake even the strongest.
Shape us into faithful hopeful people,
fill us with your love that passes all understanding.
We pray this together in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Children’s Message Ben Ziegler
Scripture
When it comes to the Bible’s most well-known passage on love, we turn to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Mothers are beautiful examples of the high calling of the love that is described in this scripture.
1 C0rinthians 13:4-7 (New Living Translation)
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Hear what the Spirit is saying and thanks be to God.
Special Music It is The Cry of My Heart Graciously provided by the United Methodist Church of Anoka
Meditation Pastor Debra Schaffran
Open in prayer…
Sometime back I found, ‘A position description and the related requirements for Mothers’. Both my mom and my mother-in-law are deceased so in re-reading what I had originally found I made some changes to make sure traits of both moms are included.
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND REQUIREMENTS:
This is a permanent job.
- And I don’t mean permanent until they die – my mom is still my mom and even her death couldn’t change that.
The successful applicant must be prepared to work hard.
- I look back at me as a kid and I know that I made the job very hard on my mom.
- I think Rod, my husband was probably a bit easier to raise but he has five brothers, six boys, very close in age so there is not doubt that his mother worked hard.
The workplace is often a challenging and chaotic environment.
- What more needs to be said?
Applicants must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24-hour shifts on call.
Extensive chauffeuring duties also required, but your travel
expenses will not usually be reimbursed.
- There is one exception because when there is time alone with a child the reimbursement in time is beyond measure
Some overnight travel will be required, including trips to camping sites on rainy weekends, and countless sports tournaments, music contest and events, in faraway places.
Must be willing to be hated, at least until someone needs money.
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
- Oh my poor mom!!!
Must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat just in case the screams from the backyard are genuine, and not just someone playing or crying wolf.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars, and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
- I can not even imagine what the duties and challenges are now that there is distance learning!
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, and an embarrassment the next.
HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS:
Must be able to handle the assembly and product safety testing of hundreds of toys and battery-operated devices.
- And passwords and connections and logins
ATTITUDE AND DEMEANOUR:
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end- product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance, laundering and janitorial work throughout the place of employment.
Of course, there is the catch-all requirement –
Other Duties as requested, demanded or assumed you know
PROMOTION PROSPECTS:
None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining,
Constant retraining is required to updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.
No previous experience is required, because no other form of employment is totally relevant, but On-the-job in-service training is offered on a continually exhausting basis.
There are no wages or bonuses for this job; job satisfaction is what you hopefully receive.
Additional requirements include you pay all the bills until they finish their education.
When you die, you give them whatever is left. The strangest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you should enjoy it and wish you could only do more.
BENEFITS:
While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no bonuses are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for free hugs for life if you play your cards right.
- Like many of you I wish I could I give that hug today to both my mom and my mother-in-law.
Obviously, there are some ‘tongue in cheek’ comments in this position description and the related requirements, but when I think about my mom and my mother-in-law it all seems to ring true.
And oh how I miss them!
NOW I’ll share a story that illustrates the compassionate characteristic of a mother.
A girl was late returning home from playing with a friend,
Upon her arrival her mother immediately said “Mary, why are you late?”
Mary said, “I was walking home with Julie, when Julie dropped her doll and it broke”.
“Oh, I see”, said her mother, “so you stopped to help Julie fix her doll?”
“No,” said Mary “we couldn’t fix the doll, so I stayed and helped Julie to cry!”
That, my friends, is called compassion, and Mary probably got that from her mother.
And another story that represents moms. I read somewhere that in South America members of a highland tribe came down and attacked a village of the lowland people.
The highlanders smashed up the village and left taking what they could carry, including a baby.
The men of the lowland village were not very fit and were afraid of going up into the mountains, so when the baby’s mother begged them to help her, they just shrugged and went away with their heads down.
The baby’s mother set off up a path into the mountains and disappeared.
She was gone 2 days and 2 nights and when she returned, she was carrying her baby with her.
The men said, “How could a woman climb all the way up there and face those ruthless tribesmen?”
The mother looked them in the eye and said, “It was my baby”.
What she did for her child, most women would do.
The word ‘mother’ appears roughly 42 times in many translations of the Bible.
It would be good to look at them all, but because of the limitations of time, we will only look at a few.
The first one I will mention is Genesis 2:24 which tells us that no matter how much someone loves their mother, and how much their mother loves them, the time must come when they move out.
This doesn’t mean that they never come back or that mothers – and fathers – have nothing more to do with them, only that the time comes when they must stand on their own feet.
Mothers – and fathers – will still be there for them, but just as Jesus left Mary, and moved to Capernaum, so one day our children will fly the nest and become ‘independent’.
Many, like me, can say that their relationship with their mother improved once they had moved out and were on their own. It is as it is meant to be.
Many people, parents as well as children, seem to forget
that Exodus 20: 12 is not an option; it is a commandment of God,
The commandment to Honor Your mother and father.
Obviously, God, who gave us the commandments takes being a parent very seriously, which is why the commandment ‘Honor your mother, and father’ is repeated word for word,
in Deuteronomy 5, Matthew 15, Mark 7, Luke 18, and Ephesians 6.
Our scripture today is called the Love scripture and often used at weddings, but I think we should think of it also as a love to and from our mothers.
Using the words of this scripture I could easily write about my own mom. Was she perfect? No, but she gave what she could. She loved me and my siblings with an incredible love.
My mom laid the foundation for who I am today. That foundation included knowing Jesus, my involvement in a Christian community, prayer, worship and so much more.
Today we give thanks to God for our mothers. If you still have your mom, show her how much you appreciate and love her. Tell her how glad you are that she is your mom. Give her a hug, a virtual hug if necessary.
I also give thanks to God for all those mother-figures (in addition to my mom) who were instrumental in laying my foundation, by telling me Bible stories, singing hymns or choruses to me, leading worship and teaching Sunday School, and praying for me and with me.
Christian mothers around the world have lived their lives in a manner that shared the Gospel message throughout the generations?
Perhaps it was your mother, perhaps it was your grandmother or an aunt or neighbor or teacher. Give thanks this morning for the mothers and other women that lead you to Christ. Amen
Use this time of music to prepare your communion elements. A simple juice and bread are sufficient.
Special Music Grace Alone Graciously provided by the United Methodist Church of Anoka
Communion
The body of Christ broken for you, take and eat
The blood of Christ shed for you, take and drink
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery
in which you have given yourself to us.
Grant that we may go into the world
in the strength of your Spirit,
to give ourselves for others,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Offering and Prayer of Dedication
What do you have to offer to God? I suggest you have so much, friendship to the least and lonely, food to hungry, compassion to the homeless. Call 4 friends and neighbors today just to talk, Call your mom or a women that has been like a mom to you and tell her how important she is in your life, When you buy groceries this week match what you bought for yourself for the local food shelf, the needs are great.
We have been called to speak and to live out the radical love of God in the world. We do so by offering all that we are, all that we do, and all that we have, knowing that God will use us and our gifts to bring the beloved community ever closer to being realized in this world.
Please drop off or mail your offering to the church. The church continues the work of supporting our neighbors near and far and need your support to do so.
Almighty God, giver of every good and perfect gift, teach us to you all that we have and all that we are, that we may praise you, not with our lips only, but with our whole lives, turning the duties, the sorrows, and the joys of all our days into a living sacrifice to you; through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer and The Lord’s Prayer
God of life and love, we give you thanks for this day. We are grateful, O God, for all the ways your presence is made known to us – both in great and small ways.
On this day of celebrating your love, we give you thanks for those who have given us life. Though we may call you “Father,” let us not forget how often mothers embody your steadfast and relentless love. We praise you, O God, for your gift of motherly love, both gentle and fierce, both strong and humble, both kind and true.
Gracious God we come to You in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
When the Disciples asked Jesus how they should pray he taught them and together we pray…
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
Benediction
Go now into the world,
inspired by the extravagant love of God.
Live generously, with open hands,
loving one another as if your lives depended on it.
Be good stewards of the gifts you have received,
so that God may be glorified in all that you say and do.
And may the abundant love of God surround you,
may the extravagant grace of Jesus Christ sustain you,
and may the constant presence of the Holy Spirit
inspire and encourage you in every good deed and word. Amen.
Announcements
- Mask drive
Welia clinic and hospital is doing a mask drive. If people would be willing to sew masks and bring them to the Pine City or Mora site, they can be dropped off in the bins labeled “Mask Drive” inside the first doors, before you get completely into either building.
There are two templates for sewing these masks on WELIA’s website. www.welia.org
The masks will be used by people coming to the clinic/hosp. and be given out to patients as they go home to use while out in the community.
- We have an update from Bishop Bruce Ough. He has now asked all United Methodist churches in Minnesota to not host in-person worship through May 30. We are using the month of May to plan for and prepare for our future.
- Do you need food or supplies but can’t safely leave your home? Lower-risk people from Mora UMC will help-out by shopping for basic needs for those of higher-risk, can’t safely leave their home, and don’t already have someone helping them. If you can pay for your items, we would appreciate it, but we want to help if you are unable to pay as well. If you need these services, please send an email to debraschaffran@gmail.com or leave a message at 952-240-3836.
- Camps offered through the Minnesota Dakotas camping program have been cancelled this summer. Watch for camping news as it develops.