Posts Tagged ‘help’

Request from the Bishop-Janice Riggle Huie

July 29, 2014

My thoughts on this letter from the Bishops:

I know that pride is something that is usually frowned upon and that we are supposed to live our lives humbly but when we say we are proud of America and that it was founded on Christian values and that it is a Christian nation then we must follow Christian values. The letter below addresses those values. We must reach out to those who are disenfranchised and offer them help. The children who are coming may be coming illegally and we can have our own political views but as Christians we must stand up for them and offer them help until our political system deals with the issues that their presence brings. The United Methodist Church is doing just that and as Christians first and United Methodist’s second we must support the aid that they are offering and look for  ways that we as a United Methodist Church can participate/help in those efforts.

Have a blessed day in Jesus Christ,  Randy

July 17, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today a humanitarian crisis is unfolding on our southern border with the arrival of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children. Many of you have communicated with us about your heartfelt desire to provide compassionate care for the unaccompanied children who are suffering in our midst. As bishops we have been conferencing with each other about how the people of The United Methodist Church might respond in a manner that is most faithful to the gospel. We have also been in conversation with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), community leaders, and government officials. Our colleague, Bishop Jim Dorff, and other leaders in the Rio Texas Conference have just returned from three days on the border assessing the situation and representing the gospel and the church and encouraging people in a Christ-like response.

Let us be guided by the Biblical witness of faith:

A Pastoral Letter from Your Bishops to the People of The United Methodist Church in Texas

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me for to such belong the kingdom of heaven.” (Luke 18:15-16) Jesus instructed us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe those in need, visit the sick and those imprisoned. Then he said, “When you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.”(Matthew 25:40)

We are to extend hospitality to strangers. (Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:12)

We do not understand all that these children have experienced in their home countries or in their arduous journey to our borders. We do know that their plight breaks the heart of God. Children are some of the most vulnerable members of the global community. Many come seeking to survive. They all need our compassion and care. At a time of concern about a struggling economy and national security, it is easy to give in to fear and to let that fear, rather than God’s heart, shape our hearts and our response. “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” (II Tim. 1:7). As followers of Christ, we have the power and wisdom of God to care for these unaccompanied children.

As the Bishops of the United Methodist Conferences of Texas, we call on the people of The United Methodist Church to:

  • Pray regularly for the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being and healing of these children and families, wisdom for our government officials, and peace for the countries from which these children have come;
  • Work with faith and community leadership to provide housing, life necessities, pastoral/spiritual care, and as stable an environment as possible for these children and families while their long-term status is being resolved;
  • Be attentive to seeing Christ in the faces of these children;
  • Be alert for specific opportunities to offer ministries of compassion and care, which  share as needs emerge.

In the words of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement,

“Do all the good you can by all the means you can in all the ways you can in all the places you can at all the times you can to all the people you can as long as ever you can.”

In the name and spirit of Christ, we join with you in Christian love for these children. God bless you.

Earl Bledsoe
Bishop of the New Mexico and Northwest Texas Conferences

Jim Dorff
Bishop of the Rio Grande and Southwest Texas Conferences

Janice Huie
Bishop of the Texas Conference

Mike Lowry
Bishop of the Central Texas Conference

Mike McKee
Bishop of the North Texas Conference

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in News, Wesley United Methodist Church | 4 Comments »

Memorial Day

May 23, 2014

An anonymous e-mail tells a story we need to hear on this Memorial Day weekend. It’s about an old man and his wife sitting in the parking lot of a supermarket. The hood is up on their car. Evidently they are having engine problems.

A young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm walks in the direction of the elderly couple. The old gentleman emerges from the car and takes a few steps in the young man’s direction. He points to the open hood and asks the young man for assistance. The young man puts his grocery bag into his expensive SUV, turns back to the old man and yells at him: “You shouldn’t even be allowed to drive a car at your age.” And then with a wave of his hand, he gets into his car and speeds out of the parking lot. The old gentleman pulls out his handkerchief, mops his brow and goes back to his car. Again he looks at the engine. He then goes to his wife and appears to reassure her that things will be okay.

A stranger approaches the old man. “Looks like you’re having a problem,” he says. The old man smiles sheepishly, and quietly nods his head. The stranger looks under the hood of the car, but he has no more expertise with automobile engines than the old man. He assures the elderly gentleman he will return and heads to a nearby service station. He explains the situation to a mechanic and says he will pay him if he would help the elderly couple with their car.

Returning with the mechanic, the stranger gets into a conversation with the old gentleman. The stranger is wearing a ring signifying that he had been a Marine. Coincidentally, so had the old man. He confides that he had served in some of the harshest battles in our nation’s history, including Guadalcanal and Okinawa. He had retired from the Marine Corps after the war.

After the car was repaired and running, the old gentleman handed a card to the stranger and they shook hands and parted. A little while later the stranger happened to look at the card. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name was written: Congressional Medal of Honor Society. It was only then that the former Marine realized that he had come to the aid of one of America’s heroes.

Just a reminder this Memorial Day weekend that there are men and women who have served their country, and received very little in return. It is only right that we recognize their sacrifice and honor their memory this holiday weekend.

Have a blessed holiday weekend and remember to lift up the Veterans Administration. They do a lot of good for so many of our veterans. Pray that they will truly get to the root of their problems and are able to focus on their mission once again.

Pastor Randy

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | 3 Comments »

Pastor’s Ponderings, Wanderings, Wonderings

January 25, 2012

Last night I watched the State of the Union Address by President Obama.  It really got me to thinking but not necessarily about the things he was talking about.  It was a state of the union and it was his view of how things were going with the United States.  What he has gotten done and what he hopes to achieve.

It made me think about Jesus and His ministry.  About what He has gotten done and what He hopes to achieve.  We sometimes look to the leaders of our country to help us with our lives.  We have faith in them because of what they tell us.  Which is so often what we want to hear.  Jesus told us so much in His short three-year ministry.  Much of it words that we really didn’t want to hear.  Words, however, that we needed to hear.  Words that would heal us and help us through our lives if we would just hear them.  I believe that if we would just listen to the words of Jesus we would hear the solutions to many of our problems today.  That’s interesting isn’t it.  Someone 2000 years ago could tell us about ourselves and how to solve our problems today.

Wouldn’t it be a great thing if our politicians listened to the words of the Savior of the world and used those words to help solve the problems of the world.  Wouldn’t it be a great thing if we elected people who had compassion and genuinely cared about humanity and were not so interested in their own careers and selfish agendas.  Now I am not saying that all politicians are bad but I am saying that there are many who are misled.

As Christians we are to be led by the one we believe is the Son of God.  He will not mislead you.  Try Him out as the one who can help solve those problems you need help with.  I believe He can and will if you will depend upon Him.

Pastor Randy

Tags:, , , , , , , ,
Posted in Pastor's Ponderings, Wesley United Methodist Church | Leave a Comment »