Beautiful Beloveds,
5 million cases of COVID-19 in our country. I can’t wrap my head around it. Can you? More than 160,000 deaths. It’s unimaginable. What is a faithful response to this suffering? Grief. Lament. Solidarity. Prayer.
Our Mark Miller Song, I Believe, reminds us of the power of faith. Written based on words found scratched on a wall, by a Jewish person in the midst of the Holocaust, “I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.I believe in love even when I don’t feel it.I believe in God even when God is silent.” Our belief helps us to name our grief and our hope.
I believe…
Peace,
Heather
As United Methodists we promise to support the church, the body of Christ, with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. Here are some ways you can live into those promises, this week:
Prayers
Prayer Requests: We are transitioning to a separate prayer request list. If you would like to receive prayer requests, please email pastorheather@umcchurches.org “subscribe prayer list.”
Please submit prayer requests to Pastor Heather, pastorheather@umcchurches.org and 774.994.3645.
**If you’d like to receive the weekly prayers from our Conference, please subscribe to the UMCatalyst weekly e-newsletter and you’ll get the daily prayer as well. Our District, Seacoast will be featured next week. Subscribe
Presence (even if we cannot be physically together, we can connect)
Wednesday-
3pm Check In and Prayer will resume in September
7pm Vespers at the church– Cancelled due to Lack of Registration. We’ll try again, next week, Wednesday August 19.
For the health and safety of us all, all who attend need to pre-register here, or contact Pastor Heather directly, pastorheather@umcchurches.org, or 774.994.3645.
Join us for outdoor and drive-in Vespers style worship. We’ll have music, scripture, and prayer offered to the comfort of your car, via radio, or you can sit on your own lawn chair near your car and hear, thanks to our portable sound system. Worship will last 30 minutes or less. We will practice safe distancing and encourage everyone to wear masks for the safety of others. Remember, the building remains closed so bathrooms will be unavailable. Please plan accordingly.
Sunday Morning Coffee Hour, 11am on Sundays
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89909659316?pwd=R3dFZHg3SndFRGpnUStuYWdtRmIxZz09
Meeting ID: 899 0965 9316
Password: 485407
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,89909659316#,,,,0#,,485407#
Or Call: +1 646 558 8656
Meeting ID: 899 0965 9316
Password: 485407
Gifts
Artwork is coming in for our 2021 Calendar, and Christmas Cards: Have you sent yours in yet?
We’ve got photos of pets, some of them in their Christmas finest. We’ve got original seascapes and photos of Cape Cod’s Beauty. What will you submit: watercolors, photographs, pen & ink?
We do not need originals – copies are fine. Email them to office@umcchurches.org, or mail them to UMC, 57 Pond Street, Osterville, MA 02655 or drop them off in our new mailbox next to the Solarium door. The more the better. All types of artwork count – kids drawings too. We can’t do this without you. Please send in your submissions. We hope this will be an exciting new project.
Jane Gray, Director of Ministerial Support
Don’t forget you can support our church when you shop at Amazon. Eligible purchases contribute a percentage to our church. So far this year, smile.amazon has generated $70, just for purchasing supplies we need, without any extra effort or cost on our part. Visit smile.amazon.com to sign up today. Look for Osterville United Methodist Church.
Please continue to submit pledges via our online giving portal, and through the mail. Your generosity is supporting meaningful mission and ministry in our community!
Service and Witness
Green Tips will be moving to the Saturday Tidings…stay tuned
Last month the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs declared the Cape and Islands were under Level 1 mild drought conditions. This means that rainfall has been below normal for 1- 2 months, there is an elevated fire risk and ponds and streams have reduced water flow. Water conservation is being encouraged. Watering outside should be done before 9am or after 5pm to reduce evaporation. Andrew Gottlieb, the executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod has been advocating for the reduction of lawn areas needing to be maintained by heavy water usage and move towards native species that can handle the Cape’s dry sandy soil. He states “This (drought) points to the likely future we are going to be living in. We are counseling that public water supplies are a limited and finite resource, and utilization on lawns and ornamental plantings is an unsustainable and insane use of the resource.” To learn more please read this interesting article from NRDC here.
BIC Cards are Available! Let’s continue to support housing for local families in transition! Please contact Kathy Sandell [508-790-7603] to purchase BIC cards. Kathy will make arrangements to get money from you and get the cards to you safely. We have coupons for CVS $25, Dunkin Donuts $10 & $25, 99 Restaurant $25, Shaw’s $25 & $50, Stop & Shop $50 & $100, and Lamberts $25.
New School Supplies Needed: Church Family, once again it is August and we are collecting new school supplies for local children. Please drop off new school supplies in the trash can at the front of the church. We will be collecting them all month long.
A hero for a Hero: On Thursday, August 20th, our generous church will be providing lunch for 85 staff members at The Pavilion Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Hyannis. We would also like to provide handwritten cards for the 80 residents. Please consider writing cards in such a way that they can be given to either a man or a woman. Please fold the flaps of the envelopes inside to close them rather than licking the flaps. You can write, “Dear Friend,” or any other appropriate salutation. There will be a separate bag inside the trash can in the front of the church in which you can drop your cards. The deadline for dropping off your cards is 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19th. Many thanks!
Miracle Kitchen: It’s time to start thinking about September
Each volunteer makes 10 bag lunches. 1 bag lunch= 2 sandwiches, juice box or something to drink, and fruit and/or dessert (brownies are very popular). Sandwiches must be wrapped individually. Please place in small paper bag and label the outside of the bag with the type of sandwich inside. Condiments are provided at the Salvation Army.
If two people would like to partner and divide the task, that would be fine. Example: one makes the sandwiches and provides the napkin. The other prepares the dessert and/or fruit, plus drink. If two people partner, Gail would appreciate if the lunches were combined before she collects and distribute to the Salvation Army.
Please contact Gail Bennett to volunteer today: (508) 420-7978.
Drop off Tuesday, September 1: UMC Osterville parking lot (not inside the church), 57 Pond St, 9:50-10:10am,or the Salvation Army no later than 10:30.