Shhhh…Promotion Surprise
What do you do with 1,500 eggs stuffed with treats that didn’t get used for an Easter Egg Hunt this year? You re-purpose. Our Kids Ministry Staff, known as L squared (Laura Eldridge and Linda Saviers) dreamed up a special way to celebrate Promotion Sunday, Aug. 2. They had these fun signs printed and recruited Christ-centered servants to place them in the front yards of families in our Kids Ministry on Saturday night, Aug. 1. Our servants will hide the eggs in yards so kids will find them on Sunday morning, along with the signs. Shhh! It’s a surprise for our kids. I thought I was pretty safe telling you about it in this blog because I figured none of our kids read this and I’m so “egg-cited” about being able to bless our kids this way. Special treats are being planned for our kids moving to youth and our graduating seniors also, but I won’t give away those surprises.
Truth be told, it’s been kind of hard for our staff this summer. These are usually the months where we celebrate Christ-centered service wins like mission trips, youth force, and local projects galore. These are usually the months where we hear about lives changed at camp and see our kids dig deep with Vacation Bible School. The staff who lead us in these ministry opportunities love these experiences as much as the kids do. I LOVE these ministry opportunities. I look forward to them every summer. So, we’ve had some long faces. But, at just the right moment, they’ll have an idea that lifts our spirits. First, it was delivering the Palm Sunday bags to all our families with kids. Then, it was curbside conversations. This past week, it was our first-ever virtual VBS. And now, it is a neat way to celebrate Promotion Sunday. It has felt as though God provided just what we needed, when we needed it, and in the nick of time. I am also deeply grateful for the staff that serves Faith UMC: for their perseverance, their unwavering commitment to the gospel, and their devotion to our congregation.
I don’t know how deeply you dive into tracking the COVID numbers. I’m a life-long science nerd and numbers are my jam, so I dive pretty deep. I just have a real curious bent to me. I want to know how things work, more than a surface-level understanding. I know I spend too much time in the numbers…what they mean and how they indicate our future. This was a telling quip from the Tulsa Health Department preparedness update email, "On July 21, Tulsa County reached the milestone that 1 percent of residents have tested positive for COVID-19. The United States reached this milestone on July 13. To date, there have been no recent infectious diseases that have spread so rapidly as to infect 1 percent of the population in less than six months.” Friends, in Tulsa, it is not getting better. However, the current number of active cases hovers between 1,000 and 1,100 on any given day which is about 0.1% of the population of Tulsa County. While hospitalizations continue to rise, there appears to be capacity. And, the mortality rate has improved as the virus continues its march…partly due to the dramatic drop in the average age of those infected and partly due to the discovery of better treatment for those who are severely ill. Again, I spend too much time in the numbers. The truth is, no one knows what the pandemic really means for us as individuals and in our community because even if you lived through the 1918 pandemic, you were too young to really remember it. We are in uncharted territory. At some point, we have to trust in something beyond ourselves and the numbers.
The celebration of Promotion Sunday coming just when it did, highlighting the amazing resourcefulness of our staff, and providing a blessing of connection for many families in our church, pulls me up out of the numbers. Does it do that for you? Does it remind you that there are lots of ways we can celebrate being the church that are safe, fun, and meaningful? I am reminded. Actually, it is more than a reminder. It lifts my soul and draws my attention back to the Source. Good stuff.
More good stuff is coming this Sunday, July 26. We’re going to worship outdoors at 8:30 Sunday morning. Forecast shows morning temps around 80 degrees and partly cloudy, only a slight chance of rain. I hope you will join us on the west parking lot. Bring a bottle of water, a lawn chair, your phone and your communion elements. And hey, an umbrella for shade might not be a bad idea! For this outdoor worship service, we’re going to follow the Service of Word and Table I from the United Methodist Hymnal. Since we can’t pass out hymnals, we’ll put the unison prayers and lyrics to songs/hymns on our Faith App. That’s why you need to make sure you have your phone. Because we’re outside, we can safely pray these ancient words together and sing the songs. We’ll follow a very traditional Community liturgy and share our prayers together. I’m planning a short devotion on Psalm 128 and Matthew 13…the Lectionary texts for the day. My title is, “Longing for Plenty.” I would love for you to join us. After worship, the building will be open for restroom breaks. Those Sunday School classes meeting in the building can gather in their spaces. We’ll be live-streaming our worship from the sanctuary at 11:00 am, just like always. You can find us on our three channels: Facebook Live, YouTube, and our website.
So, let’s get “egg-cited,” Faith! Blessings are happening. Lives are being changed. Christ-centered service continues to be the “main thing.”
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Charla
