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WORSHIP by TELEPHONE Or Via Facebook WORSHIP BY TELEPHONE 8 Prayer is vital to a Love Feast. A fixed form of HUFFMAN MEMORIAL UMC or via Facebook May, 2020 Newsletter prayer may be used, especially something like During COVID-19 lockdown, we the Lord's Prayer or Be present at our table, 2802 Renick Street, St Joseph, MO 64507 began using FB LIVE and a Lord, that is familiar to the people. Spontaneous Office: (816) 233-0239 Fax: (816) 233-5427 telephone conferencing service prayer requests and prayers may come from the Emails: [email protected] people. Website: huffman-umc.org Facebook: Huffman Memorial United Methodist so we could worship remotely and stay connected within our Scripture is also important. There may be scrip- MUSINGS congregation. We plan to continue ture readings, or persons may quote Scripture offering these methods for you to lis- spontaneously as the Spirit moves. There may None of us ever dreamed we would be told to not go to church for 7 Sundays in a row. But ten to, or view, worship when you be a sermon, an exhortation, or an address; but here we are. May 3 will be the seventh Sunday that we have not gathered at Huffman to wor- cannot physically come to it should be informal and consist of the leader's ship and praise God. Unfortunately, we do not yet know when we will be able to worship in church, even after the end of the adding personal witness to what spontaneously person. We must wait until the time is right. The safety and health of everyone around us comes from the congregation. stay at home order. Details will remains our priority, our response to the Gospel mandate “to love one another.” be posted on Facebook about the Most Love Feasts include the sharing of food. It LIVE sessions. is customary not to use communion bread, I acknowledge that it has felt odd to not see one another, to not share the coffee and cookies, wine, or grape juice because to do so might to not hear the stories of what happened during the past week, to not sing hymns, to not hear For the telephone link, keep these confuse the Love Feast with the Lord's Supper. the choir, the piano, the organ and to not hear the Word proclaimed while sitting in “your numbers handy. These remain The bread may be a loaf of ordinary bread, the same for every Sunday's pew” in the sanctuary. During our online virtual worship times, it is just weird for me to be crackers, rolls, or a sweet bread baked especial- talking to the camera that never reacts, never gives me back a smile or a nod. The thumbs up worship. ly for this service. If a loaf of bread, it may be Dial in to 1-571-317-3122. broken in two or more pieces and then passed and heart icons, as well as comment messages are appreciated, yet tough to follow as they Then input this Access Code”261 from hand to hand as each person breaks off a scroll by when the computer screen is 20 paces away. 404 613 followed by #, and enter a piece. Crackers, rolls, or slices of bread may be We miss each other. We long to be in each other’s company. We are hopeful and itching for second # when asked for a PIN. passed in a basket. The beverage has usually the end of the shelter-in-place order. (This is a world-wide phenomenon. See article about Once in the "virtual room," mute been water, but other beverages such as lemon- your microphone and adjust your vol- ade, tea, or coffee have been used. Early Meth- COVID in Angola.) And at the same time, we have felt connected and linked; bound togeth- ume. odists commonly passed a loving cup with two er, working toward our common goal of health and wholeness. I thank God for the Spirit that handles from person to person, but later the wa- binds us together, and for the technology available today that helps us communicate regard- Love Feast-(continued from pg. 7) ter was served in individual glasses. The food is less of distance. served quietly without interrupting the service. Testimonies and praise are the focal point in most Love Feasts. Testimonies may in- The Love Feast may also be followed by a full Perhaps we are like Noah after the rains stopped. I imagine that after sheltering-in-place for clude personal witness to God's grace or meal, in which case persons or families may all that time, he wondered, “When will I get out of this boat and get back to the life I remem- accounts of what God has been doing in the bring dishes of food for all to share. During the ber?” You will recall that he first “tested the waters” by sending out a dove. He had to do lives of others. meal there may be informal conversation in that multiple times before the it was clear that he could safely end his family’s quaran- Praise may take the form of hymns, songs, Christian fellowship, or the leader may direct tine. (BTW, quarantine comes from the Italian word for a period of 40 days. We associate choruses, or spoken exclamations and may the conversation by suggesting matters of mutu- 40 days with the Noah story. Check out the story in Genesis, chapters 6-9, to learn how long vary from the relative formality of an open- al concern, or there may be spontaneous wit- nessing and praise. If there is food left over, it he and his family spent together on the Ark.) ing and closing hymn to spontaneous call- ing out of requests and singing as the Spirit may be taken as an expression of love to per- I suspect we too will ease back into a new normal. Please be patient. Trust in God and wait sons not present. moves. Sometimes the leader guides those for the signs that confirm it is time to go out again. present alternating spontaneous singing and https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/the- sharing in free and familiar conversation love-feast Shalom, for as long as the Spirit moves. Wesley counseled that all the above be done de- Larry cently and in order. 2 7 Why is the Easter season 50 days long? WHEN IN THE HOSPITAL Easter for Christians is not just one day - it's a 50-day period. The season of Easter, or Please notify the church office and/or pastor: Eastertide, begins at sunset on the eve of Easter [April 12, 2020] and ends on Pentecost when you are admitted to the hospital; [May 31, 2020], the day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the while being diagnosed and treated in the emergency room; or Church (see Acts 2). have a scheduled procedure/surgery; and Easter season is more than just an extended celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. In the when you transfer to a rehab or other health care facility. We want to support you during a health incident or crisis – through visits and prayers. We early church, Lent was a season for new converts to learn about the faith and prepare for cannot when we are not informed. baptism on Easter Sunday. The initial purpose of the 50-day Easter season was to contin- ue the faith formation of these new Christians. You cannot depend on Mosaic Life Care to contact the church after your admission. Their process has a number of variables that may short-circuit a call reaching the church office, Today, this extended season gives us time to rejoice and experience what it means when especially around weekends and holidays. And when all systems work well, we might be we say Christ is risen. It’s the season when we remember our baptisms and how, through called the morning after your admission. this sacrament, we are “incorporated into Christ’s mighty acts of salvation.” As “Easter people,” we celebrate and ponder the birth of the Church and gifts of the Spirit It is always better for you, a family member or a friend to alert us. We would rather get (Pentecost), and how we are to live as faithful disciples of Christ. multiple notifications than miss the chance of supporting and being present with you. And, yes it is ok to call your pastor directly (816-646-1466) when you need pastoral care in a Many churches use these weeks to teach the theology of the sacraments and help peo- crisis, no matter the time. ple discern their spiritual gifts and callings. Congregations may have a service of commissioning laypersons into ministry as part of their Pentecost celebration. It is also appropriate to include your wishes, which we strive to honor. If you want the no- tification to be confidential and limited to only the pastor, say so. If you want our prayer Have questions? Ask The UMC or talk with a pastor near you. And check out oth- team to be engaged, ask. If you don’t want visitors, let us know. er recent Q&As. This content was produced by Ask The UMC, a ministry of United Methodist Communications [https://www.umc.org/en/what-we-believe/ask-the-umc-faqs]. Love Feast-(continued from pg. 6) As Methodists immigrated to North America they made Love Feasts an important part of early American Methodism. Church university in Angola to be used in COVID-19 fight While Love Feasts became less frequent in the years that followed, they continued to be held in By Orlando da Cruz some places; and in recent years the Love Feast has been revived.
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