JULY 2022 EDITION
THE WOODLANDS METHODIST CHURCH
THESENIORPOINT THE WOODLANDS METHODIST CHURCH
THE POWER OF PRAYER by Rev. Margarita J. McCarthy Pastor of Caring and Prayer Ministry Dear Friends, I don’t know about you, but my heart is breaking as I hear of all the recent events in the news. From the unjust war in Ukraine to the racially motivated shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, to the more recent horrific elementary school shooting in Uvalde and now the murder of innocent lives closer to home in Centerville, Texas. Our hearts break again and again with each and every newsreel of innocent lives lost. As a people of faith, how do we respond in times like this? We turn our hearts to God and join Christ in mourning, lamenting and weeping. Paul tells us in Romans 10:15b to “weep with those who weep.” We know Christ is weeping over these insidious acts of evil, and we join Him in mourning, weeping and lamenting — and we PRAY! Prayer brings us into a deeper relationship with God and allows us to pour out our grieving hearts to Him, the One who knows our deepest pains and loves us unconditionally (Psalm 62:8). Prayer is also the communication tool God gives us to unlock His work in the world. Oswald Chambers, an early 20th century Scottish evangelist and teacher, penned these words: “Prayer doesn’t fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” In prayer, God moves through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about His Kingdom work and glory in the world. I recently read a quote by Mother Teresa that speaks to this. She wrote in her memoir, “I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.” In our Wesleyan theology, we believe that faith works in love to bring about God’s transforming love and grace in the world as we partner with Christ to be His hands and feet. Through prayer, God transforms us so that we can be the change-agents and peacebuilders in a dark and desperate world through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. My prayer is that God, through His sanctifying grace, would grow us as we pray, so we can be the change the world needs. All this, for the glory and praise of God our Heavenly Father and King.
INDEPENDENCE DAY by Rev. Chris McLain Pastor of Caring and Senior Adult Ministry July always seems to bring a range of emotions: pride, happiness, sadness and even pain, and I’m not referring to sunburns! When we celebrate “Independence Day,” many instantly drift off to memories of Fourth of July parties of the past. Coming from a Scotch-Irish family whose grandparents had, on more than one occasion, eaten Spam instead of turkey for a Thanksgiving meal, there is something great about independence and being able to chart some of your own course. People in Jesus’ time wanted independence as well. Rome was crushing the people with taxes, and the Messiah shows up. Instead of talking about how to overthrow them, He talks about establishing a new kingdom, a paradoxical kingdom with love as the founding principle that is both now and to come. Some people feel sadness or pain during this time for many reasons: they miss the “life of the party” because she passed, or maybe grandpa has gotten older this year and he won’t be manning the grill. Life tells us that we should just move on, be independent. But grief is hard and humans desire independence in both our physical and spiritual lives. Now, I know the independence the colonies sought, fought, died for and gained was from a tyrannical government, but a life filled with grief and sadness can be pretty crushing as well. The amazing thing is this! Proverbs 18:24 says: “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” God reminds us throughout Scripture that to have true independence, we must rely on Him. Remember, the kingdom is a paradox: God is Triune, three in one; Jesus is both human and divine; the first shall become last, and the independent? Well, they will find truth, fulfillment, growth and healing when they become dependent on the One True King “who sticks closer than a brother.” Blessings on your July!