Newsletter

Hi Everyone!                                                                    May 8, 2024
I guess I can’t call sending the newsletter early rare anymore. Ron and I are heading to Illinois and Wisconsin to visit his family for a few days. We will see 6 of his 7 siblings on this trip so we are looking forward to that. Suddenly I will be the one with the accent! Pastor Mary Beth will fill in for me while I’m gone. Please contact Pastor Mary Beth on her cell phone if you need help while I’m gone. Call Glenora in an emergency.
Sheri and Rodger Hood received the best news last week. Their grandson Josh Seals rang the bell after his last appointment with the cancer doctors. He has been deemed cancer free! We have been praying for Josh for a few months after he was diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks before his wedding. Let’s not take him off of our prayer lists, instead keep praying for him to have a wonderful, healthy life. Praise God!
Caleb Smith invited us to PHS Outdoor Band Concert at Kiwanis Park in Payette at 6:30 tonight (Wednesday). Bring your chair (and blanket maybe) and enjoy music in the park. I’m sure Caleb will be glad to see you there!
The Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 14th at noon in the fellowship hall.
The Apple Blossom Parade will be on Saturday, May 18th. We should arrive on 3rd Ave. by the Primary School by 10:45 to get settled on the float. If you are on the fence about this event, please try hard to say yes. We will be visible to the community with very little effort. Please get your black shirts to the office so that Teresa can make you a You Matter shirt to wear ASAP.
The United Methodist Church’s General Conference is over. The delegates wrapped up on Saturday and were pleased to remove the last of harmful language in the Book of Discipline. We appreciate the delegates’ time, hard work and energy.
PUMC received a Gold Star from Etha, our Sage District Administrative Assistant for completing the annual financial audit and the Fund Balance Report ahead of schedule. Our finance team arranged to have all of this accomplished and we appreciate them. An extra big thanks to Bob Steckley for his efforts.
During worship on Sunday, we practiced Lectio Divina which means divine reading. Pastor Mary Beth led us through the process of learning the passage of John 15:9-7. We heard different versions and then gathered in small groups to discuss what we heard.  I heard that I should never stop walking this road of love. I also learned that Jesus said, “You may think you chose me but I am the one who chose you and you remain in my love.” We may be practicing Lectio Divina in the future when our pastor switches to half time. I personally loved it!
During the service, Pastor Mary Beth gave Danny a gift from us. It was a set of New Testament Commentaries that he will definitely need now that he has graduated seminary. We were able to buy this gift with donations from you. They are much appreciated by Danny. In his thank you to us, Danny said that he walked in our doors ten years ago and that it changed his life. He said we became his family and that he wouldn’t be where he is without us. We love you too Danny!
We have some prayer requests this week. Please pray for the family and friends of Gene Winchester. He was a friend of Ed Parsons. He was killed in his home recently.
Please pray for John and Jeanie Sandquist as they travel to Oregon with their kids to pack up John’s sister’s house. They are still in the middle of their own move so it will be taxing on them all.
Keep Roxanne Irwin in your prayers. She is battling a bad back and now maybe a bad knee that has already been replaced. Pray for safe travels for her trips to appointments and for wisdom for her doctors as they figure out exactly what to do to help her.
Lyna Wilkins asks us to keep praying for her friend Peggy Roach. She has cancer and diabetes.
Keep these folks on your prayer list: Hugh Homan, Lis Williamson, Shannon Osborn, Anne DeBord, Irene Jeffries, Jim Warzyn, Jerry Hall, Grace Hammon, the Taylor Family, Noah Howard and for Peyton.
I will miss seeing you for a couple of weeks. Please pray for safe travels for us!
I was watching a video from our bishop and he quoted, “As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you.” That is my prayer.
 Blessings,  Cris