MAY 2017 EDITION
THE WOODLANDS UMC
POINT A MESSAGE FROM
DON MEADOR PASTOR TO SENIOR ADULTS
HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW & RODEO Scott Bucker with Mary and Harold Kerr
On Monday, March 13, fifty-five senior adults from The Woodlands UMC spent the day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The trip was organized by long-time HLS&R committee members, Bill and Barbara Scott, with help from Helen Burgdorf.
Bill Scott with Ed and Glenna Wandling
Mary Perry
Virginia Cray
Ferol Johnson
Mary and Joe Floyd
Book titles can be very interesting and compelling. I recently came across one that caught my eye. The title is Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr. The author writes that in the first half of life we are naturally preoccupied with establishing our identity, climbing, achieving, and performing. But those concerns will not serve us as we grow older and begin to embark on a further journey, one that involves challenges, mistakes, loss of control, and necessary suffering. The second half of life can be seen only as a time of “falling down” and therefore we need to move to a new and better understanding of what it means to be “falling upward.” The author takes us on a journey to give us an understanding of how the heartbreaks, disappointments, and first loves of life are actually stepping stones to the spiritual joys that the second half of life has in store for us. Falling Upward has become for me a new way of looking at the spiritual aspects of aging. I share this with you with the prayer that you also can see that the second half of life can be seen as a time of falling upward, that as we grow older, we are being awakened to deep, simple, and mysterious things that we could not see when we were younger. Our “senior years,” although a time of many challenges, can indeed be a time of exciting spiritual growth. Your friend,
P.S. Speaking of “falling,” let me remind you of an opportunity to attend a Fall Prevention Class on Thursday, May 18, in Jones Library. We can learn from a professional of how to prevent falls and injuries in our homes.
Barbara Pytlewski, Joe Floyd, Linda Henderson, Scott Bucker, Gene and Jennifer Lochridge