Best News of the Week:
Boy Donates 22,000 Diapers To Single Moms Using Funds From His Lemonade Stand
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/boy-donated-22000-diapers-to-moms-as-his-summer-project/
News from Peace:
The Book: A Cautionary Tale
by Gary Walpole
“These people who have turned the world upside down have come here also…” ~Acts 17:6
Once upon a time in a place not too far away they wrote a Book.
You see, there were people living in a place who saw others coming to live with them. And it was important to find the appropriate places for the newcomers to live, appropriate jobs for them to have, and appropriate “places” within this place they wanted to come to.
They did this of course to maintain a sense of order in the place. After all this was the best way to welcome the newcomers. To do anything less would only devalue the place and result in its demise.
They only put into words what was already practiced, the things that were already making their place thrive. After all, they only wanted the place to remain the great place that they loved. And to welcome the newcomers.
Later, there were some who began to find flaws in the Book.
“This cannot be! Because to find flaws in the Book is to find flaws in the place,” some said. And since this place was already great how could it have flaws?
Then some began to think the whole book was flawed.
But others said, “it is not so,” and clung even firmer to the book.
Change does not come quickly or easily to such places where some people see flaws and others don’t. But if there are enough people who are willing to change, then change happens and what was once appropriate is no longer appropriate.
Places change because people change.
Slowly, people began to understood it was OK for people live where they wanted to live, go to school where they wanted to go to school, to eat where they wanted to eat, to love who they wanted to love.
But now, some began guarding the Book as if their very lives depend on it.
Is Change coming? And if so, I wonder if it will turn us upside down?
About the Book:
In 1907, the United States Immigration Commission was formed to study possible changes in immigration patterns. As part of its 41-volume report on immigration published in 1911, the commission released the Book, The Dictionary of Races and Peoples.
The 41-volume report recommended many of the laws and practices that established modern systemic racism in the United States.
Peace to Resume Sunday Morning In-person Worship!
Peace is planning to reopen for in-person worship on Sunday, September 20! Beginning on that date, we will worship outside for as many Sundays as weather permits, and our backup plan (which we will move to completely when the weather turns too cold) is to gather safely in the sanctuary. Both locations require that participants wear masks and observe proper social distancing.
We assure you that we plan to continue our online worship experiences as well, so you may continue to join us in that manner if you prefer. We are also beginning to produce DVDs of these online experiences for those who like this option, so let Gary gary@peaceumc.com know if you’d like us to deliver a DVD to you in coming weeks!
Beginning on the 20th, our in-person worship will be recorded to form the core of our online experiences. This alleviates the need for staff to move to producing two separate services weekly, but it also creates some new logistics.
One of these is the need for volunteers who are willing and able to shoot videos on their cameras during the in-person worships. Please contact Dave (dave@peaceumc.com) if you are interested and would like additional information. We hope to be able to spread this task out over a number of individuals so you wouldn’t need to commit to this every week.
The other logistic involves a consequence of visual recording—that people will be recorded, and that video will become available on our website and distributed via our email list. We will endeavor to record leadership at the front of the worship area, and thus capture other participants only from the back. But we realize that inevitably we will find we have inadvertently captured other folks’ faces on the recording. Our hope here is that we will not need to require media releases from everyone in attendance, but rather that anyone who does not wish to appear at all in a recording contact Cindy (cindy@peaceumc.com) to work out appropriate arrangements.
United Methodist Happenings
Bishop Ough’s 2020 Episcopal Address to the United Methodist Church in Minnesota: ‘A Light Rising in the Darkness’
https://www.minnesotaumc.org/newsdetail/bishops-episcopal-address-14229668
Legislation round-up of 2020 Virtual Minnesota Annual Conference
https://www.minnesotaumc.org/newsdetail/legislation-round-up-14229860
Violence against women, girls in Africa spikes amid COVID-19 in Africa
https://www.umnews.org/en/news/gender-based-violence-in-africa-spikes-amid-covid-19
Grace Connections of the Week:
Grace connections invites you to find the power of God’s love in the midst of the harm, confusion and news of the week. Below are a few stories from the news of the week.
Video of the Week: THE BLESSING – featuring kids from different nations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiWZXLsdE9w
Photos of the Week: : U.S. marks 9/11 attacks anniversary
https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/us-marks-9-11-attacks-anniversary-idUSRTX7UUS6
Get your flu shot — yes, now — to avoid ‘twindemic’ of flu and COVID-19
https://omaha.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/get-your-flu-shot-yes-now-to-avoid-twindemic-of-flu-and-covid-19/article_ec9bb0f3-939c-54f9-b695-868326104f0f.html
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020: Andromeda Galaxy image wins top prize
https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-54105085