Generous Listening

Pastor Renee Ford

This morning, Pastor Renee Ford’s sermon was on Luke 8:16-21 which teaches us that Jesus listened generously to others.

When we listen to others, are we listening with our whole heart? Or are we distracted? Is it hard to keep our attention on the other person’s conversation when so many things are racing through our minds?

Sometimes, we need a friend to generously listen to us. I know I do.

As we remember that September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, be generous in listening to neighbors and coworkers.

Here is an interesting blog that tells what people are doing to provide "free listening".



Pastor Renee Ford is the pastor for Grays United Methodist Church, Houserville House of Hope, and Woodycrest United Methodist Church. She is also an Instructional Designer for the Department of eLearning Design and Innovation Group in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State.

The Power of Team

The Power of Team

The flightless fairy penguin of Australia stands

less than a foot tall and is clumsy on land, where

the fox is its natural enemy. Alone, one penguin

wouldn't survive for long. So, after each day in the

water, they gather where the surf meets the shore,

waiting until the last penguin joins them. Then shoulder

to shoulder they march up the beach to their burrows.

They support each other. They rely on each other.

And everyone, except the fox, wins.

We're a stronger team because of you.

 

When supervisors recognize their employees, it helps them feel appreciated and they will want to work harder.

 

In our customer service group of six, our supervisor would give each of us a customer service recognition gift each year during Customer Service Celebration Week, which is the week of October 1-5, this year.

It has been four years since I have worked and finding these recognitions brought back many wonderful memories of my work in customer service.
 

Employees really like to be appreciated. Please remember your employees with rewards of recognition for their service and contributions.

Below are two other customer service recognitions from my supervisor:

 

 

Suuki's First Hour with Grandpa

Suuki with a flower in her hair 8-16-17

The writing on the card says it all.

Suuki's grandpa, Larry, loves to take pictures and write funny stories about the picture. This is just the first hour of her stay. The next 12 days of her visit will be filled with wonderful surprises.  Her mommy and daddy, Kate and Mark, are vacationing with friends at the shore.

Larry, Kate, Suuki, Mark - July 4, 2017

Life Through the Holy Spirit





Pastor Renee Ford and Mikayla Castellano

In this morning’s sermon, Pastor Renee Ford talked about “An Apostle’s Tale: Freedom” from Romans 8:1-11.
 

In these verses, Apostle Paul talks about the freedom of being released from condemnation when we believe in Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for our sins so we could be forgiven when we sin against God.

Through the Holy Spirit, God ministers to us, enabling us to make changes in our lives. The Spirit empowers us to do the work of God, and even though we will die a physical death, we will live forever in God’s kingdom.

With the Holy Spirit, our growth will help us share God’s love with others.

We had a special visitor today, Mikayla Castellano, who was a camp counselor this summer at Camp Kanesatake where she ministered to 30 girls, ages 8-16. Mikayla is returning to Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) where she will graduate in May 2018 with a degree in Special Education.

Pastor Renee Ford is the pastor for Grays United Methodist Church, Houserville House of Hope, and Woodycrest United Methodist Church. She is also an Instructional Designer for the Department of eLearning Design and Innovation Group in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State.

Painting Brings Back Childhood Memories

Painted by Amy Hoffmann Ritter

 

Amy’s painting pulls me in and makes me feel as though I am standing right inside her picture. It took me a while to understand the emotions her picture stirs in me, but now I understand.

Her painting brings back precious childhood memories.

Jar of pink peonies on my Mother's grave

The off-white flowers remind me of a long row of dark red, pink, and white blossomed peony plants that edged our yard and bloomed in time for family grave decorations on Memorial Day at the Salem Methodist Church my family attended. My mother (her name was Lillian) and her sister, my Aunt Ruth, would gather these flowers and arrange the different colors in glass jars to sit on our family graves. After the Memorial service, people would congregate inside the church and outside in the graveyard to catch up with family they hadn’t seen since the past Memorial Day. People often traveled more than a hundred miles to attend the services. Memorial Day was always been a big event for my family and we would have a meal at our family home where people would stop by to eat after the service. A jar or two of peonies would grace the dinner table and fill the air with their strong fragrance.

The blue sky in Amy’s painting reminds me of times when I would lie on my back, as a kid, in the fields on our farm and look up at the skies during the long summer days. I could spend hours looking at the blue sky and the white fluffy clouds that drifted through the sky. Sometimes, I would chew on a dry piece of straw. It was quiet and I could hear birds chirping, cows mooing, and an airplane flying overhead. It created a time for me to daydream.

Amy, thank you for creating this painting. It helped bring back childhood memories that I have not thought about for a long time.

Your paintings are gifts of inspiration from your heart. Keep painting. Keep inspiring!

Do You Wrestle with Decisions?

Pastor Renee Ford

Pastor Renee Ford, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, blessed us this morning with a sermon on "Wrestling" from Genesis 29:15-28. This sermon finishes her 10-week series on "The Dog Days of Summer."

Before she started her sermon, she asked the congregation if they wrestled with their brothers and sisters when they were growing up.

I grew up on a farm where I had to wrestle calves to get them back into their stalls when they escaped from the barn. When the opponent is stronger than you are, it's hard to hang on and stand your ground.

Pastor Renee was trying to lead us into another realm of thinking about times we wrestle with decisions, whether small or hard ones, and how the outcomes may prepare us for something bigger later.

Jacob and an angel wrestling

In the above cited Biblical passage, Jacob wrestled many hours during the nighttime with a traveling stranger, an angel directed by God. As dawn approached, the stranger asked Jacob to let him go, but Jacob wouldn't let him go until the stranger blessed him.  The stranger blessed Jacob with the name "Israel" which means "One Who Strives with God." The stranger then touched Jacob's hip socket which threw his hip out of joint causing Jacob to let go.

How would God use Jacob who had stolen his brother's birthright? Jacob could not get to where he needed to be to do God's work unless this wrestling match happened. In the end, Jacob was given a new name which would be a significant part of his journey.

Why do we wrestle with decisions?

Is it God's way of inspiring our faith journey? Is God preparing us for something bigger that we don't know about?

Pastor Renee Ford is the pastor for Grays United Methodist Church, Houserville House of Hope, and Woodycrest United Methodist Church. She is also an Instructional Designer for the Department of eLearning Design and Innovation Group in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State.