eNews for Thursday, February 25, 2021
Request for Vaccine Wait List
From Saint Louis County:
If you or your staff community have knowledge of someone they know or in their families/churches/or social spheres who is a resident of St Louis County, and in the 65+ age category that has not been vaccinated yet, we are now populating a wait list.
What this means is that they will need to be ready for a call in the afternoon, and be able to drop what they are doing travel to the site within about 15-45 minutes or so depending on when we reach out.
You may contact the county at VaccineScheduling@stlouiscountymn.gov to request to be placed on a waitlist. Include your name and your best contact phone number.
You can view an instructional flyer here.
Joy Comes with the Morning
“In this space between our suffering and our full rejoicing, we rely on our faith… The psalmist says, 'Weeping may linger for the night but joy comes with the morning.' My friends, our weeping may yet linger, but I trust that our joy will come.”
In this video Conference Minister Rev. Shari Prestemon addresses the profound and unfathomable loss of lives from the Covid pandemic and encourages us to pause, reflect, and pray for those who have lost the ones they love so deeply.
A recorded message for the MN Conference UCC as the U.S. marks 500,000 lives lost to COVID
Stewardship Message
In a couple of weeks, we will begin a three-week stewardship emphasis titled Experiencing the Joy of Generosity. This will be an exciting and beneficial three weeks of sermon messages and lay presentations. We believe this program will be a blessing to those who already are experiencing the joy of being generous with the gifts God has given to them, and we hope and pray that this effort will help many more experience the joy that comes from giving faithfully and generously.
When we give to God through giving to our church and others, we experience one of the true joys of being Christians. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). God doesn’t need our gifts, but he asks us to give them. God accepts and uses them and gives us joy in sharing them. As we respond to God’s love for us by giving back to him part of what he’s given to us, he reacts by giving us even more. “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). Although we don’t give so that we will receive God’s blessings, God’s Word promises us that, when we give faithfully and willingly, we will receive an abundance of spiritual blessings and, for some, material blessings as well.
Have you ever wondered why you are left with such a joyful feeling when you are able to give a gift to your church or to help a person in need? The answer to that question may be rooted in us as Christians who are being recreated in the image of God. To be made in God’s image means we are made to be like him whose nature is to give. Giving helps us feel fulfilled as we reflect God’s nature. Although the image of God was lost by sin, as those converted by faith in Jesus, we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). Our Creator empowers us to give joyfully to our church and others according to his will. With this attitude of joyful gratitude, God keeps us close to him, and others see his image through us.
Our pursuit for fulfillment and joy culminates in the discovery that we receive those things when, by God’s grace, we respond with eagerness to God’s directive to give. Like David, we exclaim, “But who [are we]…that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we give you” (1 Chronicles 29; 14).
We hope and pray that the emphasis Experiencing the Joy of Generosity will be a blessing to you and your family!
Calling for Volunteers
From the Human Resources Ministry Committee
We are looking for volunteers to serve on various committees at Pilgrim, including:
- Church Council (Moderator-Elect)
- Worship & Arts Ministry
- Christian Education Ministry
- Building & Finance Ministry
- Stewardship Ministry
- Human Resources Ministry
If you're curious about serving on a committe, please get in touch with Steve Therrien at paddldog@centurytel.net or (218) 591‑1955
CHUM Assembly Annual Meeting
Tonight at 6:30 pm
The 48th CHUM Annual Meeting is tonight, February 25, from 6:30-8:00 pm. We will look back on the year, celebrate all of the ways that CHUM has responded to the immense challenges of COVID, and look at what lies ahead.
Join CHUM via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85820974364
Meeting ID: 858 2097 4364
What Is BeFriender Ministry?
“BeFriender Ministry educates, forms and supports women and men as leaders for a listening ministry of care. Based on a model of mutuality, this national and ecumenical ministry heals hearts, energizes communities and transforms a suffering world.
BeFriender ministers provide pastoral care for people in all kinds of transitional or difficult situations. They are trained listeners who extend the care of your faith community or organization.
Since the early 1980s BeFrienders have been providing skilled pastoral care throughout the nation.”
Pilgrim Church has a number of trained Befrienders from within our congregation that are ready and willing to help people in any way we can. Our role is to provide support and companionship to lonely, or emotionally distressed, people. As to meeting and visiting, until the pandemic completely subsides, we are pretty much limited to reaching out via telephone or social media. But, we can still provide support and companionship as needed.
If you or someone you know could benefit by a contact from a Befriender, please let Pastor Judith or I know and we can move the process forward. Befriender’s assignments are chosen on the basis of ethnicity, gender (usually the same sex as the person requiring help), age and needs of the person requiring help. We do the utmost to pair a needing person with an appropriate Befriender. While we primarily help those within our congregation, we are more than willing to reach out to anyone that can benefit from a connection with a Befriender.
Blessings!
Jon Welles
(218) 390-2393
jonwelles@charter.net
Sunday Worship at Pilgrim
Join us Sunday at 10:00 am for Sunday Worship at Pilgrim. We are recording in our chapel, and doing everything we can to make it as Covid-safe as possible. You can view the service on Pilgrim's YouTube channel and Facebook page.
This Sunday is Seminary Sunday. Except for music, this service is provided for us by the students and faculty at United Theological Seminary.
Salter Hall Zoom: Join us after worship for conversation and fellowship every Sunday.
Meeting ID: 843 9163 0668
Passcode: 912010
This Sunday's scripture readings:
- Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
- Psalm 22:23-31
- Romans 4:13-25
- Mark 8:31-38
Special thanks:
- The students and faculty of United Theological Seminary
- Louisa Scorich, for sharing her music
- Our tech team: Deb DeVaney, Christopher Kirby, Jim Drake, Steve Grindy, and Harlan Stech
If you have an announcement that you would like read during a Sunday service, please get it to the office or directly to Pastor Judith by Monday each week.
Please send in your prayer requests to include in Sunday services. Send your prayer requests, joys, and concerns to Pastor Judith via email by Friday each week to be included. We will use only first names during the service in order to maintain confidentiality, and your prayer requests will be passed along to Marge Fraser and Pilgrim's Prayer Chain.
In case you missed it, you can view last Sunday's worship service on
YouTube.
YouTube views: 122
Facebook reach: 69
Lenten Vespers
Join us for Lenten Vespers services on our YouTube channel and Facebook page starting at 6:00 pm each Wednesday during Lent. Come join us for a time of contemplation and reflection. The video will continue to be available after 6:00 for those participating in Lectio Divina.
In case you missed it, you can view last night's Vespers service on YouTube.