"By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies."
--Isaiah 30:15
Instead, of emailing out daily devotionals, Pastor Laura encourages members to explore any of the resources below. Remember also, that print copies of The Upper Room are available at church to pick up. Or, you may contact Kay (secretarymumc@sbcglobal.net) to request a copy be mailed to you.
1. Electronic resources from The Upper Room: https://www.upperroom.org/covid-19
2. WI Conference of the UMC: https://www.wisconsinumc.org/daily-devotions
3. Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM: https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2021/
4. Henri Nouwen: https://henrinouwen.org/read-nouwen/free-daily-meditation/
5. Sojourners magazine: https://sojo.net/daily-wisdom
6. Fr. James Martin, SJ: https://sojo.net/daily-wisdom
7. StillSpeaking Daily Devotions from the UCC: https://www.facebook.com/FeedYourSpiritUCC/
Message from Pastor Brad (April 1st)
I want you to know that I miss seeing you and talking with you. I also miss us being a “congregation”— a group of people who actually congregate! So what can we do instead under the current circumstances?
We can continue to keep in touch with one another by telephoning the people we know from church, along with our phone calls to relatives or other friends. The word “worship” actually means “the work of the people,” and for the time being this is our work:
- to reach out to one another just to check in with one another and see that we are alright
- to ask whether we are well and not sick
- to be sure that we have enough home essentials
- to enquire if anything is needed from the grocery (which can be delivered)
I really think this is how we can be the church right now, and not just for each other but for our neighbors as well.Thank you for all your prayers for the front-line workers during this strange and stressful time. Blessings to you for your faithfulness and trust in God, and for your love of your neighbor.
Prayers, peace, and health,
Pastor Brad
Additional Prayers and Devotionals
Here is a song, a quiet meditation, about a longed-for world from the perspective of those who have not been as privileged as I have been.
“God Will Heal Our Wounds (I Long For A World)” by Brittney Spencer in the Common Hymnal
The lyrics are:
“If we stop loving on our own terms, God will heal our wounds.
If we stop loving on our own terms, grace will lead us home.”
Week of Prayer for Christain Unity (January 18th - 25th)
For the eight days of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2021, we propose a journey of prayer using scripture from the fifteenth chapter of the gospel of John:
· Day 1: Called by God: “You did not choose me but I chose you” (John15:16a)
· Day 2: Maturing internally: “Abide in me as I abide in you” (John15:4a)
· Day 3: Forming one body: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John15:12b)
· Day 4: Praying together: “I do not call you servants any longer ... but I have called you friends” (John15:15)
· Day 5: Letting oneself be transformed by the Word: “You have already been pruned by the word...” (John15:3)
· Day 6: Welcoming others: “Go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” (John15:16b)
· Day 7: Growing in unity: “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John15:5a)
· Day 8: Reconciling with all of creation: “So that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete” (John15:11)
The PDF of the devotions can be found at the bottom of the page.
