Way to go, awesome women!!

This past weekend was the amazing graduation ceremony of the women at Christian Women's Job Corps . . . .the culmination of months of learning, sharing and growing to equip women to support themselves and their families. Thank you to the Bible Explore's Sunday School class for providing the reception and to Pat and Rosetti and JJ Mainord, who served as mentors to two of these courageous women. Brian Rosetti, AUMC's Outreach Chair and JJ Mainord serve on the Board of Directors of Christian Women's Job Corps

You're Never Too Young!!

You're never too young to start doing God's work! That's what the AUMC Preschool believes! Our amazing preschoolers raised $1050 for St. Jude's Hospital in their Trike-a-thon!! How amazing is it that God grows us through our service and blesses the world at the same time. Way to go Preschool!!!

A little dirt, a little growth, a lot of love!

What happens when 30 amazing kids are combined with some potting soil, a few flowers, great neighbors and the love of God? A beautiful garden of love. That's what happened last week at AUMC's Rancho Brazos Community Center when the National Day of Prayer Breakfast Committee donated their centerpiece flowers to our community center. Amazing neighbors Jimmie and Pauline Layland added their expertise and the kids planted and planted and planted. Surely God is growing more than flowers in our midst. Thanks to the prayer breakfast team and to the Laylands and most of all to God, who gives all the growth.

National Day of Message

World Day of Prayer: For Times Such as These

As we think about our prayer for the world this day I invite you to hear these words from the book of Hebrews, written to the early Christian community, which also seem to speak to us today. The author has listed the many faithful who paved the way for us, he talks about Abraham and Moses and David and the great cloud of witnesses who persevered so that the world might know the love of God - - - and then he says “Do you see what this means? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running – and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. . . lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight the paths of your feet. . . Pursue peace with everyone and holiness without which no one will see God. . Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity.”

In times such as these, when our world is so very divided by not only cultural differences but differences of faith as well, I believe the scripture says some really important things for us. . .first and foremost, it says we, who are followers of Jesus, must stand for the love of God and neighbor. “Study how Jesus did it” the scripture says . . . Jesus was very clear in his teachings that neighbors included people who don’t look like us. . . who perhaps don’t understand God in the same way we do . . .who might not even know there is a God to know . . . and yet, we are called to speak love to them because we too have received love, even before we knew God. The scripture reminds us that that might be hard work . . . another translation says we must “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” . . . in our world we have come to be afraid of persons who are not like us . . . especially of persons who understand God differently, and yet Jesus is our model . . . he showed us how to do that as he welcomed sinners and ate with those the religious people condemned and honored the loving-kindness even of the Samaritan, who was a foreigner in their midst. That transformation of our lives starts with prayer that we might be transformed into the image of Jesus so that we might love the world like Jesus did.

In times such as these, perhaps we can learn that diversity is of God . . . it can be our strength if we can recognize that all the diversity in the world comes to us as a gift from God. When you were a child, perhaps you might have learned as I did the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children . . . all the children of the world . . . red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight . . . Jesus loves the little children of the world.” That was easy for me as a little girl because I didn’t know anyone who was red or yellow or black or white or different from me! But today that takes on a whole new meaning, as we realize we are connected to the whole world and called to love the whole world! If Jesus loved all of God’s children and he is our model, then how else can we be faithful in our discipleship and in our prayer than to “pursue peace with everyone and holiness for our own life”, because it is in our modeling the love of Jesus that others will want to know him as well. We are like the hypocrites Jesus condemned when we pray for peace in the world and refuse to recognize the sacred gift of life in our brothers and sisters of the world.

As we pray that the world might be transformed into the “Kingdom of God” for which Jesus prayed, we have to pray that love triumphs over hate, hope triumphs over fear, unity triumphs over alienation, perseverance triumphs over our inclination to give up on the world . . . and we, the followers of Jesus, must pray to be those who “lift our drooping hands and strengthen our weak knees and make straight the paths of our feet so that the world will know the generous grace of God.”

Rev. Dawne McAlpin

Mission Team experiences

Here's a report from one faithful team member of the recent Sager Brown Mission Trip:

I had the privilege and honor of helping give out food to nearly 960 families. Sager Brown provides monthly distribution of “Food for Seniors” and “Food for Mothers”. They work with Catholic Charities to provide this service. Not only do they provide food for seniors and mothers but after they register, they drive to the warehouse and our people actually put the food in their cars for them. At the point of registration, I had the honor of greeting all of these people as they arrived, shook their hands, and told them God loved them. What a joy that was.

Rainbow Room Clothng Drive

What happens when the people of God learn about need in the world? Amazing things! These sacks full of clothing and hygiene items will go to help children in the care of Child Protective Services . . . to remind them that God loves each of us as if there is only one of us! Thank you to those who participated in this ministry!!

6000 Women with Purpose

What happens when over 6,000 United Methodist Women gather to worship and ponder God's will for the world? Amazing things. Last weekend, United Methodist Women from around the world gathered in St. Louis, Missouri . . . among the amazing worship opportunites, classes and fellowship events, was a march in support of immigration reform and a rally led by United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcano . . . together, we can be a part of making God's kingdom a reality "on earth as it in heaven."

God's got the Whole World in His Hands!

The United Methodist connectional system is an amazing thing! We've recently had the privilege of spending time with Dr. Chris Hena, physician and representative of the General Board of Global Ministries in Kazakhstan. Dr. Hena facilitates a Comprehensive Community-Based primary Health Care program, which trains local health workers to promote better health practices in their communities. She also works as a physician at one of the hospitals in Eastern kazakhstan and provides medical services to several village clinics. As Chris reflected on her call to mission service she reminded us that God calls us all to service . . . in our own way . . . in our own locations . . . thank you Dr. Chris Hena . . .

There's no place like home . . . unless it's Sager Brown

We're home! Why is the trip home longer than the trip to the destination? It was a great week--eye-opening, gratifying, uplifting, and reverential. To the very end, we had to keep up our strength by maintaining our caloric intake--doing God's work burns calories, as you well know. Notice in the pics what good stewards we were in cleaning up after meals, all with smiles on their faces. Don't you think the aprons look cute? Lovay was presented with a Sager Brown T-shirt amid thunderous applause from all assembled. The Vespers session on Thur. night was pretty amazing, with contributions from all 4 groups (2 from TX, 1 from AR, 1 from WA). Jeanine put a choir together and the coordinating team planned the program, including communion. Bill K. remarked that that was the closest he's been to Heaven. Let me give you a sense of the week's accomplishments: 7,000 health kits produced, 500 school bags made, painting and carpentry projects completed, untold number of birthing kits, assistance at Chez Hope (center for battered females), and, oh yes, some administrarive duties. Jerry and John reported they were boxing up health kits at 1-24 to a box every ONE MINUTE as we worked to meet a self-imposed goal. Thanks to the church for being behind us and I encourage you to speak with this year's participants so you can capture their assessment of the week. I think you should consider the trip next year (April 10). It will be a spiritual-social experience you won't soon forget. Craig