18 November Sunday 

Worship Service 

10:30 am 

"Living Thankful Lives" 

Thanksgiving / Pledge Sunday

Stewardship Lunch after Worship 

All are invited 

Please bring your favorite dessert to share 

Thought for your meditation 

A certain rabbi and his people had been through horrible, cruel experiences, and he said "sometimes I don't have words to be able to pray. I don't know what to say or how to say it. In those times, I pray the alphabet and trust God to rearrange the letters."

New Small Group Study 

Tuesday November 20 

10:30 am & 6:30 PM 

All are welcome. 

“Living Faithfully: Human Sexuality and the United Methodist Church” – Three Week Study November 13-27. We will continue to meet on Tuesdays at 10:30 am and 6:30 pm for November. See Pastor Pat to get a copy of the book ($12.00 each).

"There is a lot of concern about where the United Methodist Church stands when it comes to homosexuality, same-gender marriage, and the ordination of LGBTQ persons, and what will result from the upcoming General Conference in February. Living Faithfully, a small-group study was created especially for United Methodists, to guide discussions in a way that encourages openness, humility, a spirit of grace, and above all, love for fellow United Methodists who may disagree with you. Offering multiple lenses through which to consider different perspectives, the study is based on Scripture from start to finish."

Online Directory Photo 

Please send a family picture or head shot to the church by email for the online directory being developed. A 150 dpi JPG format file is preferred.

westonunitedmethodist@gmail.com

If you need a new photo, touch base with Cindy Boudreau or Richard Lee to have your picture taken at church.

Continuing Prayer Requests 

Jason Duane, Louise R., Taj M., Bill B., Gail M. 

Stewardship Moment 

Good morning. I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach a stewardship conversation this morning. I wasn’t really thinking that there is much that I could say to try and convince you all to “dig a little deeper” this year. So instead, I thought I would tell you a story about something that I experienced this past week.

This story actually started about 50 years ago. Back in Michigan, my best friend, Ann, grew up across the street from me. Her brother Mike, her dad and mom, Bob and Martha have all been lifelong friends and neighbors to my family. Birthday parties, family vacations, a chat at the kitchen table – our families pretty much grew up together.

Almost 20 years ago, Martha passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. Of course by that time, their kids were grown and married and living far away - and Bob struggled. There were about 5 years where he dealt loneliness, depression and alcoholism before he decided to move to Minneapolis to be near his son and his grandchildren.

It still wasn’t easy but gradually things improved and Bob found a new normal – he found support, and connections, and contentment in his new community and with his family.

So now we fast forward to this past weekend. I flew to Minneapolis to meet up with my parents, my sister, and her family to attend my nephew’s college hockey debut. It was a quick trip for all of us. Out on Friday afternoon, back on Sunday morning. A lot flying and a lot of driving – from the airport to the hotel. From the hotel to the college and back. To an away game on Saturday. Just a lot of activity and shuffling around.

We had hoped to meet with Bob and his son Mike while we were in the area but they lived quite a bit further away than we had first realized. We ended up being short a car as one person had to leave early. Bob doesn’t drive. The weather was bad. They were busy, we were busy. It just wasn’t going to be convenient to get together. We all had other things going on and decided it just wasn’t going to work this time. But we would visit Minneapolis again – maybe for a game next winter. He would be back in Michigan this summer. We would catch up next time.

So on Wednesday afternoon I got a phone call from my friend Ann. She told me that her father Bob passed away early that morning. We blew it --- and we immediately regretted it. We had an opportunity and we didn’t take advantage of it. We didn’t make it a priority. We didn’t give that relationship the value that it deserved. Our actions didn’t reflect our feelings and now that connection is gone.

After the shock had faded, I began to see the similarity of this situation to what could possibly happen in our church. What if we don’t accept the opportunities that are offered here at Weston United Methodist Church? Are we making this church – both its missions and spiritual offerings - a priority? Do we place value on the relationships and the connections we find here? Do our actions reflect how we feel about this place and these friends? Or are we too busy? Is it too inconvenient? Do we have other things to do? Or do we just say “We’ll be there next time”?. Because if that’s the case, we could wake up one day and find that it’s gone.

Now I realize that in a way, I am preaching to the choir – because you are here! But you also probably know that there are things that need to be fixed. We don’t have to have all of the answers right now - We just have to be willing to take a step. A small step in the right direction is all that is being asked. Whether that step for you is one of finances, or of time in service, or of prayer – I ask you to consider the value you place on this church and its work in this community. If you believe in WUMC’s purpose then let your actions truly reflect your priorities. This is your opportunity - don’t miss it.

I found a quote on Facebook that struck me so I will share it in closing:

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. 

Do justly, now. 

Love mercy, now. 

Walk humbly, now. 

You are not obligated to complete the work, 

But neither are you free to abandon it. 

Thank you, Jennifer Hall 11 November 2018 

Blankets for the Homeless in Waltham 

On Monday night, I was approached by one of the Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen workers helping with the 5 PM dinner we provided. She said there are several who sleep outside who need a blanket.

Please bring clean, new or lightly used blankets to church to be distributed to those in need.

Thank you, Debbi Miller